MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny department of athletics and recreation is honored to announce the 2018 induction class of the Allegheny College Athletic Hall of Fame, comprised of four former athletes, a coach, and a recently retired administrator.
 
Former athletic standouts Richard Kaliszewski '90 (wrestling), Jennifer Jacobs Robinson '95 (softball), Ben Montgomery '05 (soccer), and Liz Earley '08 (track and field) will join former softball coach Sheilah Lingenfelter Gulas M'89, and longtime athletic trainer Jamie Plunkett in comprising this year's class, which will be inducted on Saturday, October 27 at the Schultz Banquet Hall on the Allegheny campus.
 
A four-time All-American and 12-time conference champion, Liz Earley remains the most dominant thrower in the history of the Gator women's track and field program. Earley's top event throughout her career was the hammer throw, as she won NCAC titles in each of her four years, while picking up All-America honors with a fourth-place finish at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Championships and a second-place finish a season later.  In the shot put, she earned All-NCAC accolades during the indoor and outdoor seasons in all four of her years, winning the conference indoor and outdoor titles in both 2007 and '08.  In the discus, she was named All-NCAC in each of her final three seasons, capturing conference gold as a sophomore in 2006.  Earley also excelled at the weight throw, twice earning All-America honors in the event with a fifth-place finish at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships and a third-place performance in 2008.  The 2007-08 Allegheny Female Athlete of the Year, Earley was also named the NCAC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year in both 2007 and 2008. Ten years after graduating, she remains the school's all-time record holder in both the hammer throw (55.62 meters) and the weight throw (17.00 meters), while she ranks third in the shot put, and fifth in the discus.  In 2014, she was named to the NCAC's 30th Anniversary Outdoor Track and Field All-Decade Team, which recognized the top athletes in the conference between the years 2003-12. 
 
Rick Kaliszewski was a four-year standout on the Allegheny wrestling squad, posting 88 wins over his career.  After going a combined 32-25 between his freshman and sophomore campaigns, he would burst onto the scene by posting a 28-12 record during his 1989 junior season.  That year, he won the Great Lakes Regional title at the 190 pound weight class, and would make his first of two straight appearances at the NCAA Division III National Championship.  As a senior in 1990, Kaliszewski rattled off a 28-8 record, placed second at the Great Lakes Regional Championships, and fourth at NCAA Division III Championships to be named All-America. In total, Kaliszewski placed first or second at eight different tournaments during his career.
 
Sheilah Lingenfelter Gulas began her illustrious coaching career at Allegheny as an assistant softball and basketball coach in 1985, before taking the reigns of the Gator softball team in 1987.  During her four-year tenure as head coach, she built the Gators into a softball powerhouse, amassing an overall record of 123-39 between 1987-90.  After going 26-11 in 1987, the Gators had their finest season in team history in 1988, finishing 38-5, winning the regional championship, and advancing to the finals of the NCAA Division III World Series, where they finished runner-up.  Gulas was named NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year after the season.  She would lead the Gators to regional titles and the World Series again in both 1989 and 1990, racking up a 49-20 record over the two seasons combined.  After departing Allegheny following the 1990 season, Gulas would spend five seasons as head coach at Wittenberg University, before wrapping up her career with a 21-year stint at Ashland University, where she would guide the Eagles to 723 wins, 12 trips to the NCAA Division II playoffs, and five conference titles.  Over her 31-year career, she compiled a 929-487-1 record, and was inducted into the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame in November 2017.
 
Jennifer Jacobs Robinson was one of the top hitters in the long history of the Allegheny softball program.  Over her four-year, 155-game career, Robinson batted .376 (180-for-481) with 35 doubles, four triples, 24 home runs, 159 RBIs, and 114 runs scored.  She was a Second Team All-Region selection during both her freshman and sophomore seasons of 1992 and '93, batting a combined .323 with eight home runs and 52 RBIs, before posting prodigious numbers during her 1994 junior season.  Earning All-Region honors for a third straight season and NFCA All-America honors for the first time, she started all 40 games and batted .410 (57-for-139), slugged .662, and set single-season team records with seven home runs and 61 RBIs.   Her on-base percentage of .576 ranks second in team history, while she struck out just seven times in 160 plate appearances.  She wrapped up her career with another stellar season in 1995, batting .407 (62-for-152) and breaking her own program record with 10 home runs, while adding 13 doubles and 46 RBIs en-route to First Team All-Region honors.  Robinson helped the Gators to one of their most successful four-year runs in team history, as the team went a combined 122-40, played in the regional championships three times, and reached the NCAA Division III World Series in both 1993 and '95.  Twenty-two years after graduating, she continues to rank among program career leaders in home runs (second), RBIs (second), slugging percentage (second), fielding percentage (second), total bases (fourth), and hits (fifth). 
 
A two-year captain for the men's soccer team, Ben Montgomery was a dynamic two-way midfielder throughout his four-year career, and helped lead the Gators to their most successful season in team history.  After playing all 36 games and totaling 4 goals and 2 assists during his freshman and sophomore seasons of 2001 and '02, Montgomery earned NSCAA All-Region and NCAC Player of the Year honors in 2003, scoring 15 points on four goals (including three game-winners) and three assists.  As a senior in 2004, Montgomery again earned First Team All-NCAC honors, totaling 16 points on four goals and four assists.  During the storybook 2004 season, the Gators entered the NCAC Championship Tournament as the fourth seed, but would top Wooster and Denison in the tournament to earn their first conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs, where they picked up a pair of shootout victories to eventually reach the round of 16.  Overall, Allegheny went 46-22-7 during Montgomery's four-year career.  In 2013, Montgomery was named to the NCAC's 30th Anniversary All-Decade Team, which recognized the conference's top performers between the years 2003-12.   
 
A fixture in the Allegheny athletic department for over three decades, Jamie Plunkett retired in July 2017 after a 34-year tenure as the Gators' head athletic trainer. Plunkett provided treatment to thousands of Gator student-athletes over the course of his career, and was a part of some of the most successful teams in Allegheny history, highlighted by the 1990 NCAA Division III national champion football team, and the 2000 baseball team that advanced to the semifinals of the Division III World Series.  When hired by legendary athletic director Norm Sundstrom, Plunkett first worked in cramped accommodations in the old David Mead Fieldhouse and Montgomery Gymnasium.  He helped oversee construction of the satellite athletic training center at the Robertson Athletic Complex in the late 1980's, before the construction of the David V. Wise Center provided Plunkett and his staff with state-of-the-art accommodations in 1997, and he worked tirelessly at ensuring that both the Wise and Robertson training centers were equipped with the most advanced features in order to maintain top-notch treatment and therapy to the student-athlete body.  In addition to the continual improvement of the athletic training department's amenities, he was also instrumental in growing the athletic training staff to its current model of one full-time director and two full-time assistants, along with a host of student assistants.  While he provided treatment, guidance, and friendship to thousands of student-athletes, Plunkett was also instrumental in helping a number of his student workers pursue careers in the medical field, as dozens of his former pupils have gone on to gain employment as doctors, nurses, physical therapists, emergency medical technicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. Plunkett was also a vital member of the athletic department's senior administration team, as he served on the Hall of Fame selection committee and the Golden Gator Golf Outing committee for the duration of his career.  While he certainly made an indelible mark on the Allegheny campus, Plunkett is also a distinguished member of the Meadville community.  An ice hockey standout during his youth in Ontario and college days at Cornell University, Plunkett has served as the head coach of the Meadville Area Senior High varsity hockey team for 32 years.  He has guided the Bulldogs to eight state titles, and garnered national attention in February 2017 when he earned his 1,000th career coaching win.