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The Hudson Valley Community College Athletics Department is proud to announce the members of the 2017 Hall of Fame Class. The 2017 Class will be enshrined during Homecoming Weekend on Oct. 7 at 2:30 p.m. in the McDonough Sports Complex. The Class of 2017 also will be honored at halftime of the football game when Hudson Valley Community College hosts Milford Academy on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.
Director of Athletics Justin Hoyt stated, "I'd like to thank both the nomination and selection committees for all of their time and efforts. It's been ten years since our last Hall of Fame ceremony, so I am honored to announce the Class of 2017. This year's inductees include some of the most decorated student-athletes in Hudson Valley Community College history. We will also recognize a National Championship team, the winningest football coach in program history, and a longtime supporter of athletics and former Viking student-athlete. We look forward to bringing everyone back on campus and celebrating their amazing achievements during homecoming weekend."
The Hall of Fame Class includes Lindsey Bradt '02, Tracy Chesebrough (Sears) '07, Kristina Jenkins '07, Emmanuel Marc '05, and Darnell Stapleton '05. Also earning induction into the Hall of Fame will be former head football coach Robert Jojo (1997-04), longtime athletics supporter Willie Hammett (1971-03) and the 2000-01 National Champion Ice Hockey team.
Lindsey Bradt '02 (Women's Basketball and Softball) – The two-time First-Team All-American is one of the most decorated female student-athletes in the history of Hudson Valley Community College. Bradt, a two-sport athlete is a two-time Lester Higbee Memorial Award winner as the Most Outstanding Female Athlete and owns three women's basketball records for most career points (1,164), most points scored in a single season (669) and most points scored in a single game (40 vs. Finger Lakes).
As the two-time Region 3 Player of the Year, Bradt led the nation's top-ranked Vikings in 2001-02 to the Region 3 Championship and was named the Region 3 Tournament Most Valuable Player before finishing seventh at the National Tournament. Bradt owns a career record of 51-9 and finished her career averaging 19.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.9 steals per game. Bradt is the first and only student-athlete in school history to score more than 1,000 points in her career, earning her a full athletic scholarship to St. Michael's College in Vermont where she graduated cum laude. On May 14, 2002, Hudson Valley Community College Athletics retired Bradt's women's basketball jersey No. 25 during the annual athletics awards banquet, becoming the first and only student-athlete to have their jersey retired. Bradt, a two-time Academic All-American was awarded the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Academic Excellence for her success in the classroom.
As a two-sport athlete, Bradt guided the Vikings softball program to new heights during her only season in 2002. She finished the year with a .390 batting average as the Vikings won the Mountain Valley Conference Championship, the school's first ever Region 3 Softball Championship before ending her career as the 2002 National Runner-up in the National Tournament, earning National First-Team All-Tournament and Region 3 Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors.
Tracy Chesebrough (Sears) '07 (Softball) – A 2007 First-Team All-American and Region 3 Player of the Year, Tracy Chesebrough (Sears) was one of the more dominant pitchers in the history of the NJCAA Division 3 and Hudson Valley Community College. A two-time Mountain Valley Conference Player of the Year, Chesebrough (Sears) set the NJCAA Division 3 single-season strikeout record with 380 during the 2007 season and holds the NJCAA Division 3 career strikeout record with 678. During her final season, Chesebrough tossed five no-hitters (seven in her career) and finished with a 25-8 record while leading the NJCAA Division 3 with a 0.72 earned-run-average, 380 strikeouts in 193.2 innings pitched. The 2007 Lester Higbee Memorial Award recipient as the Most Outstanding Female Athlete finished her career with a 47-14 record, a miniscule 0.96 earned-run-average with 678 strikeouts in 379.2 innings.
Chesebrough (Sears) went on to The College of Saint Rose where she earned Second-Team NE-10 All-Conference and Division II Daktronics/CoSIDA Softball Northeast Second-Team All-Region honors. She set the Saint Rose record with 224 strikeouts in a single season and finished third in Division II in strikeouts per seven innings with 11.6 strikeouts per seven innings in 2008.
Kristina Jenkins '07 (Women's Bowling) – Jenkins ranked as one of the top female bowlers in the nation during her two-year career at Hudson Valley Community College, where she won the Kerm Helmer Award as the Individual All-Event Champion and led the Vikings to a Second-Place finish at Nationals for the second consecutive season. Jenkins, a Region 3 Champion, was featured in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd section in August of 2007 and had the Vikings ranked 16th in the final Bowling Writers Association of America poll, the highest mark among all two-year colleges in the nation. Jenkins was named the NJCAA Betty Jo Graber Female Athlete of the Year and the Lester Higbee Memorial Award winner as the Most Outstanding Female Athlete. She finished her career at Hudson Valley as a two-time NJCAA All-American and a two-time First Team All-Region student-athlete. Jenkins graduated and attended the University of Central Florida to continue her bowling career and later became a member of the United States Bowling Congress College Level team where they finished in Second-Place in 2008 and First-Place in 2009. Jenkins also holds the NYSPHSAA High-Game Award (2004) and High-Series Award (2005) while at Columbia High School.
