GORHAM, Maine  –  As part of a weekend long Homecoming and Family Weekend celebration the University of Southern Maine Department of Athletics will enshrine several former standout student-athletes and key athletic department figures as part of its 36^th Annual Husky Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony on Sunday, October 16 (5:00 pm) at the Sheraton Sable Oaks in South Portland, Maine.  The nine new inductees will bring the number of former Huskies in the Hall to 244. 
 
Gathering to celebrate the outstanding legacies, achievements and performances of past USM student-athletes, coaches and administrators, the 2022 Husky Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony is one of the highlights of each academic year, and brings some of the Huskies' best and brightest back to USM.  This year's Husky Hall of Fame class includes standouts from baseball, soccer, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, track & field, wrestling, basketball and a long-time member of the Huskies' Athletic Training staff. 

• Jamie Everhart, Class of 2001 – Soccer
• Samantha Whitman, Class of 2001 – Soccer, Hockey, Lacrosse
• Anthony D'Alfonso, Class of 2010 – Baseball
• Dean Dumas, Class of 2012 – Track & Field
• Erin McNamara, Class of 2014 – Basketball
• Sam Dexter, Class of 2016 – Baseball
• Peyton Dostie, Class of 2016 – Field Hockey, Track & Field
• Daniel Del Gallo, Class of 2017 – Wrestling
• Matt Gerken, 1999-2019, Head Athletic Trainer

 
Established in the fall of 1985 with the initial induction ceremony taking place in 1986, the Husky Hall of Fame was created to recognize the outstanding athletic achievements of graduates of the University of Southern Maine and its predecessor institutions – Western Maine Normal School, Gorham Normal School, Gorham State Teachers College, the University of Maine Portland and the University of Maine at Portland-Gorham.   The first Hall of Fame class included seven men and two women chosen out of nearly 50 nominees.  Each of the 2022 inductees were selected on the basis of superior athletic and academic achievement, and a commitment to their communities after graduation. 
   
Jamie Everhart, Class of 2001, Soccer
A three-time All-Little East Conference (1998, 1999 and 2000) selection, Everhart was a four-year starter for the Huskies, totaling 28 goals and 16 assists in his career for 72 points.  Making his mark on the program in his first year in Gorham, leading the team in goals and points, Everhart is still sixth all time in goals, assists and points.  Everhart's six assists in 1998 are also tied for sixth in USM single-season records.
 
A two-year captain, Everhart's dedication to his team and its overall success was evident through his actions on and off of the field. A Dean's List student who received multiple William B. Wise Scholar-Athlete citations while working toward his degree in Criminology, Everhart's played for three different head coaches during his tenure, and was a student-athlete representative for the search committee to bring in long-time USM coach Eric Miller. 
 
A crafty midfielder who started off his intercollegiate career with a bang, scoring his first intercollegiate goal in the dying moments of regulation to lift USM to a 3-2 come-from-behind win over the College of Staten Island in the Pepsi College Classic, Everhart continued to have sustained success as a three-time all-LEC pick with six game-winning goals to his credit. 
 
Samantha Whitman, Class of 2001, Soccer, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse
A three-sport standout for the Huskies as a member of the soccer, ice hockey and lacrosse teams during her career as a student-athlete, Whitman served as a team captain for both the soccer and ice hockey teams.  As a member of the Huskies' soccer team, Whitman was a three-time All-Little East Conference selection as a goalkeeper.  Whitman is one of the Huskies' first members of its women's ice hockey program, starting as a club team in 1997, and moving to the intercollegiate level in 1998-99.  Whitman's lone season as a member of the Huskies' lacrosse team also marked the program's return to intercollegiate status after a 21-year absence.
 
On the soccer pitch, Whitman established herself as one of the best goalkeepers in the program's history.  Whitman's career goals against average, 1.25, is the program record, while her 19 career shutouts also remain the Huskies' standard.  Whitman had eight shutouts (in 16 games played) in 1998, earning her first All-LEC citation with a 0.94 goals against average.  Whitman repeated as a first team All-LEC goalkeeper in 1999 making 106 saves and compiling a 1.56 goals against average.  In her final season, Whitman posted a record of 12-8-0 with five shutouts, an .842 save percentage, and a 1.11 GAA. Whitman's 12 wins in goal helped Southern Maine to a previously established program record for wins in a season. 
 
Earning her Bachelor degree in Exercise Science from Southern Maine in 2001, Whitman went on to earn her Master's of Science, Education in Exercise Physiology from the University of Kansas and her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in Cell Biology and Anatomy. 
 
