EDINBORO, Pa. (April 25, 2015) -- The Edinboro University Athletic Hall of Fame will celebrate its 34th year with the induction of seven new members on Saturday, April 25.  The seven new members swell the Edinboro Hall of Fame membership to 234 inductees.  The Class of 2015 will be formally inducted at the 34th Annual Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony at McComb Fieldhouse.
               
The 2015 inductees include: former cross country and track & field standouts Aaron Rowe and Yimin Wu; former women's soccer standout Jamie (Tekotte) Sallie; former volleyball standout Lisa (Poeschl) Vavrek; former wrestling standout Matt King; former football standout Chris Hart; and Mike Gallagher, who is being inducted as the Distinguished Service Award honoree.   
               
"These seven former student-athletes represent another outstanding group of inductees.   It promises to be an enjoyable evening as we induct a group that served Edinboro athletics with great distinction," related Edinboro Director of Athletics Bruce Baumgartner.  "Through the years that's what the Edinboro Athletic Hall of Fame has stood for, recognizing individuals who have brought distinction to themselves, our athletic department and our University during their careers.  This class also represents the growth of women's athletics and the great success we've enjoyed in those respective sports."

Here is a synopsis of the eight inductees, in alphabetical order:
 
Chris Hart ('97) is regarded as one of Edinboro's top quarterbacks, competing from 1993-96. A two-year starter who helped Edinboro to a 30-12 record during his four years, he guided the Fighting Scots to the 1995 PSAC championship. Edinboro would finish with a 9-2 record that season, including wins over Portland State, Indiana (Pa.), Slippery Rock, and Clarion. The only losses were to Division I-AA powerhouse Appalachian State and New Haven, the latter in the NCAA Division II playoffs. Hart ranks in the top ten in numerous career categories. He completed 277 of 553 passes in his career, ranking sixth in career pass attempts and eighth in completions. His 3,550 yards passing stands seventh, while his 24 career touchdown passes are good for eighth. In addition, he is 13th in career total offense with 3,389 yards.  In 1995, Hart completed 125 of 261 passes for 1,803 yards with 13 TD passes. The following season he completed 144 of 271 passes for 1,635 yards with 10 TDs as Edinboro finished with a 6-4 record. He was a 1996 College Football Magazine Pre-Season All-American and played in the 1996 North/South All-Star Game in Orlando, Florida. He was named the PSAC Offensive Player of the Week four times during his career and was a PSAC and Edinboro Scholar Athlete.
 
Matt King ('04) ranks as one of the all-time wrestlers at Edinboro, competing from 1999-2004. A three-time national qualifier, he was a two-time All-American at 165 lbs. and concluded his career with a 132-23 career record. He ranks sixth in career victories and is eighth in career winning percentage at .852. A two-time Eastern Wrestling League champion and three-time PSAC champion, King was named Edinboro's Sox Harrison Award winner in 2004. After redshirting in 1999-2000 and competing as a reserve with a 24-7 record the following year, he broke into the starting lineup in 2001-02. He would qualify for Nationals in his first year as a starter, ending the season with a 23-6 record with 14 wins by bonus points. Seeded tenth, he won his first match at Nationals before suffering an ankle injury in his second match. He would be unable to continue in the tournament. King won his first PSAC title and was second at EWL's. Over the next two years he would reach the awards stand while enjoying two of the best seasons ever by a Fighting Scot wrestler. Seeded ninth at the 2003 Nationals, he would finish fourth to earn All-American honors for the first time after previously winning his first EWL crown and second PSAC title.
He ended the year with a 42-7 record, with the 42 wins tied for fourth in a season. As a senior, he bettered that as he posted a 43-3 record, tied for the second-highest win total in a season. He had 10 falls, four technical falls, and 12 major decisions in a dominating season. King was seeded third at Nationals and went on to finish third to earn All-American honors for the second straight year. He added his second EWL championship and third PSAC title. He competed in the NWCA All-Star Classic, along with taking first place at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and third at the Southern Scuffle. King was named the PSAC Wrestler of the Year in 2003 and 2004 and was the PSAC Championships Outstanding Wrestler in 2004. He was also the EWL Tournament Outstanding Wrestler as a senior. 
 
