The Youngstown State Athletics Department will induct six new members into its Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, Nov. 7. The ceremony will be prior to the football game against Missouri State, which is also Veteran’s Appreciation Day.
The class of 2015 includes: Jake Andreadis (football), Tom Cullen (football), Matt Kempe (men’s golf), Missy Laforet (women’s soccer), Jen Perugini (women’s basketball) and Justin Thomas (baseball).
Tickets to attend the ceremony are available by calling Emily Wollet at 330-941-7208. The event in YSU's Kilcawley Center begins at 9:30 a.m. with breakfast followed by the ceremony at 10:30 a.m. The group will be presented at halftime of the Penguins' football game against Missouri State, which kicks off at 2 p.m.
Jake Andreadis was a four-year letterwinner for the Penguins from 1995-98 and ranks eighth in career rushing yards, 10th in career attempts and 10th in career touchdowns.
A native of Cincinnati, Andreadis finished his career with 2,619 yards rushing and ranked fourth in that category at the end of his career. He also amassed 4,008 all-purpose yards. His best campaign was his junior year when he ran for 1,057 yards and 11 touchdowns and helped the Penguins to the 1997 National title.
Tom Cullen played football for the Penguins from 1979-82 and was a member of the 1979 Division II National Runner-Up team.
A native of Milford, Mass., Cullen ranks among the leaders in school history in career tackles for loss (62) and fumble recoveries (seven). He was a two-time first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection (1981, 1982), and, in 1981, was a third-team All-America honoree by The Associated Press.
Matt Kempe was a three-time All-Mid-Continent Conference First-Team selection for the YSU men’s golf team from 1998-2001.
A native of Youngstown, Kempe placed in the top 10 of three Mid-Continent Conference meets during his career. He had a career-best third-place finish in 2001, and he is the only golfer in school history to finish in the top nine of three conference tournaments.
Missy Laforet was a member of the inaugural Youngstown State women’s soccer team in 1996 and lettered from 1996-99. She is the first athlete from that program to be inducted into the YSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
A native of Ontario, Canada, Laforet owns every career scoring record in school history. She scored 64 points on 25 goals and had 14 assists, which still remain the best in school history leading up to the 2015 campaign. Laforet is also the YSU record holder with 212 shot attempts.
Jen Perugini made a huge impact on the women’s basketball program from 2001-05 and was the 2001 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year and an All-Horizon League First-Team selection in 2005.
A native of Ontario, Canada, Perugini scored 1,202 points during her YSU career and posted her best season as a senior with scored 389 points, averaging 14.4 per contest. During her career, she also grabbed 905 rebounds and is one of five players in program history with at least 1,000 points and 900 rebounds.
She ranks fifth in career rebounds and 12th in scoring. She also had 107 blocked shots, which ranks fifth all-time. In fact, Perugini is the only player in program history with 1,000 points, 900 rebounds and 100 blocks in a career.
Justin Thomas was a standout for the Penguins’ baseball team from 2003-05 and was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Year in 2005. He helped the Penguins to their first NCAA Regional Tournament appearance after clinching the Horizon League Tournament championship in 2004. He was an All-Horizon League Second-Team pick in 2004.
A native of Oregon, Ohio, Thomas posted a career record of 19-13 and made 37 starts in three seasons with the Penguins. He also had 250 strikeouts in 253.1 innings pitched. A fourth-round MLB draft pick following his junior year at YSU, he pitched in the Majors for the Mariners, Red Sox, Yankees and Pirates.
