2026 John Carroll Athletic Hall of Fame Class Announced

5/20/2026 1:00:00 PM | By: Jack Stephens, Staff Writer

Seven Blue Streaks and one team will be inducted on October 16

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS — The 2026 John Carroll University Athletic Hall of Fame class has been unveiled, as announced by John Carroll Athletics and the Blue Gold Club.

Seven former student athletes and one team join this exclusive club, and will be recognized as part of Hall of Fame Weekend on Friday, October 16.

The 2026 class includes Katie Benjamin '03 (Women's Basketball), Milko Cecez '06 (Men's Soccer), Victor DeBoer '05 (Football), Andrew Doring '15 (Baseball), Allie Lustig '14 (Women's Basketball), Dan Mirman '16 (Wrestling), Rocky Mitolo '15 (Men's Track and Field), and the 2016 Football Team.

These new Hall of Famers will be recognized at John Carroll on October 16 and then be honored at halftime of the Homecoming football game on October 17 against Wabash College.

Meet the Blue Streaks whose faces will soon join the Dave Rastoka '90 Hall of Fame:

Katie Benjamin '03 (Women's Basketball)

Katie Benjamin earns this honor after putting together an impressive career in the early 2000s for JCU. Benjamin was a threat all over the floor, both inside and out, being the only player in program history to score at least 1,000 points, grab 500 rebounds, dish out 250 assists, while also tallying 200 steals and 100 blocked shots. She also set the record for career rebounds with 871, which stood until 2014. However, this is still the fourth-best mark all-time. She was also a two-time Team MVP in 2003 and 2002, and graduated among the top five players in program history for career field goal percentage, career free throws made, rebounds assists, blocks and steals. As a junior, Benjamin ranked 38th nationally in steals per game. In 2002, Benjamin received Second Team All-OAC honors, while also garnering Honorable Mention status in 2001 and 2003. Katie was also just the second player in program history to be an All-OAC and Academic All-OAC member in the same season, and was just the fifth three-time All-OAC selection at the time she graduated. Benjamin is the ninth player in program history to be listed in the Hall of Fame.

Milko Cecez '06 (Men's Soccer)

Milko Cecez was one of the most skilled players in the history of the JCU soccer program and overcame some massive roadblocks to become that player. While Cecez tore his ACL in his freshman year, he was able to fully recover from that injury and then get to work, contributing 69 total points for the Blue Streaks, which ranked sixth at the time of his graduation, 11th all-time currently. Cecez also dished out 23 assists during his playing career, which was tied for fourth at the end of his career. Over his four years at JCU, the Blue Streaks went a combined 55-23-3, while winning OAC regular season titles in 2003 and 2005, and runner-ups in 2002 and 2004. In 2003 and 2005, JCU won the OAC Tournament title. In 2003 the Blue Streaks reached the NCAA Tournament Round of 16. Cecez is also a two-time recipient of First Team All-OAC honors and made the 2004 All Region Team. To go along with his impressive performances on the pitch, Cecez was also getting results in the classroom. He made the Dean's List all eight semesters at JCU, while also graduating Magna Cum Laude from Cleveland Marshall College of Law. In 2005, Cecez also made the ESPN Magazine Academic All-District Team. After JCU, Cecez played three years professionally for the Indoor Soccer team, Ohio Vortex.

Victor DeBoer '05 (Football)

DeBoer possesses one of the most interesting stories out of any Hall of Famer in recent memory, as he began his career in University Heights as a tight end. He made the switch to the offensive tackle as a sophomore in 2002 and became one of the best linemen in school history. During his time with the Blue Streaks, DeBoer went 25-9 in his three years on varsity, including a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2002. That same team would go on to finish fifth in the D3football.com rankings and be the first team in JCU history to advance to the NCAA Semifinals. In 2004, DeBoer put together his best season, earning the Football Gazette Division III All-American Second Team honors, as well as D3football.com Third Team All-American recognition. DeBoer also received the Mike Gregory Award in 2004, recognizing the Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman in the OAC, to align with being a First Team All-OAC recipient that year. This is the second straight year a football player has been inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame, as Frank Ross '10 was recognized last year.

Andrew Doring '15 (Baseball)

Andrew Doring received this honor by being a key contributor to the 2014 Blue Streak Baseball team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1984. Doring, a right handed pitcher out of Grafton, Wisconsin, started games for the Blue Streaks in all four years of his collegiate career while racking up 19 total wins. Of those wins, 15 occurred in his final two seasons in University Heights. His best year came in 2015, in which Doring notched a 2.17 ERA across 78.2 innings, striking out 92 hitters along the way. Doring earned Second Team All-American honors from D3baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings. Doring would also be named the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Pitcher of the Year and the D3baseball.com All-Mideast Regional Pitcher of the Year in 2015. Doring was a two-time First Team All-OAC recipient in 2015 and 2013, as well as being the only pitcher in Division III to rank in the top five nationally in wins and strikeouts in 2015. Finally, Doring holds the record for wins in a single season with 10 in 2015, he also sits third in career starts (37). Doring is the 17th baseball player to be inducted into the JCU Athletic Hall of Fame and follows his teammate Chet Lauer '14, who was inducted last year.

