WASHINGTON – Six former student-athletes and one coach will be enshrined into the Gallaudet University Athletics Hall of Fame during a virtual online ceremony during Homecoming 2020.
The Gallaudet Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2020 includes Brian Bennett, '13 (Men's Swimming), William Bissell, '14 (Baseball), Darius Flowers, '14 (Men's Track and Field), John Hotchkiss, 1869 (Football Coach), Heather Lightfoot, '99 (Women's Track and Field), Adham Talaat, '14 (Football) and Valerie Trofimenkoff, '07 (Women's Volleyball).
The Gallaudet Athletics Hall of Fame Induction is one of the premier events of the year for the GU Athletics Department. The special event recognizes the men and women, past and present, whose contributions to Gallaudet University Athletics have been deemed worthy of induction into the Gallaudet Athletics Hall of Fame.
To be considered for the Gallaudet Athletics Hall of Fame one must be a former Bison student-athlete, coach and/or contributor that is five years removed from the University. One must be nominated in writing and submitted to the Gallaudet University Alumni Association (GUAA) during an open nomination time period. Inductees can be deaf, hard of hearing or hearing. All nominations are then screened and reviewed by the Gallaudet Athletics Hall of Fame committee.
The ceremony has been moved to a virtual ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There ceremony will be held on Friday, Oct. 30, at 8 p.m. (Eastern) on Gallaudet Athletics' YouTube page.
A brief description of the Gallaudet Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2020 inductees:
Brian Bennett, '13 (Men's Swimming) is one of the most accomplished men's swimmers in Gallaudet history. The Colorado Springs, Colo., native, ushered Gallaudet into the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) and promptly led the Bison to two consecutive conference championships (2010-11, 2011-12) their first two years in the NEAC. Bennett earned back-to-back NEAC Men's Swimmer of the Year honors those first two seasons in the NEAC. He earned 14 all-conference honors at those two NEAC championships. He won nine events and placed second twice and third three times, several of those events he was a member of Gallaudet's relay teams. Bennett set and broke Gallaudet program records multiple times per year and still holds four individual and four relay records. When he graduated he held six individual and four relay program records. Bennett qualified for the 2012 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Swimming Championships held at the United States Naval Academy. Bennett was named 2010-11 Gallaudet Student-Athlete of the Year.
William Bissell, '14 (Baseball) became the first All-American baseball player in Gallaudet history and starred in the outfield and at the plate for the Bison from 2010-14. Bissell was named an American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-American Third Team selection in 2011, his sophomore season when he batted .438 to go with four home runs, 41 RBI, 56 hits, 15 doubles, four triples, 33 runs and 14 stolen bases. The Brewer, Maine, native, was a three-time ABCA All-South Region selection (first team in 2011, '12 and second team in '14), a three-time All-NEAC First Team selection (2011, '12, '14), a two-time NEAC West Division Player of the Year (2011, '12), two-time D3baseball.com All-South Region honoree (first team in '12, second team in '14), two-time ECAC All-Star First Team (2011, '14) and two-time D3baseball.com Preseason All-American honorable mention in 2012 and '13. Bissell was part of Gallaudet's first baseball team to win 20+ games in a season and was on the program's record-setting 2014 team that won a program record 27 games and were NEAC regular-season co-champions. Bissell's 2010 season was cut short due to injury. He finished his career with a .387 batting average, 15 home runs, 145 RBI, 206 hits, 139 runs, 38 doubles, 22 triples, 81 walks, 45 stolen bases.
Darius Flowers, '14 (Men's Track and Field) was a four-year letterwinner in men's track and field where he became a two-time NCAA Division III All-American in the Triple (2011, '13) and just missed a third All-American honor in 2012 when he placed ninth. The top eight jumpers at the NCAA outdoor track and field national championship meet receive All-American honors. Flowers finished sixth at the 2011 national championship meet and seventh in 2013. Flowers still holds the program record in the triple jump of 15.20 meters (49 feet, 10.5 inches) and the long jump of 7.18 meters (23 feet, 6.75 inches). In Gallaudet's last year in the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC), Flowers won the triple jump as a freshman at the 2010 CAC championship. The Birmingham, Ala., native, took home All-CAC First Team honors in the triple jump. In 2011-12 he was named Gallaudet's Student-Athlete of the Year. Flowers also finished second and third at the ECAC Division III outdoor track and field championships in the triple jump in 2011 and 2010, respectively. Flowers played one season at wide receiver on Gallaudet's 2013 football team, that won the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) and advanced to the NCAA tournament.
