(TOMS RIVER, NJ) -- Ocean County College has announced the addition of seven new members to the OCC Athletic Hall of Fame for 2024. The Athletic Hall of Fame honors distinguished Ocean County College alumni-athletes, former coaches, and others whose accomplishments have had a significant impact on Ocean County College’s athletic program.
This will be the first new induction to the OCC Athletics Hall of Fame since 2016, when the biennial awards were placed on hold temporarily to accommodate the conversion of the College’s swimming pool to a new auxiliary gym. The awards were postponed once again as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The OCC Athletic Department staff and Hall of Fame committee members are thrilled to bring back the recognition of former Viking stand-outs into the Hall of Fame,” said Ilene Cohen, OCC’s executive director of Athletics. “This year's Hall of Fame inductees’ remarkable achievements and dedication to Ocean County athletics inspire us all to aim higher and strive for excellence."
The OCC Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on December 15, 2024. For tickets and sponsorship opportunities, please visit go.ocean.edu/HOF.
The 2024 inductees are:
* Jerry Carroll, Cross Country – 1976-1977
* David Kalash, Baseball – 2009-2011 (Rawlings Gold Glove)
* Oriana Smith, Softball/Basketball – 2006-2008 (All American)
* Mary Kate Sullivan, Soccer – 2013-2015 (All American)
* Ed Baynes, Cross Country Coach (National Champions – 2009, 2013)
* Arleen Rooks, Athletic Dept. Manager
* Steve Stout, Swimming Coach (Non-Scholarship M/W Champions 2009)
For 60 years, Ocean County College, a public two-year community college sponsored by Ocean County and the State of New Jersey, has provided area residents with the opportunity to benefit from higher education. OCC is an innovative academic leader offering affordable, student-centered, high-quality educational experiences that prepare and empower diverse learners to contribute to and succeed in global societies. OCC invests in and fosters academic, economic, and cultural excellence, and ensures financial strength by generating new revenue streams, engaging in national and international university and corporate partnerships, and cultivating a technologically progressive and entrepreneurial spirit.
