Purdue North Central Athletic Director John Weber recently announced five new inductees into the PNC Athletic Hall of Fame. The 2012 inductees are all from the class of 2008 and include basketball players Adam Dobrzeniecki and Terry Polk, softball player Val Minyard, and baseball players Tom Albano and Chris Stocker.
The class will be inducted at the 2012 Athletic Awards Banquet scheduled for April 22nd at 6 p.m. at the Stardust Event Center in Michigan City. Tickets are $25 each and can be reserved by contacting Tom Albano, PNC's Coordinator of Athletics and Activities, at 219-785-5660.
Dobrzeniecki and Polk are the top two basketball players from the last decade and rank in several season and career categories.
Adam Dobrzeniecki
Dobrzeniecki was a four-time All Conference player and the CCAC Player of the Year his sophomore season. In that season he averaged 18 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Dobrzeniecki received a medical hardship in his third season for a knee injury but returned to average 13.9 points and 7 boards the following year. In his final year the lanky center averaged 14 points and 9 rebounds.
Terry Polk
Polk, a small forward, was a three time All Conference player and along with Dobrzeniecki was a formidable 1-2 punch. In his freshman year Polk showed promise by averaging 8.65 points and 4.48 rebounds per game. As a sophomore he bumped up his averages to 12.4 points per game and 5.83 rebounds per game. As a junior, when PNC had their best season in history, he averaged 11.1 points and 5.03 rebounds. Polk's senior year was his best as he led the team in scoring with 15.6 points per game and contributed 5.77 boards per game.
Val Minyard
Minyard also ranks in several categories for the softball program with four strong years at a catcher as she led the program to new heights. She made her mark as a freshman by hitting .296 with 7 2B's, 3 3B's and 18 RBI. Minyard built on her freshman campaign by hitting .309 and knocked in 17 more runs. Minyard led the program to its first winning season as a junior with 22 RBI before having a phenomenal senior season when the team set the then single season wins record for the second straight year. The backstop led the team with a .401 average, 11 2B's and 36 RBI. She is the first-ever softball player to be inducted into the HOF.
Like Minyard, Albano and Stocker led the baseball program to prominence. Before their arrival the PNC baseball program had only one winning season and one postseason appearance. By the time they graduated Albano and Stocker had led Panther baseball to three winning seasons, three post season appearances and the top three single season win totals.
Tom Albano
Albano is the program's all-time wins and saves leader and was known for his submarine style of pitching. As a relatively unknown freshman Albano earned the closing job midway through his freshman year and finished 3-0 with 2 saves with a 2.33 ERA. Albano was spectacular as a sophomore but was beat out for awards by a pitcher who is currently pitching in the Major Leagues. He finished 4-1 with 5 saves and a 1.66 ERA while appearing in 18 games. His junior season was more of the same as he went 4-0 with 7 saves and a 1.88 ERA in 17 more appearances and was named Honorable Mention All-American. Albano appeared in a whopping 27 games as a senior when he finished 3-3 with 9 saves and a 3.81 ERA. For his career he averaged one strikeout per inning and opponents hit just over .200 against him.
Chris Stocker
Also like Minyard, Stocker was a four year starter at catcher and brought his offensive prowess and leadership to the program. In his first year he hit .297 with 3 HR's and 21 RBI. As a sophomore he was named First Team All-Conference and Honorable Mention All-American as he hit .326 with 4 HR's 12 2B's and 29 RBI. Stocker's junior year was even better as he hit .345 with 8 HR's, 9 2B's and 41 RBI. As a senior it was more of the same as he finished with a .331 average, 4 HR's, 13 2B's and 41 more RBI. As a power hitter he finished his career with more walks than strikeouts while playing the most demanding position in the game.
The party of five was also recognized at halftime of the last home basketball game on February 8th.
