February 18, 2019
Walsh University welcomed seven alumni into this year’s class of the Athletic Wall of Fame on Saturday, Feb. 16. Created in 1982, the Wall of Fame recognizes Walsh alumni who exhibited excellence in the varsity athletic programs at the University.
Inductees for this year's class represented four different sports and included Cara Bedard-Athy, Katie Berry, Tom Gerity, Ben Truax, Rollin Matsui, Mike Suliks, and Brian Rogers who were honored for their athletic achievements, and Walsh PresidentRichard Jusseaume ’67, who was honored for Meritorious Service. During the ceremony, Walsh Vice President for Athletics Dale Howard made the special announcement that the Wall of Fame Award for Meritorious Service has been renamed in honor of President Jusseaume for his dedication, loyalty and commitment to Walsh University athletics.
Cara Bedard-Athy and Katie Berry were honored for their women’s basketball careers. Both were teammates as they both played at Walsh from 2007-2011. As teammates, the Cavaliers made two NAIA national tournament appearances along with two AMC Tournament titles and one AMC regular season championship. For the 2010-11 season, the pair was part of a team that set the program record for consecutive wins and wins in a season with a 25-game win streak and 30 wins overall.
Both names can be found throughout the women’s basketball record books as both of the honorees are listed among the top ten in many categories. Berry is third all-time in points scored with 1,711 and Bedard-Athy is fifth with 1,582. Both of them rank in top five in games played, free throws made and field goals made. Bedard-Athy has the best field goal percentage for a career, shooting 56.6% over four years.
Both Tom Gerity and Ben Truax were men’s soccer honorees that played under former men’s soccer coach and current Walsh baseball coach Tim Mead.
Gerity played soccer from 1988-1991 for the Cavaliers. He earned two First Team All-MOC honors and two Second Team All-District 22 nods in his career. Over four seasons, Gerity made 264 saves as a goalie.
Truax was a soccer student-athlete at Walsh from 2008-2011. In his career, Truax compiled three First Team All-AMC honors and two All-Ohio accolades. For his senior season, he was named OIC Player of the Year, OCSA Academic All-Ohio and a CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-American. He leads the program history with 51 career goals and 119 points.
Rollin Matsui and Mike Suliks were the baseball representatives that also had a connection to Coach Mead, the baseball coach for the last 35 seasons.
Matsui played under Coach Mead from 2005-2007 for the Cavaliers as a catcher. He was named All-AMC First Team twice along with AMC Scholar Athlete honors. Over the course of his career, he was a part of being AMC North Division Champions, Region IX Champs and East Coast Super Regional Champions.
Suliks was a four-year player for the Cavaliers and Coach Mead from 2007-2010. He was named First Team All-AMC and Second Team All-AMC twice each throughout his career. As an infielder, Suliks hit over .350 in three of the four seasons. For his career, he ranks second in doubles (40), third in triples (eight), fourth in hits (192) and seventh in runs (124).
Brian Rogers became the 12th inductee from the football program after his career spanned the years 2002-05. He was named First Team All-MSFA in his senior season and was Honorable Mention All-MSFA once in his career. He reached 104 tackles in two consecutive seasons, which ranks eighth in the season history books. He received a Mucowski Award in his freshman season, named after the former Walsh president. He is second all-time with 320 career tackles.