FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The University of Saint Francis Athletic Hall of Fame will welcome one team and four former student-athletes in April.
This year’s induction will take place on Sat., April 21, along with the CASPYS (Cougar Achievement in Sports Performance Yearly) at the North Campus Auditorium starting at 6 p.m.
The four USF student-athlete graduates chosen for induction as the 24th class includes six-time Outdoor/Indoor All-American and two-time NAIA hammer throw champion Jean (Marqueling) Longsworth (track and field), Chris Van Horn (football), Travis Potchka (baseball), and Bob Dissinger (men’s basketball).
The team selected was the 1997 USF Women’s Soccer team which finished 19-3 and was coached by Ken Nuber, who is in the USF AHOF.
All four individuals set records at USF in their respective programs while the 1997 women’s soccer team set records for wins, won the conference regular season, the conference tournament title and earned a berth in the NAIA Championship Regional final four.
Longsworth is USF’s only two-time individual track and field champion winning the hammer throw in 2010 and 2011 after a second-place finish in 2009. She is a six-time NAIA Outdoor/Indoor Track and Field All-American. The Bishop Dwenger High School graduate still holds the USF record in the hammer, shot put, discus, weight throw and indoor shot put.
Van Horn, a Snider H.S. graduate, is a 2005 USF graduate who set records for career sacks (26.5), single-season sacks (15.5 / 2004) and single-game sacks (3.5). The defensive end helped USF reach the NAIA Championship Game for the first time in program history in 2004, was All-NAIA First Team and set the USF career record for sacks yardage with 244. He helped lead the Cougars to NAIA Championship Games in 2004 and 2005. Van Horn was a two-time All-Mid-States Football Association all-conference selection.
Potchka played centerfield and led off for the Cougars from 2007-10 and finished with five career records and three single-season records. The Elmhurst H.S. graduate finished as the USF career leader in hits (275), runs scored (172), batting average (.364), stolen bases (51) and at-bats (735). He set USF records for single-season hits (81 in 2008), runs scored (51 in 2009) and at-bats (2010 in 2008).
Founded in 1890 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, the University of Saint Francis offers more than 70 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs through the School of Health Sciences, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership and School of Creative Arts. In addition to its traditional programs, USF designs focused curricula for working adults in Fort Wayne, Crown Point and online. In 2016, the University of Saint Francis expanded its presence to downtown Fort Wayne. USF Downtown houses the university’s business and music technology programs while offering enhanced internship and networking opportunities for students. The University of Saint Francis campus experience includes 16 athletic programs boasting two individual and four team NAIA national championships, and is recognized as an NAIA Five-Star Champion of Character institution. Approximately 2,300 students from a broad geographic region attend USF.