John Carroll Announces 2022 Athletic Hall of Fame Class

4/6/2022 3:30:00 PM | By: Anna Meyer, Senior Staff Writer

The 2022 Hall of Fame class features plenty of history, including the first inductee for women's golf as well as a pair of first ballot inductees.

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- John Carroll University Athletics is set to induct a new class into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022, featuring seven individuals and one team.

Jim Mitchell (Football, class of 1990), Matt Nortz (Cross Country & Track and Field class of 1993), Joey Bigler (Men's Basketball class of 1997), Amanda Shannon (Women's Golf, class of 2008, Corey Shontz (Men's Basketball class of 2012), Brittany Danilov (Softball, class of 2012), and Head Coach Hector Marinaro (Men's Soccer) will be the individuals inducted in 2022.

The 2002 Football team will be enshrined as the team inductee.

The 2022 class is headlined by some of the best athletes in John Carroll's history. Notably, Shannon will make her mark in history by being the first-ever women's golfer to enter the John Carroll Athletic Hall of Fame. This year's class also features Danilov and Shontz, both first-ballot hall of famers.

The Class of 2022 will be honored at the John Carroll Athletic Hall of Fame banquet on Friday, September 23, 2022, as part of the Homecoming Weekend festivities. Details will be posted to jcusports.com in the future with more information.

Jim Mitchell (Football, class of 1990) was a remarkable member of the John Carroll Football team. Before transferring to John Carroll, Mitchell played for Indiana. During his time at John Carroll, he served as the team's captain for the 1988 and 1989 seasons as a hard-hitting safety.

He was named the most valuable defensive back in 1988 and 1989, finishing third on the team in tackles (65) in 1988 and third again in 1989 with 75 tackles.

As a Blue Streak, Mitchell led his team to an OAC Championship and an NCAA Division III Playoff qualification. His record with the Blue & Gold was 24-6.

Off the field, Mitchell received a laundry list of accolades at the national level, including 1988 AP Honorable Mention, 1988 Pizza Hut Honorable Mention All-American, 1988 Football News Honorable Mention All-American, 1989 Pizza Hut Honorable Mention All-American, and 1989 Football News Honorable Mention All-American.

Matt Nortz (Cross Country & Track and Field, class of 1993) will go down in John Carroll's history as one of the most talented runners.

Nortz provided an incredible impact on both the John Carroll Track & Field team as well as the Cross Country team. For his accomplishments in track & field, Nortz was named the 1993 OAC Indoor Track & Field Championships Track Athlete of the Year.

Nortz earned All-OAC honors 10 times and stands as a four-time OAC Champion. At a time when the program was not at the top of the OAC standings, Nortz provided a bright light for the Blue Streaks.

Joey Bigler (Men's Basketball, class of 1997) was a three-year starter and lethal long-range shooter who helped his team excel on the national stage.

After the 1995-1996 season, the beast from outside the arc earned the AT&T Long Distance Award for the highest three-point field goal percentage in all of NCAA Division III basketball.

During his time with the program, the team won the OAC Championship in 1994 and 1996, and competed in the NCAA Tournament in 1996. Bigler was a member of the first JCU team to win an NCAA Tournament game. In his four years, John Carroll compiled a record of 70-35.

In his freshman campaign, Bigler set the single-season record for three-point field goal percentage (.491). To this date, Bigler's accomplishment is currently third in John Carroll's history. Bigler ranks in the top eight in four statistical categories, including most three-point field goals, most three-point field goals attempted, highest three-point field goal percentage, and highest free throw percentage.

Amanda Shannon (Women's Golf, class of 2008) is making her mark on history, being the first female golfer from John Carroll to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In 2007, Shannon posted an impressive season, placing second in the 2007 OAC Championship, earning her All-OAC First Team honors and OAC medalist honors. In the 2008 season, Shannon continued to build upon her success as she won the OAC title in 2008 by two strokes.

Her 161 two-day total awarded her the second OAC medal of her career. To this date, Shannon remains the only women's golfer for the Blue & Gold to be an OAC medalist.

Corey Shontz (Men's Basketball, class of 2012) anchored the John Carroll Men's Basketball team during his time in University Heights. Shontz is the only Blue Streak in the program to win the OAC Most Outstanding Player award.

Shontz was a member of one of the most successful classes in John Carroll Men's Basketball history. With the help of his teammates, Shontz's senior class captured three OAC regular-season titles, one OAC Tournament Championship, and earned two NCAA Tournament appearances. During his time at John Carroll, the Blue & Gold posted an overall record of 83-28.