Anthony D'Alfonso, Class of 2010, Baseball
After two years playing at a local community college and an outstanding high school career at nearby Westbrook, D'Alfonso, a power-hitting outfielder, played two seasons for the Huskies' highly-regarded baseball team in 2008 and 2009. In his career as a student-athlete at Southern Maine, D'Alfonso made an immediate impact as one of the best hitters in program history and in the nation, earning ABCA Division III All-America honors in both seasons.
 
In the Huskies' 2008 season, D'Alfonso hit .393 with 81 hits in 206 at-bats with 62 RBI and 58 runs scored. D'Alfonso displayed his power too, with a .704 slugging percentage, including 13 doubles, three triples and 15 home runs. D'Alfonso's home run total in 2008 is second in USM single-season records. 
 
At the completion of the 2008 season, D'Alfonso helped USM to a 36-14 record and a berth into the NCAA Division III National Championship tournament and with that came a lengthy list of individual accolades. In addition to his first team All-American honor from ABCA, D'Alfonso earned third team D3baseball.com All-American,  first team NEIBA and ECAC Division III All-New England, and first team All-Little East Conference honors. 
 
In 2009, D'Alfonso increased his production at the plate hitting .438 with 76 RBI – a Husky single-season record.  Adding 17 doubles, three triples and nine home runs, D'Alfonso's slugging percentage was .722, and again the awards came rolling in. Repeating as an ABCA All-American (third team), D'Alfonso earned second team D3baseball.com All-American honors and repeated as a first team selection for both NEIBA and the ECAC. Both the ECAC and LEC also tabbed D'Alfonso as Player of the Year. For his Husky career, D'Alfonso hit an outstanding .413 with 158 hits, 110 runs scored, 138 RBI, 30 doubles, six triples and 24 home runs.  He went on to sign a professional contract with the Traverse City Beach Bums of the Frontier League. 
 
D'Alfonso earned his degree in Communications from the University of Southern Maine in 2010.
 
Dean Dumas, Class of 2012, Track & Field
With over 21 individual Little East Conference & New England Alliance titles during his four-year career as a member the Huskies' indoor and outdoor track & field programs, Dumas excelled in a variety of disciplines from 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles, 4x100, javelin and pole vault.  A two-time All-American and a four-time NCAA National Championship qualifier, Dumas earned his bachelor's degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies from Southern Maine in 2012.  He went on to complete a Master's degree in Exercise Sport Studies from Smith College in 2016.
 
Named the Little East Conference Rookie Field Athlete of the Year in both indoor and outdoor track & field in 2008-09 and 2009 respectively, Dumas continued to dominate the conference circuit and was named the LEC Field Athlete of the Year or LEC Track Athlete of the Year in either indoor or outdoor track & field four times.
 
Dumas truly shined in the pole vault and javelin, earning All-New England status each of his four seasons of indoor and outdoor track & field in pole vault, and all four outdoor seasons in javelin.  During Dumas' 2010 outdoor track and field season, he won the Division III All-New England title in the javelin and qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championship in the event. During Dumas' junior outdoor track & field season, he qualified for the NCAA Championship in both the javelin and pole vault, and earned the first of his two All-American honors, placing eighth in the pole vault.  During the 2012 season, Dumas returned to the NCAA Championship for the third consecutive year as a javelin competitor, and this time earned the title of All-American with a fifth place finish.
 
Among the program's best, Dumas is second all-time in the javelin and in the outdoor pole vault, and third in the indoor pole vault career marks.
 
Erin McNamara, Class of 2014, Basketball
A four-year member of the Huskies' basketball team from 2010-2014, McNamara earned numerous honors both athletically and academically during her career.  Guiding the Huskies on the floor as a point guard, McNamara and her teams were 86-28 overall, and 45-11 against Little East Conference opponents. 
 
Earning her role as the Huskies' starting point guard in the 2010-11 season, McNamara was named the Maine Women's Basketball Coaches' Association Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the LEC and MWBCA All-Rookie Teams averaging 6.9 points, 3.06 assists, 1.17 steals per game while shooting 42.3 percent from the floor.
 
Each season that followed, McNamara improved her production, and as a junior she helped lead the Huskies to the 2013 Little East Conference Championship and a berth into the NCAA Division III National Championship game. Averaging 7.5 points, 3.06 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, McNamara had an outstanding 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.  A clutch performer, McNamara hit the game-winning overtime shot in a 56-54 win over Rhode Island College during the regular season to help the Huskies secure the top seed and home-court advantage in the LEC tournament. McNamara's driving and sweeping layup to the right as the buzzer sounded was one of just many big plays during her career.
 
In her final season, McNamara set career marks in scoring, rebounding and assists and averaged 13.8 points, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.1 rebounds per game all while shooting a career-best 53-for-157 (33.8%) from three-point territory.  She finished her career with 944 points, 343 assists, 130 steals, 211 rebounds and 133 three-point field goals.  In that final season, McNamara earned D3hoops.com All-Northeast Region (fourth team) honors and was a first team All-Little East Conference and MWBCA All-State selection. 
 
