Sanson, Berry, Smith, 1996 Baseball Team Headline 2023 MASCAC Hall of Fame Induction Class

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Bridgewater State All-American softball player, Amanda Sanson, gridiron great, Seto Berry, legendary baseball coach, Rick Smith, and the 1996 Baseball Team are among the members of the 2023 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Hall of Fame induction class which was announced today by the MASCAC office.

The MASCAC created the Hall of Fame to provide the recognition of those individuals who have made a significant contribution to the conference and to help preserve the storied history of the MASCAC and its member institutions.

There are seven categories for nomination: student-athlete from a men's team, student-athlete from a women's team, overall team, male coach, female coach*, administrator and legends.

The 2023 MASCAC Hall of Fame Class is as follows:

• Student-Athlete (Men's Team): Seto Berry - Bridgewater State, Russell Thompson - Westfield State
• Student-Athlete (Women's Team): Amanda Sanson - Bridgewater State, Debbie Wells - Fitchburg State
• Team: 1996 Bridgewater State Baseball
• Coach (Men's Team): Rick Smith - Bridgewater State, Jerry Gravel - Westfield State
• Administrator: Susan Getchell - MCLA
• Legends: Paul Waring - Fitchburg State

Student-Athlete (Men's Team)

Up first for the Class of 2023 are the student-athletes from a male team. Arguably one of the greatest running back to ever set foot on Swenson Field, Seto Berry competed on the gridiron at Bridgewater State from 1997 to 2000. He is the Bears' all-time career rushing leader with 4,495 yards and 44 rushing touchdowns, and the only running back in BSC football history to eclipse the 4,000-yard barrier. During his four-year career, the Bears produced an overall record of 32-10 (.762) and won or shared the New England Football Conference (NEFC) and Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) regular season crowns all four seasons. Seto, who is second all-time at Bridgewater State in scoring with 274 career points, rushed for 1,286 yards and 16 touchdowns in 1999, which at the time were school records. He helped lead the Bears to a 10-0 regular season mark that season as well as the first of back-to-back NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. The 1999 team broke the school marks for points scored in a season (468), and total offense (4,958). In 1998, Seto rushed for a school single-game record of 283 yards (since broken) in Bridgewater State's Cranberry Bowl victory over Mass. Maritime as he earned Lee Harrington Most Valuable Player honors. Seto was a four-time All-New England Football Conference selection including first team accolades in 1997 and 1999. He was also voted to the ECAC Division III New England All-Star Second Team in 1997 and 1999, and was named as an honorable mention on the 1999 Hewlett-Packard Division III All-American Team. Since graduating from Bridgewater State, Seto has gone on to become a middle school physical education teacher in Plymouth. 

Russell A. Thompson was a dominating men's basketball player at Westfield State College in the mid 1980s. The Springfield native is Westfield State's first and only basketball All-American, and is the only Westfield player to total more than 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds - milestones that he both surpassed in a 1987 game against Worcester State. Thompson, a 6-4, 220-pound lefthander, used a combination of quickness, anticpation and leaping ability to rank as one of the nation’s top NCAA Division III rebounders for three consecutive seasons. He first began making a name for himself nationally during his sophomore year when he was the second leading rebounder in the country. In his junior season, Thompson led the NCAA in rebounding, ripping down 351 rebounds in 23 games for a 15.3 per game average. Thompson had a better average his senior year (16.1 per game) when he finished second nationally. In addition to leading the Owls as team captain and Most Valuable Player during his final two seasons, the Springfield Classical High School graduate was selected a 1987 third team All American by three organizations - Kodak, Basketball Times and the Associated Press. He was a two-time all conference selection; an All New England pick his senior year; an ECAC and Coach’s All-District All-Star, and a seven-time ECAC Player of the Week. Thompson has 1,169 career points and sets school records in five categories: career rebounds (1,194), career blocked shots (139), career field goal shooting percentage (.579), rebounds in a season (354 in 1987), and field goal shooting percentage in a game (9 for 10). 

