LINK – ASHLAND UNIVERSITY HALL OF FAME PAGE
The rich tradition of Ashland College/University athletics is reflected within its Hall of Fame, which, with the addition of six more standouts in 2018, now has more than 200 members.
Ashland's 2018 Hall of Fame inductees include Vince Cashdollar (football), Brandon Cornell (baseball), Mary Kate Glowe (volleyball), Casey Jirsa (baseball), Jackie Mason (women's basketball) and Chris Peretti (wrestling). The 2018 Eagle Forever Award recipients are Bob Potter and Tony Daniel.
The annual Ashland University Hall of Fame induction and brunch will be Saturday, Sept. 22 at 9:30 a.m. in the Faculty Room at the John C. Myers Convocation Center. Reservations can be made by contacting the AU athletic department at 419-289-5441.
Information on this year's Hall of Fame inductees follows:
Vince Cashdollar (Football/Class of 2008) – A center from 2003-07, Cashdollar is the gold standard where Ashland football centers is concerned. Cashdollar was the anchor of an Eagle offensive line which helped the program go from two wins in his true freshman year to eight wins and an NCAA Division II postseason appearance in his senior campaign.
As a senior, Cashdollar earned American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-American, Academic All-District, Daktronics first-team All-Northwest Region, first-team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and GLIAC All-Academic honors, and was the first Eagle football player to be named to the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society.
Cashdollar also was named the 2007-08 AU Male Student-Athlete of the Year, and was selected to play in the Cactus Bowl, the NCAA Division II all-star game, following his senior year. He was a three-time All-GLIAC choice, also landing on the first team in 2006, and earning honorable mention in 2005.
Brandon Cornell (Baseball/Class of 2005) – Cornell technically is a member of the 2017 Hall class, but due to a scheduling conflict, is being inducted this fall. An outfielder from 2001-04, Cornell's statistics more than have stood the test of time since his Eagle career came to an end.
A second-team National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) All-American and GLIAC Player of the Year as a senior, Cornell continues to have the most career triples (22) and total bases (434) in Ashland history, and is second all-time in career hits (255) and runs scored (213).
Cornell also continues to claim the program's single-season record for triples (10), and is tied for third all-time at Ashland in career batting average (.392). He earned first-team American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) all-region honors in 2003 and 2004, and was a three-time All-GLIAC choice – two first-team (2003-04) and one honorable mention (2002).
Mary Kate Glowe (Volleyball/Class of 2008) – An outside hitter from 2004-07, Glowe is in the conversation in terms of the best player in program history. She was the first Ashland volleyball player to record both 1,000 career kills and digs, and continues to be the all-time Eagle standard-bearer in both categories (2,136 kills, 1,969 digs).
Glowe was a starter on four consecutive NCAA Division II postseason squads, and earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American status three times (third-team in 2006, honorable mention in 2005 and 2007). She also was a three-time selection as AVCA All-Region and first-team All-GLIAC, both coming from 2005-07.
Glowe, who led the team in digs all four seasons and kills during her sophomore, junior and senior seasons, was the 2007-08 Ashland Female Student-Athlete of the Year.
Casey Jirsa (Baseball/Class of 2007) – A versatile infielder/outfielder from 2004-07, Jirsa is one of the most highly-decorated baseball players in Eagle history.
In his junior and senior seasons combined, Jirsa earned the following honors - Verizon Academic All-American of the Year (2007), two-time first-team Academic All-American (2006-07), first-team Daktronics All-American (2007), second-team NCAA All-American (2006), third-team NCBWA All-American (2007), honorable mention NCBWA All-American (2006), two-time Academic All-District (2006-07), two-time ABCA first-team all-region (2006-07), Daktronics regional Player of the Year (2007), Daktronics first-team all-region (2007), GLIAC Player of the Year (2007), two-time first-team All-GLIAC (2006-07) and 2006-07 AU Male Student-Athlete of the Year.
Jirsa drove in the most runs in a game in Ashland baseball history (nine) vs. Mercyhurst at home on April 17, 2007, and is first in career doubles (59), second in career at-bats (726), tied for second in being hit by pitch (42), third in career games played (222) and hits (254), tied for fourth in career total bases (402), and fourth in career RBIs (185).
Jackie Mason (Women's Basketball/Class of 2005) – A center from 2000-05, Mason was a starter on the Ashland women's basketball program's first NCAA Division II postseason team in 2003-04. Both an offensive and defensive presence inside, Mason is 13th in program history in points (1,212), continues to have the Eagle career records for field-goal percentage (63.2) and blocked shots (296), and is second all-time in rebounds (937).
A three-time Academic All-District and Academic All-GLIAC selection, Mason was first-team All-GLIAC in 2005, second-team All-GLIAC in 2002, second-team all-region and a three-time All-GLIAC Defensive Team choice.
Mason, the program's single-season blocked shots record-holder (108), was the 2004-05 AU Female Student-Athlete of the Year.
Chris Peretti (Wrestling/Class of 2003) – From 1998-2002, Peretti was a fixture in the Eagle lineup at 125 and 133 pounds.
Peretti qualified for NCAA Division II nationals all four years of his Ashland career, finishing sixth at nationals as a freshman in 1999, then earning national runner-up honors as a sophomore in 2000. He was a starter on the 2002 team which sent all 10 grapplers to the national meet, and tied for the best D-II nationals team finish in program history (fourth place).
At the time he finished his Eagle career, Peretti was one of only nine Ashland grapplers to win at least 100 matches (101-16, .863). As a sophomore in 1999-2000, he went 32-5 with six pins. Peretti also earned three spots on the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) All-Academic Team.
This year's class moves the total number of Ashland Hall of Famers to 204.
Potter and Daniel are avid Ashland athletic department supporters who can be found watching Eagle events, both at home and on the road. They bring the total number of Eagle Forever Award recipients to 23.
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