Online Banquet Registration
 
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University Athletics Hall of Fame Committee has announced the seven-member class of 2024 that will be enshrined at the annual Rock Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet Sept 6.
 
The Class of 2024 includes:
 
• Cory Darr – Men's Track & Field (class of 2000)
• Ryan Gillespie – Men's Soccer (class of 1995)
• Rick McCandless – Administrator/Athletic Training (class of 1969)
• Bob McComas – Administrator/Sports Information (class of 1982)
• Amy (Halls) McCormick – Women's Lacrosse (class of 2012)
• Susan Myers – Field Hockey/Women's Basketball (class of 1973)
• Stacey (Rhoades) Rice – Softball (class of 2008)
 
The 40th annual induction ceremony is set for Friday evening, Sept. 6 at the Robert Smith Student Center Ballroom. A reception will take place from 5-6 p.m. followed by dinner and the induction ceremonies beginning at 6 p.m. Inductees will also be recognized at halftime of The Rock football game against New Haven Saturday, Sept. 7 with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
 
Tickets for the 2024 SRU Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are $70 each for adults and include beverages and appetizers during the reception, dinner Friday evening and a ticket to Saturday's football game. A full table (eight tickets) can be purchased for $560. Children 12 and under will be admitted for $20. All tickets include access to the social hour and a catered dinner. Tickets can be ordered online at the link above. Any questions should be directed to the Athletics Office at 724.738.4117.
 
The addition of the seven-person Class of 2024 increases the number of former SRU student-athletes, coaches and contributors inducted into the Hall of Fame to 278 since the inaugural class was inducted in 1984.
 
The following are brief profiles of members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2024, listed in alphabetical order.
 

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CORY DARR
- Sport: Men's Track & Field
- Graduation Year: 2000
- Highlights: Five-time PSAC champion in the shot put, three-time Division II All-American in the shot put, former SRU record holder in the shot put, six-time NCAA National Championship qualifier, PSAC Field MVP in 1999.
 
Cory Darr held the SRU indoor and outdoor records in the shot put for more than a decade after a dominant run in the event that saw him go four-for-four in PSAC outdoor titles during his career.   
 
A native of Kane, Pennsylvania, Darr finished his SRU career in 2002 after winning a total of five PSAC titles in the shot put. He was unstoppable outdoor, claiming four PSAC titles in the event. He went three-for-three from 1998-00 and then picked up a fourth title in 2002 when he returned for graduate school. He also won an indoor title as a grad student to pick up five PSAC titles in his career. For his dominance in the event, he was named the PSAC Field MVP at the outdoor championships in 1999.
 
Darr qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships a total of six times during his SRU career with three appearances indoor and three outdoor. He earned All-America honors at all three indoor championship meets he qualified for, picking up his first All-America award in 1999 and following that up with honors in 2000 and 2002.
 
He was the first SRU male thrower to ever earn indoor All-America honors and was just the second male shot put thrower in SRU history to be named an All-American. To date, Darr is one of only three men in SRU history to earn All-America honors in the shot put, joining John Eakin (2022) and Clint Bonetti (1992).  
 
Darr held the outdoor shot put record at SRU for 20 years with his career-best throw of 17.50 meters from 2002. That effort stood until Eakin broke the record in 2022.
 
In addition to his excellence in the shot put circle, Darr was also a PSAC Scholar-Athlete and earned a pair of degrees from The Rock. He got his undergraduate degree in safety management in 2000 and earned a master's degree in sport management in 2003.
 
Since 2007, Darr has served as a safety and personnel director at Highlander Energy Products, Inc. in his hometown of Kane, Pennsylvania. He also serves as the boys' varsity basketball coach at Kane Area High School and served three years as president of the Kane Little League. Prior to his current role, he served two years as a program director at the Clarion University Health Science Education Center.
 
Darr and his wife, Shannon, a special education teacher at Kane Area High School, are the proud parents of two teenage sons, Landon and Preston.
 

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RYAN GILLESPIE
- Sport: Men's Soccer
- Graduation Year: 1995
- Highlights: Three-time All-Region and three-time All-PSAC men's soccer player, two-time team captain, SRU Soccer Ring of Honor inductee, member of the U.S. National Beach Soccer team and played in the first FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
 
Ryan Gillespie was a three-time All-PSAC honoree and a three-time All-Region selection as a defender on The Rock men's soccer team from 1990-93. He also spent the 1994 season as an assistant coach with the SRU women's soccer team and the 1995 season as an assistant with both the men's and women's soccer teams.
 