Student-Athlete (Women's Team)

We have two honorees for student-athlete from a female team. Amanda Sanson proved to be one of the best pitchers in Bridgewater State softball history. Sanson led the softball team from the mound from 1999 to 2002 as she set and still holds career pitching marks for wins (70), strikeouts (594) and innings pitched (565). She also posted a career 1.11 earned run average and 24 shutouts, records that stood until 2014. Sanson was named to the All-MASCAC Team in each of her four seasons while also capturing MASCAC Player of the Year honors in 2000 and 2002, and MASCAC Rookie of the Year honors in 1999. Sanson was Bridgewater State's Freshman Athlete of the Year in 2000 as well as the Athlete of the Year two of the following three years. She was a 2001 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III All-America Third Team honoree. In addition, she was selected to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and New England Intercollegiate Softball Coaches Association (NEISCA) All-New England Teams in each of her four seasons. During her rookie year of 1999, Sanson helped lead the Bears to the NCAA Division III New England Regional championship and a trip to the Division III World Series. The team would also advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament in each of her final three seasons. Sanson  was also an outstanding hitter, taking home All-MASCAC honors for four straight seasons as a designated player.  She batted .367 with 111 runs scored over her career and walloped a career-high eight home runs during her senior campaign of 2002. 

As a sprinter, Debbie Wells' career is unequaled in the history of the college. Over her four year career, she earned All-America honors six times and won three National Championships. Additionally, she earned All-New England on seven different occasions, winning four New England Championships. Ms. Wells earned twelve All-ECAC certificates, eight of which came after winning individual titles. A two-time team captain, Ms. Wells won her first national title at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 1987, finishing first in the 55 meter hurdles. She repeated as champion the following year, setting a meet record with a time of 8.03. The mark still stands as the Fitchburg State College record. Ms. Wells won her third national title in the spring of 1988 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, taking the 100 meter hurdle crown. Her time of 13.99 is still the Fitchburg State standard as well.

Team

Our 2023 team honoree is the 1996 Bridgewater State Baseball Team. The 1996 squad put together an unforgettable NCAA Tournament run as the Bears captured the NCAA Division III New England Regional title and finished third at the Division III College World Series. The Bears defeated six nationally ranked teams during the impressive postseason run including the top two teams in the country (Marietta, Methodist). After sweeping their way through the New England Regional with wins over Brandeis, Southern Maine, and Eastern Connecticut, the Bears went 3-2 at the World Series in Salem, Virginia. The Bears dropped the CWS opener to eventual national champion William Paterson before bouncing back with three straight victories over Marietta, Methodist and Wisconsin-Oshkosh. With just three teams remaining at the World Series, the unforgettable season would come to close with a heart-breaking 3-1 setback to California Lutheran. At the conclusion of the regular season, the Bears were ranked 27th in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division III Poll. Following NCAA Tournament play, the Bears were the third best team in all of Division III. Under the guidance of BSU Hall of Fame head coach Rick Smith, the Bears posted an overall record of 31-10 and won the MASCAC championship with a 12-2 conference mark. Jason Newhall (P), Matt Ardolino (DH), Kevin O’Leary (P/1B), Mike Armold (OF), Chris Quirk (C) and Jim Martorana (2B) each garnered All-MASCAC honors, while Newhall, O’Leary and Armold were named to the Division III All-New England Team. O’Leary, who would represent the Bears at the New England All-Star Game held that season at Fenway Park, would also capture ABCA Division III Second Team All-American accolades as both a first baseman and pitcher. As a team, the Bears batted .342 with 28 home runs, 89 doubles, ten trips, 40 stolen bases and 314 runs scored in 41 games. O’Leary paced the squad with a team-leading .430 batting average to go along with five home runs, 15 doubles, 34 runs and 38 RBI. Four different pitchers won at least five games, led by Newhall’s eight victories, while O’Leary and BSU Hall of Famer Fred Martin combined for ten saves. For his teams outstanding performance in 1996, Smith was selected as the ABCA Division III New England Coach of the Year.