During 2011-2012, Shontz became John Carroll's first NABC All-American in 29 years. In that same season, Shontz received one of the highest honors possible in all of Jesuit collegiate basketball, as he was selected as a member of the National All-Jesuit Team.

Shontz is one of seven players in program history to be named First Team All-OAC two or more times. Still, Shontz's performance for the Blue Streaks sits at the top of the program's statistical categories. Shontz finished his career in the top eight of six statistical categories, including career points, field goals, career three-pointers made, career assists, career steals, and career games played.

Brittany Danilov (Softball, class of 2012) is one of the most remarkable pitchers in John Carroll Softball's history, with a 2.88 career ERA.

From the moment she entered the program, Danilov made her mark on the mound in the OAC. Danilov is the only pitcher in program history to win OAC Pitcher of the Year three times and the only player to be named First-Team All-OAC four times, OAC Player of the Year, and OAC Rookie of the Year.

Danilov was a member of the winningest senior class in program history. During her time with the team, John Carroll posted a 111-55 record and the only two OAC Championship titles in the school's history. In her fourth and final season with John Carroll, the team made their first NCAA Tournament in school history and captured 31 wins, the most in a single season.

Many of Danilov's pitching statistics are the best in program history, including a .241 career opposite batting average, 8.81 career strikeouts per game, 73 career wins, 123 career appearances, 100 career games started, 84 career completed games, 20 career shutouts, 698.2 career innings pitched, 684 strikeouts, 23 wins in a season, and 208 strikeouts in a season.

Danilov will join her teammate Jamie Smrdel, who was inducted into the John Carroll Athletic Hall of Fame last year.

Hector Marinaro (Men's Soccer, head coach 2006-2021) came to John Carroll as an indoor soccer legend in Cleveland. Fifteen years later, Marinaro retired from John Carroll as the all-time winningest head coach in the history of the John Carroll Men's Soccer Program.

During Marinaro's time coaching, he received Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year four times. He led the Blue Streaks to five OAC Championships, five OAC Regular Season Championships, and five NCAA Tournament appearances.

One of the most notable awards of Marinaro's coaching career came in 2019 when his coaching staff was named United Soccer Coaches Great Lakes Region Staff of the Year.

Under Marinaro's belt, 72 players received All-OAC Selections while posting a career record of 185-82-30, 98-23-13 in OAC play.

Despite a slow start in his first season coaching (5-8-4), Marinaro bounced back and led his team to an NCAA Tournament appearance and victory in 2007. In 11 out of his 15 seasons with John Carroll, Marinaro achieved 10 wins or more.

The John Carroll Atheltic's Hall of Fame honor isn't the first hall of fame honor of Marinaro's career. In 2005, Marinaro was inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame.

The 2002 Football Team

20 years after their impressive season, the 2002 John Carroll Football Team is being inducted into the JCU Athletic Hall of Fame.

In 2002, quarterback Tom Arth '03 led John Carroll to a historical run in the NCAA Playoffs. John Carroll was a playoff surprise, as they won three challenging games before making it into the NCAA Division III National Semifinals. The accomplishment of making it to this game was immense, as it was the first final four appearance in the program's history.

Unfortunately for John Carroll, their monumental season ended on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2002, against archrival Mount Union.

One of the many notable members of the 2002 football team was Jeff Lerner '03, who was a four-year starter. Lerner was named the team's Most Valuable Receiver, and was later inducted into the JCU Hall of Fame. Matt Payne '03 also played a significant role in John Carroll's historical season. As a starting tackle for John Carroll, Payne picked up All-American in 2002 and was the Most Valuable Lineman of the 2002 team.

Antoine Dunklin was also a starting wide receiver on the national semi-finalist team. He earned a spot in the John Carroll Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014 for his impressive career in both football and track & field. His 19 touchdowns with the Blue Streaks rank him fifth all-time in John Carroll's program history.

2014 John Carroll Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Chris Cubero was a captain and leader of the Blue & Gold defense that earned them the 12-2 record.

Eric Urdzik is another Hall of Famer at John Carroll who was a four-year letter winner in Football. Urdzik rarely missed a game throughout his career as he played in 37 out of 40 possible career games.

The 2002 John Carroll Football team is only one of two teams in the program's history to make it to the semifinal round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.

Finally, Tony Szczesiul will be officially inducted during this year's ceremony. He was unable to attend last year's ceremony, so he will be recognized this year.

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