Graduating Summa Cum Laude with her bachelor's degree in Nursing in 2014, McNamara is a four-time William B. Wise Scholar Athlete, and a three-time LEC Winter All-Academic team member. 
 
Sam Dexter, Class of 2016, Baseball
The 2015 ABCA Gold Bat Award Winner, given to the Division III National Player of the Year, Dexter has won nearly ever award imaginable during his time as a member of the Huskies' baseball team.  A two-time All-American at shortstop, Dexter completed his remarkable time at USM and was drafted by Major League Baseball's Chicago White Sox in 2016 and is still playing professionally today.
 
Dexter started his career in 2013 leading the Huskies to the NCAA Division III World Series, helping the Huskies' capture the NCAA Division III Regional Championship in a 5-2 come-from-behind win over Endicott College with a two-run homerun in the top of the ninth inning.  After his sensational rookie season, Dexter was named the Rookie of the Year by NEIBA, ECAC, D3Baseball New England, and Little East Conference, and earned the first of his four first team All-LEC picks at shortstop.
As a sophomore, Dexter earned All-New England honors from the ECAC, NEIBA and D3baseball and was named to the NCAA Regional All-Tournament team after hitting .382 with 81 hits in 212 at-bats with 33 RBI and a .948 fielding percentage.
 
As a junior in 2015, Dexter put together one of the finest overall seasons by a Husky baseball player en route to being named the Division III Player of the Year.  Dexter hit a career-best .441 with 82 hits in 186 at-bats with 57 runs scored, 44 RBI, 21 doubles, 11 stolen bases and another .948 fielding percentage.  Recognized for his outstanding play, Dexter earned first team All-American honors from both the ABCA and D3baseball.com and was named the Little East Conference, ECAC, D3baseball.com New England, and NEIBA Player of the Year. 
 
As a senior, Dexter continued to add to his accolades repeating as a first team ABCA and D3baseball.com All-American, and earning D3baseball.com and Little East Conference Player of the Year honors, among several other accolades. Hitting .404 and collecting 53 hits in 178 at-bats, Dexter became just the second Division III player to reach 300 career hits – a milestone he achieved on May 1 in a 12-8, 15-5 (8 inning) doubleheader sweep over Framingham State during the Huskies' Senior Day games. Dexter finished the doubleheader 8-for-11 at the plate with three RBI, meeting the 300-hit mark with a third-inning double to left center in game two of the sweep.
 
Named first team All-Decade by D3baseball.com, Dexter earned his bachelor's degree in History from Southern Maine in 2016, and then went on to earn his Master's degree in Leadership Studies in 2022. 
 
Peyton Dostie Collins, Class of 2016, Field Hockey, Track & Field
A national champion, four-time All-American and two-time LEC Player of the year, Collins was a three-sport star for the Huskies from 2012-2016 and her list of achievements and awards as a member of the Huskies' field hockey, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field teams is more than two pages in length. 
 
A three-year member of the Huskies' field hockey team after transferring from Saint Joseph's College, Collins' finished her remarkable career as the program's leader in points (133) and assists (25) and is second in goals (54).  While competing at Hannaford Field for her Hall-of-Famer aunt and coach Bonny Brown-Denico '91, Collins was a three-time All-Little East Conference forward, earning first team honors as a junior and senior, and was named the LEC Offensive Player of the Year back-to-back in 2013 and 2014. 
 
Setting the school record for points in a season in 2013, and tying the record for goals in a season (22), Collins earned a spot on the National Field Hockey Coaches Association New England West All-Region first team, an accolade she repeated in 2014 after leading USM with 17 points and 10 assists for 44 points.  At the end of her career as a member of the Huskies' field hockey team, Collins was selected to play for the NFHCA Division III Senior All-Star Game.
 
As impressive as Collins' field hockey play was, her achievements as a member of the track & field programs were even greater, culminating the NCAA Division III National Indoor Track & Field Championship in the pentathlon during the 205-2016 season. 
 
A multi-discipline talent, Collins has 29 Little East or New England Alliance individual championships to her name in events including 55-meter hurdles, 600-meters, 60-meter hurdles, long jump, high-jump, 100-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles, and 4x400 relay. She was named the Little East Conference Indoor Track Athlete of the Year three times (2013, 2015 and 2016) and the conference Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year once (2016).  During the 2016 season, Collins was also named the United States Track and Field, Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) New England Region Track Athlete of the Year.  
 
