The Worcester State College Athletics department would like to officially announce the 25th Hall of Fame Class as part of homecoming weekend. The Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet will take place from 6-11 PM in the Blue Lounge on Friday, October 14.

This years awards recipients are Chad Cosby '03, W. Mack Hill, Cean Oksanish '04, Amy L. (Ruffo) Panechelli ’00, Lisa J. Stockdale ’00 and Paul A. Welcome ’61. Their biographies are listed below.

Chad Cosby ’03

Chad Cosby ’03 finished four years of baseball as the winningest pitcher in Lancer history, sporting an overall record of 25-4. The right-hander also fanned 218 batters in 223.2 innings and 16 of his 30 starts were for complete games. His strikeouts are the most all-time and he is an inning off from being the school-record holder in the category.

As a sophomore in 2001, Chad finished with a 6-2 record with 71 strikeouts in 61 innings, and led the Lancers to a third appearance in the ECAC Division III New England Tournament, punching out nine in a complete-game victory over Springfield College in the semifinals. He finished with the third-highest strikeout total in the school record book.

In 2002, Chad tied for second in the NCAA Division III in victories with an 11-2 record, helping the Lancers capture the conference regular season and tournament titles. Leading the team to its first NCAA Baseball Tournament appearance since 1983, he fanned eight batters in a victory over defending champion Bridgewater State in the MASCAC Tournament Semifinals.

Chad posted a perfect 7-0 mark in 2003, finish with a staggering 0.96 Earned Run Average, allowing six earned runs in 56 innings. In addition to striking out 70 batters for the best total in the conference, he was the Division III Statistical Champion for having the best ERA in the nation. He also earned National Collegiate Baseball Writer Player of the Week honors for tossing an eight-hitter with 14 strikeouts in a victory over Framingham State. 

Chad earned nods to the All-New England squad in 2002 and 2003 as a Second-Team honoree, a pair of selections on the All-MASCAC Team, including First-Team accolades in 2003 and the Worcester State Senior Male Athlete Award in his senior year. He was also one of six pitchers in New England to receive All-ECAC regional accolades in a vote by the region’s six head coaches in 2003.

W. Mack Hill, Ph.D

W. Mack Hill is perhaps best known as a math professor, with a 31 year tenure at Worcester State, but he also contributed greatly to the Athletics Department as an advocate and as one of its first sports information directors.

Once he settled into his role as an assistant professor in 1972, Mack volunteered to become a member of the Athletics Council. Because the cheerleaders were not formerly recognized as an organization at the time, he became the founding advisor for the pep squad, who cheered during most home football and basketball games at home. A small group that included his wife Deanne, took great pleasure in making the uniforms for the cheerleaders so they could also root for the Lancer ice hockey players during games at an off-campus rink.

In 1977, Mack took over the role as a part-time sports information director from Paul Joseph, who had relinquished his SID duties to become the director of the Student Center. “Mack was always there for all the games, both home and away. He formalized the SID files and did a first-class job. He really had a zeal for the job,” Paul noted.

Mack walked away from the sports information office for good in 1981, but rejoined the Athletic Council, eventually serving as its chairman. He was also the University’s NCAA faculty representative for 10 years.

Although he retired as a professor emeritus of Mathematics in 2003, Mack still attends athletic events and with his wife Deanne, attends every home basketball game that he is able.

Cean Oksanish ’04

Cean Oksanish ’04 was a four-year starter at quarterback from 2000-03, as well as a reliable four-year starting and relief pitcher on the baseball diamond.

Cean made an immediate impact in his freshman year throwing for 1,378 yards and 11 touchdowns, while his total offense average (154.1 yards per game) was the second highest total in the NEFC. He was named the ECAC Division III New England Rookie of the Year and Worcester State Freshman Male Athlete.

As a sophomore, Cean helped thrust Worcester State back into the limelight as the Lancers posted an overall record of 10-1. He would lead New England in touchdowns (30), passing yards (2,994), pass efficiency (169.88) and total offense (270.9 yards per game).

Cean was instrumental in leading the Blue and Gold to a first-ever ECAC Northeast Bowl Championship accounting for 24 total points, 343 passing yards and two passing touchdowns in a Lancers 36-35 triumph over Curry College.

In addition to being team captain as a junior and senior, Cean amassed 3,285 passing yards and 30 touchdowns, qualifying the Lancers for consecutive ECAC Northeast Bowl appearances against RPI in 2002 and UMass Dartmouth in 2003. He earned All-NEFC First-Team accolades and a Worcester State Male “Lancer” Award honor in his senior year.

All told, Cean helped lead the Lancers to a 34-8 (.810) record as a quarterback, completed .492 percent of his passes for 7,601 yards and 69 touchdowns. He is also fourth on the all-time kick scoring list,tallying 71 points with eight field goals and 47 PAT’s. Cean is among the top five in Division III record book in career touchdowns, passing yardage and completions.

