PITTSBURGH—The College of Pittsburgh honored 12 members of the 2022 Corridor of Fame class at this 12 months’s Pitt Athletics Corridor of Fame Dinner, offered by PNC, Friday night at Acrisure Stadium.
Established in 2018, the Pitt Athletics Corridor of Fame acknowledges and honors student-athletes, coaches, groups and different members of the College of Pittsburgh group who’ve carried out with distinction and been instrumental within the success of Pitt Athletics. Profiles for all Pitt Athletics Corridor of Fame inductees can be found HERE.
Donna DeMarino Sanft (Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete and Coach), Ann Marie Lucanie (Volleyball) and Pat Santoro (Wrestling), initially members of the 2020 Corridor of Fame class, have been acknowledged this 12 months after being unable to take part in final 12 months’s induction. They have been joined within the ceremony by Keisha Demas (Girls’s Observe & Discipline), Russ Grimm (Soccer), Larry Harris (Males’s Basketball), Rickey Jackson (Soccer), Jerome Lane (Males’s Basketball), Debbie Lewis (Girls’s Basketball), Angela Lopez (Girls’s Swimming), Jerry Richey (Males’s Observe & Discipline), and Rande Stottlemyer (Wrestling Scholar-Athlete & Coach; Posthumous).
Pitt’s 2022 induction class may even be acknowledged through the Panthers soccer sport towards Georgia Tech at Acrisure Stadium Saturday night (8 p.m. – ACC Community). The Panthers enter Saturday’s contest ranked No. 24 within the Related Press and AFCA Coaches Ballot.
The honorees, listed in alphabetical order, are:
- Keisha Demas (Girls’s Observe and Discipline)
- Russ Grimm (Soccer)
- Larry Harris (Males’s Basketball)
- Rickey Jackson (Soccer)
- Jerome Lane (Males’s Basketball)
- Debbie Lewis (Girls’s Basketball)
- Angela Lopez (Girls’s Swimming)
- Ann Marie Lucanie (Volleyball)
- Jerry Richey (Males’s Observe and Discipline)
- Donna DeMarino Sanft (Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete and Coach)
- Pat Santoro (Wrestling)
- Rande Stottlemyer (Wrestling Scholar-Athlete and Coach; Posthumous)
“That is yet one more exceptional class that represents the perfect of Pitt’s wealthy athletics historical past,” Lyke mentioned. “These people wore the Blue and Gold with excessive distinction, and their achievements proceed to encourage us at present. Our Pitt Athletics Corridor of Fame Dinner is all the time a memorable night and this 12 months’s occasion might be no exception.”
Nominations for the Pitt Athletics Corridor of Fame have been solicited from most of the people. Candidates needed to be 5 years faraway from their ultimate 12 months of collegiate competitors and never at the moment be taking part in skilled sports activities. The Pitt Athletics Corridor of Fame choice committee then evaluated the candidate pool and offered a suggestion on the category to the director of athletics.
2022 Pitt Athletics Corridor of Fame Class Biographies
Keisha Demas (Girls’s Observe and Discipline)
Demas was a national-caliber performer for Pitt girls’s monitor and subject from 1987-91. She completed her completed profession as a five-time All-American and 14-time Massive East champion. Demas earned particular person All-America honors within the out of doors 400 meters (1990 and 1991) and indoor 400 meters (1990). She moreover was a member of the two-time All-America out of doors 4×400 relay crew (1990 and 1991). Demas helped lead the Panthers to a few Massive East crew championships: the 1989 indoor title and consecutive out of doors crowns (1990-91). She was named the “Excellent Performer” on the 1991 Massive East Indoor Championships.
Russ Grimm (Soccer)
A member of Pitt’s famed 1977 recruiting class, Grimm was a distinguished contributor to the Panthers’ dominant squads over the following 4 years. As Pitt’s beginning heart, Grimm was on the coronary heart of an impenetrable offensive entrance that was thought of the gold normal for all of school soccer. He helped lead the Panthers to a 22-2 document over the 1979 and 1980 seasons, together with a pair of Prime 10 finishes within the polls. As a senior in 1980, he helped the Panthers to an 11-1 mark and choice by The New York Occasions laptop ballot because the nation’s No. 1 crew. A 3rd-round draft selection of Washington in 1981, Grimm was an unique member of the crew’s “Hogs” offensive entrance and began 11 seasons at guard (1981-91). He was a part of 4 Tremendous Bowl berths, together with victories in Tremendous Bowls XVII, XXII and XXVI. It was following Washington’s victory in Tremendous Bowl XXVI that Grimm introduced his retirement. He was voted to 4 Professional Bowls (1983-86) and was named to the Eighties All-Decade Workforce. Grimm acquired his Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame induction in 2010. He went on to an completed NFL teaching profession and was the Pittsburgh Steelers’ assistant head coach and oversaw the offensive line once they gained Tremendous Bowl XL over Seattle, 21-10.
