Eight former student-athletes have been selected to join the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame. The Class of 2016 will be formally inducted at a ceremony and dinner on November 12, 2016.This year’s honorees include:
- Luis Custodio ’82 (men's soccer)
- Lisa Daley ’93 (track & field)
- Mark Hurst ’79 (track & field)
- Jillian Medea ’06 (softball)
- Robert O'Brien ’61 (track & field)
- Eugene Tanner ’05 (men's lacrosse)
- Jasmine Whu ’01 (women's tennis)
- Michael Williams ’96 (track & field)
In addition, the 2006 baseball and 1995-96 women’s basketball teams will be recognized. Both of those squads won Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championships.
“It’s always a difficult process to identify and select candidates, and I think the committee did another great job,” Hall of Fame selection committee chairman Joe Ryan ’81 said. “The nominees spanned five decades of competition among a number of sports, and I’m pleased that balance is reflected in this year’s class.”
“All of the candidates were deserving,” Athletic Director Marianne Reilly added. “I commend the committee for selecting an excellent class and look forward to bestowing this special honor upon our Jasper greats.”
Luis Custodio holds the Manhattan records for goals in a game (5) and a season (16), and he ranks second all-time with 29 career goals. He was named all-conference twice (1979-80) and All-New York State in 1980.
Lisa Daley set 10 school records (three individual, seven relay) during her time in Riverdale, four of which still stand. She was a member of Manhattan’s distance medley relay squad that ran a school-record time of 11:50.73 while winning the gold medal at the 1992 ECAC Indoor Championships. Individually, Daley still holds the school record in the 300 meters (40.30), and she was also the record-holder in the 400 meters (both indoors and outdoors) at the time of her graduation.
Mark Hurst twice competed at the NCAA Championships in the 400 meter hurdles. He also qualified for both the 1976 and 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials in the event. Hurst ran a personal-best time of 50.7 seconds at the 1979 IC4A Championships and earned all-east honors three times. He won multiple metropolitan titles in the 400 meters, 120 yard hurdles and 4x400 meter relay, as well as the 400 hurdles.
Jillian Medea established program records for career (514) and single-season strikeouts (187). Her 13 career shutouts are the most in MAAC history, and she ranks second on Manhattan’s all-time list with 43 wins. Medea is also the Jaspers’ career leader in appearances and complete games. She was named second team All-MAAC in 2004, as the Jaspers made the first of back-to-back MAAC Tournament appearances.
Robert O’Brien scored points in 10 different events during his career on the track & field team and received the Manhattan College Spiked Shoe Club most valuable athlete trophy in 1961. He set a school-record of 24 feet to win the long jump at the 1961 IC4A Indoor Championships. O’Brien was also an IC4A medalist in the triple jump and one mile relay.
Eugene Tanner is the Jaspers’ all-time leader in assists (89) and points (186). A three-time first team All-MAAC selection, he was named MAAC rookie of the year in 2002, when Manhattan went undefeated in conference play and won the MAAC championship. Tanner scored 51 goals that season, and his average of 3.19 goals per game is still the MAAC single-season record. He also set a single-season program record with 74 points in 2002.
Jasmine Whu becomes the first women’s tennis player elected to the Hall of Fame. She’s Manhattan’s all-time leader with 124 wins, including 64 singles victories. Whu posted a 10-3 doubles record as a senior in 2001. The Jaspers finished second as a team at the MAAC Championships that season.
Michael Williams won the 800 meters at the 1995 NCAA Indoor Championships, running a school-record time that still stands of 1:48.12. He also finished second in the 500 meters at the 1995 IC4A Championships and was a member of Manhattan’s 1992 IC4A championship team, scoring in both the 800 and 4x400 meter relay. In addition, Williams earned metropolitan titles in the 500, 800, 4x400 relay and 4x800 meter relay.
The 38th Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 12, will begin with a Mass in the Chapel of De La Salle and His Brothers at 4 p.m. The induction ceremony and dinner will follow at 5 p.m. in the Great Room of the Raymond W. Kelly ’63 Student Commons. Registration information will be available in the fall.