Emmanuel Marc '05 (Football) – Marc was one of the most prolific offensive threats in the history of Hudson Valley Community College. He was named the NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year in 2003 after leading the NJCAA in rushing with 1,769 yards on 273 carries for 17 touchdowns, averaging 196.6 yards per game during the regular season. Marc surpassed the 2,000-yard (2,038) plateau on the season after rushing for 269 yards in the Graphic Edge Bowl.
Marc was named the Offensive Most Valuable Player for JC Football network, an All-USA Ironman Team member and the North East Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Despite a 29-23 loss in the 2003 Graphic Edge Bowl, Marc was named the Offensive Most Valuable Player after he rushed for 269 yards, the third most rushing yards in school history.
The running back was featured in the January 19, 2004 edition of Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd following his sophomore season at Hudson Valley Community College where he set school career records by scoring 30 touchdowns and rushing for 3,273 yards. Marc owns the school records for most touchdowns in a game (5), most touchdowns in a single season (18) and the school record for the most rushing yards in a single game (335). He also holds the third (269), fourth (268) and fifth (265) most rushing yards in a single game at Hudson Valley Community College.
Marc went on to Delaware State University where he recorded the fourth most yards in a season with 1,230, earning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference All-Conference and MEAC Player of the Week honors. He later joined the Montreal Allouettes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and won the Grey Cup in 2010.
Marc still holds Spring Valley High football records for yards in a season with 1,566 and was named All-State, All-Section, All-County and All-League during his varsity career.
Darnell Stapleton '05 (Football) – A two-year starter at tackle, Stapleton earned First-Team North East Football Conference and NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American honors during his stay at Hudson Valley Community College. Stapleton graduated and went on to continue his football career as a scholarship student-athlete at Rutgers University. He was a finalist for the Rimington Award as one of the top collegiate centers while at Rutgers and appeared in two consecutive bowl games. Stapleton signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he went on to become the starting right guard for the Super Bowl XLIII Champions, becoming the first player from Hudson Valley to win a Super Bowl. Hudson Valley Community College honored Stapleton and his Super Bowl Championship with Darnell Stapleton Day on March 19, 2009. Stapleton is currently an assistant coach at Bucknell University.
Robert Jojo (Football Coach) – The winningest head coach in program history with 42 career victories (.667), Coach Jojo guided the Hudson Valley Community College football program to four Region 3 Championships (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004) and three North East Football Conference (NEFC) Championships (2001, 2003, 2004). Coach Jojo's 2003 team earned a spot in the Graphic Edge Bowl where Emmanuel Marc rushed for 269 yards and earned the game's Most Valuable Player award. Coach Jojo was named Coach of the Year in the NEFC three times and also awarded the 2004 Paul Bishop Award given to the best coach at Hudson Valley Community College.
Coach Jojo mentored his student-athletes and helped them achieve their athletic goals beyond Hudson Valley Community College. Jojo coached 90 student-athletes that went on to play at four-year schools, 20 student-athletes went on to play at Division I institutions and two student-athletes that went on to play in the National Football League (NFL). Fellow inductee, Darnell Stapleton is the only student-athlete to go on and win a Super Bowl (Pittsburgh, Super Bowl XLIII). There have been four student-athletes to win NEFC Player of the Year honors, eight NJCAA All-Americans (three First-Team members) and another fellow Class of 2017 inductee, Emmanuel Marc was named the 2003 NJCAA National Offensive Player of the Year.
Willie Hammett (Contributor) – Hammett was the Vice President for Student Services at Hudson Valley Community College from 1971-2003. Hammett has been a member of the Vikings family since 1964 when he attended Hudson Valley to participate in basketball and cross country. He earned All-Tournament Team and All-Area Junior College Team status in 1965-66 after leading the team in assists and free throw shooting percentage. Hammett continued his basketball career as a two-year member of the West Virginia State University men's basketball team.
As Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Services, Hammett developed the Disability Resource Center, the Hudson Valley Community College Daycare Center and the Collegiate Academic Support Program (CASP) office on campus and was the direct supervisor for the athletic department. Hammett also served as President of the Faculty Student Association Board of Directors for more than 20 years.
2000-01 Men's Ice Hockey – A couple seasons removed from a 2-15 record in 1999, the Hudson Valley Community College men's ice hockey program posted a 22-4 record and captured its first-ever National Championship in program history.
Led by fourth-year head coach Ron Kuhl, the Vikings put together a 16 game winning streak to end the 2000-01 season. Kuhl earned Region 3 and EJUCO Coach of the Year honors for his program's success. The Vikings were led by NJCAA Region III Most Valuable Player Jason Vasco and First Team All-Region members Mike Paine and Phil Usas.
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Founded in 1953, Hudson Valley Community College offers more than 85 degree and certificate programs in four schools: Business; Engineering and Industrial Technologies; Health Science; and Liberal Arts and Sciences; and an Educational Opportunity Center for academic and career training. One of 30 community colleges in the State University of New York system, it has an enrollment of nearly 11,500 students, and is known as a leader in distance learning initiatives and workforce training. Hudson Valley has more than 75,000 alumni.