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YSU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2011 Announced

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IAA Fan:
Youngstown, Ohio – The Youngstown State University Penguin Club and Athletics Hall of Fame Committee has elected a group of seven former Penguins standouts into the school’s athletic hall of fame.

The class of 2011 includes: Pat Crummey (football), Craig Haese (men’s basketball), Brad Hennessey (baseball), Brianne Kenneally (women’s basketball), Melissa Lyczkowski (volleyball), Kristen Meech (volleyball) and Jeff Ryan (football).

The class will be inducted at the 27th Annual Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon on Saturday, Oct. 29, in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center. The class will also be introduced at halftime of the Youngstown State-Western Illinois football game later that afternoon.

This year’s inductees in alphabetical order with a brief biography follows:

Pat Crummey, Football (1998-2001): Crummey was a four-year letterwinner, a 2001 First-Team All-American and a two-time First-Team All-Gateway Conference selection in 2000 and 2001. In 2002, he was selected as the YSU Male Athlete of the Year. He was also a member of the 1999 national runner-up team. He started 37 of 38 games he played at YSU as an offensive tackle after beginning his career as a defensive lineman. He was the first player in school history to be named the team’s offensive lineman of the year twice.

Craig Haese, Men’s Basketball (1997-2001): Haese was a four-year letterwinner on the men’s basketball team from 1997-2001. He was named the 2001 YSU Male Athletic of the Year and garnered First-Team All-Mid-Continent Conference as a senior in 2000-01. He led the team in scoring with a 14.1 points per game average as a senior. He is the school record holder for career 3-pointers made with 198 and career free-throw percentage at .858. He became the 27th player to score 1,000 career points and ranks 26th all-time with 1,033 career points.

Brad Hennessey, Baseball (1999-2001): Hennessey was a three-year letterwinner on the baseball team and was the 2001 Mid-Continent Conference Co-Pitcher of the Year and a first-team all-conference selection. A first-round pick (21st overall) in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft by the San Francisco Giants, he set the single-season strikeout mark with 126 and the single-season innings pitched record of 88.2 in 2001.

Brianne Kenneally, Women’s Basketball (1997-2001): Kenneally was a four-year letterwinner and was a member of the 1998 and 2000 NCAA Tournament-qualifying teams. She also helped lead the Penguins to back-to-back Mid-Continent Conference Regular-Season Championships in 1998 and 1999. A two-time Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year, she is the only player in YSU sports history to be a league player of the year in consecutive seasons. In 2001, she was named the YSU Female Athlete of the Year. Kenneally finished her career ranked seventh in school history and fifth (now 16th) in Mid-Con history 1,471 points scored.

Melissa Lyczowski, Volleyball (1998-2001): Lyczkowski was a four-year letterwinner and starter at setter for the volleyball program. She is the school’s all-time leader with 4,820 assists and owns the top two slots on the single-season assists list with 1,373 in 1999 and 1,289 in 1998. She helped lead Guins to the 1999 Mid-Con regular season championship. She is only player in school history to record at least 1,000 assists all four years. She was the Mid-Continent Conference Newcomer of the Year in 1998 and a two-time second-team all-conference selection.

Kristen Meech, Volleyball (1998-2001): Meech was a four-year letterwinner and is the school’s all-time leader in total blocks with 562. She ranks sixth in school history with 1,055 career kills and is the only player in school history with 1,000 kills and 500 blocks. She ranked second in the nation in blocks per game in 1999 with 1.92 bpg. She is also the only player to record at least 200 blocks in a season with 207 in 1999.

Jeff Ryan, Football (1998-2001): Ryan was a four-year starter at quarterback and led the Penguins to the 1999 national championship game and the 2000 FCS playoffs. He ranks third all-time with 6,226 passing yards and holds the school record for most rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,872. He also ranks second with 50 passing touchdowns and fourth with a 57.6 career completion percentage.

IAA Fan:
What a class. A couple of these can be arguably the "best-ever" in their sports.

Wick250:
Kenneally was certainly the best female basketball player.  Remember that she sustained a career-ending injury in December of her senior year.  Otherwise, she would have been conference player of the year for three consecutive seasons, and her statistics would have been simply ridiculous.

IAA Fan:
Did she not lead the nation in scoring up to the point of the injury?

Lyczkowski and Meech combine for the best VB player (L on offense and M on defense). Hennessey was the programs top pitcher. Arm that lasted forever, needed little rest, and had good power and accuracy. Could hit the ball as good as any outfielder. 1st-round draft pick.

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