BUFFALO STATE ATHLETICS
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A pair of former national track and field champions Erica Johnson (’12) and Sasha Henry (’13) along with two-time All-Americans Karen Shaddock (Lacrosse, ’12) and Mustapha Janeh (Soccer, ’83) will headline a class of seven individuals joining the 1967 men’s soccer team to be inducted into the Buffalo State Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2018.
Warren Gassman (Tennis, ’67) will also be inducted for regular membership, while long time vice president for student affairs Dr. Hal D. Payne and “strong man” Dr. Edward Lazzaro (’64) will both join the honorary category during the induction ceremony to be held on Friday, Oct. 5.
Johnson became Buffalo State’s first-ever female NCAA Track & Field Champion when she captured the Division III title in the indoor 55-meter dash in 2011. In her three seasons with the Bengals from 2009-12, Johnson was a seven-time All-American, earning the honor in five individual events and with two relays. In addition to the national title, she was runner up three times (2010 indoor 55-meter dash, 2011 outdoor 4×100-meter relay and 2012 outdoor 100-meter dash). Johnson was also a four-time SUNYAC Champion.
Henry made the most of her two seasons as a Bengal, earning a pair of NCAA Division III Championships and capturing four All-America honors. After claiming the national title in the 2013 indoor 60-meter dash, Henry won the outdoor 100-meter dash later that spring. She also finished as the runner up in the 200-meter dash and with the 4×100-meter relay at that same meet. Henry was a seven-time SUNYAC Champion and was named the SUNYAC Outstanding Track Athlete of the Year following three of her four indoor and outdoor seasons of competition. She still holds three Buffalo State in the indoor 60-meter dash, the outdoor 100-meter dash and with the outdoor 4×100-meter relay.
Shaddock is Buffalo State’s all-time leading scorer in women’s lacrosse and her 457 career points still rank her second in NCAA Division III history. Her 262 career goals are also a school record and her 195 career assists rank second, while she also holds the school record for career draw controls with 293. In her four season from 2009-12, her teams won a combined 52 games, qualified for the SUNYAC playoffs each season, and made the program’s only NCAA tournament appearance in 2012. Shaddock was four-time All-SUNYAC and All-Empire Region selection and was a two-time All-American as a freshman and senior. She was also named the SUNYAC Player of the Year during her sophomore season.
Janeh, a native of Gambia, was named All-SUNYAC as a defender for all three of his seasons as a Bengal from 1981-83. He was also a two-time All-American, earning first team honors in 1982 and honorable mention accolades in 1983. Janeh helped the Bengals qualify for the NCAA playoffs in both 1982 and 1983, before foregoing his senior season to focus on academics.
Gassman played four seasons of tennis and one year of basketball at Buffalo State. He captured SUNYAC Championships in third singles and first doubles in 1965. Gassman co-captained the 1967 team and went undefeated in doubles that season as part of a stretch that saw him win 60-straight doubles matches.
Payne served as the vice president for student affairs for 27 years beginning in 1990, fostering unprecedented growth in athletics during his tenure. Payne supported the addition of varsity programs in the sports of men’s and women’s ice hockey and women’s lacrosse. He was also instrumental in many facility enhancements, including the construction of a new softball field, installation of turf on Coyer Field, the construction of lights and a press box on Coyer Field and a major renovation of Houston Gym. Payne also helped Buffalo State transition to full-time head coaches for all of its varsity sports.
Lazzaro is credited with forming the weightlifting program at Buffalo State and made a name for himself locally and beyond in the sports of weightlifting and body building. Mr. Buffalo in 1959, he captured the 1962-63 NCAA Heavyweight Weightlifting Championship. He continued to compete beyond his days at Buffalo State and captured numerous local and regional titles in both weight lifting and body building. He earned his doctorate from the University at Buffalo in 1974 in counseling and educational psychology and retired from the Buffalo Public Schools after 31 years of service in teaching and counseling.
The 1967 men’s soccer team becomes just the second team to be inducted into the hall of fame. The team finished with an overall record of 12-1-1 and claimed the program’s first-ever SUNYAC Championship under head coach Fred Hartrick. It was also the first team to make a trip to the NCAA playoffs where it advanced past Fairleigh Dickinson University on corner kicks following a 1-1 draw, before falling 2-1 against Navy.
The induction ceremony will be held in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall on Friday, Oct. 5 with a cocktail reception from 6:30 – 7:15 followed by a sit-down dinner and the official induction ceremony. Tickets are $20 and must be purchased in advance by contacting senior associate athletics director Tom Koller at (716) 878-6514 or kollertc@buffalostate.edu.