He earned his undergraduate degree from SRU in 1995 and returned to The Rock to earn a master's degree in exercise science in 2002.
 
After his stellar collegiate playing career, Gillespie continued playing soccer and was able to play the game at some of the highest levels when he turned to Beach Soccer. He made the U.S. National Beach Soccer Team and played with that group from 2004-06, where he helped the U.S. place third in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifier in 2005.
 
That qualifier earned him the chance to play in the inaugural FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2005 in Rio de Janeiro. He also played in the 2004 Beach Soccer World Championships and was a member of the runner-up team in the North American Sand Soccer Championships in both 2002 and 2003.
 
Gillespie suffered a serious injury in 2020 when he broke his neck after a fall. After surgery to repair his neck and extensive rehab, he returned to playing soccer just 10 months after his injury and he continues to play today. Just this year, he picked up a title in the North American Sand Soccer Championships Men's Open Elite Division.
 
A native of Perkasie, Pennsylvania, Gillespie currently resides in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he is the owner and general manager of PEAK Athletics, a health, wellness, fitness and sports performance center he founded in 2017. He also serves as a board member for the Superb Futbol Club in Wilmington.
 
Gillespie is the father of three teenage children, Tessa, Kiernan and Shane.
 

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RICK McCANDLESS
- Sport: Administrator (Athletic Training)
- Graduation Year: 1969
- Highlights: SRU's first head athletic trainer and founder of the athletic training and physical therapy academic programs at SRU, a former swimmer that excelled in the backstroke and medley events at SRU, earned a pair of degrees from SRU before earning a doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh.
 
Dr. Rick McCandless, a native of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was employed for 30 years at Slippery Rock and is known in SRU Athletics as the "Father of Athletic Training" at The Rock. He earned his bachelor's degree from SRU in 1969 and came back to earn a master's degree in 1981.
 
After earning his master's degree, he was appointed the first head athletic trainer at SRU and served in that role from 1982-95. During that time, he also earned his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh in 1992.  
 
McCandless established the athletic training and physical therapy academic programs at SRU by assisting with the development and accreditation of the undergraduate athletic training program and the doctoral program in physical therapy. He was promoted to a faculty position in allied health in 1982 and was promoted again to director of athletic training curriculum in 1985. Before retiring from SRU, he was assigned to the graduate faculty in 2000.
 
In addition to his positions at Slippery Rock, McCandless spent 22 years as a physical therapist at Butler Memorial Hospital, where he was appointed lead therapist at in 1998. He also served 25 years in the U.S. Army and U.S. Reserves as a member of the Army Medical Specialists Corps, retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
 
McCandless earned the Army Commendation Medal from the U.S. Army, the Dr. Richard McLachlan's Award from SRU and the Excellence Award from Butler Memorial Hospital.
 
McCandless met his wife, Mary Ann, at Slippery Rock. When asked to describe the awards and honors he earned as a student at SRU, he lists nothing other than having the honor of meeting the girl that would become his wife. The couple have been married for 57 years. They have one adult daughter, Lyric Faith McCandless Schnur, and two grandchildren, Mac and Faith.
 

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BOB McCOMAS
- Sport: Administrator (Sports Information)
- Graduation Year: 1982 (master's)
- Highlights: The second full-time sports information director in SRU history, serving from 2000-14 after previously serving as a graduate assistant in the Sports Information Office from 1980-82, decorated member of the Lions Club both locally and in the Commonwealth.
 
Bob McComas is posthumously being enshrined in the Hall of Fame this year after passing away in 2022. He served in two different roles in the Sports Information Office during his time at SRU, first working as the graduate assistant while pursuing his master's degree from 1980-82 and then returning as the second full-time sports information director at SRU in 2000.
 
A native of Wooster, Ohio and a 1981 graduate of the University of Akron, McComas guided the Sports Information Office at Slippery Rock through some of the steepest changes in the profession's history with major technology and internet advancements hitting collegiate athletics in the early 2000s. He signed the first contract for the official athletics website to be hosted by a third-party when he partnered with SIDEARM Sports. That deal has paid significant dividends as Slippery Rock has continued its partnership with SIDEARM for more than two decades and the Athletics website has received numerous honors as one of the best in the nation.
 
