DOYLESTOWN (PA) -- The Delaware Valley University Athletics Hall of Fame Committee is proud to announce it will induct four new honorees as part of the class of 2023 during an induction ceremony on campus on Friday, September 22, 2023. The class includes Darren Bethke '93 (football), Michelle (Cernobyl) Schwendeman '09 (field hockey), Matt Cook '11 (football), and Meghan Donovan '12 (Track and Field).

Athletic Director emeritus and long-time former baseball coach Frank Wolfgang will also be honored during the ceremony for his recent induction into the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2023.

The event will take place on campus in the Life Sciences Building with a cocktail hour reception at 6 p.m. followed by the induction ceremony in the auditorium at 7 p.m. The event is open to the public, but all must register in advance using this link:

DelVal Athletics Hall of Fame (touchnet.net).

All reservations must be made in advance – no tickets will be available at the door.

The standout athletes that make up this class hold school records that have stood for a decade or more, represented our University on a national stage, earned All-American and preseason All-American honors, earned regional all-stars and were honored as the best athletes in the Middle Atlantic Conference. They led their teams on playoff runs as team captains, and earned numerous individual awards on and off the field, and ultimately epitomized what it means to be a student-athlete at DelVal.   

 

Darren Bethke '93 - Football

Bethke was a three-year member of the Aggies football team from 1990-1992 and served as a team captain his senior year while playing under Hall of Fame head coach Bill Manlove. As a versatile defender he was a do-it-all linebacker and set the program record for tackles in a career in just three seasons with 346. That record stood for 12 years as the top-mark, and 30 years later, still holds as the second most. His 129 tackles during his senior season also ranks second all-time, and his 20 tackles in a single-game against Wagner that same year ranks third in Aggie history. He capped his career with 30 consecutive starts and earned spots on the first-team all-conference and all-region teams. The team recognized him with the squad's most outstanding defensive back/linebacker award in 1992. Bethke was twice named a preseason All-American and will forever be remembered as one of the best defensive player's in program history.

 

Michelle (Cernobyl) Schwendeman '09 – Field Hockey

Schwendeman, nee Cernobyl, played for the Aggies for four years under head coach Carol DiGirolamo, and later joined DiGirolamo's staff as an assistant coach where she helped lead the program for another nine seasons.

During her four years on the field, she put together one of the best careers in program history, setting four individual records that still stand 15 years later. During her senior campaign, Cernobyl set single-season records with 51 points and 23 goals and elevated her career numbers to record breaking marks of 155 points and 69 goals, surpassing previous marks by more than 20 goals and 30 points. Her 17 career assists was good for second all-time when she graduated and is now third most.

Her stellar play earned her three all-conference nods, tied for the most in program history. During her sophomore season she was a first team honoree, and in 2007 and 2008, she earned second team honors. In 2006, she helped the team reach the MAC Freedom playoffs.

As a coach, she was instrumental in the development of 22 all-conference players as she worked with DiGirolamo in developing practice plans, game strategy, player development, recruiting, and took the lead on corner plays. While on staff, the Aggies had their most memorable season to date as the 2013 team set a program record with 13 wins and earned the number one seed in the Freedom Conference playoffs, earning the right to host a conference postseason game for the first time. Delaware Valley was then selected for the ECAC Championships for the first time and upset Richard Stockton in overtime of its quarterfinal battle before falling in the semifinals. Di Girolamo was named Freedom Coach of the Year and five Aggies were named to the all-conference team.

 

Matt Cook '11 - Football

Cook starred in the backfield for the DelVal football team for four years from 2007-2010 under head coach Jim Clements and, at the time, offensive coordinator Duke Greco. He played in 45 career games and put together one of the best careers for a running back in program history with 220 more attempts, 668 more yards, and three more career touchdowns then the next best rusher. His record-setting marks stand at 934 career rushing attempts, 4,432 career yards, and 48 career touchdowns.  He also owns two of the top-four single-game rushing marks with a program-best 324 yards in a 2010 victory at Wilkes, and a 233-yard performance in a win over Lebanon Valley during his sophomore campaign that ranks fourth all-time.

 

In his rookie season, Cook split time in the backfield and ran for 596 yards and seven rushing touchdowns in 10 games. He broke out in his sophomore season with a career-best 1,323 yards and 120.3 yards per game over 11 games. He added 13 rushing touchdowns and went for 4.79 yards per carry as he helped DelVal to a share of the conference championship.

