Galloway, N.J. – Stockton Athletics inducted its 2023 Hall of Fame class at a banquet held in the Campus Center Event Room on October 6. The inductees were Nick Bologno '15 (men's lacrosse), Jared Lewis '18 (men's track & field), Sasha Williams '18 (women's basketball) and the 1985 Softball Team.
 
Approximately 140 people, including the current Stockton softball team, attended the dinner, which was part of Stockton's University Weekend celebration. The event began with opening remarks by Dr. Joe Bertolino, Stockton University President, who commented that he was in his 95th day on the job.
 
Nick Bologno was the first inductee of the night, and he took the stage following an introduction by his coach and current Stockton men's lacrosse coach Kevin Zulauf. Bologno was the program's first conference Player of the Year (Skyline Conf. 2015) and second USILA All-America Honorable Mention (2015) as well as setting records for assists in a season and career points.
 
Bologno spoke about his deep ties to the Stockton program, which include his older brothers Keith and Matt, both Stockton lacrosse alumni, as well as his high school coach Rory McPeek, who was inducted into the Stockton Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. "My brothers were the best role models I could ever ask for," Bologno said.
 
Jared Lewis took the stage after an introduction by Stockton head men's track & field and cross country coach Jayson Resch. Lewis won two NCAA national championships in the indoor triple jump (2017-18) and became the most decorated Stockton student-athlete ever with nine All-American honors in indoor and outdoor track & field to go with 11 All-Region accolades and 16 NJAC individual event titles.
 
A current assistant track & field coach at Stockton, Lewis credited his brother John as the reason he decided to step on the track. Of his time at Stockton, Lewis said, "I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I came to Stockton for a reason and it all worked out."
 
After dinner, Sasha Williams was introduced by her coach at Stockton, Joe Fussner. Williams, a 2018 WBCA All-America Honorable Mention, ranks second in NCAA Division III history in blocked shots (547) and fourth in blocked shot average (4.93 bpg). In addition, she is the only player ever at Stockton, male or female, with over 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
 
"I choose to come to Stockton for the community and support that I felt the first time I stepped on campus," Williams stated. Currently in her first year as an assistant coach at William Smith College (N.Y.), Williams said to Fussner, "Thank you for believing in me when I didn't believe in myself."
 
The evening concluded with the induction of the 1985 Softball Team, which won the ECAC championship to earn the first postseason title of any kind by any Stockton team. Val Julien, who was an assistant coach in 1985 and later served as head softball coach for 29 years, spoke first and then brought first baseman Abby Roessler to the stage to speak on behalf of the team.
 
Roessler called it "surreal" that team members could be together 38 years later and said of the 1985 season, "We had the time of our lives." Roessler was one of 10 players from the squad who were in attendance as well as three siblings of the late Chris "Scrapper" Ross, the team captain who Roessler called "the heart and soul of our team."