Seven new members will be inducted into the SUNY Cortland C-Club Hall of Fame during its 49th annual banquet and ceremonies on Saturday, Sept. 16, in the College's Corey Union.

The 2017 honorees are:

• Clarence Mepham '55, M '64, an All-America soccer defender, state champion track and field runner, and basketball forward, and successful high school coach for more than three decades in Cortland and Brighton;
 
• Geri Knortz '74, the retired director of athletics at Saint Michael's College (Vt.) after 18 years of service and coach and administrator at Hamilton College from 1982-97, and former Cortland field hockey and softball player;
 
• Michael Hoppey '78, a two-time men's lacrosse All-America attack who coached and taught more than 30 years in the Three Village Central School District, including eight seasons as boys' lacrosse head coach at Ward Melville High;
 
• Jan Hathorn '82, the director of athletics at Washington and Lee University since 2007 and long-time coach and administrator at the school;
 
• Leslie Lance '99, M '02, an All-America softball pitcher who won 72 career games, including a school-record 30 victories in 1998, and is currently an educator in the Susquehanna Valley Central School District (N.Y.);
 
• Kate Smith Polumbo '01, an All-America women's basketball center who registered 1,157 points, 798 rebounds and 296 blocked shots in three seasons and is currently the principal at Cornwall (N.Y.) Central Middle School;
 
• and Steve Owens (honorary), Cortland's baseball head coach from 1992-99 who led the program to a combined 245-82-1 record, seven SUNYAC titles and seven NCAA tournament appearances, including four World Series.

 
In addition to Saturday night's official ceremony, the inductees will be introduced at halftime of the Cortland-Hartwick football game earlier that afternoon.
 
Those interested in attending Saturday's induction dinner can register online or may contact SUNY Cortland Alumni Engagement at 607-753-2516 or alumni@cortland.edu. Deadline for registration is September 6.
 
Established in 1969, the C-Club Hall of Fame recognizes Cortland alumni who competed as athletes at the College and who have since distinguished themselves in their professions and within their communities. Honorary members are recognized for their long and significant contributions to SUNY Cortland athletics. New C-Club members have been added annually and this year's ceremony will bring the Hall of Fame roster to 257 alumni and 28 honorary members.
 
Nominations for next year's C-Club Hall of Fame voting will be accepted until January 15, 2018. The nomination form is available online at: http://www.cortlandreddragons.com/nominations. A person must be nominated in order to be considered for induction into the Hall of Fame.
 
A detailed look at this year's inductees follows.


Clarence Mepham '55, M '64
Rochester, New York
 
Clarence Mepham was an All-America and all-state men's soccer defender and record-setting track and field middle distance runner who taught and coached for more than 30 years in the Cortland and Brighton (N.Y.) school districts.
 
* A native of Ontario, N.Y., he earned a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from Cortland in 1955 and a Master of Science in Physical Education from Cortland in 1964.
 
* Competed in soccer for four seasons at Cortland (JV forward in 1951; varsity midfielder-defender from 1952-54). Basketball forward for four seasons (JV in 1951-52, varsity 1952-55). Four-year track and field competitor (1952-55) in the 440-yard, 880-yard and mile runs and the mile relay. School's Senior Male Athlete of the Year in 1955.
 
* All-America soccer defender as a senior in 1954 and two-time all-state selection in 1953 and 1954. Red Letter Award winner and co-captain. Team had combined varsity record of 17-5-1 from 1952-54.
 
* Set Cortland's school track and field records in the 880-yard run, mile run, and mile relay (twice). Won three state titles in the 880 (1953-55), as well as state championships in the mile and the mile relay (1955). Team co-captain and Red Letter Award winner in 1954. Basketball team co-captain in his senior year (1954-55).
 
* High school health teacher and elementary physical education teacher in Cortland from 1955-61, and full-time physical education teacher from 1961-65. Coached outdoor track and field (1959-65), tennis (1956-57), golf (1958), JV football (1956-61) and JV basketball (1955-61). Introduced cross country and indoor track and field to the athletic program in 1961 and coached both sports.
 
* Taught and coached in the Brighton (N.Y.) Central School District from 1965-88. Assistant athletic director from 1985-87 and interim athletic director in 1987-88 school year. He retired in 1988.
 
* Coached varsity soccer at Brighton from 1966-87 (more than 170 wins) and varsity basketball from 1965-85 (more than 200 wins).
 
* Named Rochester Democrat & Chronicle Basketball Coach of the Year twice (1968, 1976) and earned New York State Coaches Association Honor Award for basketball and soccer in 1984.
 