Allie Lustig '14 (Women's Basketball)

Allie Lustig came a long way from Palo Alto, California to handle the point guard duties for the Blue Streaks in the early 2010s and quickly became one of the most impactful players in program history. As a freshman, Lustig started 17 games guiding the Blue Streaks offense where she finished fourth on the team in scoring and steals, while also ranking inside the top 10 in the OAC in three point percentage. Her ability to facilitate and to shoot ramped up in the 2011-12 season, as she started every game for JCU, leading the conference with 5.3 assists per game and finishing sixth shooting 36.2% from long range. Her efforts contributed to the Blue Streaks finishing as the runner-ups in the OAC Tournament, becoming the first No. 7 seed in the history of the OAC to reach the tournament championship game. The team as a whole struggled in 2012, but Lustig thrived, again topping the OAC in assists per game and draining a team-high 41 threes. In her final campaign, the duo of Lustig and fellow Hall of Fame Teammate Missy Spahar led JCU to their first NCAA Division III Tournament appearance receiving an at–large bid after going 22-4 and winning the OAC Regular Season title, also a program first. Lustig also earned Second Team All-OAC honors in her 2013-14 season. Allie Lustig is the 10th player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and a part of the first Hall of Fame class in school history to feature two Women's Basketball players.

Dan Mirman '16 - Men's Wrestling

Mirman is one of the most accomplished wrestlers not only in JCU history. In his four-year stint with the Blue Streaks, Mirman was a NCAA National Championship Qualifier all four years of his career and a three-time NCAA All-American, the 11th in JCU history. In his freshman campaign, Mirman would win twice over the course of the season and finish second at the NCAA Midwest Regional. As a sophomore, he won first-place honors in the Trine Open and the Wheaton Pete Wilson Invitational, en route to his first All-OAC First Team recognition. At the NCAA Championships, Mirman would finish sixth and earn his first All-American title. In his junior and senior years, Mirman really came into his own and started to dominate his competition, booking a trip to the NCAA Championships and finishing sixth in 2015, and then third in 2016, the best finish by a Blue Streak since 2005. Dan Mirman would finish his career with a record of 107-20. Mirman becomes the 45th wrestler to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and the first since Ben Adams '10 in 2024.

Rocky Mitolo '15 (Men's Track and Field)

Rocky Mitolo finds himself among legends after a dominant career throwing for the Blue Streak Field team. Mitolo was an outdoor All-American in 2014 in the shot put, the first ever All-American for John Carroll in the shot put in program history. Mitolo would represent the Blue Streaks at the 2014 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships that year, placing seventh in shot put. Mitolo still holds the program record in the outdoor shot put (16.58m/54-4.75) and won the OAC title in 2015 in the category by over two full meters. Mitolo also earned All-OAC honors in 2014 in the hammer throw and in 2015 in the indoor shot put. In the same years, Mitolo also was a part of the 2014 All-Ohio weight throw indoor and All-Ohio discus outdoor honorees, and in 2015 earned All-Ohio shot put indoor status. Mitolo is the 20th Men's Track and Field athlete to be shrined into the JCU Athletic Hall of Fame, and the first inducted since 2023.

2016 Football Team

The 2016 Blue Streaks set a new standard for the program, reaching the semifinal of the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in the history of the school. After dropping their opening game of the season to Wisconsin-Oshkosh, the Blue Streaks rattled off eight consecutive victories in OAC play, setting up a matchup against #1 ranked Mount Union for the OAC crown. In that 8-game stretch, the Blue Streaks won each game by an average 32.6 points. In that title game, a late touchdown reception by William Woods from Anthony Moeglin put the Blue Streaks ahead 31-28 with 39 seconds left. The Blue Streaks held off the Purples Raiders on the ensuing possession, clinching the first outright OAC title for JCU since 1994.

In the postseason, the Blue Streaks hosted in the first two rounds, defeating Olivet College, 37-12, and #18 Wesley College, 20-17, in overtime. Anthony Leonetti hauled in the game winning score from Moeglin. In the quarterfinals, the Blue Streaks led wire-to-wire, using a 17-point third quarter to defeat #1 ranked and previously undefeated Wisconsin-Whitewater, 31-14. The run would end in the semifinals at UW-Oshkosh.

Head Coach and current Quarterbacks coach at the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tom Arth, earned D3Football.com National Coach of the Year. Additionally, former Los Angeles Chargers Head Coach and current New Orleans Saints Defensive Coordinator Brandon Staley was recognized as Coordinator of the Year and was a finalist for Football Scoop Coach of the Year.

As a team, the Blue Streaks landed a program record five players on the D3Football.com All-American Team (Mason McKenrick and Michael Hollins, Jovon Dawson, Dominic DiTirro, Anthony Latina and Ray Brown). Jovon Dawson was also named to the AP Little All-America Football Team as well as being a AFCA Division III All-American. The 2016 Team is the first football team to be inducted since the 2002 squad back in 2022.

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