E-Club to Induct Seven into the EMU Athletic Hall of Fame

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University E-Club Alumni Chapter, the official varsity athletic letterwinners club, has announced the addition of seven new members into the E-Club Athletic Hall of Fame. The Class of 2014 will be honored at the Hall of Fame ceremony Friday, Oct. 24, in the atrium of the Convocation Center.

The Class of 2014 includes: Boaz Kisang Cheboiywo (men's cross country/track), Kathy Hart (women's basketball coach), Fred LaPlante (men's cross country/track), Tom Michael (men's swimming and diving), Lorenzo M. Neely (men's basketball), Allyson Newman (women's gymnastics) and Brett Petersmark (football).

This year's class will mark the 39th anniversary of the E-Club Athletic Hall of Fame. A reception will begin at 6 p.m. inside the Convocation Center followed by the ceremony and dinner at 7 p.m. The Class of 2014 will then be recognized at halftime the EMU football game on Saturday, Oct. 25, against Northern Illinois University.

Reservations are $45 and include the evening reception and ceremony as well as a plated dinner and beverages. To register online using a credit card please visit emich.edu/alumni and click on event registration. For questions please call the Office for Alumni Relations at 734.487.0250.

The biographies for the Eastern Michigan University Athletics Hall of Fame 2014 inductees follow below.

BOAZ KISANG CHEBOIYWO
Cross Country and Track: Graduated in 2003...Two-time NCAA Champion in cross country and 10,000m on the track in 2001 and 2002...In 2001, was honored as the NCAA Cross Country Athlete of the Year...Seven-time NCAA All-American and 10-time Mid-American Conference Champion...Named four-time MAC Most Valuable Performance in cross country, indoor, and outdoor track championships...Helped EMU to a third place team finish in the 2002 NCAA Cross Country Championships...Spent over 10 years running professionally for Nike and his native country of Kenya...Featured in a Nike commercial for the 2008 Olympics with famous Nike sponsored athletes including: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Roger Federer...Selected to represent Kenya in the 3,000m at the Indoor Track Championship in Budapest, Hungry after posting the second-fastest time in the world behind legendary runner Haile Gebreselasie of Ethiopia...Selected to represent Kenya at the Penn Relays in 2006, 2007 and 2008; during the famous USA vs. World Penn Relays, he led his Kenyan team to victory in 2008 and finished third in both 2006 and 2007...Finished in the top eight in the 3,000m steeple-chase and 10,000m events at the Kenyan Olympic Trials in 2000, 2004, and 2008

KATHY HART
Women's Basketball Head Coach: Created the first NCAA Women's Basketball program at EMU in the 1981-1982 season...Head Coach of Women's Basketball from 1976-1987 and posted a win-loss record of 146-124...Longest tenured coach in the program's history and first coach to reach a record of 146 wins...Ranked third in total games coached in the 115-year history of EMU basketball for both men and women, behind Ben Braun with 185-132 win-loss record and Elton Rynearson with a 159-129 win-loss record...Awarded the first women's athletic scholarship in women's basketball in 1978...Started Mid-American Conference play in 1982 and finished fourth twice...Scheduled nationally recognized teams like Notre Dame, Washington, Michigan State, Michigan, and scored a big win over Florida in 1986...Coached many EMU Hall of Fame athletes including: Denise Allen, Laurie Byrd, Dottie Davis, Sharon Brown-Calhoun, Kelly Hebler, JoAnn LeFevre-McBroom, and Sharon Rose-Schwartz...Annually hosted the National AAU Women's National Tournament and Michigan State Tournament for Juniors

FRED LaPLANTE
Men's Track and Field and Cross Country: Graduated in 1972...Four-year letter-winner in men's cross country and track...Member of the 1971 NAIA 2 mile relay National Championship Team and named an All-American...Member of the 1971 NAIA National Championship Indoor Track Team...1972 NCAA College Division 1,500m runner-up and named an All-American...Member of the 1972 NCAA College Division National Championship Outdoor Track Team ...Member of the 1972 Drake Relays Distance Medley Relay Championship Team...Member of EMU's record books, setting the two mile relay and distance medley relay team records...Finished his career ranking third on EMU's all-time one-mile list...Served as a graduate assistant to Bob Parks when EMU won its first Mid-American Conference Track Championship in 1974...Served four years as an assistant coach, under Head Coach Bob Parks, winning four consecutive MAC titles...Served as head coach at University of Southern California (women), University of Michigan (men), San Diego State (men/women) and Lehigh University (men/women) winning a conference title at each institution...Highest NCAA National team finishes as a head coach: second at the Indoor Championships, third at the Outdoor Championships, and seventh at the Cross Country Championships...Contributed to the development of 18 Olympians, 25 National Champions, 83 All-Americans, and one World Paralympic Champion...Four-time NCAA District/Regional Coach of the Year...Coached four USA National teams.

