INDIANA, Pa. - The 2018 IUP Athletic Hall of Fame Class was officially inducted in a ceremony this past Saturday, September 22, at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex. The brunch and induction took place prior to third-ranked IUP football's 34-7 win over Mercyhurst.
The 12 inductees included: Scott Arthur (golf), Joe Bellissimo (football), Owen Dougherty Jr. (soccer), Brian Eyerman (football), Joe Flora (football), Bill Kane (swimming), Beth McDonald-Stevens (basketball) Frances Nee (swimming & diving, administration), Carmelo Ocasio (football), Erin (Falce) Shubik (soccer), Sean Strauman (track & field, cross country) and John Wingfield (diving).
Mary Lou Kraynak received the annual Bell Ringer Award for her contributions to IUP Athletics.
The new inductees bring the total to 269 former athletes, students, coaches and administrators who have made significant contributions to IUP athletics and have enhanced its image and reputation and are now enshrined in the IUP Athletic Hall of Fame.
Information on the 13 individuals honored is below.
Scott Arthur
Golf
1975-70
Scott Arthur was no stranger to national success during his career as an IUP golfer.
He was a three-time All-American, helped coach Ed Sloniger's team register top 10 finishes in either the NCAA Division II or NAIA tournaments on four occasions and in 1977 served as the catalyst for an IUP squad that challenged for a national championship before placing fourth in the NAIA tournament.
After earning NCAA Division II All-America honors as a freshman in 1976, Arthur put together his best season in 1977. He won the NAIA District 18 title, leading IUP to the team championship, and then recovered from an opening-round 78 to shoot a 295 at the NAIA tournament in Bay City, Mich., good for third place, just behind medalist Jim Bromley of Campbell (N.C.). Arthur was named a first-team NAIA All-American for his efforts. He also helped IUP finish 10th at the NCAA tournament.
IUP won a pair of PSAC titles and twice finished seventh at the NCAA tournament in Arthur's last two seasons. He earned NCAA All-America honors as a junior and as a senior was runner-up in the ECAC tournament, which featured golfers from throughout the Northeast.
A senior manager of finance at the University of Pittsburgh, Arthur resides in Pittsburgh with his wife, Mary Kay. They have two children, Emma and Molly.
Joe Bellissimo
Football
1962-64
Joe Bellissimo was such a deep threat as an IUP receiver that the school record he set in 1964 for career average gain per catch (18.3 yards) stood for 24 years.
The top target of quarterback Mick Watson, his former Derry Area High School teammate and a 2000 Hall of Fame inductee, Bellissimo started at end for IUP's PSAC West championship team in 1964. He averaged 19.3 yards per reception that season (good for another school record) and earned first-team PSAC and Pittsburgh Press All-District (small college) honors and a place on the Associated Press All-Pennsylvania second team, which included major college players. A social sciences major, Bellissimo accepted the Norah Zink Athletic Award for academic achievement that year.
He also played a season of baseball at IUP under coach Owen Dougherty Sr., the father of fellow 2018 inductee Owen Dougherty Jr.
Bellissimo later served as head football coach at South River High School in New Jersey, where he tutored future NFL All-Pros Joe Theismann and Drew Pearson. He led the Rams to Group III state championships in 1968 and 1970 before returning to Derry, where he coached for seven seasons (1971-77). Bellissimo retired in 2007 as superintendent of the Derry Area School District.
He and his wife, Lucy, have two children, Brian and Corrie, and reside in Latrobe.
Owen Dougherty Jr.
Soccer
1982-86
The late Owen Dougherty Sr. earned a place in the IUP Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996 on the strength of his achievements as a football and baseball coach. His son Owen Jr. chose a different path, finding success on the soccer pitch.
Dougherty excelled as a shutdown defender and distributor of the ball from his center midfield position under coach Vince Celtnieks. A three-time Western Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Soccer Conference and two-time PSAC all-star, he led IUP to a 42-15-4 record during his four years in uniform (he missed the 1985 season with a broken foot). Dougherty served as team captain in 1986 and, despite his defensive responsibilities, still managed to finish as the team's second-leading scorer with five goals.
