By: Scott Eddy, Assistant Athletics Director for Athletics Communications
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – A group of six individuals who each left their mark on St. Bonaventure during their time on campus have been selected for induction into the St. Bonaventure University Athletics Hall of Fame as the Class of 2021:
Josh Anderson '06 (golf),
Marques Green '04 (men's basketball),
Dana Mitchell '10 (women's basketball),
Joe Rizzo '07 (baseball),
Kristin Snyder Clarke '90 (women's soccer) and
Sherri Thompson '10 (softball).
Larry Sudbrook was voted into the St. Bonaventure Athletics Hall of Fame as well, but has deferred his induction to 2023.
This year's class will be formally inducted Saturday, Jan. 29. The induction ceremony is set for 10 a.m. inside the Rigas Family Theater on campus. To live stream the ceremony, please
click here. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which is free and open to all, will be part of Homecoming Weekend on campus and precedes that day's men's basketball game inside the Reilly Center.
The new inductees join 140 previous St. Bonaventure Athletics Hall of Fame honorees, continuing a tradition that dates to 1969 when the first class was honored. Induction into the Hall of Fame recognizes and honors those individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the intercollegiate program at St. Bonaventure University, and who have continued to demonstrate in their lives the values imparted by intercollegiate athletics.
Josh Anderson
A look at the
Bonnies golf record books will reveal Josh Anderson's name at or near the top of nearly every category in program history.
A four-year player and captain for coach
Steve Campbell's
Bonnies, Anderson turned in some of the finest seasons of any St. Bonaventure golfer. His senior season of 2005-06 remains the campaign by which all
Bonnies players are judged by in terms of season scoring as he finished that year with a stroke average of 73.00, lowest in program history. He captured three victories and five-top 5s that season, also tied for most in school history, and all 27 of his rounds were in the 70s or lower. His total of 71 birdies as a senior continue to rank sixth in the program record book as well while his par-4 average of 4.12 currently ranks best over a full season and his par-5 average of 4.78 stands second. He was the leader of a
Bonnies team that earned four tournament victories, tied for third in school history, while finishing the year with its best-ever
GolfStat national ranking.
Anderson also ranks second in the program record books for low-36 hole total (137) and fourth for low-54 hole total (209) while his five career tournament victories stands tied for most all-time. His 166 career birdies are among the program top-10 and his career scoring average of 75.8 is seventh all-time in
Bonnies history.
Anderson becomes just the second exclusively golf athlete to enter the St. Bonaventure Athletics Hall of Fame, joining Chris
Blocher who was part of the Class of 2011. Sam
Urzetta was a member of the first induction Class of 1969, but was also inducted for his work as a men's basketball player. Longtime coach Leo Keenan was inducted in 1993.
Marques Green
In a program full of history with great guards, Marques Green is one of the best.
The school record-holder in both assists (657) and steals (325), the 5-foot-7 native of
Norristown, Pa. ranks among the Atlantic 10's all-time leaders in both categories as well, standing second in steals and eighth in assists in conference history.
His 281 three-pointers are the most in school history while he shot 38.5 percent from distance for his career, good for sixth in program history. Green also ranks ninth all-time in school history with 1,734 points. He was selected All-A-10 First Team in 2003, Second Team in 2004 and Third Team in 2002. He was also an A-10 All-Defensive Team pick in three straight seasons, one of only three players in program history to earn that distinction. His 216 assists in 2002-03 also stand as a program season record as he finished that year with a whopping eight helpers per contest. He was the national leader with 107 steals in 2003-04, four per game, for another program record.
Following his Bonaventure career, he was extremely successful as a professional by playing overseas for 15 years.
During the program's centennial season of 2019-20 he was honored as one of the
Bonnies' All-Time Team members.
Dana Mitchell
One of the greatest players in Bona's history, Dana Mitchell not only wrote her name throughout the
Bonnies record books but helped take the program to new heights during her playing career.
