Benisch Athletic Hall of Fame 2019 preview

The Benisch Athletic Hall of Fame, established in 1981, consists of former students and staff who stood out because of their athletic performance. This year Kean will honor its inductees who showed the University what it means to be truly dedicated and successful on and off the playing grounds at a ceremony on Feb. 29 in the S.T.E.M. building.

“Being a Kean athlete was one of the greatest experiences of my life,” 2019 inductee Steve Vahalla said. “Each and every professor, coach, and teammate I had made me a better  person every day.”

Here is a closer look at the successes of the 2019 inductees:

Jonathan Jones became the second All-American in the history of the basketball program at Kean. He averaged 23.9 points and 13.7 rebounds per game. He earned many titles throughout his career like Player of the Year Honors from the Eastern College Athletic Conference, NJAC, and more. At Kean University he was honored with the D’Angola Male Athlete of the Year Award, as well as the Kean Hoffman Spirit Award. Jones is currently an assistant coach at Princeton University.

Mike Moceri of the Kean University baseball team was a first teamAll-American and a Gold Glove award winner. He was a force to be reckoned with both defensively and offensively. He was listed in the Kean record book 25 times. Mike Moceri has also played in two NCAA Division III World Series games.

Tim Sensor, Kean University’s former head athletic trainer, retired in 2013. He was recently inducted into the Eastern Athletic Training Association’s ’49 Club (Hall of Fame). Sensor wasalso honored with the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award. This won’t be his first hall of fame induction though as he was inducted into the Ramapo Hall of Fame twice, once for the role he took on for athletic training and once for playing ice hockey. He is often credited as the person who built both Kean and Ramapo from the ground up.

Mark Stanley, who played in every single game during his fourth year of basketball at Kean, was a member of the 1,000-point club and made an appearance in an ECAC tournament. It was there that he was named All-ECAC second-team. He was also the winner of the Ben Johnson Award for the 1997-98 sports year. That same year he ranked second all-time in three-pointersmade, racking up 187 field goals and ranked third in attempted three-point shots with 513 shots taken.

Mark Stanley looking to score a basket against Fairleigh Dickinson University. Photo Courtesy of Larry Levanti.

Steve Vahalla is the first inductee from the men’s volleyball team. During his career at Kean he was a two time All-American and was twice named D’Angola Male Athlete of the year. He was also recognized for his performance off the court where hewas named to the CoSIDA Academic All-Region team, as well as earning the Skyline Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year award in 2013.

“We built that men’s volleyball team together and I couldn’t be prouder of how far it has come in such a short amount of time,” Vahalla said.

Olivia Triano playing the ball against Rowan University. Photo Courtesy of Larry Levanti.

Olivia Triano was the first person in field hockey program history to be named first-team All-American. She was recognized for playing and excelling in three sports. Throughout her career she was named the D’Angola Female Athlete of the Year twice,as well as NJAC Midfielder of the Year and National Field Hockey Coaches’ Association All-American. She was also named NJAC first-team selection three times.