Albion College will induct eight individuals and some of its best teams in football and tennis into its Athletic Hall of Fame Oct. 4-5, Athletic Director Matt Arend announced today.
The honorees will join the current 327 individuals of the Albion Athletic Hall of Fame. The induction dinner will be held Oct. 4 at Baldwin Hall with the 2019 class also being recognized Oct. 5 before Albion takes the field for the Homecoming football game against Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association rival Alma College at Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium.
The list of eight individuals for the 2019 class includes:
Charles Aldrich, '75 (men's cross country, men's track & field): He gained all-MIAA status on the track in 1974 and 1975 as the league champion in the mile run. His success carried over to the cross country program where he was selected as the Britons most improved runner in 1972, most valuable runner in 1973 and he shared the captaincy of the 1974 team.
Caitlin Bowman, '10 (women's soccer): She was a four-time all-MIAA first team pick and 2007 MIAA Most Valuable Player, but it was her work in the 2009 MIAA Tournament that will be long remembered as some of the finest by a goalkeeper at Albion. She did not surrender a goal as Albion advanced past Alma College, Adrian College and Kalamazoo College to move on to the 2009 NCAA Championship as MIAA Tournament champions. The matches against Alma and Kalamazoo were decided by shootouts after neither team scored in regulation and overtime.
Jason Bowman, '07 (men's track & field): He jumped his way to the MIAA Men's Most Valuable Field Performer award in 2007 and he gained all-MIAA recognition all four years. In addition to qualifying for the 2007 NCAA Championships, he was the MIAA champion in the high jump (2004, 2005), long jump (2007) and triple jump (2007).
Glen Brittich, '04 (football): The two-time all-MIAA first team linebacker was the MIAA Defensive Most Valuable Player in 2003 and a member of Albion's 2001 MIAA championship team. He was selected to the Academic All-America third team by the College Sports Information Directors of America and received the Morley Fraser Scholar award from the National Football Foundation in 2003.
Kacy Davidson Lockhart, '00 (women's basketball, softball): An all-MIAA pick in both basketball and softball, the three-time team basketball captain finished with 1,046 points, a figure that still places her eighth on Albion's all-time scoring list. A Dean's List student every semester, the psychology and sociology major graduated summa cum laude with the highest GPA in the class of 2000 and she was the nominee from the state of Michigan for the NCAA Woman of the Year award in 2000.
Neil Forster, '07 (men's tennis): The recipient of a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, and Academic All-America, MIAA Most Valuable Player, all-MIAA first team and Lawrence Green Scholarship awards, he led Albion to a berth in the NCAA Championship in 2007. He also achieved all-MIAA second team status in 2005 after joining Jason Ryan for a runner-up finish in the No. 1 doubles bracket and gaining a third place finish at No. 3 singles in the MIAA flighted tournament.
Julie Kamer Comfort, '04 (women's cross country, women's track and field): She started her career as an all-MIAA first team performer in cross country in 2000 and overcame injury to become an all-MIAA performer on the track in 2003 and 2004. She is fifth on Albion's all-time outdoor list in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter events and sixth on the steeplechase list.
Emily Stocker McAbier, '07 (women's tennis): She was an integral piece of the women's tennis teams that claimed MIAA championships in 2005, 2006 and 2007. The MIAA contested flighted tournaments from 2004-2006, and she was the No. 5 singles and No. 2 doubles champion in 2004, and the No. 3 singles and No. 1 doubles champion in 2005 and 2006. She was an all-MIAA second team award winner in 2005 and 2006. She was the MIAA's co-MVP and an all-MIAA first team pick in 2007.
More about the teams slated for induction:
1992 football: Albion outscored its MIAA rivals, 173-49, in cruising to the league championship for the fourth year in a row. Quarterback Mike Montico and defensive tackle Kris Knobloch were the MIAA Most Valuable Players.
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 women's tennis: Albion won the MIAA Flighted Tournaments in 2005 and 2006, it eked out a 5-4 victory over Kalamazoo in the 2007 championship match, and went undefeated against MIAA rivals in 2008. Betsy Netherton and Katie Tornga were all-MIAA first team award winners in 2005 and 2006, Holly Huth joined co-MVP Emily Stocker as first team picks in 2007, and Michelle Mulder joined MVP Shelley Zamler as first team picks in 2008.
2007 men's tennis: Propelled by a 5-2 victory over Kalamazoo in the Great Lakes Invitational, Albion achieved a 16-7 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Neil Forster hauled in MIAA MVP, MIAA Lawrence Green Scholarship, and all-MIAA first team awards.
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Joe and Julie Serra have given a $5 million leadership gift to launch a fundraising initiative to make two dreams a reality at Albion College. The first is a newly expanded fitness and student activity facility at the site of the current Dow Recreation and Wellness Center. The second is a new or renovated competition facility for the volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball teams that currently call Kresge Gymnasium home.
The College is continuing to raise funds in support of both projects. To learn more, call 517/629-0446 or email advancement@albion.edu.