Seven Alumni Set to Join Athletic Hall of Fame

The SUNY Oswego Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is proud to announce the seven-member 2020 Hall of Fame Class. These former Laker student-athletes will be inducted into the hallowed hall: John “Jack” Michalec ’68, Patrick Wittekind ’85, Jill Reimer Halpin ’97, Jamie Clough Driffill ’00, Derek Popovich ’04, Scott Ferguson ’06 and Tenkoran Agyeman ’07.
The inductees will be recognized in a ceremony to be held at a later date.

John “Jack” Michalec ’68 was a two-sport athlete at Oswego State as a member of the men’s soccer and baseball teams. The defenseman was a First Team All-SUNYAC and Second Team All-State selection in soccer during the 1966 season. 1966 was a very good year for Michalec as both men’s soccer and baseball won their respective SUNYAC Championship titles. He became captain of both teams in 1967, finishing his baseball career with 31 hits and 28 RBI in three seasons.

The first of two wrestlers in this year’s class, Patrick Wittekind ’85 was a three-year member of the SUNY Oswego program, having transferred in from Kalamazoo College. Wittekind amassed an overall record of 49-22 in the green and gold and was a two-time NCAA Division III Championship qualifier. In 1984, he earned All-American honors at the 134-pound weight class with a fifth-place finish nationally. At the New York State Championships, which at the time featured athletes from across all divisions, he earned a third-place finish in 1984. During the SUNYAC Championship competition, he earned three top-five finishes during his three years as a Laker.

In the pool, Jill Reimer Halpin ’97 was a two-time SUNYAC Diver of the Year, winning the award in both 1996 and 1997. Overall, she won three individual diving SUNYAC Championships, winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter titles in 1996 and repeating on the 3-meter board in 1997. At the time of graduation, she held the diving records for both boards at Oswego. In 1997, her score on the 3-meter board was an NCAA qualifier.

Jamie Clough Driffill ’00 comes into the ceremony as the all-time leading scorer for the women’s basketball program with 1,718 points. She was a four-time member of the All-SUNYAC teams, with First Team honors in both 1998 and 1999. Her name appears all across the women’s basketball career lists, including scoring average (second-17.7), rebounds (fourth – 743) and rebound average (ninth – 7.7). Each of her four seasons at Oswego saw her point totals rank on the single season top-10 lists, and she still holds the top two spots for free throws made in a season. Among single-game highs, Driffill holds four of the top-10 spots for points in a game, all of her marks eclipsing 30 points.

One of the most prolific scorers in men’s soccer history, Derek Popovich ’04 ranks second in points at Oswego with 92. He sits inside the career top-five in both goals (38) and assists (16), as well as appearing twice on the single-season scoring list. In 2000, he was named Third Team All-State and appeared on the SUNYAC All-Conference Teams three times—once at First Team and twice at Second Team.

Midfielder Scott Ferguson ’06 was a two-time All-American for the men’s lacrosse program while at Oswego. He is the program’s all-time leader in goals with 147 and sits in third on the career points list with 183. In two separate seasons, he tied the SUNY Oswego single-season points mark by a midfielder with 52 points. At the conference level, Ferguson was named All-Conference three times, earning Second Team in 2002 and First Team in 2003 and 2004.

The most recent graduate on the list, and arguably the most decorated, is Tenkoran Agyeman ’07 from the wrestling program. He was a three-time All-American, earning podium finishes at the NCAA Division III Championships in 2005 (6th), 2006 (4th) and 2007 (7th). He earned two of those honors at 133 and one at 141 pounds. In 2004, Agyeman won a New York State Championship after earning a third-place finish in the previous season. He is one of just four Oswego wrestlers to earn All-American honors in three separate seasons and finished his career with a 118-25 record on the mat.

The Oswego Alumni Association established the Hall of Fame in 2001 to honor those who have made outstanding contributions to Oswego State Athletics. For more information and to view all inductees, visit oswegolakers.com/honors/oswego-state-athletics-hall-of-fame.

Post Views: 1,817