 

During his junior season in 2009, Cook and the Aggies posted a perfect 7-0 mark in MAC play, won the outright conference championship, and made the NCAA Playoffs for the first time since 2005. The Aggies trounced Susquehanna in the first round of the playoffs with a school-record 66 points and Cook finished with 156 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. He eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the second-straight year as he ran for 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns in 12 games.

 

In his senior season, he played in 12 games but had 51 less carries then the previous season as he played through numerous ailments. He posted a career-best five yards per carry and 18 touchdowns as he finished with 1,201 yards on 240 attempts. Cook averaged over 100 yards per game for the third straight year. The Aggies won the MAC and advanced to the NCAA second round for the second-straight season, and the individual accolades poured in for Cook. He was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year, earned his third first team all-conference nod, was a second team all-region player, and was named an AFCA All-American.

 

Meghan Donovan '12 – Track and Field

Donovan represented the women's track and field team for four years under head coach Ed Andrewlevich and put together one of the greatest careers in DelVal track and field history. She was a two-time All-American and became the first track athlete – male or female - to earn All-American in indoor track and field, was a three-time national qualifier, three-time MAC champion, three-time MAC runner-up, and set two school records that still stand today.

 

In her first collegiate meet in 2009, Donovan scored the lone points for a young Aggie women's track team at the Ursinus College Indoor Track Classic when she cleared the high jump bar at 4 feet, 9.75 inches to take sixth place overall. By the end of her freshman year, she would go on to set a school record, and tie for the seventh-best mark in the country as she cleared the bar at 5 feet, 5.75 inches at the ECAC Championships. That jump qualified her for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, becoming the first Aggie to reach the national stage in more than a decade. She cleared the bar at 5 feet, 4.5 inches at the national championship meet and earned 10^th out of 25 competitors.

 

During her sophomore campaign she helped the DelVal women's indoor track team win its first-ever invitational title as she earned top honors in the high jump at the Albright College Invitational. She concluded that indoor season with runner-up finishes at the MAC and ECAC indoor championships. In the outdoor season that year, she claimed first place in three of the first four events she competed in and was runner-up in another. She rode that momentum into the MAC Championship meet where she cleared the bar at 5 feet, 4.25 inches to claim her first conference championship medal.

 

In 2011, she returned to the national stage as she qualified for the NCAA Championships during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Her qualifying jump for the indoor season was one to remember as she avenged back-to-back runner-up finishes, broke her previous school record, and set a new conference record that had stood for 18 years when she cleared the bar at 5 feet, 6 inches to claim her first MAC indoor gold medal. A few weeks later, the junior became the first Aggie to All-American at the NCAA Indoor Championships when she reached 5 feet, 5.25 inches to finish tied for fourth place.

 

That outdoor season of her junior year, she set another school record and qualified for her third national championship meet when she cleared the bar at 5 feet, 6 inches at the ECAC championships. She was one of three Aggies to travel to Ohio Wesleyan University for the 2011 NCAA Division III championships and she came home with her second All-America title as she took seventh place with a jump of 5 feet, 5.75 inches.

 

In her senior year, Donovan defended her MAC indoor title in the high jump when she tied her own school record with the leap of 5 feet, 6 inches and went on to earn her second runner-up finish at the conference's outdoor championships.

 

Frank Wolfgang – MAC Hall of Fame Class of 2023

Wolfgang, a 2013 DelVal Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, was a member of the conference for 50 years including his 45 years at Delaware Valley where he served as head baseball coach for 22 years (1974-75 and 1979-99) and Athletic Director for 26 years (1987-2013). He also spent 10 years at the helm of the Aggie men's basketball program. Prior to coming to DelVal, Wolfgang was a student-athlete in the MAC as a member of the Gettysburg baseball team.

Also in 2013, Wolfgang was awarded the Lou Sorrentino Award from the conference that is presented to a MAC athletics administrator who has had a sustained and influential role in conference and national affairs and embodies the NCAA Division III philosophy.

During his 22 years as the Aggies Head Baseball Coach, Wolfgang recorded 249 victories and led his squad to the playoffs on four occasions. His last season as coach was, perhaps, the finest as the team set a school record with a 31-7 mark and went on to capture the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Southern Region Championship. The baseball field on campus was renamed Frank Wolfgang Field in 2006.

Wolfgang is also a member of the Jerry Wolman-Northern Anthracite Chapter of the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame.

The MAC Hall of Fame is an honor to recognize student-athletes, coaches, administration, faculty, or staff from the Middle Atlantic Conferences who have demonstrated success in athletics, academics, and in the community. Ten to 20 candidates are inducted from any of the 59 current and former member schools each year.