2008 inductees

Jon Ambrose was a four-year starter and a Presidential Scholar at Saint Peter’s College. He led the Peacocks to their 10-1, 2001 season. Ambrose is 2nd all-time in punt return yards, 1st in punt returns, 1st in punt return TDs, 1st in interceptions, interception yards and interception touchdowns. He fell just short of setting the NCAA I-AA interceptions record. Ambrose was on the official Buck Buchanan Award (best I-AA defensive player) Watch List at the start of his senior year and was a MAAC, Don Hansen and The Sports Network I-AA award winner.

Rinaldo Chambers played three years at Saint Peter’s and led the Peacocks to the 2003 MAAC Championship and to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He was named the 2003 MAAC Championships MVP and the 2003 MAAC Player of the Year. Chambers is 3rd all-time at Saint Peter’s in points, 3rd in points per game, 4th in goals, 4th in goals per game, 3rd in game-winning goals, 2nd in assists and 3rd in assists per game. He was drafted by the Philadelphia indoor soccer league and was in preseason camp with the MLS New England Revolution.

Kim Jones-Truzzolino was a four-year pitcher at Saint Peter’s College. For her career, she was 54-32 with three saves. Her named is scattered all over the Peahens record book as she is 3rd all-time in ERA, 2nd in strikeouts, 2nd in wins, 4th in appearances, 2nd in games started, 2nd in complete games, 3rd in shutouts and 3rd in innings pitched. During her career the Peahens went 125-58-2 and won the 1996 MAAC Regular Season Championship and she was named 1999 MAAC Pitcher of the Year.

 

Marsha Kelley was a four-year catcher at Saint Peter’s College and led the Peahens to the 2000 and 2001 MAAC Regular Season Championships and the 2001 MAAC Championship and NCAA Tournament. Kelley is 10th all-time in average, 2nd in slugging %, 3rd in runs, 2nd in hits and 2nd in doubles. She is all-time leader in homers, runs batted it and total bases. During the memorable 2001 season, she hit .313 with 11 doubles, nine homers and 27 RBI and was named All-MAAC. As a freshman she was named MAAC Rookie of the Year.

Joe Spano played football at Saint Peter’s College when the team was club. His 1969 team went 8-2 and was ranked first in the east and third in the nation. Spano was selected as a Second Team All-American running back, led the team in scoring, led the team in rushing yards per carry, was second in receptions, scored four touchdowns and was fifth in the nation in scoring.

Valentina Zaharieva was a four-years member of the Saint Peter’s College volleyball team and was a star throughout her career. She is the all-time leader at Saint Peter’s in kills, attack %, solo blocks and total blocks. Zaharieva is also 2nd all-time in service aces, digs and block assists. During her career, she led the Peahens to three 20-win seasons and four MAAC Tournaments.

One of the most successful boys basketball coaches in New Jersey, Kevin Boyle has led St. Patrick of Elizabeth to statewide and national recognition. He has a 407-120 record in 19 seasons and has twice won the NJ Tournament of Champions. Boyle has won four Parochial State Titles and five North Parochial titles as a well as nine UnionCounty crowns.  St. Pat’s has achieved national rankings in 10 of the previous 11 years and one of his former players, Al Harrington, made the successful transition for high school to the NBA. Boyle played at Seton Hall and Saint Peter’s, and despite not playing his full career at Saint Peter’s, he is eighth on the school’s career assist list with 287. His 177 assists during the 1985-86 season is the second highest season total in school history.

Ron DeRogatis is the most successful softball coach in Saint Peter’s College history. During his five-plus seasons at the helm of the Peahens, he had a record of 174-92-2, won the 2000 and 2001 MAAC Regular Season Championships, the 2001 MAAC Tournament Championship and led the Peahens to the 2001 NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, 12 games into the 2003 season DeRogatis passed away. He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame Posthumously.

Tim Camp was the Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Information at Saint Peter’s College for 16 years and is now the Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Information at NJIT. He was SID for Saint Peter’s first NCAA qualifying teams in men’s basketball, men’s soccer and softball and also worked with NCAA qualifying teams in women’s basketball. Camp worked with 10 different NCAA teams total, plus the 1994 MAAC baseball champions that had a play-in against West Virginia for a spot in the NCAAs. He also coordinated scheduling for 16 of Saint Peter’s sports over the last 10 years he was at Saint Peter’s and served as interim head softball coach for the last 28 games of the 2003 season after the unexpected death of Ron DeRogatis.

Bill Stein, Director of Athletics, 1982-2008
For 26 years, Bill Stein was the Director of Athletics at Saint Peter’s College. He retired in June and is now working in the College’s advancement office. He was the longest-tenured Athletics Director in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and served on numerous MAAC committees. He chaired the Baseball Committee, which oversees MAAC baseball regular season and tournament competition and served on the NCAA Baseball Umpires Advisory Board. He was also a member of the NCAA Peer Review Team for Certification. In addition to his 20-years service award from Saint Peter’s College, Stein was honored by the MAAC with a special award at the start of the 2002 conference basketball tournament. At Saint Peter’s , he served on the Race, Ethnicity and Gender subcommittee of the Academic Planning Committee which spearheaded the campaign for the Ethnic Diversity. The NCAA Ethnic Diversity Award was given to Saint Peter’s in June. He also helped to aquire land and a 50-year lease for $1.00 per year from Hudson County to construct what is now Jaroschak Field. In May 2007, Stein was inducted into the Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit Honor Society, which is one of the highest honors in the Jesuit Community. Linking college athletics and community service, he secured an NCAA NYSP grant for children at the Yanitelli Center. In 1988, Stein was an assistant coach for Team USA's Bronze Medal Men's Basketball team at the Summer Olympic Games in South Korea. In March 1996, Saint Peter’s hosted an NCAA YES clinic held in conjunction with the Final Four at the Meadowlands Arena.

The 1994 baseball team, under head coach Bruce Sabbatini, won the first MAAC Baseball Championship at Saint Peter’s College. The Peacocks finished the MAAC regular season 11-7 and then swept through the MAAC Tournament, defeating Canisius and LeMoyne twice. The Peacocks then went on to the NCAA Tournament Play-in series and fell to West Viriginia. Drew Brown was named Co-MAAC South Player of the Year and a CoSida Academic All-American. Pitcher Victor Santos, who was named MAAC Tournament MVP, is currently playing Major League Baseball. Brown, Chris Pini, Rick Ranft, Chris Nocera, Marty Boryczewski and Chris Del Preore were named All-MAAC.