Aaron Rowe ('04) excelled as a member of the cross country and track & field teams from 1999-2003. He was named to Edinboro's All-Time Track & Field Team after earning All-American honors five times in track & field, along with a sixth certificate in cross country. He was a four-time All-PSAC and All-East Region runner in cross country. In cross country, in 1999 he earned All-PSAC and All-East Region honors as a freshman, helping the Fighting Scots to first place finishes in both. Edinboro would go on to finish eighth at Nationals. A year later, he would capture All-American accolades in cross country, finishing 13th at Nationals to lead Edinboro to a fourth place finish. The Fighting Scots won both the PSAC and regional championships, as Rowe was second at the PSAC Championships and third at the East Regional. He redshirted in cross country in 2001 and then was felled by mononucleosis in the fall of 2002. He would still come back to help Edinboro finish first at both the PSAC and regional championships, placing second in both races. Rowe enjoyed an incredible season as a senior. He was named the NCAA Division II Coaches Association National Runner of the Year after winning every race he competed in before placing second at the PSAC Championships. A week later, he came back to win the East Regional. In track & field, he was a three-time All-American in the 10,000-meter run and a two-time All-American in the 5,000. As a freshman in 2000, he earned All-PSAC recognition thanks to a second place showing in the steeplechase at the PSAC Championships. In 2001, he won the PSAC championship in the 10,000-meter run and was second in the 1,500, followed by an All-American showing at Nationals, finishing seventh in the 10,000-meter run. He would capture All-American honors in both the 5,000 and 10,000-meter runs in 2002, placing sixth and third, respectively. He also was the PSAC champion in the 5,000-meter run. He capped his track career with two more All-American certificates in 2003, placing second in the 10,000-meter run and third in the 5,000-meter run.  Also an outstanding student who received his bachelor's degree in Health & Physical Education, Rowe was a two-time PSAC Spring Top Ten honoree and was a USTFCCCA Post-Graduate Scholarship Program winner. He was named the 2003 Men's Cross Country Student Athlete of the Year, the Men's Outdoor Track & Field Student Athlete of the Year, and the Men's National Student Athlete of the Year.       
 
Jamie (Tekotte) Sallie ('05) becomes the first women's soccer player to enter Edinboro's Hall of Fame. She has been associated with the Edinboro program since 2001, first as one of the best players ever for the Fighting Scots, and for the last ten years as an assistant coach. After playing one season at Central Michigan, Sallie transferred to Edinboro in 2001 and played her final three seasons as a Fighting Scot. She would conclude her career with 37 goals and 11 assists for 85 points. The 37 goals were a career record which stood until this past year, and the 85 points ranked second at the time and is still the third-highest total. In 2001, she finished second on the team in scoring with 29 points, tying for the team lead with 12 goals and adding five assists. She earned first team All-PSAC accolades and was a second team NSCAA All-Northeast Region
pick. The 2001 Edinboro edition was the first to qualify for the PSAC Tournament, ending the year with an 11-5-1 record. After finishing with four goals for eight points as a junior, she recorded the top scoring season ever by a Fighting Scot as a senior, finishing with school-records of 21 goals and 48 points. She ranked second in the PSAC in points, points per game, goals, and goals per game, and as 13th in Division II in goals per game and 15th in points per game. Sallie led Edinboro to a 12-7-1 and a second PSAC postseason berth. She earned first team NSCAA All-Northeast Region and All-PSAC honors. Since concluding her brilliant career, she has worked as an assistant coach under head coach Gary Kagiavas. Edinboro has made the PSAC Playoffs seven times in her ten seasons along with three NCAA Tournament bids. Edinboro has won 10-or-more matches seven times. In fact, in 2012 she served as interim head coach for the final seven games of the season after Kagiavas was injured in an automobile accident. She would guide the Fighting Scots to a 4-1-2 record as they reached the PSAC Playoffs and the NCAA Tournament.

Lisa (Poeschl) Vavrek ('01) rates as one of the top volleyball players for the Fighting Scots while performing from 1997-2000.  A setter who led the PSAC in assists in three of her four years, she was the 2001 Nancy Acker Award recipient. She was a three-time All-PSAC West selection and earned AVCA All-Atlantic Region accolades twice. Vavrek helped Edinboro to four NCAA playoff appearances, two PSAC Championships (1997 and '98), and one Atlantic Regional title (1998). Edinboro was 96-40 during her four years. She began her career in 1997, and was named the PSAC West Rookie of the Year and was a second team All-PSAC West selection while helping the Fighting Scots to a 26-12 record. She was named the Most Valuable Player of the PSAC Championships, helping the Fighting Scots to the PSAC crown and Atlantic Region runner-up. Vavrek led the PSAC in assists and totaled what was then a school-record 1,441 assists. In 1998 she led Edinboro to its second straight PSAC title as the Scots finished at 28-9. She again paced the PSAC in assists with 1,290. She was a first team All-PSAC West pick and also earned AVCA All-Atlantic Region honors. As a junior in 1999, she missed considerable time due to illness as Edinboro ended with a 22-11 ledger. The Scots would reach the PSAC Championship finals and Atlantic Regional finals. Vavrek was second on the team with 619 assists. She wrapped up her outstanding career in 2000 leading the Scots to another 20-win campaign (20-8) as Edinboro reached the PSAC finals and Atlantic Regional semifinals. She led the PSAC in assists for the third time in her career with 1,128, ranking third in Division II in assists per game. She earned AVCA All-Region honors and was a second team All-PSAC West selection. Vavrek departed as Edinboro's career leader in assists with 4,478, a figure which now ranks second. She is also second in assist average (12.23 per game), while being tied for ninth in service aces (135) and sixth in service ace average (0.368 per game). She holds two of the top ten seasons in assists, with 1,441 in 1997 good for fifth and 1,290 in 1998 ranking eighth. She also holds the overall record for assists in a match with 85 against Indiana (Pa.) in 2000. Vavrek was also an outstanding student with over a 3.6 GPA, receiving her bachelor's degree in Mathematics with a minor in Chemistry. She was inducted into the Plum High School Hall of Fame in November 2014.      
 