In addition to his efforts in covering Slippery Rock Athletics, McComas was also active in the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and the Division II Sports Information Directors Association (D2SIDA), serving as a regional representative on the national board. He also served 10 years as the Division II representative for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) board of directors and served seven years as the coordinator of the Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year award.
 
McComas was a decorated member of the Lions Club and was passionate about service. He spent four years on the cabinet and three years as president of the Slippery Rock Lions Club before accepting the state administrator job for the Lions of Pennsylvania. In that role, he oversaw more than 21,000 Lions Club members throughout the Commonwealth and worked to uphold the policies and procedures set forth by Lions Club International, the largest service organization in the world.
 
In his tenure with the local Lions Club in Slippery Rock, which included serving as president for the 50th anniversary celebration, McComas doubled the organization's membership. He was honored with three citations from the Lions Club International for his local efforts.
 
In addition to his work with the Slippery Rock Lions Club, McComas also served four years as a membership chairman for the five-county district, three years as the district's campus club coordinator, two years as the northern Butler County zone chairman and one year each as the district newsletter editor and public relations chairman. He was also one of the founding fathers of the Slippery Rock University Campus Lions Club.
 

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AMY (HALLS) McCORMICK
- Sport: Women's Lacrosse
- Graduation Year: 2012
- Highlights: The first NCAA Division II All-American and four-time All-PSAC player in SRU women's lacrosse history, still owns the SRU all-time scoring records and single-season goal-scoring records, Academic All-American.
 
Amy McCormick helped lead the Slippery Rock University women's lacrosse program back to prominence after the University reinstated the sport in 2007. SRU went 0-32 combined in its first two seasons in 2007 and 2008 before the senior class of 2012 showed up in the fall of 2008 and sent the program on a new path. She burst onto the scene in the spring of 2009 and shattered the SRU freshman records for goals (57) and points (66) on the way to earning All-PSAC honors and being named to the Division II All-Rookie team.
 
She followed that up by being named to three more All-PSAC teams during her career, becoming the first player in program history to be a four-time All-Conference honoree. She also became the first NCAA Division II All-American in program history when she was named to second team All-America honors following the 2011 season, when she scored 61 goals and recorded 70 points on the way to helping SRU to an 11-6 record, its first winning season since the return of the program. Her 61 goals in 2011 still stand as the most in a single-season in program history.
 
McCormick led SRU to an even better performance in 2012 with a 12-5 overall record in her senior season, capping off a two-year stretch that saw SRU pick up 23 wins just a few years removed from back-to-back winless seasons.
 
She started all 68 games of her career and finished with SRU records of 215 goals and 263 points, becoming the first player in program history to ever top 200 goals and 250 points. Both of those marks still stand as all-time records today and she is still the only player in program history with more than 200 goals and 250 points.
 
In addition to her excellence on the field, McCormick was also a four-time IWLCA All-Academic honoree and earned Capital One Academic All-America honors in 2012, becoming the first lacrosse player in program history to be named an Academic All-American. She graduated with honors with a degree in business administration with minors and communications and management in 2012.
 
McCormick embarked on a career in medical and pharmaceutical sales after college and has been honored with multiple Circle of Excellence Sales Awards during her career. She currently works as a key account manager for the Midwest with First Responders at Grail.
 
On top of her professional career, McCormick also spent six years as the head lacrosse coach at her high school Alma Mater, Olentangy High School, where she led the team to three Division I Elite Eight finalist appearances. She also founded and still organizes the Jennifer Hrobuchak Memorial Scholarship through the Olentangy Education Foundation.
 
She and her husband Drew, owner of Reliant Exteriors, are the proud parents of two boys, Aiden and Ash. They reside in Delaware, Ohio with their two dachshunds, Buster and Stanley.
 

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SUSAN MYERS
- Sports: Field Hockey, Women's Basketball
- Graduation Year: 1973
- Highlights: Two-time MVP of the Slippery Rock field hockey team and the team's leading scorer for three straight years, also served as captain of the women's basketball team, went on to a decorated career coaching field hockey that included 24 years at Old Dominion University.
 
Susan Myers is one of the prominent names in the sport field hockey in the United States and is being enshrined in the Rock Athletics Hall of Fame for her excellence as an athlete and a coach.
 