A four-time NCAA All-American earning the honor twice in the pentathlon in 2015 finishing eighth, and 2016 as a national champion, Collins also claimed the coveted title in the spring of 2015 in the 400-meter hurdles. She ended her career holding the school records for the 55-meter hurdles, 60-meter hurdles, 400-meter, high jump, 4x200 relay, 4x400 relay and the pentathlon. 
 
Collins earned two bachelor's degrees while at USM, with a degree in Business Administration in 2015 and a degree in Marketing in 2016.
 
Daniel Del Gallo, Class of 2017, Wrestling
The first National Champion in the sport of wrestling in Huskies' Athletics history, Del Gallo's career academically and athletically is marked by rare achievements. Earning two degrees from the University of Southern Maine in 2017, in Philosophy and Sociology, Del Gallo also holds the distinction of being the first and only Husky student-athlete to earn the NCAA's Elite 90 Award.  Given to the student-athlete competing at the national championship level with the highest grade point average, Del Gallo earned the prestigious Elite 90 honor in back-to-back years in 2015 and 2016. 
 
The all-time leader in wins for USM wrestling (137-19), Del Gallo earned a berth into the NCAA National Championship three times, qualifying at the Division III Northeast Regional Championship in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Serving as captain of his team during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons, Del Gallo was respected by his peers and competitors. As a freshman, Del Gallo showed great promise earning New England Wrestling Association honorable mention and all-rookie team honors as well as earning the first of his four National Wrestling Coaches' Association Scholar All-American citations.
 
As a sophomore, Del Gallo posted a record of 34-5 and claimed his first trip to the NCAA championship placing second the regional championship.  Repeating as an NWCA Scholar All-American, Del Gallo earned first team All-NEWA honors and picked up the first of his two Elite 90 awards. The following year, Del Gallo went 37-7, and earned a bevy of awards en route to reaching the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive year, placing third at the regional championship.  Named the NCAA's Elite 90 winner again, Del Gallo was also honored as a CoSIDA Academic All-American (second team) and a first team Academic All-District selection. Del Gallo was also named a first team Pilgrim League All-Star and All-New England Wrestling Association.
In his final season of competition, Del Gallo was ranked as high as no. 2 in the country in his weight division (149 lbs) and tore through his competition with a record of 45-1.  During his senior year, Del Gallo not only eclipsed the 100-win mark, but established the all-time wins record in program history.  Suffering his lone loss of the year at the NCAA Regional Championship, Del Gallo qualified for his third NCAA National Championship with a second place finish in the region.  At the national championship, Del Gallo rumbled his way through the competition to claim the title and become just the third All-American in program history.
 
Seeded fourth in the tournament, Del Gallo earned convincing wins over his first two opponents by major decision and fall to advance to the championship semifinal.  With a spot in the championship bout on the line, Del Gallo squared off against two-time defending national champion Kenny Martin of Wartburg and battled to a 7-5 decision to challenge for the title.  In the championship match, Del Gallo took on Aaron Engle of Cornell College.  After a scoreless first period, Del Gallo record a single-point in the second period with an escape, before going ahead of Engle 3-0 in the third with a takedown.  Engle earned a single point with an escape in the period, before Del Gallo defended his way to a 4-1 win with riding time for the title.
 
After his historic run, Del Gallo was named the New England Wrestling Association and Pilgrim Wrestling League Wrestler of the Year.  He was also recognized for his academic and athletic success earning first team CoSIDA Academic All-American honors. 
 
Matt Gerken, 1999-2019, Head Athletic Trainer
Dutifully serving two decades of University of Southern Maine student-athletes in his role as Head Athletic Training, Gerken's dedication to Husky student-athletes and their well-being will be remembered long after his retirement from the role. 
 
Esteemed among colleagues and student-athletes, Gerken's induction into the Husky Hall of Fame is not his first as he was selected to the Easter Athletic Trainers Association (EATA) '49 Club in 2018.  The EATA's '49 Club honors athletic trainers who exemplify noteworthy, enduring contributions that enhance the quality of health care provided to student-athletes and work to advance the profession.
 
With more than 40 years of experience as an athletic training professional, working at Bridgewater State and Colby-Sawyer College before joining USM to lead its program in 1999. In his 20 years of service to USM, Gerken oversaw the athletic healthcare for 22 intercollegiate programs and nearly 500 student-athletes.  Inducted into the Maine Athletic Training Association Hall of Fame in 2014, Gerken was a two-year president of EATA and a six-year member of its governing board, and also served as the Vice President and President of MATA. 
 
Helping generations of student-athletes compete, remain healthy and achieve their personal and team goals, Gerken received the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) Athletic Trainer Service Award in 2006.  A former collegiate athlete himself, Gerken was a member the cross country and track & field teams at Plymouth State College.  He earned his bachelor's degree from Plymouth State in 1975, and his Master's degree in Physical Education/Athletic Training from Indiana University in 1977.