Two golfers, two men's basketball players and one athlete each representing the sports of volleyball, men's soccer, wrestling and football, and the 1959 football team, have earned the right to part of the 2009 induction class that will enter the John Carroll University Athletic Hall of Fame this weekend as part of Homecoming Weekend in University Heights.

The class of 2009 includes Paul Voinovich (class of 1994) and Ben Wilkins (class of 1998) from the men's golf program, David Pfundstein (class of 1997) and Mark Heidorf (class of 1999) from the men's basketball program, Leslie Mahl (class of 1994) from the volleyball program, Grant Mast (class of 1998) from the men's soccer program, Rich Eslich (class of 1999) from the wrestling program, and Nick Caserio (class of 1999) from the football program. 

The 1959 football team will be honored as well, becoming just the second team to be inducted into the JCU Hall of Fame. This celebrated team along with the eight individual inductees will be feted at a ceremony that will be held on October 9 at John Carroll University's Dolan Science Center. Over 300 attendees are expected to be a part of the celebration.

Voinovich helped usher in the most successful era of golf in the history of the sport at John Carroll. The team's #1 golfer and a letterwinner for three years between 1992 to 1994, Voinovich earned medalist honors at the Ohio Athletic Conference championships in 1993. In all, he had six top ten finishes in his career, including the OAC title in 1993, a fifth place finish at the 1004 OAC meet, and two runner-up finishes at the 1993 Spartan Invitational and the 1993 Hiram Invitational.

Over the course of his career, Voinovich helped the Blue Streaks become a conference and national power. JCU won the OAC Championship in 1994 and the team qualified for the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in school history his senior year. The Blue Streaks finished third at the NCAA Division III Championships - the best showing by a John Carroll team at a national tournament at the time since the 1976 wrestling team placed second in Division III.

Paul Voinovich joins brother Steve, a 2007 inductee, in the JCU Athletic Hall of Fame.

Wilkins essentially filled the void left by the graduation of Paul Voinovich on the men's golf team, and promptly became a Division III All-American in 1995, placing 11th to earn second team honors. He would help the team place in top ten of nation in three different years -- 3rd in 1995, 4th in 1996 and 10th in 1997.

A four-time All-OAC honoree, Wilkins placed seventh or better in all four of the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships in which he participated with his best finish a third place effort in 1998. He was part of OAC crown-winning teams in 1995 and 1997, and runner-up squads in 1996 and 1998

In his career, Wilkins was a four-year letterwinner, a two-time Academic All-OAC selection, and had 12 top ten finishes

John Carroll's basketball program rose to new heights in the mid to late 1990's, and two of the players that helped them reach those heights will be honored this year. Pfundstein was a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter from 1994-1997, and was named the team's Most Valuable Player as both a junior and senior.

His senior year was his most memorable individually, as he was selected 2nd team All-OAC, led the OAC in assists, and finished 20th in the nation in that category as well. Graduated as the school record holder for career games played (105), as well as single season assists (176 in 1996-97) and career assists (454);

The teams on which Pfundstein played on won OAC titles in 1994 and 1996, and qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship tournament in both 1996 and 1997. The Blue Streaks were 70-35 in his four years, and the 1996-97 team was just second in school history to win 20 games

Heidorf, who was on the same team as Pfundstein in both in 1996 and 1997, is one of the most decorated basketball players in John Carroll history. He was a Columbus Multimedia Honorable Mention All-America and DIII News Honorable Mention All-America following the 1998-1999 campaign.

He was also named to the Chevy Truck/NABC First Team All-District team following his junior and senior seasons, both of which ended with JCU reaching the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Streaks were national tournament qualifiers all four years he played.

In three of his four seasons, Heidorf was an all-conference selection, including two years as a two-time honoree (1998 and 1999). He also was tabbed to the 1997 OAC All-tournament team

The team MVP for the 1998 and 1999 seasons, Heidorf was also a two-time Academic All-American.

