Though rescheduled due to weather, the February 10 Wall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony was well worth the wait. The Class of 2017 represented a wide range of sports. The inductees included Nicole (Baumgardner) Murphy, Kristen (Cady) Senk, Ryan Contini, Jason Hamilton, Jeff Johnston, Adam Lesch, Andy Schon, and Paul Vincent.
Nicole (Baumgardner) Murphy played softball at Walsh University from 2001 to 2004. Nicole earned All-AMC honors three times and in 2003 helped lead the Cavs to the AMC Central Title and the NAIA Region IX Championship by hitting the game-winning home run in a 1-0 win over Tiffin in the title game. She currently ranks fifth in career at-bats with 549 and hits with 186. She is second all-time in doubles with 41 and RBI with 117, and tops the Walsh all-time career homerun list with 20.
Kristen (Cady) Senk played women's tennis for the Cavaliers from 2004 to 2007. As a freshman, Kristen was named to the All-AMC South team after she went 16-4 in both singles and doubles matches. She was an All-Conference selection in 2005 and 2006 in both singles and doubles, as well as an All-NAIA Scholar-Athlete selection both seasons. Kristen finished her Walsh career with an astounding 51-29 record in singles while going 51-28 in doubles.
Ryan Contini played men's tennis for the Cavs from 1996 to 1999. Ryan was a two-time All-Conference selection in 1996 and 1999, as well as an All-Great Lakes Region selection in 1997 and 1998 in both singles and doubles while serving as team captain in 1998 and 1999. At the conclusion of his Walsh career, Ryan had put together a staggering singles-record of 66-14 coupled with an equally impressive doubles-record of 55-14. He helped the Cavs win conference championships in 1996, 1997, and 1999, and Great Lakes Regional Championships in 1997 and 1998.
Jason Hamilton played men's basketball for the Cavs from 1999 to 2003. Following freshman and sophomore seasons, the switch was flipped his junior season as his points-per-game average jumped to 16.3 points while he grabbed just over 3.5 rebounds a game and earned him Honorable Mention All-AMC accolades. Those numbers grew even larger his senior season when he averaged 18.7 points per game and was a First Team All-AMC selection and Honorable Mention All-American.
Jeff Johnston played football and men's tennis at Walsh from 1999 to 2002. In 1999, Jeff finished second on the football team in scoring with 56 points as he connected on nine field goals and 29 extra points. In 2000 Jeff was a First Team All-MSFA selection scoring 53 points for the Cavs while he averaged nearly 38 yards per punt with his longest at 54 yards. In 2001 he led the conference-champion Cavaliers in scoring with 68 points on 10 field goals and 38 extra points and holds the school record for longest field goal of 53 yards versus Malone. His tennis career was also stellar as he holds the program record for most doubles wins in a single season with 23 alongside in Derek Steinberg in 2002. He was also on conference championship teams in 2000, 2001 and 2003.
Adam Lesch played men's basketball at Walsh University from 2003 to 2007. Adam was named to the AMC South All-Freshmen in2003. In 2004 he averaged nearly six points and five rebounds a game and hit one of the most important shots in Walsh basketball history, which led the Cavs to the 2005 NAIA National Championship. As a junior, Adam was named All-AMC and received NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athlete and Champion of Character honors. For his senior season, Adam was named First Team All-AMC and was a NAIA All-American Honorable Mention selection.
Andy Schon played baseball for the Cavaliers from 2004 to 2007. In 2004 Andy was named to the All-AMC Second Team with 60 strikeouts in 12 starts. In 2005 he led the pitching staff with 15 appearances, three complete games and 63 strikeouts, ninth-best in single-season history. Andy's senior season was nothing short of epic as the Cavs won the Region IX Championship and the East Coast Super Regional Championship. Throughout the season, Andy struck out single-season program record 101 batters, pitched 101 innings (second-most in school-history) and was named to the All-AMC First Team selection. Andy ranks No. 1 in program history in innings pitched with 294 and strikeouts with 267.
Paul Vincent ran cross country and track for the Cavaliers from 2000 to 2005. To say 2004 was a good year for Paul Vincent would be the ultimate understatement. He was a national qualifier in the 1,000 meters and indoor mile were he finished ninth. Paul was the AMC Champion in the 1,500 meters and a national qualifier in the 5,000 meters where he placed eighth. Paul was named to the All-AMC team, earned NAIA Scholar-Athlete selections in both cross country and track & field, and was a 2004 NAIA All-American selection.