* Section Five Soccer Hall of Fame inductee in 1988. Inducted into Wayne Central (1951 alumnus) Hall of Fame as a coach in 1986 and into its Soccer Hall of Fame as a player in 2014.
 
* Was a member of the Central Western Zone Physical Education and Recreation board and received the Central Western Zone's "Amazing Person Award" in 1989.

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Geri Knortz '74
Hinesburg, Vermont
 
Geri Knortz enjoyed a successful career of more than 40 years as an athletic administrator and coach, including a combined 35 years at Saint Michael's College (Vt.) and Hamilton College, and was a former field hockey and softball player at Cortland.
 
* A native of Baldwin, N.Y., she earned a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from Cortland in 1974, a Master of Science in Education from Northern Illinois University in 1978, a Master of Science in Administration from Saint Michael's College in 2005, and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Vermont in 2009.
 
* Played halfback on Cortland's field hockey team for two seasons (1970-72) and third base on Cortland's softball team for one year (1971-72), and served as a softball team manager for two seasons (1970-71 and 1973-74) during the infancy of both programs as varsity sports in the pre-Title IX era.
 
* Director of athletics at Saint Michael's College from 1997 until her retirement in 2015. First female Athletics Director in the 100-plus year history of the school, and only the fourth person to hold the position. Administered the school's 21 intercollegiate programs, the intramural/recreational sports programs, and the wilderness program.
 
* Under her leadership, Saint Michael's was recognized in 2008 as one of seven Division II institutions to be awarded the NCAA Diversity in Athletics Award for gender equity compliance.
 
* Served on, and then chaired, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics, which offers strong advocacy and leadership in providing equitable opportunities, fair treatment, and respect for women in all aspects of intercollegiate competition.
 
* 2005 finalist for the ECAC Katherine Ley Award (named for Cortland's former women's physical education department chair from 1966-78 and 2009 C-Club Hall of Fame inductee) for demonstrated leadership ability, and serving as a proponent of women's issues and as a role model for women coaches and administrators.
 
* Associate athletics director (1989-97), women's volleyball head coach (1982-97), softball head coach (1982-95), director of club sports (1982-97), physical education professor (1982-97, with various titles), and founder and director of Adirondack Adventure (1984-96) during her 15-year tenure at Hamilton College. First intercollegiate volleyball and softball coach in the school's history.
 
* Has continued to stay connected to SUNY Cortland, most notably through annual reunion treks to the William H. Parks Family Center for Environmental and Outdoor Education at Raquette Lake and interactions with President Bitterbaum at the annual NCAA conventions.

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Michael Hoppey '78
Setauket, New York
 
Michael Hoppey earned two All-America honors as a men's lacrosse attackman for the Red Dragons. He taught and coached in the Three Village School District for more than 30 years.
 
* A native of Setauket, N.Y., he earned a Bachelor of Science in Education in Physical Education from Cortland in 1978 and a Master of Liberal Arts from SUNY Stony Brook in 1986.
 
* Four-year lacrosse player from 1975-78. Posted career totals of 118 goals and 105 assists for 223 points. Graduated as Cortland's career leader in points and assists and second in goals, and still ranks sixth in assists, seventh in points, and 12th in goals scored.
 
* Member of Cortland's 1975 NCAA Division II championship team. Scored two goals in Cortland's 11-10 win over Hobart in the national championship game. His teams also played in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals in both 1976 and 1977 and advanced to the Division II semifinals in 1978, and they won the SUNYAC's first championship in the sport in 1978 with a 5-0 regular-season record.
 
* First Team All-American in 1978 after recording 30 goals and 37 assists for 67 points, and was a second team All-American in 1977 with 48 goals and 37 assists for 85 points. His point total in 1977 still ranks fifth on Cortland's career charts.
 
* Team captain as a senior and won the team's Red Letter Award in both his junior and senior seasons. Selected to compete in the 1978 North/South Senior All-Star Game.
 
* Coached lacrosse on the scholastic level for 35 years and football for 17 seasons, along with other coaching experience in wrestling, soccer, volleyball, tennis and basketball.
 
* Physical education teacher and coach in the Three Village Central School District on Long Island from 1981-2013. Head coach at Ward Melville High School, his alma mater, from 2006-2013; team won 2013 New York State Class A title, finished 21-0 and was voted the top team in the nation. Also served as head coach at Mount Sinai High School from 2004-05, and was the assistant varsity coach from 1997-2001 for Ward Melville teams that won three state titles and finished second once.
 
* Inducted into the Long Island Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1999 and Ward Melville High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.
 
* Volunteer for Special Olympics Play Days from 1995-2005.
 
* His late father, Robert Hoppey '55, was a 1987 C-Club Hall of Fame inductee.