He claimed a spot in the starting lineup at the outset of his freshman year and immediately made an impact. Dougherty helped the 1982 team post a 12-3 record and advance to the PSAC championship game, where Cheyney handed IUP a heartbreaking 3-2 setback on a penalty kick late in the fourth overtime.
This is Dougherty's second hall of fame honor of 2018: The former Indiana High School standout was enshrined in the Indiana County Sports Hall of Fame in May.
A claims examiner with the Pennsylvania Department of the Treasury, Dougherty resides in Jessup with his wife, Charlene.
Brian Eyerman
Football
1999-2002
Brian Eyerman passed for 8,409 yards and 84 touchdowns during his four years as IUP's starting quarterback, numbers that still rank No. 1 on the school's all-time list.
But the figures that best reflect Eyerman's impact on the program deal with team success: He led the Indians to 36 wins and four postseason appearances during his career, highlighted by two playoff victories in 1999 when IUP advanced to the NCAA Division II semifinals.
As a senior and team captain in 2002, Eyerman directed the Indians to an 11-2 record and a berth in the national quarterfinals. He finished second in the nation in passing efficiency, threw for 2,724 yards and a school-record 36 touchdowns, was named the PSAC West Offensive Player of the Year and was nominated for the Harlon Hill Trophy, the Division II equivalent of the Heisman. Eyerman was also selected to play in the Cactus Bowl, the Division II all-star game in Kingsville, Texas, along with his favorite receiver, fellow 2018 inductee Carmelo Ocasio.
He still ranks second all-time in completions (536) and third in total offense (7,779 yards), and his 98-yard TD pass to Greg Dorsey in 1999 remains the longest in school history.
Eyerman, who manages his family's auto body shop, resides in Pittsburgh with his wife, Jenan, and their 2-year-old son, Brison.
Joe Flora
Football
1998-2001
Joe Flora specialized in thievery during his career as an IUP cornerback, and is regarded as one of the premier ballhawks in the school's football history.
Flora picked off 14 passes as a member of the IUP secondary, an impressive number given that opposing quarterbacks were loath to even throw in his direction. He finished his senior season with eight interceptions in eight games, a 1.0 per-game average that tied him for the NCAA Division II lead. He also ranked ninth nationally in passes defended per game (2.0).
A raft of honors followed: Flora was named a first-team American Football Coaches Association and Associated Press All-American, tabbed the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year and voted team MVP as IUP rolled to an 8-2 record, a PSAC West title and a berth in the national playoffs. He was also selected to play in the Cactus Bowl, the Division II all-star game in Kingsville, Texas.
Flora played professionally after graduation, suiting up for two seasons in the National Indoor Football League with the Wheeling Greyhounds, who won championships both years, and a season with the Arena Football League's Nashville Kats.
An operations manager for Estes Express Lines in West Middlesex, he resides in New Castle with his wife, Valerie, and their children: Macey (11), Sofia (7), Joey Jr. (5) and newborn Gabriella.
Bill Kane
Swimming
1974-78
When coach Ralph Johnson began recruiting Upper Dublin High School swimmer Bill Kane, he received some welcomed assistance from his student manager—Judy Kane.
She convinced her younger brother to join her at IUP, where he became a nine-time NCAA Division II All-American. Kane finished in the top five nationally in the 100 backstroke three consecutive years, highlighted by a third place as a senior in 1978. He touched the wall in a personal-best 54.11 seconds, behind only champion Mark Doyle of Oakland (Mich.) and teammate (and 1996 IUP Athletic Hall of Fame inductee) Dan Deacon. Kane also earned All-America honors in the 200 backstroke, 200 individual medley and 800 freestyle relay during his career.
He claimed four of his All-America honors in 1977, when Johnson's team finished ninth in the nation. Kane won numerous PSAC titles while at IUP and set multiple school and conference records.
He also played water polo for four years on IUP's club team, twice winning league MVP honors and setting a single-game school record with 16 goals.
Another of Kane's sisters, All-America swimmer Donna, preceded him into the IUP Athletic Hall of Fame (2010).
Director of quality assurance and regulatory compliance at Almac Clinical in Souderton, Kane resides in Maple Glen with his wife, Michelle. They have three children: Will, Kristen and Tom.
