Campus News
October 2, 2017
’94 GC hoop team headlines Hall of Fame inductions
Lakers won college’s first state and region championships
The 1994 Laker men’s basketball team, which won Garrett College’s first state and Region XX championships, will be inducted into the college’s Athletic Hall of Fame on October 28th at 6 p.m. along with three former athletes and two-time state baseball Coach of the Year Ed Wildesen.
All-American women’s basketball player Michele Duling and two ex-Laker baseball players – Mike Nagle and Benny Shreve – will all be inducted along with the ’94 men’s basketball squad during a dinner and induction ceremony in the Community Aquatic and Recreation Complex (CARC) gymnasium. Robert "Cat" Whitfield, another former GC baseball great, was selected but will not be inducted this year due to a scheduling conflict.
This will be the second class to be inducted into the GC Athletic Hall of Fame.
The cost for the dinner buffet is $25 per person while children under 12 are free. The dinner will include chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, baby green beans, tossed salad, desserts and drinks. The dinner and awards event will take place on the Main Court and East Court.
Individuals interested in purchasing tickets may do so at www.garrettlakers.com. The reservation deadline is October 21st.
The 1994 men’s basketball team is being honored for a 28-7 season that yielded not only the state and region titles but a national tournament berth. Garrett College Director of Athletics Dennis Gibson – then, as now, the Lakers’ men’s basketball head coach – guided the team to the NJCAA Division II Region XX crown in the program’s first year as a Division II squad.
"I knew we would be pretty good, but I wasn’t expecting that [state and region championships]," said Gibson, noting the previous year’s squad logged a fairly pedestrian 16-15 record. "As the season progressed, we started picturing ourselves competing for a title."
Duling, who scored a career-high 40 points in a game against Baltimore City Community College, was Garrett College’s first Kodak All-American. In addition to her all-American award, Duling was both first-team all-Region XX and first-team all-Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference.
Nagle, the first GC baseball player to be drafted (Atlanta Braves, 23rd round), set personal records with 15 strikeouts in a game and 79 in a season while finishing seventh in the country in strikeouts per nine innings. He made the region all-tournament team in 1983.
Shreve was a two-time all-Region XX selection who set personal single-season team records for hits (64), runs (53) and triples (6). He finished with a .429 career batting average before playing two seasons at West Virginia University and being drafted by the Chicago Cubs.
Wildesen posted a 216-173 record (.555 winning percentage) while leading the baseball program from 1993 to 2003. He was a two-time Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, winning a conference title in 1997 and the Division I conference crown in 2003.
Wildesen coached eight Lakers who were taken in the Major League Baseball draft, including two who reached the majors. He was instrumental in a major renovation of GC baseball facilities, including adding lights, a press box, bleachers and a scoreboard to the baseball field.
Two other events connected with the Hall of Fame will take place during the Hall of Fame Weekend. Three Laker teams will host meet-and-greet practices on the CARC gymnasium West Court on Saturday, October 28th with volleyball (11 a.m.), men’s basketball (12 noon) and women’s basketball (1 p.m.) participating. Baseball Coach Eric Hallenbeck will be hosting a meet-and-greet for all alumni at the Green Turtle just off Route 219 in McHenry on Friday, October 27th at 7 p.m. Alumni and friends from all sports and all years are invited to attend these meet-and-greets.