Athletics

BEREA, OHIO --  Baldwin Wallace University will induct nine new members into its Alumni Athletic Association Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 15 during Homecoming Weekend. The nine new inductees include Harry “Ray” Salsgiver ‘67 (wrestling), Mary Thornton Mozingo ‘72 (volleyball/ golf), Dean Horger ‘76 (baseball), Tom Fowler ‘82 (track), Jeff Rutherford ‘83 (football), Willis Brown ‘94 (basketball), Claire DeChant ‘01 (track and field), Jennifer Nance Williams ‘01 (basketball) and Regan Pore ‘01 (volleyball).

The nine will be introduced to the Homecoming crowd prior to the October 15 football game versus Ohio Northern University at The George Finnie Stadium at 2:00 p.m and then inducted at the annual Hall of Fame Banquet at the Strosacker College Union at 6:00 p.m. The nine new inductees bring the total to 277 total members in the hall.

Harry "Ray" Salsgiver	Mary Thornton Mozingo
Dean Horger	Tom Fowler
Jeff Rutherford	Willis Brown
Claire DeChant	Jennifer Nance Williams
Regan Pore

Salsgiver ‘67 was one of the most dominant wrestlers in the Ohio Athletic Conference during his time at BW. He was a four-year letterman and a two-time team captain. During his career, he was an OAC runner-up his freshman year (1964) and an OAC Champion on three separate occasions (1965, 1966, 1967).  Salsgiver’s dual meet record was an impressive 43-2-2 over four years and had a total record of 58-3-2.  While at BW he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. Before he attended the College, Salsgiver lived at the Berea Children’s Home for eight years. Today, Salsgiver owns his own business, Ray’s Carpet Care.

Thornton ‘72 was one of the most successful and determined female athletes in the history of the College. She competed in volleyball under legendary coach and haoo-of-famer Marcia French '63 and represented the Brown and Gold and an individual in golf. Thornton played four years on the intercollegiate volleyball team and represented the college as an individual at two AIAW (Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) golf tournaments. She competed in the AIAW regional tournament at The Ohio State University and the AIAW national tournament in Atlanta.  Academically, Thornton received the Myrta Stover Award which recognizes the outstanding female health/physcial education major. She was also a member of Alpha Xi Delta, Kappa Delta Pi and Laurels honoraries. Upon graduation from the College, Thornton received her Master’s in Education degree from Ashland University. She went on went on to initiate the first junior golf league for girls aged 12-to-17 at Turkeyfoot Golf Course and the first 18-hole tournament for high school girls in the Akron-Canton-Cleveland area.  Thornton also was the head coach of the girls’ golf team at Cuyahoga Falls High School and received the Sportsmanship and Ethics Award during her tenure.  She still competes at the local, state, and national level in amateur golf tournaments. Today, Thornton and her family own and operate the 27-hole public Turkeyfoot G.C. in Akron.

Horger ‘76 was one of the best homerun hitters in BW and OAC history. He was a four-year starter and co-captain as a senior. He hit .325 as a sophomore in 1974 and was named to the second-team All-District IV.  His senior year of 1976, he was named as BW’s Most Valuable Player, an OAC Player of the Week and was tabbed as the first-team All-OAC third baseman.  Horger was the first collegiate player to hit a homerun at the old Cleveland Stadium and set BW single-season records in runs, doubles, runs batted-in and homeruns.  His record of nine homeruns in a single season stood for 25 years at BW and for four years in the OAC record books.  Horger also played basketball and lettered his sophomore year and went on to serve as a student coach of the junior varsity team as a senior.  He was a member of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity. Today, Horger is the Executive Benefits Director of Genworth Financial in Richmond, Virginia.

Fowler ‘82 was one of the best jumpers in BW and OAC history in indoor and outdoor track and field.  Indoors, he was All-OAC four times, including winning the long jump title in both 1980 and 1981. Outdoors, Fowler was a seven-time All-OAC jumper, including winning the 1981 long jump crown. He gained national acclaimand NCAA Division III All-American honors in 1981 at the NCAA Division III National Championship Meet when he placed third in the long jump and fifth in the high jump. He was subsequently named as BW’s Most Outstanding Field Event Athlete. Fowler still holds the BW school indoor record in the triple jump at 45’4.5”.  While at BW, he was a member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity. Today, Fowler is the owner of the Eastern Oil Corporation. He and his wife Kimberly have three children, Brendan, Madeline and Hannah.