Yimin Wu ('02) joins former teammate Aaron Rowe as one of the all-time greats coached by Doug Watts to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He is one of only four Edinboro runners to win the national championship, crossing the finish line first in 1998. The native of China is also one of only two male and three overall four-time All-Americans in cross country, joining Martin Lyons and Lisa Petsche. All told, Wu was a six-time All-American, earning two certificates in track & field. In 1998, as a first-year member of the Fighting Scots, he claimed the national championship in cross country at the NCAA Division II National Championships. He beat the second-place finisher by ten seconds while posting a winning time of 31:06.04. He did not lose a race his entire freshman season, also winning the PSAC and East Region crowns. He was named the PSAC and East Region Runner of the Year while helping Edinboro to championships in both events, followed by a fourth-place showing at Nationals. A year later, he repeated as the PSAC and East Region Runner of the Year after finishing first at both championships, while finishing fourth at Nationals to earn All-American honors for the second time. It took a heroic effort for Wu to become a three-time All-American in 2000. Running in the lead pack at the two-mile mark, he stepped in a hole and tore a calf muscle. After falling back into the high 30's he rallied to finish 13th. That helped Edinboro come in fourth as a team. He had to settle for third place at the PSAC Championships behind teammates Jeff Barker and Rowe. He also earned All-Region honors for the third time. Wu concluded his brilliant cross country career in 2001, finishing in the top five for the third time in his career. He would come in fourth after finishing second at the PSAC and East Regional Championships to become a four-time honoree in each. Wu enjoyed his most success in track in 1999, parlaying a second-place finish in the 10,000-meter run at the national championships into another All-American certificate. He also earned All-American honors in the 5,000-meter run with a sixth-place finish. That year, he was the 10,000-meter run PSAC champion and was named the PSAC Rookie of the Year.       
 
Mike Gallagher is the final inductee as the Distinguished Service Award winner.  He has enjoyed a special relationship with the Edinboro athletic department for many years, beginning as a student in the communications department from 1981-84. He served as the radio voice of the Fighting Scots and also called Gannon University men's basketball games. For more than two decades he has produced videos and taken millions of photographs of Edinboro student-athletes. He was instrumental in the renovation of the women's basketball locker room. For a number of years his highlight video of the year in Edinboro athletics was featured at the Hall of Fame Ceremonies. From 1984-2011 Gallagher served as a sports anchor for ABC affiliate WJET TV in Erie. He was a six-time Associated Press Sportscaster of the Year for Pennsylvania; was a five-time Pennsylvania Association of Broadcaster Award for Excellence in Broadcast Sports; and a two-time National Association of Broadcasters award winner. In 1989, Gallagher became the first Erie sportscaster to earn a National Broadcast Emmy nomination for his coverage of the death of high school football player Bemji Ramirez. His work led to extensive coverage by ESPN. Gallagher ultimately would finish third for the Emmy behind ABC's Al Michaels and his coverage of the earthquake that rocked the 1989 World Series in San Francisco, and Bob Costas' report on the death of baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti. In 1992, Gallagher became feature reporter for This Week in Baseball with Mel Allen. That same year he discovered 11-year-old sportscaster Maria Sansone. Sansone's reports on the 6 pm. Newscasts soon became known nation-wide, and she would travel the country as a guest on Good Morning America, Dateline NBC, and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Today she is the host of Good Day LA in Hollywood. Gallagher is known for more than just his sports reporting. After the tragic events of 9-11-2001 he was hired by New York City mayor Rudy Guiliani to produce security videos geared at Fortune 500 companies. While working for Guiliani Partners he turned to still photography. It has become a passion that has led to his shots being featured in Sports Illustrated, along with other national publications. Among his many other accomplishments is a mini documentary about Dan Marino's football life as he was about to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and a piece for ESPN's 30 for 30 about Marino and fellow Hall of Famer John Elway.