Bowling Green State University Athletics
Tracy Among Nine Chosen to Join BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame
July 21, 2006 | Baseball
July 21, 2006
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University Athletics Hall of Fame will welcome nine new members on Sept. 8. The 2006 class will be inducted during a formal dinner on the BGSU campus.
The class of 2006 will include Sara Collas '90 (women's cross country/track and field), Carlyn Esslinger '96 (volleyball), Steve Klein '98 (men's soccer), Brian Leaver '95 (football), Carla Marshack '92 (women's tennis), Jim McDonald '59 (men's basketball), Megan McGuire '91 (women's basketball and volleyball), Vince Palko '95 (football) and Andy Tracy (football and baseball).
The official induction ceremony will take place Friday, Sept. 8, in the grand ballroom of BGSU's Bowen-Thompson Student Union. The social hour begins at 6:00 p.m., with dinner served at 7:00 p.m. and the program starting shortly thereafter.
In addition, the class will be introduced at halftime of the Sept. 9 BGSU-Buffalo football game at Doyt Perry Stadium. The game is designated as Hall of Fame Day.
Tickets for the Sept. 8 dinner are $35 ($30 for Varsity BG members), and advanced reservations are required. Tickets can be reserved by calling the Falcon Club office at (419) 372-7100. Football game tickets can be purchased through the ticket office by phone, at 1-877-BGSUTICKET, or on the web at www.BGSUFalcons.com.
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Brief biographical sketches on each of the nine inductees follow:
SARA COLLAS (cross country, track and field; 1983-87)
Collas, a native of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, was a three-time All-MAC performer in cross country. As a sophomore in 1983, she finished fifth in the league meet, helping the Falcons to the MAC title. The following year, she was third in the MAC race as the Falcons were second as a team. Her senior year, Collas set the school record with a time of 17:12.6, finishing second in the MAC Championships. She also had her best career finish in the NCAA regional meet that year, placing eighth.In track, Collas qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 10,000 meters as a senior, placing 19th in the nation. That year, she set the school records in the 3,000 (9:35.32), 5,000 (16:27.4) and 10,000 meter events (34:17.9), all of which still stand. Collas also holds the school indoor records for the 3,000 (9:39.95) and 5,000 (16:40.70).
CARLYN ESSLINGER (volleyball; 1992-95)
Esslinger, a native of Tampa, Fla. was a two-time All-MAC First-Team selection who capped her stellar career by earning the league's Player-of-the-Year award in 1995. She led the team in both kills and hitting percentage during each of her final three years with the Falcons, and finished her career as BGSU's all-time leader in attack attempts (3,821), while ranking second in kills (1,462) and fifth in blocks (367).Esslinger still holds the school record for career attack attempts, and she currently ranks second in kills, eighth in both digs and blocks and 10th in hitting percentage. Esslinger, just the fifth player in school history to reach 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career, was a freshman on the 1992 Falcon squad that won the MAC and posted a runner-up finish in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
STEVE KLEIN (men's soccer; 1993-96)
Klein, a native of Nashville, Tenn., ended his standout career in the Brown and Orange by being named the MAC Player of the Year and an NSCAA First-Team All American as a senior. A three-time All-Mideast Region honoree, he led the MAC and the region in scoring in that senior season of 1996, with 50 points on 18 goals and 14 assists. Klein tied the school single-season record for assists with 17 as a sophomore, earning all-league and All-Ohio first-team accolades that fall, and was on the all-region second team.Klein scored 26 points as a junior, en route to first-team all-league, all-state and all-region recognition. He helped the Falcons to a four-year record of 57-20-4, including an 18-4-1 ledger as a senior, when BG won the MAC's regular-season and tournament crowns. BG advanced to the `Sweet 16' of the NCAA Championships in both his junior and senior seasons. Klein finished his career as the all-time leader in assists (45) and points (119), records that he still owns. His goal total of 37 ties him for third in BGSU career annals.
BRIAN LEAVER (football; 1991-94)
Leaver, a native of Sarasota, Fla., was an All-American kicker who left BGSU with several career records. During his Falcon tenure, he set school career marks for points (247) and extra points made (115) and attempted (118), while tying the record for field goals made, with 44. Leaver shared the place-kicking duties as a freshman in 1991, kicking four PATs in the Falcons' California Raisin Bowl win that year. He became a starter as a sophomore on the 1992 Las Vegas Bowl-winning squad, with the decisive points in victories over Central Michigan and Toledo that fall.Leaver led the team in scoring both in that `92 season and in `93, and blossomed into a first-team All-America pick by both the Associated Press and Football News as a senior. That December, he appeared on the Bob Hope Christmas Special as a member of the AP team. Leaver, who led the MAC in field goals per game (tie-third in the country) and was second in the league in scoring (fourth in the nation) that year, was a first-team choice to both the All-MAC and Academic All-MAC teams. He finished second in the balloting for the Lou Groza Award in that 1994 campaign, and played in the Kelly Tires Blue-Gray All-Star Football Classic. Leaver still ranks among the top-three on the BGSU career lists for points scored, PATs made and attempted and field goals made.
