BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- All-American outfielder Ed Grueter, former Director of Athletics & Recreation, John Harper, legendary football coach, Peter Mazzaferro, and the 1994 Division III World Series finalist Bears' softball team are among the members of the 2020 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Hall of Fame induction class which was announced today by the MASCAC office and sponsored by GEICO.
The MASCAC created the Hall of Fame to provide the recognition of those individuals who have made a significant contribution to the conference and to help preserve the storied history of the MASCAC and its member institutions.
There are five categories for nomination: student-athlete from a men's team, student-athlete from a women's team, overall team, coach and administrator. The 2020 MASCAC Hall of Fame Class is as follows:
- Student-athlete from a men's team: Ed Grueter - Bridgewater State University, Tony Crescitelli - MCLA
- Student-athlete from a women's team: Cindy Sturm Menard - Westfield State University, Elke Aun - Worcester State University
- Team: 1994 Bridgewater State University Softball
- Coach: Peter Mazzaferro - Bridgewater State University
- Administrator: John Harper - Bridgewater State University, Betty Kruczek - Fitchburg State University
Starting with our student-athlete from a male team honorees, Ed Grueter was one of the most prolific baseball players in Bridgewater State history. During his four years with the Bears (1988-91) the team qualified for postseason play (ECAC/NCAA) every season. He is a two-time NCAA All-American (1989/91) and a three-time All New England selection (1989-91). At one point, Grueter held the Bridgewater State career record for hits (215), singles (164), doubles (33), total bases (293) and stolen bases (86). He had a career batting average of .438 with a season high of .489 in 1989. Grueter continued to play ball for the local Easton Huskies of the Cranberry League for a number of years and helped the team advance to the finals of the 2002 Stan Musial World Series. Grueter graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education with a minor in health. He was inducted into the Bridgewater State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Cranberry Baseball League Hall of Fame in 2011.
Tony Crescitelli set the standard for the North Adams State College (MCLA) Soccer program. His career began in 1975 when he led the nation in scoring with a goal total of 31, a mark he would well surpass his senior year when he led the nation again in scoring 45 goals. He was selected to the MASCAC All-Star Team four consecutive seasons and honored as an All-New England team member on three separate occasions. Respected by his teammates, Crescitelli was chosen as the team’s Most Valuable Player in 1976 and 1978. At the conclusion of his college career in 1978, he had distinguished himself as the all-time leading goal scorer in the nation with 123 goals. Following his stellar college career, Crescitelli went on to participate in the Olympic Sport Festival in 1978. He was then drafted and signed by a professional Soccer team, the Washington Diplomats. His professional career lasted seven years and took him all over the United States. He played for the San Jose Earthquakes, Team America (United States National team), Ft. Lauderdale Suns, and the Buffalo Stallions.
Up next are our two student-athlete from a female team honorees. Cindy (Sturm) Menard, a track and cross country star in the early 1980s, is Westfield State's first national champion and the only two-time national champion. She captured the NCAA Division III cross country championship in 1981 and placed first nationally in the 3,000 meter run during the 1982 outdoor track season. Menard was a five-time All American, two-time New England champion, and five-time All New England during her two years at Westfield State. She also was the recipient of the Howard C. Smith Scholar-Athlete Award, presented annually to the top senior student-athlete in the MASCAC. Menard, a native of Westfield, was a high school All American, placing second in the state to Olympian Lynn Jennings in both the mile run and the cross country state championships.
From Worcester State, Elke Aun was an outstanding track and field performer for the Lancers for four years, and was the first Worcester State athlete to receive an NCAA $5,000 postgraduate scholarship. She is the Lancers first and only national champion in track, and is considered by many to be the best female athlete to ever participate in sports for Worcester State. Aun earned numerous track and field honors. Her achievements include the 1996 NCAA Division III National Championship, in the heptathlon, she was four-time All-American, All-ECAC 13 times, All-New England 18 times, ECAC Champion in four events and New England Champion in two events. To this day, she holds the following Lancer indoor track and field records: In hurdle events, the 50-yard, in running events, the 400-meter, 500-meter, 600-meter, 800-meter, and 1000-meters. Indoor field records she set were in the pentathlon and triple jump. She also was a member of the then-record setting 4x200-meter, 4x400-meter and mile relay units. Aun also established the following Lancer outdoor track and field records: heptathlon, 800 meters, 400 meter hurdles, and 4x200-meter relay.