Mahl was the "floor general" of the high-powered John Carroll volleyball teams between 1991-1994. Serving as the starting setter for the Blue Streaks, she helped John Carroll win Ohio Athletic Conference championships in 1992 and 1993, and qualify for NCAA Division III postseason play in 1993 and 1994.

On the national stage, Mahl and fellow Hall of Famer Stacy Mullally were key figures on teams that reached the round of 16 in 1993 and the Elite Eight in 1994.

For her efforts, Mahl would be named first team All-OAC three times (1992, 1993 and 1994). She led the league in assists in 1994, and at the time of her graduation, was third all-time in that category in conference history. Mahl is was also the school record holder for assists in a match, season and career at the time of her graduation.

Mast was the epitome of the well-rounded student-athlete, as he was not only a three-time all-region selection and two-time All-Ohio choice on the field, but a thoughtful citizen off it as well.

A three-time first team All-OAC goalkeeper, Mast was a four-year letterwinner, three-year starter, and team captain in 1997. In addition to setting school records for saves in a single game and season, Mast was part of John Carroll teams that had a 34-19-4 record in his three years as a starter, including a 22-3-2 mark in the OAC. JCU won two OAC regular season titles and played in two OAC championship games between 1995-1997.

On the educational side, Mast was a unanimous Academic All-OAC selection in 1997 and would be named a second-team Academic All-American in 1997. He also found time to be co-founder of the MPower2Play program while a student at JCU - a fundraising effort which aimed to establish a tutoring program and built a playground at Margaret Ireland Elementary School in downtown Cleveland;

Eslich currently stands alone in John Carroll as the only national champion in wrestling history to win his title by going undefeated for an entire season. A two-time All-American at heavyweight, he won his Division III championship in 1999, completing the year with a record of 25-0.

His 1998-99 season also featured the second if his two Ohio Athletic Conference titles, and he would be selected as the OAC's Most Outstanding Wrestler.

Named the team's Most Improved Wrestler in 1998 and then Most Valuable Wrestler the following season, Eslich posted a record of 52-4 in his final two seasons. His .939 career winning percentage was (and still is) a school record at the time he graduated

Caserio is better known these days as the Director of Player Personnel for the New England Patriots, but before he rose to the highest levels of management in the National Football league, he was a record-setting quarterback for the John Carroll football team.

A USA Football Honorable Mention All-American following the 1998 season, Caserio made history as the starting quarterback for first JCU team to win Division III playoff game. He would win up his career with a school record 8,434 passing yards, which also stood as the 3rd best total in OAC history at the time he graduated.

Graduating with 16 school records to his credit, Caserio was a four-year letterwinner and starter and a two-time team captain. Twice named to the All-OAC second team, Caserio's record as a starter was 29-6-2.

For good measure, he was also named Academic All-OAC First Team and Academic All-District IV First Team as a senior. 

As the second team to be elected into the Hall of Fame at John Carroll -- following the 1975 national champion wrestling team that was inducted last year -- the 1959 football team holds a special place in John Carroll athletic history. 

Under the direction of first-year head coach John Ray, the Blue Streaks posted a record of 7-0 overall and 5-0 mark in the Presidents' Athletic Conference, thus becoming the first undefeated football team in school history. So dominant were the Streaks that the only points allowed in conference play that year came off an interception return for a touchdown.

The 1959 season featured five shutouts, including a season opening 45-0 win over Bethany, a 40-0 Homecoming win over Wayne State and a 20-0 victory over Washington & Jefferson on the final Saturday of the season that sealed the first undefeated season in JCU football history.

Perfection in a football season has only been achieved three times in JCU history. The 1959 team was the first to accomplish the feat, after which only the 1962 and 1963 teams were able to match the achievement. All three teams were headed up by coach Ray.

Two players from that team earned small college Catholic All-American honors, and four were drafted to play professional football.

All 42 members of the squad plus the coaching staff will be considered as part of the 1959 team that will be inducted Friday night.