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Jan Hathorn '82
Lexington, Virginia
 
Jan Hathorn has served as the director of athletics at Washington and Lee University since 2007 and has been a long-time coach and administrator at the school.
 
* A native of Stanley, N.Y., she earned a Bachelor of Science in Education in Physical Education from Cortland in 1982 and a Master of Arts in Physical Education/Teacher Education from The Ohio State University in 1985.
 
* Member of Cortland's women's lacrosse squad from 1980-82 and also played both junior varsity lacrosse and basketball during her first year at the College in 1978-79.
 
* Team captain as a senior for Cortland lacrosse team that finished 12-3 and finished seventh nationally in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) Division II national tournament. Program also finished 10-5-1, placed eighth nationally and finished third in New York State during her sophomore year and was the state runner-up in her junior season.
 
* Head women's lacrosse coach at Denison University from 1983-87 and head field hockey coach from 1985-87. Her lacrosse teams finished third nationally in the 1984 United States Women's Lacrosse Association (USWLA) tournament and made NCAA tournament appearances three straight years from 1985-87, and her field hockey team qualified for the 1986 NCAA playoffs.
 
* Women's lacrosse head coach at Washington and Lee University from 1987-2007 and women's soccer head coach from 1987-2000. Earned nine Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Women's Lacrosse Coach of the Year honors and led program to nine league titles and eight NCAA tournament berths.
 
* Named Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) South Region Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2003, and coached in the IWLCA North/South Senior All-Star Game three times.
 
* Chair of physical education, athletics and recreation, and the director of athletics at Washington & Lee University since 2007 after serving as director of physical education and assistant director of athletics from 2002-07. She is just the seventh athletics director in school history.
 
* In her first 10 years as director of athletics at Washington and Lee, the Generals have won more than 60 percent of their contests and 73 conference championships, and they have earned the Dan Wooldridge Champions Cup as the ODAC's top overall athletic program every year.
 
* Inducted into Marcus Whitman High School Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011.
 
* Involved in numerous church and community service activities, including serving as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.

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Leslie Lance '99, M '02
Endwell, New York
 
Leslie Lance was one of the top softball players in Cortland history with 72 career wins, including a single-season school-record 30 victories during her All-America junior year. She's currently an educator in the Susquehanna Valley Central School District (N.Y.).
 
* A native of Johnson City, N.Y., she earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education Pre K-6 from Cortland in 1999 and a Master of Science in Education in Reading K-12 from Cortland in 2002.
 
* In four seasons she registered a career mark of 72-34 with a 1.48 earned run average, 477 strikeouts, 89 complete games and 28 shutouts in 691 innings pitched over 127 appearances. Graduated as Cortland's career leader in wins, shutouts, innings pitched, complete games and strikeouts (still first in complete games and second in wins, shutouts and innings).
 
* First team All-American as a junior in 1998 after finishing 30-7 with a 1.09 ERA, 152 strikeouts and 12 shutouts. Her 30 victories, 32 complete games, 12 shutouts, and 244 and a third innings pitched that season are still school single-season records.
 
* Four-time all-region selection, named first team All-SUNYAC three times, and was an All-ECAC honoree on three occasions, including being chosen as ECAC Upstate New York Co-Player of the Year as a junior. Earned team's Red Letter Award as a senior.
 
* Third team national GTE Academic All-American as a junior in 1998. First team academic all-district selection in both 1997 and 1998.
 
* Named to the 1998 NCAA Division III Northeast Regional all-tournament team after helping Cortland earn its first World Series berth in 13 years and second overall.
 
* Helped Cortland improve from an 11-24 record the season prior to her arrival to 18-13 in 1996, 30-14 and an NCAA playoff berth in 1997, and 37-13 with a SUNYAC title and World Series appearance in 1998. The Red Dragons finished 29-19 and also qualified for the NCAA tournament in 1999, and they finished with a combined record of 114-59 during her four seasons.
 
* Reading specialist in academic intervention services for grades 6-8 in the Susquehanna Valley Central School District (N.Y.) since 2007. Long-term substitute teacher in various subjects in the Union-Endicott (N.Y.) and Johnson City (N.Y.) school districts from 2000-07.
 
* Various community service activities, including teaching church school at Saint Michael's Greek Catholic Church in Binghamton since 2009, volunteering to serve community meals at the church since January 2017, and volunteering to help provide meals to families affected by Southern Tier flooding in 2011.

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Kate Smith Polumbo '01
Milton, New York

Kate Smith Polumbo was an All-America center on the basketball hardwood for the Red Dragons who scored 1,157 career points in three seasons. She is currently the principal at Cornwall (N.Y.) Central Middle School.
 
