The Genesee Community College Office of Alumni Affairs along with the Athletics Department are pleased to announce the first class of inductees into the newly established Athletic Hall of Fame.
The first class of honorees will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at a reception at 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2 in room T119 at the Conable Technology Building, Batavia Campus. This will be part of GCC's inaugural Homecoming celebration. Family and friends of the inductees are welcomed to attend.
The Selection Committee identified six outstanding individuals, as well one team, to be inducted into the inaugural class.
Inclusion in the Hall of Fame is the highest athletic honor that the college bestows on its alumni and supporters, and recognizes the outstanding athletic achievements of individuals and teams of every era who have fostered athletics and sportsmanship at the college.
The six individuals and one team inducted into the 2010 Athletic Hall of Fame are:
Anthony Cory: Athletic Coordinator 1970-1997
Anthony "Tony" Cory coached many sports during his tenure at GCC. He is recognized for his work with the 1971 Bowling Team, which won a national championship. He is the founder and past president of the Penn York Athletic Conference and has won many team and coaching awards in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), including: Region III Regional and National Championships in Wrestling and Cross Country; Region XV Regional and National Championships in Bowling; NJCAA Region XV Coach of the Year 1971; and NJCAA Region XV Man of the Year 1997. Tony earned a bachelor's degree from SUNY Brockport and a master's degree from the University of Maryland.
Robert Santini (Class of 1984): Bowling
Robert "Bob" Santini is recognized for his accomplishments in the sport of bowling. He was named Athlete of the Year and named a NJCAA First Team All-American. He is a National Singles Champion and a National All-Event Champion. Throughout his career, he has bowled five 300 games as well as one 800 series. He competed in collegiate level bowling at GCC and Buffalo State College. He currently competes in amateur bowling events at the local, state and national levels. Bob earned an associate's degree from GCC in Business Marketing and a bachelor's degree in Business Studies from Buffalo State College.
Margaret Sisson (Class of 1971): Athlete, Coach, Administrator
Margaret "Peg" Sisson has had a tremendous career while at Genesee. She began here as a student athlete, then returned to coach and teach, and is now the college's Athletic Director. She was a student athlete from 1969-1971, when she played field hockey, volleyball, basketball and softball. She has coached women's basketball and softball while at Genesee. She has coached five All-Americans, 90 All-Region players, 101 All-Conference players, nine Players of the Year and seven 1,000-point scorers. She has led the women's basketball team to six National Championship appearances, has been named NJCAA Region III Coach of the Year six times and been named District C women's basketball National Coach of the Year five times. Peg earned her associate's degree from GCC, a bachelor's degree from Parson's College in Fairfield, Iowa, and a master's degree from SUNY Brockport.
David Spiller: Basketball
"Dave" Spiller was a highly decorated athlete during his tenure at GCC. He went on to coach at many colleges across the United States including D'Youville College, Canisius College, Fordham University, St. Joseph's University, Boston College and Ohio State University. While at GCC he was named 1975 Athlete of the Year and was an All-Region player. He holds 10 records at Genesee including total season points (609) and career points (1,058). His career scoring average was 22.5 and his career field-goal percentage was 53. He was a second-leading scorer in Region III and was awarded several coaching, service and sportsmanship awards. He went on to play at Canisius College where he was the leading scorer in the 1976-1977 season. He currently runs basketball skills training camps for individuals and teams in Columbus, Ohio. He attended Genesee Community College and earned a bachelor's degree in Communications from Canisius College.
Mickey Hyde (Class of 1987): Baseball
While playing baseball at GCC, Mickey Hyde was named to the All-District, All-Region, and a two-time member of the All-Conference teams. He is proud to have been named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year at GCC in 1987, while participating in baseball and bowling. After graduating from GCC, he played five seasons of professional baseball in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, culminating in a call up to Triple A Scranton Wilkes-Barre in 1993. During his caree, he was named the Philadelphia Phillies Minor League Player of the Month in April of 1991, the Florida State League Player of the Week, and the Phillies "Outstanding Player of Spring Training" also in 1991. He holds an associate's degree in Business Administration from GCC and a bachelor's degree in Business Management from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Delores Chiocco: Coach 1968-1989
Dolores Chiocco began her time at Genesee as a Health and Physical Education instructor in 1968. She coached the 1969-1970 women's basketball team that went undefeated with an 18-0 record. In 1975, she assisted the college in hosting the first New York State Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Field Hockey Tournament. In the summer of 1978, she helped host the United States Field Hockey Association National Olympic Trials. Also in 1978, she led the women's Field Hockey team to a victory in the NJCAA Region III Field Hockey Tournament. Throughout the 1980s Dolores led the women's Field Hockey and Basketball teams to multiple state, regional and national tournaments. She retired from coaching in 1989 and retired from teaching in 1996 to work part-time at the college as an academic advisor. In 2002, she was inducted into the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame. She holds a bachelor's degree from Ithaca College and a master's degree from SUNY Brockport.
1971 Bowling Team
The 1971 Bowling team is the only bowling team in GCC history to win an NJCAA National Championship, beating out 20 teams from as far away as South Texas, including runner-up Erie Community College. Led by coach Tony Cory, the team won by a narrow three-pin margin, 5377-5374, to make history at Genesee Community College. The six- member team included: Joe Macaluso, Gary Nowak, Frank DelPlato, Bob Davis, Bob Kwiecien and Tom Andronico.
"These individuals as well as the team have truly brought honor to the college with their athletic contributions," Cliff Scutella, director of Student Activities and selection committee member said. "This is the college's way of giving back to those who have been great role models for the student-athletes at Genesee Community College today."
For further information, please contact Jackie Christenson, alumni coordinator at 585-343-0055 x6265 or email: <http://jkchristenson@genesee.edu>.