Larry Harris (Males’s Basketball)
Some of the prolific scorers and thrilling gamers in Pitt basketball historical past, Harris starred for the Panthers from 1974-78. He was a beginning ahead his ultimate three seasons and led Pitt in scoring annually. Harris is certainly one of simply three Pitt gamers (becoming a member of Don Hennon and Billy Knight) to common 20 factors per sport in three totally different seasons. He completed his profession as Pitt’s all-time main scorer with 1,914 factors and nonetheless ranks No. 3 at present, 44 years following his ultimate season. Taking part in earlier than the 3-point line was applied, Harris scored 30 or extra factors 14 instances at Pitt, together with a career-high 39 towards Maryland and Syracuse. He was a two-time All-Japanese 8 choice, together with in 1977 when he led the league with a 22.9-point scoring common. Harris was a fourth-round NBA draft decide of the Buffalo Braves in 1978. He went on to a virtually three-decade profession as an assistant coach on the school degree.
Rickey Jackson (Soccer)
Yet one more member of the Panthers’ star-studded 1977 recruiting class, Jackson is likely one of the most disruptive defenders within the historical past of the collegiate and professional video games. At Pitt, he was a marauding defensive finish who wreaked havoc on opposing offenses. Jackson collected 290 profession tackles, together with a team-high 137 as a senior in 1980, when Pitt boasted the nation’s top-ranked protection. In his ultimate two seasons as a starter (1979-80), Jackson helped Pitt to a 22-2 document and a pair of Prime-10 nationwide finishes. The 1980 crew was chosen by The New York Occasions laptop ballot because the nation’s No. 1 crew at season’s finish. A 1981 second-round draft decide by New Orleans, Jackson performed an unimaginable 15 seasons within the NFL (1981-95). Upon his retirement, he ranked third all-time in sacks (128), second in fumble recoveries (28) and fourth in compelled fumbles (41). Jackson made six journeys to the Professional Bowl and was first crew All-Professional 4 instances. His ultimate two professional seasons have been performed in San Francisco as he helped the 49ers to a 49-26 victory over San Diego in Tremendous Bowl XXIX. Jackson was a member of the 2010 Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame class.
Jerome Lane (Males’s Basketball)
A rugged 6-foot-6 energy ahead at Pitt from 1985-88, Lane stays one of the vital widespread gamers in Pitt’s lengthy basketball historical past. He shot to stardom as a sophomore when he turned the smallest participant in 30 years to steer the NCAA in rebounding (13.5 avg.). Lane led the Massive East in rebounding for 2 consecutive seasons (1986-88), turning into the primary participant to perform that feat. Greater than a board crasher, Lane was additionally a deft ballhandler and the Panthers’ second-leading scorer in every of his ultimate two seasons. He gained iconic standing for his tomahawk dunk towards Windfall that shattered a backboard at Pitt’s Fitzgerald Discipline Home, delaying a nationwide ESPN telecast for greater than half-hour. Teamed with heart Charles Smith, Lane helped type one of many nation’s most imposing frontcourt tandems. The duo would lead Pitt to consecutive Massive East titles (1987 and 1988) and NCAA berths. A two-time All-American, Lane completed his school profession with 1,217 factors and 970 boards. He was a first-round NBA draft choice by the Denver Nuggets in 1988 and later performed for the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Debbie Lewis (Girls’s Basketball)
Whether or not it was as a scorer, distributor or defender, Lewis was really a do-it-all star for Pitt girls’s basketball from 1977-82. 4 many years following her ultimate collegiate sport, she stays this system’s all-time assists chief with 638. Her 186 assists through the 1981-82 season can be nonetheless a document. As a scorer, Lewis compiled an astounding 1,941 factors—all earlier than the arrival of the collegiate 3-point shot—to rank fourth in Pitt annals. Her offensive prowess didn’t take away from her manufacturing on the defensive finish, evidenced by her 250 profession steals, nonetheless the second-highest complete at school historical past. Actually, she nonetheless owns single-game data for assists (18) and steals (10). As a senior in 1981-82, Lewis led the Panthers in scoring (16.6 avg.), assists (a school-record 186) and steals (63).
Angela Lopez (Girls’s Swimming)
Lopez made historical past in 1974 when she earned All-America honors within the 200-yard breaststroke, turning into the primary Pitt girls’s swimmer to earn that lofty stature. Her accomplishments additionally earned her the 1974 Girl Athlete of the Yr award. She repeated the achievement in 1975 competing within the 100-yard breast. Lopez would additionally distinguish herself on the worldwide stage. Representing her native nation of Puerto Rico, she competed within the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Video games, successful gold within the 200-meter breaststroke and silver within the 100-meter breaststroke. She as soon as once more represented Puerto Rico within the 1975 Pan American Video games in Mexico in addition to the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. As an Olympian, she competed within the 100 and 200-meter breaststroke occasions, and as a member of the 4×100-meter freestyle and 4×100-meter medley relay groups.
