Five former student athletes, one honorary member, and one team will be inducted into the Worcester State University Hall of Fame on Saturday, Nov. 5, as part of a larger celebration of the new Wellness Center.
The 2016 inductee class includes: Lauren A. (Cush) Domermuth ’09, women’s soccer; Lawrence T. “Bear” Dunn ’06, baseball; Mathew Heenan ’05, baseball; Robert A. Langston ’79, track & field and football; and Jillian A. LaPlante ’02, softball. Also being inducted is honorary member John P. Brissette ’88 and the 1984 Club Football Team.
"This Wellness Center inaugural class of inductees represents the best of Worcester State's student-athletes and supporters,” said President Barry M. Maloney. “This class includes the former chair of the Worcester State Board of Trustees and Wellness Center champion, John Brissette. And it features students whose athletic success outside the classroom was matched by academic success inside it."
Domermuth was a four-year starter for the women’s soccer team. In her freshman year, she earned the MASCAC Women’s Soccer Freshman of the Year Award, the Worcester State Freshman Female Athlete of the Year, and assisted in bringing the women’s soccer team to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The two-time MASCAC Player of the Year was named to the All-Conference First Team all four years and brought her team to MASCAC and NCAA Tournaments four years in a row, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2007.
Dunn was a standout baseball player for the Lancers, posting a .400 career batting average in his three years with the team. Dunn was tabbed the MASCAC Player of the Year his senior year, earning first-team honors at first base, and second-team honors on the mound and at second base. He was named a New England Regional All-Star, ECAC Second Team All-Star, and the NEIBL Second Team All-New England. Dunn concluded his career at Worcester State as a recipient of the Margaret “Peg” Nugent Scholar Athlete Award.
Heenan was a two-year second baseman for the Lancers’ baseball team who posted a .416 career batting average. He was named to the first team All-MASCAC both in his junior and senior years with the Lancers and was also named to the third-team New England All-American team his senior year. He helped his team to two MASCAC tournament appearances and to the ECAC tournament in his junior year. As a senior, Heenan guided his team to a MASCAC tournament and regular season championship, along with an NCAA mid-Atlantic regional.
Langston was a four-year indoor and outdoor track & field athlete who was a captain in his senior year. He was also a member of the club football team. Langston was a consistent point scorer throughout his collegiate career in individual sprinting events and the mile relay, earning All-MASCAC honors four times in the 220 yards and earning All-MASCAC in the 440 yards twice. He helped lead the mile relay to three straight conference titles, which included setting the MASCAC record in 1976 (3:23.0) and also aided the squad in the 1976 outdoor MASCAC Championship. In 1977, Langston ran anchor leg on second-place All-ECAC mile relay (3:22.3).
LaPlante was a four-year player for the Lancers’ softball team who broke the Worcester State all-time pitching records in total games (119), innings pitched (718), complete games (100), games won (63), most shutouts (16), and most strikeouts (672) throughout her career. She also made her mark offensively as she registered a .357 career batting average, tallying 153 hits, 113 singles, 31 doubles, nine home runs, 110 RBI, 214 total bases, and 44 walks. LaPlante was a member of the 1997 MASCAC Co-Championship Team and helped her team to two ECAC appearances in 1997 and 1999.
Under the direction of Head Coach Brien Cullen, the 1984 Club Football Team was named the 1984 National Collegiate Football Association Champions after defeating two-time defending national champion Bentley College 20-14 in the championship game. The team posted a perfect 11-0 record for its first-ever unbeaten season. This achievement, combined with the football program’s continued success since its inception in 1969, enabled football to achieve the status of a varsity program the following year in 1985.
John P. Brissette, a member of the Worcester State Foundation Board, has been an integral part of the Worcester State University community since 1983, when as a student he threw himself wholeheartedly into campus life. Brissette provided the vision, effort, and effective leadership necessary to ensure funding was in place for construction of the new Wellness Center, and he is an active supporter of WSU athletics. Among the many ways Brissette has served the University: as a member of the Board of Trustees (2002-2007; chair, 2007-2013), the Alumni Association's Advisory Board, and the 125th Anniversary Committee; and as chair of the Annual Fund. He is employed as an account executive at Braley and Wellington Insurance Group.
Tickets for the dinner are $30. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 508-929-8141.