Ex-SRU star Kearney leads '10 Hall class
SLIPPERY ROCK — Six new inductees will join the Slippery Rock University Athletic Hall of Fame Sept. 18.
Heather Kearney, Jack Fullen, Mike Hambrick, Randy McKavish, Craig White and John Zack will be inducted before The Rock's 7 p.m. football game against West Chester that day.
Ceremonies begin with a social hour at 2:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 3:30. Inductees also will be honored at halftime of the game.
Tickets are $35 and are available from Pearl Shaffer, assistant to the athletic director, in Room 101 of Morrow Field House.
The SRU Athletic Hall of Fame has inducted 169 former student athletes, coaches, administrators and contributors since 1984.
A native of Harrisville and a 1995 graduate of Slippery Rock High, Kearney graduated from SRU in 1999 as the women's basketball team's all-time leading scorer and second leading rebounder.She tallied 1,760 points and 949 rebounds in her career. She also holds the program's single-game record of 42 points, accomplished against Lock Haven her senior year.Kearney shot 80.4 percent from the foul line during her career at SRU.She went on to become a graduate assistant coach at The Rock and helped lead the team to a national Elite Eight berth in 2000.As an assistant coach under former SRU head coach Darcie Vincent at California (Pa.) University, Kearney was part of the Vulcans' Division II national championship team in 2004.Kearney became head coach at Cal in 2008 and led the Vulcans to the Elite Eight and a No. 4 final national ranking. She now is associate head coach under Vincent at Appalachian State.
A 1963 SRU graduate, Fullen played four years of basketball for The Rock and was a letterman on the school's state championship team his senior year.He has been employed in the Blackhawk School District in various administrative roles for 37 years. Fullen has received numerous awards in his professional career, including the NIAAA State Award of Merit in 1994 and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Director of the Year Award in 1998.Fullen currently is serving his second term on the PIAA Board of Control.
A 1984 SRU graduate, Hambrick was a three-time PSAC discus champion and later earned the distinction of being a 15-time National Masters champion.Most recently, Hambrick made his mark as a golfer. He has qualified for the Re/Max regional competition three times since 2006.He has worked as a counselor at North Allegheny High since 1995 and received the 2006 YWCA Greater Pittsburgh Racial Justice Award.
A 2001 SRU graduate, McKavish was a three-time PSAC West Offensive Player of the Year. He led The Rock to four successive PSAC West titles as its starting quarterback.McKavish graduated as SRU's all-time leader with 1,060 passing attempts, 523 completions and 59 touchdown passes.He was selected by the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League draft, but opted instead for a career in pharmaceutical sales with Merck and Co.
A 1986 SRU graduate, White was a first-team All-America baseball player who led The Rock to its first appearance in the Division II national tournament.He was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 23rd round of the 1989 baseball draft. White batted .440 in his final season at SRU and set school records of 81 hits, 61 runs, 80 RBI and 12 homers that year.
A 1978 graduate, Zack was a three-time All America golfer and a four-year letterman. He led the team in lowest scoring average each year.Zack culminated his Rock career with a fourth-place national finish and first-team All-America honors his senior year. He won the Penn State Invitational with a course-record score of 216.
