Arthur Belmonte '77

Arthur Belmonte '77 was an outstanding 4-year track athlete for the Lancers and was captain of the 1976 indoor team.  He ran the 120 high hurdles, 440, 440 intermediate hurdles and the mile.  In 1975, Belmonte ran the anchor leg in the New England Mile Relay in which Worcester State finished 5^th.  He ran the anchor leg on the relay team that broke the ECAC record at Bowdoin College and helped set the Worcester State record in the mile relay at the national meet in 1975.  Among Belmonte’s major accomplishments was defeating teammate and New England quarter mile champion Rich Riley at the MASCAC championships for Riley’s only defeat in his career.  He was also the 1975 MASCAC champion in the 440 in 1975.  In 1976, Belmonte won the City Championship in the 440 hurdles.  In 1977, Belmonte set the 440 intermediate hurdle record for the Lancers with a time of 54.3; a record that stood for 28 years.  Belmonte was also a member of the Worcester State Club Football team from 1973-76.  It is with great pleasure that we induct Arthur Belmonte in to the Worcester State College Athletic Hall of Fame.

 Maura Cushing ’00

Maura Cushing ’00 was a four year starter for the women’s soccer and basketball teams and captained both sports in her senior season.  As a freshman, she was selected as the Worcester State Outstanding Freshman Female Athlete and then after her final year of eligibility she earned the Outstanding Senior Female Athlete Award at the annual Awards banquet.  In soccer, she was selected to the MASCAC All-Conference team all 4 years and finished her career with 38 career goals good for second on the Lancers all-time scoring list.  She holds the Worcester State record for assists in a career (20) and points in a game (8) while ranking 2^nd in four other major categories. She led the Lancers in scoring all four years as well.  In 1997, she led the MASCAC in scoring with a mark of 1.88 per game.   On the basketball court, Cushing had a fine career as she finished with 484 career points and in her sophomore year ranked 3^rd in the MASCAC with 4.1 assists per game.  In 1999, Maura was named to Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.  It is with great pleasure that we induct Maura Cushing into the Worcester State College Athletic Hall of Fame.

Stanley Egbor ’01

Stanley Egbor ’01 is one of the most highly decorated track athletes in Worcester State history.  He was a 6-time All-American in the 55 meter, 100 meter and 200 meter events.  His junior season, Stanley was not beaten by a New England Division III athlete all year in both the indoor and outdoor seasons.  That season, he was the MASCAC and Alliance Champion in the 55 meter and 200 meter during the indoor season.  He also was the ECAC champion in both of those events.  He finished 5^th in nationals to earn All-America status in the 55 meter sprint.  During the outdoor season, he finished first in the 100 meter and 200 meter events in the MASCAC/Alliance meet as well as the Division III and All-Division New England meets.  He finished 6^th in the 100 meters at nationals and 2^nd in the 200 meter event to earn All-American honors in both events.  His senior season it was more of the same from Egbor as he dominated the New England sprint scene.  At the indoor track and field national meet, he once again earned All-American honors placing 2^nd in the 55 meter event.  During the outdoor season he repeated as an All-American in the 100 meter and 200 meter races finishing 4^th and 2^nd in the respective events.  He was selected as the NCAA New England indoor track athlete of the year his senior year and won the award for outdoor track both his junior and senior seasons.  Egbor has won numerous New England, ECAC and MASCAC/Alliance awards and is the Worcester State record holder in 6 events (55m, 60m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 4X100).  It is with great pleasure that we induct Stanley Egbor into the Worcester State College Athletic Hall of Fame.

Tim Leonard ’01

Tim Leonard ’01 had a fine career for the Worcester State baseball team both on and off the field.  On the diamond, Leonard set numerous Worcester State records over 10 statistical categories while being a member of teams that reached the ECAC tournament all four years.  A four-year starter at shortstop, Leonard was captain of the squad his senior season.  His .449 batting average in 1998 ranks 13^th on the Lancer all-time single season list and his .381 career average is 14^th.  Leonard was a 2-time All-MASCAC selection and an ECAC honorable mention selection in 2001.  Leonard’s 198 career hits is second on the all-time list for the Lancers.  Among his accomplishments, he is ranked first in career assists (358), career doubles (61), career runs scored (200), stolen bases in a game, season and career with 5, 23 and 85, respectively.  Academically, he was a regional Academic All-American winner and along with being chosen as the Worcester State top male student-athlete in 2001, he was honored with the prestigious Howard C. Smith Award by the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference for the top student-athlete in all sports for the 2000-2001 academic year.  It is with great pleasure that we induct Tim Leonard into the Worcester State College athletic Hall of Fame.

Anthony Shooshan ’51

Anthony Shooshan ’51 was an outstanding pitcher and second baseman for the first baseball teams at Worcester State under Head Coach and Hall of Famer Jack Eager. In a time of short seasons, Shooshan won an impressive 7 games in 1950 for Worcester State.  He finished his career with an impressive 12-6 overall record on the mound.  Shooshan was a Worcester native and an All-City player at Worcester South High School before coming to Worcester State.   In 1996, in recognition of his place among the greats of Worcester State’s baseball past, the annual team award given to the top Worcester State College pitcher was named the “Tony Shooshan Award”.  Shooshan is now the 26^th baseball player to be selected to the Worcester State Hall of Fame and joins Coach Eager as the only members of the initial Lancer baseball teams.  It is with great honor that we induct Anthony Shooshan into the Worcester State College Athletic Hall of Fame.

Mike Stomski ’81

Mike Stomski ’81 was a member of the Worcester State track program from 1979-81.  After his graduation, Stomski became a volunteer assistant coach for the Lancer track and field team beginning in 1981 and going through the 1988 season.  Stomski coached athletes who set or reset over 38 school records in indoor and outdoor track despite a limited practice facility for throwing events.  He coached a pair of NCAA Indoor Track All-Americans and 4 NCAA Division III Outdoor champions.  He also mentored numerous All-New England and ECAC honorees as well as countless qualifiers.  Among the Worcester State notables that Coach Stomski taught were Frank Poulin, Patrick Carmody, Jon Cotter, Paul Gaffney, Mike Balzarini, Chrissy (Mitchell) Gaffney and Francine Lapierre; none of whom had experience in throwing events prior to attending Worcester State College.  It is with great pride that we induct former Worcester State coach and athlete in the Athletic Hall of Fame.

The 1983-84 golf team

The 1983-84 golf team finished in a tie for third place at the at the Division III National Championship match.  The team score of 1,219 was the lowest score of any New England Team in the NCAA championship tournament prior to 2000.  The third place finish is also the second best of a New England school as UMass-Dartmouth’s 2^nd place finish in 1977 is the only team that has fared better.  Jim Bombard and Scott Fairbanks were both earned their way onto the 1983-84 All-American Team.  The team finished the year ranked 1^st in New England and placed two golfers on the New England 1^st team in Jim Bombard and Scott Fairbanks while placing another pair on the 2^nd team Terry O’Hara and Matthew Stephens.  In the fall portion of the season, the Lancers finished 2^nd at the ECAC’s and 3^rd at New Englands getting medalist honors in both tournaments with Bombard winning at ECAC’s and Fairbanks winning at New Englands.  Coach Bob Devlin was chosen as NCAA Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the 1983-84 year.

Team Members: Jim Bombard, Jay Cunningham, Scott Fairbanks, Dan Jankaitis, John Lajoie, Chip Mannix, Terry O’Hara, Thomas Paradise, Matt Stephens and Vin Sasso.