Galloway, N.J. – The Stockton Athletics Hall of Fame dinner made a welcome return from a three-year hiatus due to COVID with the induction of 2022 class on October 7. The ceremony, which was held in the Stockton Campus Center Event Room as part of University Weekend, featured approximately 180 attendees.
The inductees were Josh Blamon '16 (men's basketball), Jimmy Connor '03 (men's soccer), Chelsea Vaughan '17 (women's track & field) and the 1999 Men's Soccer Team. The evening began with opening remarks from Dr. Christopher Catching, Stockton University Vice-President for Student Affairs, before moving into the inductions.
Stockton head men's basketball coach
Scott Bittner introduced Blamon, who was an NABC Second Team All-American and the NJAC Player of the Year in 2015. During his speech, Blamon, who is fifth in school history with 1,397 points, said, "Much of what I am today is a combination of my time here at Stockton and my time under my parents' guidance."
Connor was introduced by his coach during his two seasons at Stockton, Tim Lenahan, who played soccer at Stockton and coached the Ospreys from 1990-97 before moving on to Lafayette and then Northwestern.
Connor, a two-time NCSAA All-Region First Team and NJAC First Team player, scored 40 goals and dished 19 assists for 98 points in 37 games at Stockton after transferring from Illinois State, which dropped men's soccer following Connor's sophomore year. "I played for three things, the name on my back because of my parents, my teammates and myself," Connor said during his speech.
After a break for dinner, the ceremony continued with long-time Stockton women's track & field coach
Todd Curll introducing Vaughan, a pole vaulter who earned All-American status in all six of her seasons at Stockton (three indoor, three outdoor) after transferring from the University of Cincinnati.
Vaughan, a five-time NJAC First Team performer and NJAC champion in the pole vault, said, "Being on the track & field team at Stockton taught me teamwork, compassion and resiliency," during her speech.
The induction of the 1999 Men's Soccer Team featured speeches from head coach
Jeff Haines and a pair of players in Jay Staiger and Tom Sauer. Haines recalled several moments from the season, which was highlighted by a 1-0 upset of undefeated and #2-ranked Williams College in an NCAA quarterfinal round game at Stockton that advanced the Ospreys to the program's first Final Four.
Staiger characterized the 1999 season as "one heck of a run and the most incredible four months of my life" before yielding to Sauer, who was the starting goalkeeper for the Ospreys. "It didn't take long to figure out that the chemistry on this team was undeniable," Sauer commented.
Seventeen of the 23 members of the squad as well as all three assistant coaches and head coach Haines were in attendance. The evening concluded with all of the players and coaches being called up to the stage individually to receive their Hall of Fame awards.