Myers was a force on the field hockey field at Slippery Rock in the early 1970s, leading the team in scoring with 25 goals in 1971, 1972 and 1973 to finish her career with 75 goals. She served as a team captain for her junior and senior years and also served one year as a team captain with the women's basketball team. Myers was a two-time team MVP with the field hockey team and also picked up the 1973 basketball MVP award.
 
She spent seven years as a player with the U.S. Women's National Field Hockey Team, beginning while she was still a student at SRU in 1972 and playing through 1979. She played on the first United States I.F.W.H. World Cup team in 1975 and played all over the world, including stops in Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Scotland, England, Wales, South Africa, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and Cuba.
 
Myers was a five-time national club team champion and two-time winner of the John F. Kennedy Tournament MVP award. She was a player and co-founder of the Red Rose Field Hockey Club based in southeastern Pennsylvania from 1975-85.
 
During her time as an athlete, Myers also began her career as a coach and educator. She became Carlisle Senior High School's head coach of basketball, field hockey and softball in 1973 and worked as an educator in Pennsylvania for 12 years before becoming a graduate assistant coach with the field hockey program at Old Dominion University in 1987. She became a full-time assistant in 1988 and held that position for 24 years before retiring from ODU in 2012.
 
Her tenure at Old Dominion included a one-year stint as the head coach, where she led the team to a conference title and trip to the national tournament in 2003. Myers and head coach Beth Anders built one of the best field hockey programs in NCAA history during their tenure at ODU. All told, the program posted a 431-124-5 record during her 24 seasons with the team. The Monarchs won six national titles and at one point put together an incredible streak of 66 consecutive victories that stretched from 1990-93.
 
Myers and Anders co-authored numerous field hockey publications, including "Field Hockey Steps to Success," a book that was published in 1999 and released with a second edition in 2008.
 
Now retired, Myers currently resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
 

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STACEY (RHOADES) RICE
- Sport: Softball
- Graduation Year: 2008
- Highlights: Arguably the greatest hitter in Slippery Rock program history, still holds numerous SRU career records including hits, runs, doubles and total bases, a two-time All-PSAC honoree and the 2005 PSAC West Rookie of the Year.
 
Current SRU head softball coach Stacey Rice is being enshrined in the Hall of Fame on the merits of a stellar playing career from 2005-08 that saw her establish multiple single-season and career records at The Rock.
 
She wasted little time in establishing herself as one of the top players in the region when she earned PSAC West Rookie of the Year honors in 2005 after hitting .349 with eight doubles and eight home runs as a true freshman.
 
She would go on to earn a pair of All-PSAC awards and bat .315 or better in all four years of her career. Her junior season in 2007 saw her hit a remarkable .414 with 15 doubles and 14 home runs. She followed that up by batting .372 with nine home runs and also going 8-4 as a pitcher in 2008, helping to lead SRU to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
 
Rice closed her career ranked first in SRU history in games played (179) and games started (175) after hitting .364 with 186 hits, 143 runs scored, 37 doubles and 35 home runs. She also posted a 3.34 ERA and a 9-5 record as a pitcher.
 
To date, she still ranks first in SRU history in career on-base percentage (.461), games played (179), runs scored (143), hits (186), doubles (37), walks (86) and total bases (334) while ranking second all-time in games started (175), home runs (35) and RBI (129) and third in stolen bases (60) and slugging percentage (.664). She also owns single-season records for slugging (.821 in 2007), doubles (15 in 2007) and home runs (14 in 2007).
 
Rice earned All-PSAC honors in both 2007 and 2008 and added Daktronics All-Region recognitions in both years as well.
 
In addition to her excellence on the field, Rice was a four-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete and member of the Dean's List at SRU. She earned her undergraduate degree in secondary education in 2008 and picked up a master's degree from SRU in 2010.
 
Rice began her coaching career immediately after finishing her playing career, first serving as a graduate assistant with the program during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. She returned to the University in 2012 and spent three years as an assistant coach before taking over as the head coach in 2014-15. She has led SRU to back-to-back trips to the PSAC Tournament in the last two seasons, marking the first repeat trips to the conference playoffs for the program in the last 40 seasons. Included in the last two-year stretch was a single-season program record 29 victories during the 2023 season.
 
A native of South Park, Pennsylvania, Rice married former SRU baseball player Scott Rice. The couple have one daughter, Harper, and reside in Evans City, Pennsylvania.
 

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