CARLA MARSHACK (women's tennis; 1989-92)
Marshack, a native of Riverwoods, Ill., was the first-ever BGSU female tennis player to capture a MAC singles title, capturing the crown at the number-one singles flight in her senior year of 1992. The team's No. 1 singles player in all four of her years in the Brown and Orange, she also was the school's first female tennis player to earn the top seed for the MAC Championships, doing so in her sophomore year of 1990.Marshack set the school records for singles wins in a season (23) and career (75) and total career wins (124). Though those marks have since been broken, she still ranks among BGSU's top-10 on each list. A two-time academic all-league and academic all-district selection, Marshack was named the Falcon Club Outstanding Junior Student-Athlete in 1991 and the BGSU Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year in '92. In her senior year, she was BGSU's female nominee for the MAC's Bob James Award, given to the top student-athletes (one male and one female) in the conference.
JIM McDONALD (men's basketball; 1957-59)
McDonald, from New York, N.Y., enrolled at BG after a three-year tour of duty with the U.S. Army. He scored a total of 878 points in a three-year career under the legendary Harold Anderson. McDonald co-captained the Falcons as both a junior and a senior, leading BG to the 1959 MAC championship. The Falcons had a 47-25 record (.653) during his three seasons in uniform.Upon graduation, McDonald coached in the high-school ranks in the Toledo area for a decade, and returned to BGSU as an assistant coach for the 1969-70 season. He helped the Brown and Orange to a 15-9 record that year, then spent 12 years as an assistant coach at Toledo. McDonald was named head coach at Kent State in March of 1982. After taking over a team that had recorded just three winning seasons in the previous 30 years, he promptly led the Golden Flashes to a 15-13 record in his first season. McDonald remains the winningest coach in KSU history, with a 148-139 record in 10 years. That record included back-to-back 21-win seasons in 1988-89 and 1989-90, and a MAC Coach-of-the-Year award in the latter season.
MEGAN McGUIRE (women's basketball and volleyball; 1986-89)
McGuire, a native of Lakewood, Ohio, was a part of some of the most successful teams in BGSU women's basketball history. McGuire was one-third of a senior class that also included Paulette Backstrom and Jackie Motycka, all of whom are now in the BGSU Hall of Fame. That group guided the Falcons to an overall record of 96-23 (.807) and a 53-7 MAC mark (.883) during their four years. McGuire and her classmates won both the MAC regular-season and tournament titles in each of their last three seasons, capping off their careers by becoming the first MAC team to advance to the second round of the NCAA Championships with a win over Cincinnati in the opening round.McGuire earned all-conference first-team honors in her senior year, placing fifth in the balloting for MAC Player of the Year. She earned MAC All-Tournament honors that season after averaging 16 points, six assists and four steals per game in the Falcons' run to the title. Just the fifth player in school history to score 1,000 career points, she ended her tenure with 1,062 points, which currently ranks 18th on the BG chart. Following the completion of her hoops career, she joined the Falcon volleyball squad for the 1989 season, and helped that team to its first-ever MAC regular-season title.
VINCE PALKO (football; 1991-94)
Palko, a native of Stow, Ohio, was a two-time MAC Defensive Player of the Year for the Brown and Orange. A two-time co-captain at his inside linebacker position, he started every game as both a freshman and a sophomore, helping the Falcons to bowl wins in each season. In 1991, he had 98 tackles to finish second on the team, and again placed second the following year, with 119 stops.As a junior in 1993, Palko earned his first MAC Defensive P-O-Y honor, also garnering All-MAC and Academic All-MAC First-Team honors. He led the team and was seventh in the MAC with 141 total tackles, and was BGSU's nominee for the Vern Smith Award. That fall, he led the entire league with 15 tackles for loss, including four sacks. As a senior in '94, Palko again was the league's Defensive P-O-Y, and again made both the all-league and academic all-league first teams. He again led the team in tackles, with 120, giving him a career total of 478 stops, which remains the school record. Palko was one of 48 players considered for the Butkus Award, given to the top linebacker in college football, in that 1994 season.
ANDY TRACY (baseball and football; 1993-96)
Tracy, a native of Bowling Green, Ohio, is the top home-run hitter in BGSU baseball history, with 45 in his career. An All-MAC and All-Mideast Region First-Team selection as a senior in 1996, he led the MAC and finished ninth in the nation in slugging percentage that spring (.777), while ranking among the conference leaders in virtually every offensive category. A four-year starter on the diamond, Tracy started his career with a bang, being named the MAC's Freshman of the Year in 1993. He was an all-league honorable-mention choice as both a freshman and a soph. As a junior in '95, he tied the school seasonal record with 15 homers, including four in a seven-inning contest vs. Wright State. Primarily a third baseman, Tracy also pitched in each of his four years at BG.Additionally, Tracy was a four-year letterwinner in football, earning all-league honorable mention as a senior punter in 1995. That fall, he averaged 41.7 yards per kick to rank third in the MAC. Tracy finished his gridiron career with an average of 40.4 yards per boot. He still ranks sixth in BGSU career history in both punting yardage and average. His name, of course, remains throughout the baseball record book as well, as Tracy is still tied for the BGSU career lead in homers, and ranks among the all-time top 10 in runs scored, total bases, walks and RBI. He has played professional baseball since leaving BGSU, and is currently with the Ottawa Lynx, the AAA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.
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The 2006 class of inductees, the 43rd class in history, brings membership in the Athletic Hall of Fame to 199. The 1983-84 national championship hockey team is also in the Hall of Fame.