Coach (Men's Team)

After outstanding coaching careers, the MASCAC has two honorees for the male coach category. Rick Smith enjoyed 22 successful seasons at Bridgewater State, which has included ten trips to the NCAA regional championships and two trips to the NCAA Division III College World Series in 1996 and 1997. His overall record of 550-376-5 (.593) during that period makes him the winningest coach in BSU athletics history.  In 2014, Coach Smith became the first head coach in program history to reach the 500-win milestone (a 2-1 win over Penn State Beaver on March 10th in Vero Beach). Rick came to Bridgewater State in 1991 as an assistant to then head coach Glenn Tufts and was on the Bears’ coaching staff for two NCAA Tournament teams (1991, 1992) before taking over the reins in 1994.  In 1996 and again in 2000, Rick was named the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) New England Division III "Coach of the Year".  He was also selected the MASCAC "Coach of the Year" in 1998 and again in 2000 and 2012. Bridgewater won or shared the MASCAC regular season title ten times during his head coaching tenure. His teams also won at least 20 games in 17 of his 22 seasons at the helm, with two 30-win campaigns in 1996 (31-10) and 2000 (30-9).  A star pitcher for Bridgewater-Raynham High School, Rick was selected in the fifth round of the 1973 Major League Baseball Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Jerry Gravel is the most successful coach and at the time of his retirement, had served the longest coaching tenure in the history of Westfield State College varsity athletics. Gravel began the men’s track and field program upon his arrival to Westfield State in 1969, and developed the sport into a state and regional power before announcing his retirement in June of 1997 after 28 stellar seasons.  His teams were particularly strong in the 1980s. Westfield State won the New England Division 3 outdoor championships in 1980 and 1985; placed second in 1981 and 1988 and third in 1982 and 1989; and finished fourth in 1986. The Owls were even more dominating on the conference level. After track and field became a Mass. State Conference sport in 1972, Gravel’s teams won or shared 20 of 26 championships, including 13 consecutive titles from 1983 to 1995. Westfield’s track and field teams also achieved many individual successes. Gravel guided 32 All Americans and 139 national qualifiers in NCAA Division III championship meets. He also began the Westfield State men’s cross country program in 1969 and built it into a conference perennial power, serving as the head coach for a total of 15 years. 

Administrator

Our next honoree is from the administrator category. A faculty member in the Department of Physical Education for 29 years, Susan Getchell coached gymnastics, field hockey, women's soccer, softball and cheerleading. She pioneered much of the women's athletics programs at the College. According to Sue, "The teaching/coaching job that I accepted in 1969 and expected to continue for a 'few years' became my lifetime's work." Over those years, Sue accumulated some wonderful memories and was always inspired by the enthusiasm and talent of the young women she worked with. Her lifetime work has had an impact on innumerable athletes that have since graduated from the College.

Legends

Our final Class of 2023 honoree is Paul Waring of Fitchburg State our first Legends award winner. Paul Waring was a three-sport athlete who excelled in soccer, hockey and track and field. His coaches and peers respected him for his work ethic on the playing surface and off. He always did his share and more and displayed an even temperament, good sportsmanship and good manners. Born and raised in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Paul Waring graduated from Holyoke High School, Holyoke Vocational School and in 1938 from Fitchburg State College. He participated in drama productions, The Stick - the college newspaper and the Athletic Board. In 1994, he was an inaugural inductee into the FSC Athletic Hall of Fame. He served as an Air Force ordnance officer in WWII, and later became a public school teacher and coach in Gardner, MA and Farmington, CT. Mr. Waring then spent 28 years in the automobile industry and retired in 1976 as a dealer representative for General Motors. In 2001, the Athlete of the Year given out each year at the Athletics Awards Banquet was named the Paul K. Waring Award.

The inductees will be recognized at a formal MASCAC Hall of Fame induction which will be coupled with a MASCAC athletic championship or event at the site in which the individual competed or was housed during the 2023-2024 academic year.

*- there were no nominees for coach (women's team) for the 2023 class