Beth McDonald-Stevens
Basketball
1997-2001
A physical force inside, Beth McDonald-Stevens ruled the paint during her four years as an IUP forward, when the Indians averaged 20 wins per season and twice qualified for the NCAA Division II tournament.
She led her team in scoring (11.4) and rebounding (8.9) in 1998-99 as IUP won PSAC West and East Region championships, advanced to the NCAA Division II tournament quarterfinals for the first time ever and finished with a 26-6 record, the most wins in program history to that point. McDonald-Stevens earned All-PSAC honors that season and was selected to the East Region all-tournament team due in large measure to a perfect 20-point performance in the title game against Shippensburg: She did not miss a shot from the floor or the foul line.
McDonald-Stevens' contributions a year later helped IUP again reach the NCAA tournament and finish 24-5, at the time a school record for winning percentage (.828).
She concluded her career with 1,202 points—good for 15th place in school history—and is still ranked in IUP's all-time top 20 in 12 other statistical categories, including rebounds, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, blocked shots and steals. A communications media major, McDonald-Stevens was a three-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete.
A stay-at-home mom, she lives in Indiana with her husband, Greg, and their children, Lillian (11) and Brayden (9).
Frances Nee
Swimming & Diving Coach, Administration
1987-2012
Frances Nee's quarter-century-long tenure at IUP can be neatly divided into two segments, both of which elevated her—and, by extension, her school's—
national profile
A school record holder and national meet qualifier as a Slippery Rock swimmer, Nee arrived at IUP in 1987 as the men's and women's coach and for eight seasons produced some of the nation's premier performers in the pool. In that short time she turned out 40 All-Americans who claimed a total of 74 All-America honors. Five graduates of her swimming and diving program—Kimberly Berghoff-Furst (2003), Janice Clarkson-Dagney (2005), Tawney Nardozza-Schmitt (2007), James Russell (2012) and Tiffany Staver (2013)—preceded Nee into the IUP Athletic Hall of Fame.
She later transitioned from coaching into athletic administration (1995-2012), serving as the university's associate athletic director, senior women's administrator and NCAA compliance officer. During that period Nee wielded influence far beyond campus as a member of several NCAA Division II committees or councils: NCAA Division II Management Council, Olympic Sports Liaison Committee, Legislation Committee, Championships Committee and Committee on Infractions. She was also chair of the NCAA Division II Swimming Committee between 1994 and 1998.
Nee, who is working toward her doctorate in leadership and higher education from Grand Canyon University, resides in Indiana with her husband, Gregory Davis.
Carmelo Ocasio
Football
1999-2002
Any discussion of the most dynamic pass receivers in school history must include Carmelo Ocasio, whose name is scattered throughout the IUP record book.
Ocasio ranks second only to 2012 IUP Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Jai Hill with 165 receptions, 2,891 receiving yards and 34 touchdown catches during his career. He also trails only Hill—his position coach for two years—in single-season receiving yards (1,122 in 2001) and receiving touchdowns (16 in 2002).
Ocasio caught a career-high 65 passes as a senior, most of them from fellow 2018 Hall of Fame inductee Brian Eyerman.
A third-team pick in 2002 on the Associated Press Little All-America team, which encompasses all NCAA Division II and III and NAIA players, Ocasio was a three-time All-PSAC selection and was tabbed to play in the Cactus Bowl, the Division II all-star game in Kingsville, Texas.
IUP won 36 games and three PSAC West championships during Ocasio's four seasons in uniform and qualified for the NCAA playoffs all four years. The Indians advanced to the national semifinals his freshman season and to the quarterfinals his senior year, when IUP finished 11-2.
Ocasio, a senior program manager, autistic pediatric campus, for Bancroft health care provider in Mount Laurel, N.J., resides in Reading. He is the father of three children: Jecinda, Carmelo III and Chiara.
Erin (Falce) Shubik
Soccer
2003-06
Erin (Falce) Shubik ranks as one of the most prolific scorers in the soccer history of not only IUP but the PSAC.