Rutherford ‘83 is the epitome of the philosophy of the Division III student-athlete. He was a three-year letterman and two-year starter at guard and was both an All-OAC, Pizza Hut Division III All-American and a GTE Academic All-American.  During his four seasons on the football team (1980-83), Rutherford and the Yellow Jackets compiled a 37-6 record, won three OAC titles and earned three NCAA Division III Playoff berths. He was a key member of an offensive line that helped the Yellow Jacket offense average more than 30 points and 400 yards per game. The two-time first-team All-OAC selection (1982 and 1983) was tabbed as the Dick Van Almen Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman in 1982 and 1983. In addition to being a student-athlete, he was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. Since 2008, Rutherford is the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ParkOhio Holdings Corporation.

Brown ‘94 was one of the best basketball players ever to compete at the College. A ferocious rebounder, he ended his career by scoring 958 points and grabbing 666 rebounds. His rebound total ranks seventh in school history. Brown led the OAC and NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region in caroms in 1994. The four-year varsity player, three-year starter and two-year team captain helped the Yellow Jackets compile a four-year mark of 66-31. Brown led the team in scoring and rebounding as a junior and senior. The two-time All-OAC selection was BW’s Most Improved Player in 1991, the Most Outstanding Player in 1993 and its Outstanding Rebounder and the Lenny Wilkins/ CAVS Rebounders Division III College Player of the Year in 1994.  Following his BW career, Brown was an assistant coach under BW legend, men's basketball coach and hall-of-famer Steve Bankson, served as the head coach at Lakeland Community College and was the head assistant coach at Ohio University. Today, Brown manages the Boy’s and Girl’s Club in Las Vegas, Nevada.

DeChant ‘01 was one of the best shotput and discus throwers to ever compete at the College, was the school’s Outstanding Female Athlete in 2001 and an NCAA Division III national champion in the discus in 2000.  During her four years at the College, she earned four letters in track and helped the Yellow Jackets win four OAC indoor and four OAC outdoor titles. Individually, DeChant earned NCAA Division III All-American honors four times, including her national title in 2000. She was an 11-time All-OAC competitor who won four OAC titles in the discus and one each in the shot put both indoors and outdoors. DeChant still holds the school and OAC-record in the discus at 160’7”.  She also excelled in the classroom, earned both Academic All-OAC and GTE/ Verizon Academic All-District IV honors. She graduated with Cum Laude honors. Today, DeChant is a special education teacher at Brookside High School in Sheffield Lake.

Nance ‘01 was one of the key ingredients to BW’s first-ever “Elite Eight” trip to the NCAA Division III National Tournament in 1999-2000. That season, the Yellow Jackets set the school single-season record for wins with 28 and had a 28-2 overall record. During her four years in the Brown & Gold, BW had an amazing 104-13 record with an .889 winning percentage and an even more impressive 65-5 OAC mark for a .929 winning percentage. Nance was a key ingredient on three teams that won OAC Tournament titles and four squads that advanced to the Division III national tournament.  She was a two-time first-team All-OAC player who earned WBCA-Kodak Division III All-American accolades as a senior. Nance set a school single-season scoring record with 495 points and owns school marks for the most free throws attempted (179) and made (146). She owned an OAC record by making 10-of-10 foul shots in a game. Nance is currently the head women’s basketball coach at NCAA Division II Mars Hill (N.C.) College.

Pore ‘01 was one of the best outside hitters to ever play volleyball at the College and helped the Yellow Jackets to win 20 or more matches for four consecutive seasons, including a 25-10 record in 2000-2001. Her four-year record was 91-44 with a solid .674 winning percentage. The Mansfield, Ohio native earned four varsity letters, was a two-time first-team All-OAC player and the BW Most Valuable Player as a senior. As a freshman, Pore was the “Rookie of the Year”. She was named the “Most Inspirational Player” as a sophomore. She served as a three-year team captain. Pore helped BW to win its first-ever OAC Tournament title in volleyball and helped it receive a berth in the NCAA Division III National Tournament in 2000. When she graduated, Pore owned school records for career kills with 1,582 and defensive digs with 1,694, and is among the all-time leaders in service aces. Today, she is a teacher and the head volleyball coach at Westlake High School where she works for 2004 hall-of-famer and current Westlake Athletic Director Tony Cipollone ‘92.

FOR MORE BW Sports Information, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu. or Assistant SID Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and email at jefmille@bw.edu Fans can access the latest BW athletics information at www.bw.edu/athletics and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics.