Black & Gold Weekend Registration & Schedule of Events
Registration to attend the W Association Hall of Fame induction ceremony is now open. The ceremony will take place on Saturday, September 25 at 7 p.m. at McGaw Chapel (340 E. University St.) on the College's campus. The event is part of Black & Gold Weekend. A one-time registration fee of $15 per person allows admission to all of the public events for the weekend except the football game against DePauw University on September 25 at 2 p.m., for which there is an additional, nominal charge at the stadium entrance. Registration and the complete Black & Gold Weekend schedule can be found HERE.
This year's induction class includes Ali Drushal Sloan '09, Frank Andrew Knutsen '34, Jack Lengyel, Seth T. Mastrine '01, Kate Messer Dulac '99, Steve Moore, and Travis Snyder '99.
Drushal starred for Wooster's track & field and volleyball programs in the mid-to-late 2000s, and she gained the most notoriety in the latter. Drushal was a third-team American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American as a senior, and she's one of 10 players in NCAA Div. III history with over 3,000 career digs. The three-time All-North Coast Athletic Conference honoree still holds the league and Wooster records for most career digs with 3,043. In track & field, Drushal earned nine All-NCAC honors, and was the conference's 2007 champion in the indoor pole vault after clearing 10 feet, 8 inches.
Knutsen was Wooster's top distance runner in the early-to-mid 1930s. He originally joined the team as a pole vaulter as a sophomore, but was quickly steered toward running by Carl Munson. Knutsen won the two-mile race at the Big Six Championships all three years he competed and added two titles at the Big Six Cross Country Championships. In fact, he never lost a cross country race in his two years on the team. It is believed that the Ohio Athletic Conference Championship meets were called Big Six Meets at the time.
Lengyel, perhaps best known for leading and rebuilding Marshall University's football program after its tragic 1970 plane crash, and as the focal point of the popular movie We Are Marshall, served as the head football and men's lacrosse coach at Wooster from 1966-70. He later embarked on a decorated and lengthy career in athletic administration, headlined by a 13-year stretch as the athletic director at the United States Naval Academy. He's earned numerous prestigious awards from multiple organizations, including the American Football Coaches Association's Tuss McLaughry Award, joining a distinguished list of recipients that include six former United States presidents. Lengyel is the W Association's inaugural selection for its "Distinguished Award of Excellence."
Mastrine, one of the top defensive backs in program history earned All-America honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America as a junior and senior and from the Football Gazette as a senior. The two-time first-team All-NCAC defensive back was also a three-time all-conference pick as a return specialist. He's still Wooster's all-time leader in single-game (4), single-season (9), and career (18) interceptions.
Messer, Wooster's first four-time Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association all-region honoree, was the third player in program history to be a four-time All-NCAC selection. Upon graduation, the versatile attacker ranked third in program history with 152 goals and was Wooster's all-time leader in assists (76) and points (228). She still ranks in the top-five all-time in assists and points.
Moore retired at the end of the 2019-20 academic year. During his 33 years as head men's basketball coach, Moore guided Wooster to 780 wins, a league-leading 18 NCAC titles, and 28 NCAA Tournament appearances – including a Div. III record 18 straight from 2003-2020. Moore-coached teams advanced to the Div. III "Final Four" in 2003, 2007, and 2011, and played in the 2011 national championship game. His 867 career wins are 12th in NCAA men's basketball history and are the second-most in Div. III.
Snyder picked up two all-region honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association and was a three-time first-team All-NCAC selection. The infielder's biggest contributions came in 1997, when he helped lead Wooster's storied baseball program to a runner-up finish at the NCAA Div. III Championships. As a sophomore, Snyder hit .465 (94-for-202), scored 66 runs, and clubbed a still-standing program record 25 doubles. He's one of five players in program history with at least 250 career base knocks.
Noteworthy, Drushal joins her brother, J. Richard "Rick" Drushal Jr., in the hall of fame, while Mastrine's stepbrother, Erich Riebe, is also a W Association Hall of Famer.