The 2020 team Hall of Fame award winners are the 1994 Bridgewater State University Softball team. The 1994 squad was the only team in Bridgewater State athletic history to compete in an NCAA National Championship final. That season the Bears won a team-record 39 games (39-8) under Hall of Fame coach Dee Dee Enabenter, claimed the MASCAC regular season title and advanced to the NCAA Division III title game versus Trenton State (now College of New Jersey). The Bears won the NCAA Division III Ithaca (Northeast) Regional as the team went 3-0 at the regional tournament. After dropping their first game at the World Series in Salem, Virginia, the Bears bounced back with three straight wins to advance to the championship round. The team featured NFCA First Team All-American Angela Constantine (1B) and four NFCA First Team All-Northeast Region selections - Judy Gallagher (P), Angela Constantine (1B), Janet Maguire (2B) and Jen Goodwin (3B).
This year's coach recipient is Peter Mazzaferro. He was the head coach of the Bridgewater State College football team for 36 seasons from 1968 to 2004. He is a graduate of Centre College (1954) in Kentucky where he was a three-sport athlete in football basketball and track. Mazzaferro began his coaching career at Waynesburg College (1959-62) in Pennsylvania. In 1961, he was named the Pittsburgh Curbstone Coaches College Coach of the Year. After spending a year at Curry College (1963), Mazzaferro came to Bridgewater State as an assistant to former coach Ed Swenson in 1966. He took over the head coaching responsibilities in 1968 and became the foundation of the Bridgewater State football program. Peter retired from coaching in 2004. During those years, the Bears won or shared New England Football Conference Championships in 1969, 1989, 1992, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000. His teams competed in post-season play in 1989 and 1992 (ECAC) and in 1999 and 2000 (NCAA). In 41 years of coaching Division III football, Coach Mazzaferro compiled a career coaching record of 210-159-10 (.567). In 1989 and 1999, Peter received the highest coaching honor in New England when he was named the New England Football Writer's Coach of the Year for Division II-III. In 1996, he was awarded the George C. Carens Award for outstanding contributions to college football in New England. In the summer of 1999, he was honored by the All American Football Foundation with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Coach Mazzaferro spent 34 years as an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Education during his tenure at Bridgewater State. He was inducted into the BSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Centre College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.
Our final two 2020 Hall of Fame designees are from the administrator category. John Harper spent 21 years as the Director of Athletics & Recreation at Bridgewater State beginning in 1991. Under Harper’s leadership, the BSU athletics program flourished with highly competitive teams and dramatically upgraded facilities including Alumni Park, the Tinsley Center and Swenson Field. Among the many team highlights at the national level include the runner-up finish by the softball team in 1994, the baseball team’s third place showing in 1996 and seventh place performance in 1997, and the Sweet Sixteen run by the men’s basketball team in 2009. Bridgewater also captured the prestigious Smith Cup, which goes annually to the top MASCAC program, 11 times during his tenure after earning it just once the previous 19 years. Harper received numerous awards and honors at both the national and regional level including the NACDA Division Northeast Region Athletics Director of the Year in 2003 and the ECAC DIII Male Administrator of the Year in 2011. He received the Boston Globe South Sectional Sportsman of the Year Award in 2000 as well as the Games Director of the Year Award and John and Maria Hanlon Award from Massachusetts Special Olympics in 1999 and 2003, respectively. John was also honored by the Massachusetts chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011 and was selected as the NEWA Administrator of the Year in 2013. John earned his undergraduate degree from Ithaca College in 1971 and completed his Masters degree at Indiana University in 1974.
Betty Kruczek was Fitchburg State's first ever full-time athletic director in 1978. During her time at the university, she moved Fitchburg State into a higher level of intercollegiate athletics. She added numerous full-time positions including athletic trainer, sports information director and equipment manager. Kruczek also improved the facilities tremendously and was in charge of the the intramural program. She was on the executive committee of the MASCAC, a member of the ECAC Hockey Executive Board and the DIII Selection Committee. She also was a huge contributor to the NCAA, she served six years on the NCAA Council (four of those years on the NCAA DIII Management Council and was the first women to hold that post). Lastly, she served as secretary of the NACDA and was the only officer from a DIII school. She was one of five collegiate administrators to serve as an official national administrator for the Goodwill Games in Moscow. Every year, Fitchburg State gives out an annual award in her name to a student-athlete who “demonstrates courage and spirit in overcoming adversity”.
The inductees will be recognized at a formal MASCAC Hall of Fame induction which will be coupled with a MASCAC athletic championship or event at the site in which the individual competed or was housed during the 2020-2021 academic year.