A four-time conference all-star as both a forward and center midfielder, Falce still holds single-season school and PSAC records for goals (29) and points (68), set in 2004 when she led the Indians to their winningest year ever (19-4), a conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Division II tournament. IUP again qualified for the national tournament two years later and, with Falce operating as midfield quarterback, defeated New Haven 3-1 for the first NCAA victory in program history.
Falce ranks No. 2 all-time at IUP in career goals (59), assists (33) and points (151), and shares the school record for goals in a game (4), set against Penn State-Altoona in 2004. She earned National Soccer Coaches of America all-region honors, and was featured in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd section on Nov. 1, 2004.
A health and physical education major, Falce was also a high achiever off the field during her time at IUP: She was recognized as a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and an ESPN the Magazine Academic All-Region performer.
A stay-at-home mom, Falce resides in Duncansville with her husband, Drew, and their children, Zion (4), Roman (2) and Simeon (5 months).
Sean Strauman
Track & Field, Cross Country
2004-08
Sean Strauman certainly lived up to the title accorded him by a track and field website—"the world's fastest tuba player"—during his career at IUP.
A member of the university marching band and track and field team for four years and the cross country team for one, Strauman won the NCAA Division II national championship in the 800 meters in 2008. He was a five-time All-American and seven-time PSAC champion, indoors and outdoors, in the event. The only time Strauman failed to win a conference title—at the indoor meet his senior year—a quad injury prevented him from finishing the race. Strauman bounced back to claim the NCAA outdoor title two months later.
He still holds the IUP and PSAC outdoor record (1:48.57) set a decade ago and the school and conference indoor record (1:50.62) he ran en route to a second-place finish at nationals in 2007.
Strauman was twice selected the PSAC Track Athlete of the Year: indoors in 2007 and outdoors in 2008. An accounting major, he was named a United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Academic All-American and was selected the male IUP Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a senior. He earned his MBA from IUP in 2009.
An auditor for the Pennsylvania Department of Energy, Strauman resides in South Park.
John Wingfield
Diving
1984-88
John Wingfield owns and operates the Ripfest Diving Academy in Arcadia, Ind.—the largest diving camp in the nation—where he trains a wide range of athletes, from youthful beginners to Olympic hopefuls.
And Wingfield certainly knows a thing or two about Olympians, having served as head coach of the U.S. Olympic diving team at the 2008 Games in Beijing.
His youthful squad recorded fourth-place finishes in the men's and women's three-meter synchronized event and fifths in both 10-meter synchro events.
Wingfield also coached the U.S. divers at multiple world championships and the 2007 Pan American Games. The U.S. Olympic Committee named him the 2009 USOC Developmental Coach of the Year, encompassing all sports, in recognition of his positive influence on young athletes. One of his charges, David Baudia, won gold in the 10-meter platform event and a bronze in the synchronized 10-meter competition at the 2012 London Olympics.
An IUP diver for four years, Wingfield earned a diploma in 1985, then served as a graduate assistant diving coach while working toward a second undergraduate degree and his master's (both 1988).
Before opening his Ripfest camp, Wingfield coached at Ball State and was aquatics director and associate head coach at USA Diving's National Training Center in Indianapolis.
He resides in Fishers, Ind., with his wife, Tania, and their daughter, Ciara.
Mary Lou Kraynak
Honorary Bell Ringer Award
Mary Lou Kraynak was fresh out of Purchase Line High School in 1968 when she landed a job in IUP's athletic department. A temp job, she figured.
Kraynak planned to stay a few years, earn a college degree and then perhaps begin a career as a business teacher. But working in athletics, she discovered, was just too much fun. So Kraynak stayed, the teenage newbie blossoming into an indispensable employee who helped keep things running smoothly.
She wound up serving the university for 31 years, mostly as an administrative assistant in the athletic department, working closely with Herm Sledzik, Frank Cignetti, Frank Condino, Ruth Podbielski and Frances Nee. Kraynak handled a wide range of duties—processing athletic scholarships, filling season ticket orders and collecting funds from the many youngsters who participated in summer camps run by IUP coaches, to name just a few—before retiring in 1999 to care for an ill family member.
Long a supporter of IUP athletic teams, Kraynak is still a fixture at IUP sporting events, especially basketball and football games. She resides in Starford.
