Youngstown, Ohio -- The Youngstown State Athletics Department will induct eight new members into its Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, Oct. 1. The ceremony will be prior to the Penguins' football game against South Dakota.
The class of 2016 includes: Justin Banks (baseball), Jeanna Cunningham (track and field), Jarrod Davis (track and field), Attorney Dennis and Janet Haines (contributor), Kalyn Leveto (swimming and diving), Marcus Mason (football), Jamie Palumbo (baseball), and Tiffany Patteson (softball).
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 South Dakota, which kicks off at 4 p.m.
Banks starred on the baseball team from 2003-06 and ranks among the school's all-time leaders in hits, at bats, runs scored, total bases, doubles and RBIs. He is the school record holder in games played and started.
He was also a First-Team All-Horizon League pick at third base as a junior in 2005, the Horizon League Tournament MVP when YSU won the title in 2004, a second-team all-league selection at first base in 2006, an all-freshman team honoree in 2003, and an all-tournament team selection in 2005.
Cunningham was a standout for the Penguins' track and field team from 2002-06. She still owns the school record in the 400m dash (outdoors and indoors). Cunningham won a pair of Horizon League sprint championships and was a key member of league winning relay squads during her career.
She was a member of five Horizon League Championship teams, ranks in the top eight in seven different categories, was named Outstanding Run Performer at the 2005 indoor championships, and was an eight-time individual Horizon League champion.
Davis was a member of the men's track and field team from 2002-06. He was First-Team Academic All-America by CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine in 2006 and a two-time academic all-district selection. Davis was named the Outstanding Field Performer at the 2006 Horizon League Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
He set the school marks in the weight throw and shot put inindoor track and field. Davis also set the school mark in the hammer throw in outdoor and Won four league championships.
Dennis and Janet Haines were named Penguins of the Year in 2012. Dennis has been a YSU sports fan for nearly 60 years and they have donated to numerous scholarship endowments and Athletics projects.
Leveto, who was a diver for the Penguins from 2001-05, still owns the school record in the one-meter dive and ranks third in the three-meter event. She was a four-time Horizon League individual event champion and a Horizon League Diver of the Year.
She also appeared in the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships in three of her four years.
Mason was a standout running back for the Penguins from 2005-06. He was named First-Team All-American by AP, Sports Network, AFCA and Walter Camp in 2006, and selected as the 2006 Gateway Football Conference Player of the Year.
Mason set the school record for single-season rushingyards in 2006 with 1,847. That year he scored 23 touchdowns and rushed for more than 100 yards on 10 occasions. He averaged 153.9 yards per game in 2006.
Palumbo was a four-year letterwinner for the baseball team from 1993-96. He was a two-time first-team all-conference selection. He ranks among the career leaders in triples and season leaders in doubles and walks.
He twice led the team in hits and batted .340 in 1995. He also led the team with 17 doubles in 1995 and six home runs in 1996.
Patteson was a four-time All-Horizon League pick for the softball team from 2003-06. She set school records for hits, runs scored, walks, doubles and triples while ranking among the leaders in at-bats, batting average, RBIs and home runs.
The 2006 YSU Female Athlete of the Year, Patteson is the only player in school history to play in 200 games. She led the Penguins to the 2006 Horizon League Tournament Championship and the program's first NCAA Regional Tournament berth.