Ann Marie Lucanie (Volleyball)
Lucanie set impeccable requirements for Pitt volleyball that also resonate at present. She earned a prolonged listing of particular person accolades from 1990-93, together with All-America honors as a senior from the American Volleyball Coaches Affiliation (AVCA). Upon the conclusion of her profession, she owned the Pitt document for profession kills (1,815), a typical that stood for 14 years and ranks second at present. Her identify is etched all through the Panthers’ document guide, rating fourth in profession assaults (4,085), fourth in aces (148), sixth in digs (1,480) and eighth in hitting proportion (.308). She additionally set the varsity single-match document for kills with 37, a mark that also stands. Lucanie was a three-time Massive East Participant of the Yr (1991-93) and four-time Massive East Match MVP (1990-93). Her high-impact freshman debut earned her the 1990 Massive East Rookie of the Yr award. Lucanie led the Panthers to a 101-39 total document (.721) and 26-2 Massive East mark (.929) throughout her profession. Pitt claimed 4 Massive East regular-season championships and 4 Massive East Match titles throughout that span, advancing to the NCAA Match every season.
Jerry Richey (Males’s Observe and Discipline)
Richey is taken into account the best distance runner in Pitt’s lengthy and celebrated monitor and subject historical past. Throughout a profession that spanned from 1967-71, his listing of accomplishments contains incomes All-America stature 5 instances, successful two NCAA championships, reaching a sub-four-minute mile, anchoring a world record-setting relay crew and reaching the finals of the 1968 U.S. Olympic Trials. Richey captured NCAA titles within the 3000 meters (1970) and as a member of the Panthers’ distance medley relay crew (1971). In a February 1971 meet at Delaware, Richey ran a 3:59.7 mile because the anchor leg, spurring his distance medley relay squad to a world-record time of 9:39.7. When he ran his preliminary sub-four-minute mile at age 19, he turned certainly one of solely 27 Individuals at the moment to perform the feat.
Donna DeMarino Sanft (Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete and Coach)
Sanft made an indelible impression at Pitt, first as a gymnastics student-athlete, then as this system’s head coach, and later as a longtime athletics administrator. As a Pitt gymnast (1970-74), Sanft was a three-time Most Worthwhile Performer and three-time captain. She was chosen Pitt’s 1974 Feminine Scholar-Athlete of the Yr (now the Blue-Gold Award), a 12 months previous to girls’s recipients becoming a member of their male counterparts in having their names inscribed on the famed Varsity Stroll. In 1974, girls’s gymnastics was launched as an intercollegiate sport at Pitt underneath the route of the athletic division. Reflective of her impression as a student-athlete, Sanft was employed as the primary girls’s varsity gymnastics coach in Pitt historical past on the age of twenty-two. Main that program for the subsequent 12 years (1974-86), Sanft posted an 86-57-1 document and was twice chosen as Japanese Collegiate Coach of the Yr. She directed the Panthers to a Prime 10 nationwide rating in 1979 and Prime 20 rankings in 1981, 1982, 1984 and 1986. Sanft additionally coached Pitt’s solely NCAA champion in girls’s gymnastics, Lisa Shirk (1982). Sanft then went on to a extremely impactful and wide-ranging profession as an administrator for Pitt Athletics from 1986-2014.
Pat Santoro (Wrestling)
Santoro is likely one of the Panthers’ most completed particular person athletes ever, no matter sport. He completed his profession (1986-89) as a four-time All-American, the one wrestler in Pitt historical past to perform that feat. Competing at 142 kilos, Santoro claimed two consecutive NCAA titles (1988 and 1989). He compiled 20 complete NCAA Match victories, nonetheless a Pitt normal greater than three many years later. Santoro is the winningest wrestler in Pitt historical past with a 167-13 document. As a junior, he went an astonishing 48-0 en path to his first NCAA championship. Santoro additionally gained three Japanese Wrestling League (EWL) championships whereas at Pitt. Internationally, he was a four-time member of the U.S. Nationwide Workforce. Santoro was an alternate for the 1996 Olympic Workforce and 1999 World Workforce. He positioned fourth on the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials, third on the 1992 Olympic Trials and was runner-up on the 1992 U.S. Open Freestyle Championships.
Rande Stottlemyer (Wrestling Scholar-Athlete and Coach; Posthumous)
Stottlemyer’s affiliation with Pitt wrestling spanned almost 4 many years. He was a three-time All-American for the Panthers from 1974-78, compiling a profession document of 68-16-2 and successful the 1976 Japanese Wrestling League (EWL) 134-pound title. Following his 1978 commencement from the college, Stottlemyer served Pitt as an assistant coach for one 12 months earlier than taking on as head coach in 1979. He led the Panthers for 34 seasons and retired in 2013 because the winningest coach in program historical past with a 304-231-12 document. Stottlemyer produced 56 EWL particular person champions, 33 All-Individuals and three nationwide champions. He was chosen the EWL Coach of the Yr 5 instances. His ultimate 4 years as Pitt’s head coach ranked among the many program’s best. Throughout that span, the Panthers gained three EWL regular-season championships (2010, 2011, 2012) and three EWL Match titles (2011, 2012, 2013). Pitt positioned fifteenth within the nation in every of his ultimate two seasons as head coach. Stottlemyer’s many Corridor of Fame recognitions embody choice to the EWL Corridor of Fame and the Nationwide Wrestling Corridor of Fame’s Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award.
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