Colby-Sawyer College Announces 2009 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees
NEW LONDON, N.H. – Colby-Sawyer College will induct two student athletes and an entire team as new members of its Athletic Hall of Fame this fall. This year's honorees include equestrian Suzanne Horrigan Campbell '78, men's basketball player Matthew George '98, and the 1998-1999 Chargers women's basketball team.
Established in 2006, the Colby-Sawyer Athletic Hall of Fame celebrates the accomplishments of Colby-Sawyer athletes, coaches, teams and supporters who have advanced the college's commitment to excellence. Colby-Sawyer will host an induction ceremony for the 2009 Athletic Hall of Fame athletes on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 11 a.m. in Wheeler Hall at the Ware Campus Center. The event is open to the college community, alumni and friends, and area residents.
Suzanne Horrigan Campbell of Bow, N.H., is one of the most accomplished equestrians in Colby-Sawyer's history. Horrigan Campbell qualified to compete as an individual rider in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) national championships in all four years on the equestrian team. She served as team captain for three years and was twice selected as the team's most valuable player.
As a freshman, Horrigan Campbell placed first in the IHSA National Championship in the Open over Fences category. She was also the IHSA National Champion Reserve in the Open on the Flat category and the Cacchione Cup National Champion High Point Rider in 1975. The following year, Horrigan Campbell was again the IHSA National Champion in the Open on the Flat and Open over Fences categories as well as the Region III Reserve High Point Rider. She received an award of merit from Sports Illustrated and was featured in the magazine's “Faces in the Crowd” section for her Cacchione Cup win.
Following her graduation, Horrigan Campbell became the 1980 New Jersey State Champion in the New Jersey Professional Horseman's Association and the New Jersey Horse Shows Association. In 1983, she assisted Colby-Sawyer's equestrian team, and in 1999, she was chosen as the Vermont State Champion in Adult Equitation and qualified for New England Medal Finals.
Horrigan Campbell has been a certified therapeutic riding instructor for the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) since 2001. She volunteers at two therapeutic riding centers and is also a member of HOPE Equine Assisted Learning Task Force for at-risk youth. She continues to train with Joe Forest, her former equestrian team coach at Colby-Sawyer.
Matthew George, a resident of Brookfield, Vt., was an outstanding guard for all four years on the Chargers' men's basketball team, demonstrating leadership on and off the court. He is the college's all-time leader in free throws (476) and one of its all-time leaders in total points (2,050), steals (157), three-pointers (284), assists (374) and field goals (645). He was also a member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) New England Championship team in 1997-1998.
In the 1994-1995 season, George was selected as an ECAC New England Rookie of the Week and as the Columbus Multimedia Northeast Region Rookie of the Year. In the following year, he was chosen for the 1995-96 Second-team All-Commonwealth Coastal Conference (CCC) and as Columbus Multimedia's pick for Honorable Mention All-Northeast. In 1996-1997, George was selected as the most valuable player for the men's team and for the first-team All-CCC, as well as for Columbus Multimedia's All-Northeast Region Second Team.
In his final year, George was chosen as Colby-Sawyer's Male Athlete of the Year and honored again as his team's most valuable player. He also garnered a slew of other honors including his selection to participate in the New England Basketball Coaches Association (NEBCA) Senior All-Star game and as New Hampshire Division III Coaches Association First Team All-Star.
George was also named to the NABC's Second-team All-Northeast District by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), the first-team All-CCC and for the third-team ECAC All-Stars. After graduating from Colby-Sawyer in 1998, George went on to play basketball professionally in England.
The 1998-1999 Chargers' women's basketball team, which broke multiple college records en route to the second round of the NCAA Championships, will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The team set 14 records, including six that still stand. Besides a single game record for free throws made (39 vs. Nichols), the teams still holds season records for points (2082), field goals (774), free-throws (428) and rebounds (1381). The Chargers won 25 games, which still stands as the school record for wins in a season.
The 1998-1999 team was Colby-Sawyer's first to go undefeated in the regular season in the conference, and the Chargers forged a 17-game winning streak in the league to advance to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships. In the NCAA tournament, the Chargers defeated Hunter 74-60 at home to advance to the second round of the championships, a first for Colby-Sawyer women's basketball.
The 1998-1999 team included the following athletes: Tasha Beaudin '02 of Warwick, R.I., Ashley Bramwell Arruda '02 of East Pembroke, Mass., Amy Callahan '02 of Salem, Mass., Cheryl Carr '00 of Easthampton, Mass., Hillary Cross Hagerty '02 of Newbury, N.H., Michelle Dailey '02 of Easthampton, Mass., team captain Kristin Diachisin '99 of Peabody, Mass., Megan Donnelly Hydock '99 of East Rochester, N.H., team captain Melissa Eckman Binette '99 of Amesbury, Mass., Katarzyna Fadrowski '01 of Farmington, Conn., team captain Alison Gulubicki '99 of Haverhill, Mass., Sara Hammond Misiano '01 of Salem, Mass., Leisa Jesser Tripp '01 of Shrewsbury, Mass., Elise Johnson Korbet '02 of Contoocook, N.H., Katie Moynahan Burke '02 of Becket, Mass., Julie Sheehan O' Neill '02 of Hudson, Mass., and Heather St. Louis '99 of Methuen, Mass.
The 1998-1999 women's basketball team was led by Head Coach George Martin of Newbury, N.H., and former Assistant Coaches Beth Chartier Tower '97 of Weare, N.H., Nate Camp '98 of New London, N.H., and Brian Beauman '99 of Andover, N.H.
Sara Hammond Misiano and Beth Chartier Tower were previously inducted as inaugural individual members of the Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. Hammond Misiano was recognized for her achievements on the Colby-Sawyer women's basketball and volleyball teams, and Chartier Tower for her accomplishments as a member of the women's basketball team.
To learn more about the Colby-Sawyer College Athletic Hall of Fame, visit www.colby-sawyerathletics.com/hof.aspx?. For more information about intercollegiate athletics, visit www.colby-sawyerathletics.com.