She ranks second in
Bonnies career scoring, one of only two players in school history to ever reach the 2,000-point total, finishing her time in Brown in White with 2,011 points. Her 756 made field goals are most in program history while she also stands fourth in rebounds with 706. She totaled 32 20-point performances and registered 121 double-figure efforts, 23 more than any other player in school history.
More importantly, she was at the center of a rise to national prominence for
Bonnies women's basketball. Her teams won 80 total games, but after a 16-15 freshman campaign of 2006-07, her next three teams turned in seasons of 18, 23 and 23 victories for a winning percentage of nearly 66 percent.
In 2009, the
Bonnies earned their first-ever national postseason berth and reached the Elite Eight of the
WNIT, keyed by Mitchell's efforts. She led the team in scoring during a second round
WNIT win at Wisconsin after an 18-point effort in a first round win over West Virginia. As a senior the following year, she helped the
Bonnies return to the
WNIT including another first round victory over Robert Morris when she poured in 27 points.
The only player in program history to have her number retired, she was a three-time All-Atlantic 10 selection including a First Team honoree as a senior when she averaged 16.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. She also earned a spot on the A-10 All-Rookie Team following her freshman campaign and was named to the All-Academic Team as a senior. She started 120 consecutive games and missed just one contest during her four seasons.
Joe Rizzo
Joe Rizzo was one of the top players in the modern era of
Bonnies baseball.
The
Pittsford, N.Y. native stands sixth all-time in career hits (209), third in home runs (30), third in RBIs (154), sixth in doubles (44), eighth in slugging percentage (.534), eighth in runs (124) and third in walks drawn (98).
A three-time All-Atlantic 10 selection, he was a fixture in the lineup during his four seasons for the
Bonnies.
He was an Atlantic 10 First Team outfield selection as a junior in 2006 and also earned a spot on the American Baseball Coaches Association (
ABCA) All-Region teams after hitting .319 with 11 home runs and 54 RBIs. During the A-10 Tournament, he batted .467 with a homer and five RBIs to land on the All-Tournament Team.
Following his sophomore season, he was a First Team All-Region pick and Second Team All-A-10 honoree after hitting .330 with 11 homers and 45 RBIs.
Rizzo also was integral to a golden era of
Bonnies baseball. During his four-year career, St. Bonaventure won 104 games, an average of 26 per season.
A key part of the
Bonnies' only Atlantic 10 championship squad in 2004 when he started 33 of 37 games played and got on base at a .406 clip, he was named to the All-Tournament Team after hitting .357 with three RBIs and a .500 on-base percentage, helping punch a ticket for the team into the NCAA Tournament. He also helped the
Bonnies to an A-10 championship game appearance in 2006 as well after finishing second in the season conference standings with a program record 18 A-10 victories that year.
Kristin Snyder Clarke
Kristin Snyder Clarke finished her playing career as one of the top women's soccer players in school history when she graduated in 1990, and still today remains at or near the top of nearly every statistical category.
A prolific scorer during her time with the Brown and White, Snyder is tied for the all-time
Bonnies career goals record with 40, along with fellow Hall of Fame inductee Trish Quinn '93. Snyder also ranks third in program history with 89 career points.
She also stands third in single season goals (15, 1988) and tied sixth in single season points (33, 1988) while playing on teams that won 10 games in each her junior and senior seasons for head coach David Karl prior to the organization of Atlantic 10 women's soccer which came in 1993.
Sherri Thompson
The name Sherri Thompson appears at or near the top of almost every category in the
Bonnies softball record book.
A star in the circle for the Brown and White, Thompson ranks second in career wins (40), first in starts (94), first in appearances (111), first in innings pitched (647.1), first in complete games (79), tied-first in shutouts (13) and third in ERA (2.57). Her 530 career strikeouts are 146 more than anyone else in program history.
A two-time All-Atlantic 10 selection at perhaps the most difficult position to earn all-conference honors accolades at, Thompson was a First Team pitcher in 2008 when she won 16 games with a program-record six shutouts, and a Second Team selection in 2007 when she led the league in ERA at 1.15, another
Bonnies season record. Her 1.60 ERA in 2008 also ranks second in school history.