Behrend Lions Athletic Hall of Fame
1991 Inductees
IRVIN H. KOCHEL: ADMINISTRATOR
Kochel served as Director of Behrend College
campus from 1954-1980. From 1980 to 1985, the 1947 graduate of Penn
State was the college's Assistant Vice President for Administration
.
Over the course of his thirty-one years at the college, Kochel was
instrumental in moving the college's athletic teams from their infancy
to where they stand today. Kochel pushed for expansion of facilities
and of the department.
Kochel
was awarded six varsity letters at Penn State (four years in track,
two in wrestling). He was a member of the first track team ever
to win both the Indoor and Outdoor National Championship in the same
year.
ED
ONORATO: COACH
Onorato is best known for his coaching skills at the Behrend College
where he coached twelve years of wrestling, as well as two years of
soccer, one year of tennis and six years of golf.
The
1958 graduate of Tech High School, where he built a 30-4 match record
as a wrestler, Onorato went on to Slippery Rock University.
At Slippery Rock he lettered in both football and wrestling.
As a wrestler he went 18-1 over his career. In 1964 he participated
in the Olympic Trials.
His
Behrend teams went 34-39-1 during his 12-year tenure. Two of
his wrestlers, Ashley Swift and Brian Vollant, are also members of
this year's Hall of Fame class.
CHERYL
RAMSDELL-ANDERSON
Ramsdell-Anderson
participated for three years of basketball and two seasons each of
softball and volleyball. The former five-term Dean's List student
earned the Female Athlete of the Year Award both in 1978 and 1979.
In 1985 that award was permanently renamed the Cheryl Ramsdell-Anderson
Female Athlete of the Year Award.
Cheryl
was also named Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 1979. Ramsdell-Anderson
completed her master's degree in engineering in 1983 at Penn State
University.
RON
HORNYAK
A graduate
of Cathedral Prep in 1965 Ron participated in two seasons each of
basketball and baseball. Following his career at Behrend, Ron
played two additional seasons of basketball at Penn State, graduating
in 1969.
Hornyak,
the former Male Athlete of the Year in 1967, was a two-time All-State
junior college selection in baseball. Ron captained the team
for one season.
A member
of Who's Who Among American Junior Colleges, Hornyak also earned All-State
basketball honors, again while serving as team captain for one year.
Lawless played twelve years of professional baseball. More than
seven years were spent at the major league level playing for the Cincinnati
Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Montreal Expos, and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Over
his four-year playing career at Behrend College, Lawless carried a
career .378 batting average, fourth best in school history.
In two of his four seasons, Lawless hit over .400. In 1979 he
hit .426 and won the conference-batting crown.
In
June 1978, Lawless was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds. He was
the MVP of both his A and AA teams. Lawless made the jump to
the "Show" in July 1982.
BILL
STARA
Stara
played soccer at Penn State Behrend. The three-year starting
goalkeeper set records for career shutouts, shutouts in a season and
for fewest goals allowed.
Bill
twice earned Regional All-American honors. Twice Stara was named
All-Conference. The former captain was the starting keeper of
the first team that earned post-season opportunities. Twice
in his playing career Stara had try-outs with professional soccer
teams.
Since
graduating from Penn State in '79 Stara has been a high school coach
in Maryland. He has been named Maryland's High School Coach
of the Year three years. His teams have three state titles.
ASHLEY
SWIFT
In
his two seasons of wrestling at Penn State Behrend, Swift compiled
a 42-9 match record. In his freshman year he recorded a 13-1
mark, finished second in the District 18 Championships and qualified
for the NAIA Nationals.
In
his sophomore year, Swift compiled a 15-2 dual match record, grabbed
a first at the District Championships and again qualified for the
Nationals.
In
1976 Swift moved on to Penn State where he competed for two more seasons.
While at Penn State he competed in the Division I Eastern Championships
as well as Nationals.
BRIAN
VOLLANT
Under
Coach Onorato, Vollant registered a 9-1 freshman campaign. In
his sophomore year the '72 McDowell graduate went 12-2 and finished
in the top eight at the NAIA National Championships.
As
a junior Vollant went 25-4. He was the first wrestler in school
history to go unbeaten in dual matches, 17-0. He was seeded
sixth at Nationals. Brian continued on to PSU for his senior
year and was a team member.
In
1975 Vollant was named Male Athlete of the Year.