Eight new members have been elected to the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame. The annual induction ceremony will be held September 20 in the Emerson Suites on campus as part of Ithaca's homecoming weekend.
The eight inductees represent 10 sports. Joining the Hall of Fame will be Linda Buettner, Jo Burruby '84, John Gemmell '98, Leslie Greene '98, Walt Judd '56, Ed Mahoney '95, John Sacchi '66, and Sandy VanBenschoten.
Linda Buettner spent five years coaching the Bomber women's soccer and women's track and field teams. The soccer program's inaugural coach, she led Ithaca to a record of 52-24-5 and four postseason appearances. Her 1983 team won the New York State Women's Collegiate Athletic Association (NYSWCAA) title and the Bombers won ECAC titles the next two years. Buettner's track and field teams recorded five top-five finishes at the state championships and seven top-10 ECAC showings. The outdoor team placed 10th at the 1984 NCAA Championships and posted state and ECAC runner-up finishes two years later. She was a two-time Ithaca Journal Female Coach of the Year and was named the 1983 NYSWCAA Coach of the Year in soccer.
Jo Burruby '84 was a top pitcher for the softball team, compiling a record of 36-17 with two saves and a 1.12 ERA. Her ERA is still the lowest by any Ithaca pitcher with more than one season; she also set school records for wins, innings (373.2), and strikeouts (106) and still ranks in the program's top 10 in all three categories. Burruby helped the Bombers to the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) or NCAA playoffs all four years; Ithaca placed fifth nationally at the 1983 NCAA tournament. She also played two years of volleyball.
John Gemmell '98 won Ithaca's Ben Light Award as the top male athlete in his class after becoming the only Bomber wrestler to reach the national championship bout three times. The runner-up at 118 pounds as a sophomore and junior, he capped his career by winning the 1998 title at 126 pounds, becoming the program's sixth NCAA champion. Gemmell won state titles as a sophomore and junior (he missed the state meet with an injury as a senior) and compiled a career record of 75-14.
Ithaca's third three-sport all-American, Leslie Greene '98 won the Iris Carnell Award as the top female athlete in her class. A third-team all-American in field hockey, she scored 47 career points (20 goals, seven assists) while leading the Bombers to four NCAA playoff appearances. In swimming and diving, she won six state championships and earned all-America honors four times; Ithaca recorded three top-15 finishes at nationals with Greene. Her lacrosse career was highlighted by third-team all-America honors as a junior and senior. She scored 48 career points and ranks fifth all-time at Ithaca with 212 ground balls.
Walt Judd '56 was the second Bomber to earn all-America honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association, picking up second-team honors in 1955. Judd, who signed with the Boston Red Sox a year later, owns the program's lowest career ERA (0.86) and struck out a school-record 18 batters in an NCAA playoff game against Lafayette.
Ed Mahoney '95 starred in football and baseball and earned the Ben Light Athlete of the Year award in 1995. In football he earned all-America honors as both a placekicker and punter and finished his career with 13 field goals (third all-time), 64 extra points (fifth) and 103 points (fourth among kickers). He also averaged a school-record 37.5 yards per punt. Mahoney went 24-10 as a baseball pitcher, helping the Bombers to three World Series appearances. A first-team all-region pick and the Empire Athletic Association Pitcher of the Year as a senior, he ranks fifth on Ithaca's list for career wins.
John Sacchi '66 was recently inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. A 40-year coach, he compiled a collegiate record of 447-162-9 at Middlesex County College and Rutgers before retiring in 2007. Sacchi coached the winning freestyle team at the 1982 Junior Pan-Am Games and served as vice president of the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
Sandy VanBenschoten spent nearly 40 years working in Ithaca's athletics department, serving as secretary to six athletic directors. One of the department's most popular and beloved figures, she worked with over 100 coaches and thousands of student-athletes before retiring in 2004.
The inaugural Ithaca College Sports Hall of Fame ceremony took place in 1969 when 15 individuals were named as charter members. A total of 266 athletes, coaches, and administrators have been inducted in the past 39 years.
