Feb. 2, 2012

Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame

BOSTON - Six different teams will have new additions to the Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame with Jessica Alcorta, Troy Billings, Nick Bone, Carnell Henderson, Chrissy Lombard and Christine Stief making up the Class of 2012, Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics Mike Lynch announced Thursday afternoon. The 49th induction banquet will be held on Saturday, May 12, 2012, at 5:30 p.m. in the Trustees' Ballroom on the ninth floor of the BU School of Management. 

In total, the class combined for 13 All-America honors and 13 conference titles while featuring one national Freshman of the Year award recipient.

A two-time All-America midfielder in field hockey, Jessica Alcorta ('00) helped guide the Terriers to NCAA tournament appearances in 1996 and 1999 along with a final national ranking of No. 8 and 13, respectively. A native of Demarest, N.J., she started in 80 of 81 games played and would finish her career ranked fourth all-time at BU with 40 assists. Named to the America East All-Conference First Team and All-Tournament Team each of her final three years, she was tabbed the league's top player in 1999 and a First Team All-American. Her final year, she recorded 10 assists and led the Terriers to a perfect 8-0 conference record and their first league title since 1993.

One of the top long distance runners along the East Coast during the early 1980s, Troy Billings ('83) earned All-America honors at the NCAA Cross Country Championships as a junior, marking the Terriers' first since 1954. A native of Lakewood, Colo., he was selected team MVP as a sophomore in 1981 after placing eighth in the two-mile run at the Indoor NCAAs and finishing third in the 5,000-meter race at the prestigious Penn Relays. Leaving BU as the record holder in the mile and two-mile run, he helped guide the Terriers to a pair of outdoor track & field New England titles along with four indoor championships. A NCAA qualifier in both events as a sophomore, he also qualified for the 5,000-meterat the Outdoor NCAAs in both 1981 and 1982.

Finishing his collegiate career as the premiere offensive player in BU men's soccer history, Nick Bone ('98) of Newcastle, England, recorded a staggering school-record 143 points off 61 goals and 21 assists. BU Hall of Famer Mike Emenalo ('90) is the next closest with just 104 points, while George Karalexis ('66) held the previous record of 43 goals for 30 years. During Bone's tenure, the Terriers captured four consecutive America East titles and NCAA bids. Named Soccer America's Freshman of the Year in 1994, he led BU to an undefeated regular season mark of 16-0-1 and a national No. 1 ranking. A three-time All-Conference First Team honoree, he also received All-Region honors each of his four seasons.

A four-year letterman on the football team, wide receiver Carnell Henderson ('95) concluded his time at BU ranked second in receiving yards (2,759) and touchdown receptions (24) while finishing third in receptions (188). As a senior, he earned Third Team All-America accolades from The Sports Network after setting a school record for yards with 1,302 off 79 receptions. A native of Woonsocket, R.I., he becomes the fifth Terrier and third offensive player from the 1993 team alongside quarterback Robert Dougherty ('95) and center Andre Maksimow ('95) to be inducted into the BU Hall of Fame. That season, he had 41 catches and 617 yards along with seven touchdowns to help the Terriers post an undefeated 11-0 mark in regular season play and defeat Kurt Warner's Northern Iowa team in the first round of the playoffs before falling to Idaho in the second round.

Still the only player in the America East lacrosse history to earn Player of the Year honors three times, Chrissy Lombard ('01) was a three-time All-American and four-time All-Conference First Team honoree. Upon her departure, she ranked first in points (242), goals (180) and assists (62), and after 10 years, she has only dropped one spot in points. A native of Ellicott City, Md., she guided BU to the ECAC tournament in 1999 and followed with the program's first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2000. Finishing with 44 goals, 23 assists and 47 ground balls that year, she broke Chris Fleming's ('84) school record of 185 career points during the Terriers' 18-8 America East championship win over Hofstra.

Entering the Hall of Fame as one of BU's most decorated female athletes with six All-America awards, Christine Stief ('95) earned the Department of Athletics' Mildred Barnes Award as the top female athlete in 1995. During her senior season, she placed runner-up in the 3,000-meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships, fifth in the same event at the Outdoors and eighth overall at the Cross Country Championships. A native of Rosstal, Germany, she previously earned All-America laurels at the 1993 Cross Country Championships and the 1993 and 1994 Indoor Championships. She won a total of 12 individual America East titles, including three in cross country along with a perfect 4-0 record in the indoor mile run. Besides leading the Terriers to four America East cross country titles and their first-ever New England title in 1994, she was a two-time national All-Academic selection in cross country and a seven-time conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year honoree.

Other awards, whose winners will be announced at a later date, to be presented at the Hall of Fame Banquet are the Aldo "Buff" Donelli Memorial Leadership Award for a current senior student-athlete who has demonstrated outstanding leadership both on and off of the field; the William French Award for a current or former Boston University coach or graduate of Boston University who has distinguished himself or herself in the coaching profession in the past year; the Murray Kramer Memorial Award for an individual or organization in recognition of outstanding media coverage or publicity of intercollegiate sports; and the Roger "Moose" Washburn Award for a graduate of Boston University who has given continuous unselfish support to the Terriers athletic program.

The Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame currently has 231 members, including Terrier greats such as Harry Agganis, Tunji Awojobi, Bill Brooks, Jim Craig, Chris Drury, Mike Eruzione, Terry Geldart, Jim Hayes, Drederick Irving, John Kelley, Jack O'Callahan, Debra Miller Palmore, Jack Parker, Lesley Sheehan, Dave Silk, John Simpson and Steve Wright.

Information on tickets for the induction banquet will be forthcoming.