John Hotchkiss, 1869 (Football Coach) achieved many firsts at Gallaudet University. Hotchkiss was a member of the first graduating class at GU in 1869, he became the school's first football coach in 1883 and later the first president of the Gallaudet Alumni Association, editor of the Alumni Corner of the Buff and Blue and one of the founders and editors of the Silent World. Surprisingly, Hotchkiss was not part of Gallaudet's first Athletics Hall of Fame Class back in 1986 or the 59-member 1995 class. Hotchkiss received his masters degree in 1874 and later received a honorary doctoral degree in 1904. As Gallaudet's football coach he won his first six games and posted an 8-6 career record in seven seasons (1883-86, 1888-90) as no team was fielded in 1887. Back then some years there were only one game per season. Hotchkiss led Bison football teams defeated Georgetown University and George Washington University three times and the U.S. Naval Academy and Emerson Institute once. Hotchkiss was a beloved professor on campus before he passed in 1922. In 1924, Gallaudet named its athletic field in his honor. Hotchkiss Field continues to be home to Bison football and men's and women's soccer teams to this day.
Heather Lightfoot, '99 (Women's Track and Field) was a champion student-athlete on the Gallaudet women's track and field team where she lettered in three straight seasons (1997-99). Lightfoot was a two-time Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) champion in the javelin where the standout thrower won the event in back-to-back championships in 1998 and '99. In 1997, Lightfoot won the discus event and placed second in the javelin at the CAC championship. She was the 1997 Mason-Dixon champion in the javelin and earned several All-Mason-Dixon honors in various throwing events from 1997-99. During her track and field career at GU she set several team records. Lightfoot still holds Gallaudet's outdoor record in the discus with a toss of 39.46 meters (129 feet, five inches) which was set at the 1999 Mason-Dixon championships hosted in Newport News, Va. She also lettered in women's volleyball and softball during her time at Gallaudet (1994-99). The Bothell, Wash., native, landed on the Dean's List several times and CAC All-Academic honors during her time at Gallaudet and graduated Cum Laude in 1999.
Adham Talaat, '14 (Football) is the most decorated football player in Gallaudet University history. The Springfield, Va., native, was a standout in the classroom and on the gridiron. During Gallaudet's record-setting 2013 season where the Bison won the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) championship and went to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history, Talaat was one of the standout members on the Bison defense. The defensive end was one of 10 players selected as a 2013 Gagliardi Trophy finalist, the Heisman Trophy for Division III, and a Cliff Harris Award finalist. Talaat landed on the 2013 D3football.com All-American list (honorable mention) and 2013 D3football.com All-East Region list (second team defense). The three-time All-ECFC defense honoree was also honored by the conference with three consecutive spots on the ECFC All-Academic Team (2011-13). Talaat became the first Gallaudet student-athlete to earn back-to-back CoSIDA Academic All-American honors (second team in 2012 and first team in 2013). He finished his career with 123 tackles (76 solo), 16 sacks, 32.5 tackles for loss, six forced fumbles. He got a chance to tryout with several NFL teams including the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs during the spring and summer of 2014. Talaat was named 2013-14 Gallaudet Student-Athlete of the Year.
Valerie Trofimenkoff, '07 (Women's Volleyball) was a four-year letterwinner in women's volleyball where she was a four-time all-conference honoree in the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC). She landed on the first team, twice (2003, '05) and on the second team, twice (2002, '04). Trofimenkoff was one of seven Gallaudet women's volleyball players named to the CAC Silver Anniversary Team in 2014-15. She was honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) all-region accolades, twice, in 2003, '05. Trofimenkoff helped the Bison win the 2003 and 2005 CAC championships. In her final two seasons with the Bison, she helped GU post back-to-back 20+ win seasons. The Canadian native finished her career with 1,152 kills and was seventh in the NCAA Division III national rankings for blocks per match (1.63) during the 2005 season. Trofimenkoff still ranks sixth in CAC history in single-season blocks with 204 set in 2005. She was named the 2005-06 Gallaudet Student-Athlete of the Year.
Three years ago, the Gallaudet Athletics Department inducted James DeStefano, '85 (Men's Basketball Coach), Easter Fa'afiti, '13 (Women's Basketball), Tamijo Foronda Coleman, '08 (Women's Volleyball), Joseph Fritsch (Honorary Contributor), Robert Haney, Jr., '08 (Men's Basketball), Brandy Otto, E-'94 (Women's Volleyball) and Tony Tatum, '13 (Football).
Gallaudet Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2020
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Brian Bennett, '13
(Men's Swimming) |
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William Bissell, '14
(Baseball) |
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Darius Flowers, '14
(Men's Track and Field) |
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John Hotchkiss, 1869
(Football Coach) |
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Heather Lightfoot, '99
(Women's Track and Field) |
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Adham Talaat, '14
(Football) |
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Valerie Trofimenkoff, '07
(Women's Volleyball) |
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