* A native of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., she earned a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from Cortland in 2001 and a Master of Science in Educational Administration from SUNY New Paltz in 2002.
 
* Three-year basketball letterwinner from 1998-2001 after transferring to Cortland from Division I College of William & Mary. Team captain and Red Letter Award winner during her senior season in 2000-01.
 
* Recorded career totals of 1,157 points, 798 rebounds and 296 blocked shots in 83 contests. Cortland's career leader in blocked shots and third in rebounds, and one of only four Red Dragons to reach the 1,000-point mark in three seasons or less.
 
* First Team Kodak Division III All-American and D3hoops.com All-American as a senior during the 2000-01 season after averaging 16.2 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game. All-East and honorable mention All-American as a junior.
 
* Selected to D3hoops.com national "All-Decade Team" from 1997-2007.
 
* Three-time All-SUNYAC and All-ECAC selection, and two-time all-state honoree (2000 and 2001).
 
* SUNYAC Tournament MVP in both 1999 and 2001, and SUNYAC all-tournament team selection in 2000. Still holds SUNYAC tournament single-game records with 14 made field goals and 22 rebounds versus Oneonta in 2001, and eight blocked shots against Buffalo State in 1999, and SUNYAC single-tournament records of 77 points, 35 made field goals, 42 rebounds and 16 blocks (over three games in 2001).
 
* Team finished a combined 78-8, including 57-3 in SUNYAC regular-season play, won two SUNYAC titles and qualified for three NCAA tournaments. Cortland advanced to the NCAA "Sweet 16" during her senior season.
 
* Cortland Athletics Female Senior Athlete of the Year in 2001.
 
* Principal at Cornwall (N.Y.) Middle School since 2013.
 
* Served from 2007-13 as District Coordinator for Health, Physical Education, Family and Consumer Sciences and Interscholastic Athletics for the Wappingers Central School District. Also has taught and coached basketball at Poughkeepsie High School, taught elementary school and coached high school varsity swimming at Roy C. Ketcham High (her alma mater), and was assistant principal at Van Wyck Junior High.
 
* Section One Boys' Soccer Chairperson and section tournament coordinator, and a New York State Public High School Athletic Association Boys' Soccer state committee/board member from 2009-13 - the only female to hold those positions.

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Steve Owens (honorary)
North Scituate, Rhode Island
 
Steve Owens led the Cortland baseball team to seven SUNYAC titles and NCAA tournament appearances, including four World Series showings, during his eight years as the program's head coach from 1992-99.
 
* A native of Sauquoit, N.Y., he earned a Bachelor of Science in Sport and Leisure Studies from St. Lawrence University in 1987 and a Master of Science in Exercise and Sport Sciences from Ithaca College in 1991.
 
* In eight seasons as Cortland's baseball head coach from 1992-99, he led the Red Dragons to an overall record of 245-82-1 (.748 winning percentage) with six 30-win seasons, including the program's first 30-win spring season in 1994 (32-7) and its first 40-win season in 1998 (40-5).
 
* Led Cortland to seven SUNYAC titles and one runner-up finish, seven NCAA Division III tournament appearances, and four NCAA Division III World Series (1995-97-98-99). Program placed third nationally in both 1997 and 1998 and tied for fifth in 1999.
 
* Four-time SUNYAC Coach of the Year (1993-94-95-98) and four time American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) New York Region Coach of the Year (1995-97-98-99).
 
* Head coach at Division I Bryant University since 2011 (255-141 overall record) and head coach at Division I Le Moyne College for 11 seasons from 2000-10 (342-217 overall record). Over his 26-year coaching career he has a combined record of 842-440-2 (.657) with 26 consecutive winning seasons, including four 40-win seasons and 30 or more wins 18 times. Entered the 2017 season ranked 11th among active Division I coaches in overall winning percentage.
 
* Has coached 43 players who have signed professional contracts, including five at Cortland.
 
* Ten-time conference coach of the year (four SUNYAC, two Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, four Northeast Conference). His teams have won 17 conference regular-season titles and have made 13 NCAA tournament appearances (seven Division III, six Division I).
 
* Played baseball and football at St. Lawrence University. Two-time team MVP in baseball as a third baseman and shortstop, and led the football team in rushing in both his junior and senior seasons and scored 18 career touchdowns.
 
* Inducted into the St. Lawrence University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010.
 
* Drafted by Chicago Cubs and spent two seasons in the organization. Won New York-Penn League title with the Geneva (N.Y.) Cubs in 1987 and was the "Hustle Award" winner for the Charleston (W.Va.) Cubs in 1988.
 
* Served as a graduate assistant baseball and football coach at Ithaca College before arriving at Cortland.

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