TOM MICHAEL
Men's Swimming and Diving: Graduated in 1986...One of the most outstanding divers in Mid-American Conference history...Five-time MAC Diving Champion...Three-time MAC Diver of the Year (1984, 1985, and 1986) and EMU team captain in 1986...USA Diving National Qualifier in 1986...Dove professionally, around the world, from 1986-1994, in most of the major theme parks including Disneyland Park-California and the Berlin Circus in Germany...In 1992, started his own professional diving company, Aquaventures Entertainment, based in Rennes, France...In 1994, was crowned the World High Diving Champion in Silver Springs, Florida and was later featured on ABC's "Wide World of Sports"...Returned to EMU as the men's and women's diving coach for six years (1994-2000), earning Mid-American Conference Diving Coach of the Year in 1996 and 1997 while coaching six conference champions and one conference diver of the year...In 2000, he went on to coach in the Big Ten Conference at Northwestern University for six years and University of Wisconsin for five years...Coached internationally with USA Diving at the 2001 Junior Pan-American Championships in Mexico City and the USA vs. Canada Junior Challenge in 2001, 2002, and 2003...Inducted into Mason Consolidated Schools High School Athletic Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 2010...In 2010, moved to Australia to become the head coach of the Victorian High Performance Program in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...In Melbourne, he has coached seven individual Australian Junior National Champions, two pairs of Junior Synchronized Diving Champions, one Senior National Champion and many other junior medalists...Coached the Victorian Teams internationally in the Asia-Pacific Rim Championships in Wellington, New Zealand and the Australian Junior National Squad at the New Zealand Junior and Senior Nationals.

LORENZO M. NEELEY
Men's Basketball: Graduated in 1991...Received a full men's basketball scholarship to play at EMU...Started for four straight seasons, earning four varsity letters in men's basketball...Outstanding point guard for EMU from 1987-1991 and served as team captain for three seasons (1989, 1990, 1991)...Helped propel EMU to an overtime victory passed Michigan State University on December 17, 1987...In 1987, was named EMU men's basketball and Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year...Earned most valuable player for EMU's men's varsity basketball team in 1990 and 1991...Named as EMU's Athlete of the Year in 1990 and 1991...Won Mid-American Conference and MAC Tournament titles in both 1988 and 1991...Named First-Team All-MAC in 1989, 1990, 1991...Led EMU to its first ever NCAA Division I post-season appearance in 1988 ...Led EMU to its first ever NCAA Division I "Sweet 16" appearance of the NCAA Tournament in 1991, before being edged out by national power-house University of North Carolina ...Two-time Season Leading Scorer in 1989 with 379 points in 29 games and in 1990 with 429 points in 32 games...Finished his career with 1,528 points, 433 free throws, 317 rebounds, and his 521 assists ranks second in EMU's all-time record book...Served as an assistant men's basketball coach at EMU for two seasons including an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1998.

ALLYSON NEWMAN
Women's Gymnastics: Graduated in 1992...One of the top gymnasts in EMU history...Competed from 1989-1992 and won many events during that time period...Teamed with Robin Loheide during three years to give EMU two of the top gymnasts in the Mid-American Conference...Won the MAC All-Around title in 1991 with a 37.40 score and came back in 1992 to defend that championship with a winning score of 37.95 score...In 1991, at the NCAA Central Regional Championship, she tied for seventh place in the All-Around, tied for fourth place in the uneven bars with a score of 9.775 and was tenth in the balance beam with a score of 9.650, setting a varsity record...Set varsity records in all four women's gymnastics events (uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise, and vault) against Illinois State in 1991.

BRETT PETERSMARK
Football: Graduated in 1987...Starting offensive center for three straight seasons (1984-1986)...Honorable Mention All-American in 1986...First-team All-Mid-American Conference center in 1986 and an Honorable Mention All-MAC center in 1985...Played on the Houston Oilers 1987 NFL Team...Assisted in launching the EGG (Eastern Gridiron Group), a former football letter-winner group, that supports the EMU football program.

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