On the mound, Cean posted a four-year mark of 15-2 with 97 strikeouts in 125.2 innings. His record is tied for the fourth-best mark in the all-time record book. In 2002 he helped lead the Lancers to their first NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament since 1983 and to the regular season MASCAC title. He was also named a team captain in 2003 and 2004.

Amy L. (Ruffo) Panechelli ’00

Amy L. (Ruffo) Panchelli ’00 was an outstanding softball player who made her presence known in the batter’s box as she played in a school-record 144 contests from 1997-2000. While primarily an outfielder, she was the team’s catcher during her sophomore and junior semesters.

In her freshman season, Amy helped propel Worcester State to a 29-9 record and an 11-3 mark in league play to tie for the regular season MASCAC title. She finished her rookie campaign batting .387 with 43 base knocks, a school record nine triples, and led the squad to the semifinals of the ECAC Division III North Tournament.

In 1999, Amy was named to the All-New England team for helping lead the Lancers to a berth in the ECAC Division III North Tournament. She ended the year batting .375 with 38 runs scored, 50 hits and 80 total bases.

In her last season, Amy posted an eye-popping .478 average with 55 hits, 46 runs scored and 92 total bases 34 singles, nine doubles, eight triples and four homers. She was also second in the conference in batting and RBIs (33) while her triples, slugging percentage (.487) and runs were in the top 35 of the NCAA Division III statistics standings.

A two-time captain, Amy ended her Worcester State career with four All-MASCAC selections and three nods to the First-Team. She was honored with the Worcester State Female “Lancer” Award in 2000. Head Coach Lynne Olson also recognized her as the team’s “unsung” hero in 1996 and 1997 and the squad MVP in 1997 and 1998.

Amy finished with an impressive four-year batting average of .406. She is among the school leaders with 129 singles, 24 doubles, 31 triples, 14 homers, 92 RBIs, 159 runs scored and 33 stolen bases. Her triples are currently tied for eighth in the NCAA Division III Softball career list and her 29-game hit streak during the 1998 season is tied for the longest in Division III history.

Lisa J. Stockdale ’00

Lisa J. Stockdale ’00 was a standout field hockey forward who competed from 1995-98 and was a member of the Lancer softball team in the spring of her freshman year in 1996.

In her four years on the field hockey pitch, Lisa amassed 37 goals and 10 assists for a total of 84 career points, which is fifth on the all-time scoring list. When she graduated, her career goals and points were the second-highest totals ever.

Lisa helped lead the 1998 squad to a school-record 14-5 overall mark and its first-ever MASCAC regular season title as the team went 5-0 in conference play. She knocked in three goals and a helper for seven points in five league games, which included the game-winning tally in a triumph against Framingham State.

In addition to leading the conference in markers and ending the season second in total points, Lisa received a nod as the MASCAC Player of the Year. She was also honored with the Worcester State Senior Female Athlete Award that spring. Her 16 goals that season tied her with a program mark held by four other players – including Hall of Famer Patricia Provost ’73 – while her 36 points were just one shy of tying the school record.

Lisa was distinguished with All-MASCAC First-Team honors in 1996 and 1998.

On the softball diamond, Lisa set the school mark for the highest batting average for a first-year collegiate player with a .452 average. She also tied for fifth in the NCAA Division III with seven triples. For her efforts, she received Worcester State Freshman Female Athlete honors.

Paul A. Welcome ’61, M.Ed. '64

Paul A. Welcome ’61 was a versatile four-year starter on the men’s basketball team who played nearly every position on the floor in his first two seasons before settling into the role of starting point guard in his junior and senior years. Paul totaled nearly 700 points for an average of 8.6 points per game, helping his squads earn an overall record of 60-21 for a .740 winning percentage. He also aided the team in its run to the New England State Teachers Conference regular season and tournament title during the 1956-57 season.

Paul took the 1957-58 season off to serve in the Massachusetts National Guard, and he also has the honorable distinction of converting a lay-up for the first basket in the new gymnasium. With no seniors on the squad, Paul was picked to be a team captain in his junior year by head coach Fran Dyson.

In the league playoffs, Paul shined on the court as his teams competed in the New England State Teachers Conference title games during the 1956-57 season and for three straight years during the 1958-59, 1959-60 and 1960-61 campaigns. In eight games, he averaged 11.6 points per contest, including a game-best 23-point outburst in a semifinal victory over Salem State Teachers College his senior year.

In the 1956-57 championship game against Salem State during his freshman year, Paul drained the final three points of the contest in the waning seconds and held their top scorer without a basket in the fourth quarter to give the Lancers a chance to rally from a 12-point deficit. They posted an 89-84 triumph for the league crown.

After he graduated, Paul educated students eighth grade science and math students in the Douglas public school system for five years and also he taught math at Framingham High for 30 years before retiring in 1996. Paul was the union president in Framingham from 1985-89 and the teachers bargaining representative for ten years.