LHU Hall of Fame Athletes Inducted
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Lock Haven University Athletics Hall of Fame on Sunday officially welcomed the Class of 2018, as the LHU Athletics Hall of Fame committee held its fourth Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Price Auditorium. Seven individuals and one team made up the Class of 2018.
The seven individual-inductees were Ryan Blood, Robbie Gould, Colleen Hacker, Bill McCollum, Sandy Miller, Matt Sauls and Jessica Spinks. They were joined by the 1996-97 wrestling team, the third team in school history to be inducted into the hall.
THE 2018 HALL OF FAME CLASS:
Ryan Blood (athlete)
Blood ran to All-American honors and finished fourth overall at the 2006 NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships. He was also the 2006 DII East Region Champion and East Region Athlete of the Year. In all, he was a four-time NCAA DII national championship qualifier. In cross country, Blood was a two time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Champion and three-time All-PSAC performer. On the track, he still holds several school records and is still the PSAC championship record holder at 5,000-meters, both indoor and outdoor.
Robbie Gould (athlete)
Gould was a three-time All-American for the LHU men’s soccer team, earning First Team honors in 1981, 1982 and 1983. He started and scored eight goals as a freshman on the Hall of Fame 1980 National Championship team. Over his career, Gould led Lock Haven to 58 wins in four seasons and helped the Bald Eagles win PSAC titles in 1980, 1981 and 1983. He was a three-time All-Region selection and three-time All-Conference pick. In the fall of 1983, Gould was drafted by St. Louis Steamers of the Major Indoor Soccer League.
Colleen Hacker (athlete, coach, contributor)
Hacker played both field hockey and basketball at LHU. As the head women’s soccer coach at Pacific Lutheran University, she led the team to five straight NAIA championship games including victories in 1988, 1989 and 1991. Hacker is a member of both the NAIA Soccer Hall of Fame and Pacific Lutheran’s Hall of Fame. She went on to a very successful career as a mental skills coach and performance psychology specialist. Most recently, Hacker helped guide the USA women’s ice hockey team to a gold medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games. She served as the team’s mental skills coach. Hacker was the first woman to win the Distinguished Professional Practice award from the Association for Applied Sport Psychology in 2014.
Bill McCollum (Golden Era Inductee, athlete)
This year’s Golden Era Inductee (pre-1950) is the legendary Bill McCollum. McCollum was born in Lock Haven in 1916 and graduated from Lock Haven High School in 1934. The three-sport athlete – baseball, boxing, and football – graduated from Lock Haven State Teachers College in 1938. McCollum was a star on the 1936 and 1937 football teams and a two-time All-State defensive tackle. He was chosen to the Eastern Collegiate All-Star Team in 1938. McCollum served as a captain with the 79th Infantry Division in WWII and was killed in action near the town of Cherbourg in Normandy on July 8, 1944.
Sandy Miller (athlete, coach)
Miller was a four-sport athlete at LHU and earned 11 letters, playing field hockey, basketball, lacrosse and softball. A standout in field hockey, she was an All-American and led LHU to two national championships in 1981 and 1982. As the head field hockey coach at East Stroudsburg University, she has led the Warriors to eight NCAA tournament appearances and the 2015 NCAA Division II National Championship, the school’s only national title in field hockey. At ESU, as the field hockey coach, Miller has over 400 wins and has coached nearly 50 All-Americans, to date. Previously, she served as the lacrosse coach and a women’s basketball assistant at ESU.
Matt Sauls (athlete)
Sauls won the Outdoor NCAA Division II National Title in 1999 at 800-meters, which highlighted a remarkable career on the track. The two-time All-American (800-meters; 1998 (5th outdoor)) was a four-time NCAA Division II national qualifier, outdoors. Sauls was named the 1999 PSAC Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year, and in indoor, he was two-time ECAC Track Athlete of the Year. He qualified for the United States Track & Field Junior National Championships in 1998. The four-time PSAC Outdoor Champion, still holds the indoor and outdoor school records at 800 meters.
Jessica (Blickenstaff) Spinks (athlete)
Spinks was a standout on the lacrosse team and finished her three-year Bald Eagle career as a three-time All-American. She led LHU to the 2007 NCAA Division II semifinals. Following the 2007 and 2008 seasons, Spinks was named the DII Midfielder of the Year. In all, she is a three-time All-Region selection, a three-time All-Conference pick and she was named the 2006 PSAC Rookie of the Year. Spinks still ranks among the top-five all-time in career points (317), goals (210) and assists (107).
The 1996-97 Wrestling Team
Behind five All-Americans, the 1996-97 LHU wresting team finished fifth at the NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships, the highest team finish in school history at the Division I level. At the NCAA tournament Lock Haven scored 54 points to place fifth, behind only perennial national-powers Iowa, Oklahoma State, Minnesota and Iowa State. LHU’s 1997 All-Americas included national champion Cary Kolat (142), along with Terry Showalter (6th, 126), Mike Rogers (6th, 150), Brian Leitzel (6th, 158) and Mike Geurin (8th, 177). The team also won the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) title, the first in school history.
