Cal Athletic Hall of Fame Adds 8 New Members 28th Annual Class Will Be Enshrined Oct. 18-19

Heather Petri won four Olympic medals in water polo.

May 9, 2013

BERKELEY - Eight distinguished Golden Bears have been selected for enshrinement into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame, a list that includes Olympic medalists, NCAA champions, All-Americans, school-record holders and a conference player of the year.

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The Class of 2013, which will comprise the 28th group of inductees, consists of:

• Rick Brown (men's track & field) - four-time Pac-8 champion still holds school record in 800 meters after 41 years
• Candace Harper (softball) -All-American third baseman was key contributor to 2002 NCAA championship
• Sean Lampley (men's basketball) - a 2001 Pac-10 Player of the Year who was also voted MVP of the 1999 NIT when he led the Bears to the title
• Heather Petri (women's water polo) - the only athlete in school history to win a medal in four different Olympics
• Trisha Stafford-Odom (women's basketball) - a two-time first-team All-Pac-10 selection who led the Bears to their first two NCAA Tournament berths
• Todd Steussie (football) - 1993 first-team All-American offensive tackle enjoyed 14-year NFL career
• Staciana Stitts (women's swimming) - 14-time All-American won a gold medal in the 400 medley relay at the 2000 Olympics
• Gary Rogers (Hall of Fame Service Award)- former Cal rower has been long-time contributor to the Golden Bear crew program

Formal induction ceremonies are scheduled for Friday, Oct. 18, at the annual Hall of Fame banquet at the Greek Orthodox Church Conference Center in Oakland. Information on tickets to the banquet can be found online at bigcsociety.org. The new inductees will also be honored at halftime of Cal's Oct. 19 football game vs. Oregon State at Memorial Stadium.

With the addition of the new members, the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame now features 264 individuals and six rowing teams. The school's Hall of Fame, which is located on the west side of Memorial Stadium and is open to all ticket holders after each home game, was inaugurated in 1986.

Rick Brown was a standout runner for the Golden Bear track & field team from 1971-74. As a sophomore in 1972, he set the school record in the 800 meters when he was timed in 1:45.4 in the finals of the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. - a mark that still stands atop the record book a remarkable 41 years later. Brown was an NCAA finalist at 880 yards three times, finishing as the national runner-up as a freshman before taking fifth as a junior and third as a senior. He also won the Pac-8 title four years in a row and is the only person in conference history to claim that distinction.

Candace Harper started at third base for all four years of her Cal career from 1999-2002. She earned third-team All-American honors as a senior when she helped the Bears capture the national championship - the first Cal women's team ever to win an NCAA title. Also a chosen second-team All-Pac-10 and all-region three times, Harper batted over .300 all four years, including .316 with eight home runs and 44 RBI as a senior. She still holds school season records for games played, doubles and assists, while her career marks include most at-bats, most games played and most doubles. She also ranks third in school history with 269 base hits.

Sean Lampley starred for the men's basketball team from 1998-2001. He finished his career as Cal's all-time leading scorer with 1,776 points (since broken) and was voted the Pac-10 Player of the Year as a senior in 2001 when he averaged 19.5 ppg and 7.2 rpg. That season, he led the Bears to the NCAA Tournament after a four-year absence. As a sophomore, he was named tournament MVP when Cal captured the National Invitation Tournament with a 61-60 victory over Clemson in the final. The Bears also reached the NIT quarterfinals during his junior campaign. When he completed his four years in Berkeley, Lampley ranked among the school's top 10 in four major statistical career lists - scoring (1st), rebounds (4th), blocks (7th) and assists (10th). The 6-7 forward scored a career-best 32 points at Oregon State in 2001. He was a two-time first-team All-Pac-10 selection and team MVP, as well as a member of the 1998 Pac-10 All-Freshman team.

One of the greatest water polo players in history, Heather Petri is the only four-time female Olympian in school history and the only athlete ever at Cal win medals in four separate Olympic Games. She helped Team USA to a gold medal in 2012, silver medals in 2000 and '08 and a bronze medal in 2004. A member of the U.S. National Team for 13 years, she played in her first World Championships in 2001 and was a part of every U.S. team at the tournament through 2011. Petri also helped the Americans to gold medals at three Pan American Games. An All-American and team captain at Cal, she had her school cap retired during the 2013 season. Petri lettered for the Bears from 1997-99 and again in 2001 (taking the 2000 season off to train for the Olympics). After graduation, she played professionally in Greece, Italy and Brazil.

Trisha Stafford played a key role on the first two women's basketball teams in Cal history to reach the NCAA Tournament in 1990 and 1992. Voted a second-team All-American by the WBCA and Women's Sports Federation as a senior when she poured in a Pac-10-leading 22.3 ppg, she finished her career with 1,530 total points and averaged 15.3 ppg over four seasons. A two-time first-team All-Pac-10 pick, she was a member of the U.S. Junior National Team and played in the U.S. Olympic Festival in 1990. Stafford set school records for free throws made (180) and attempted (244) her senior year and scored a career-high 33 points in her final game vs. Santa Clara in March 1992. Following graduation, Stafford played professionally in the WNBA, the ABL and oversees before entering the coaching ranks. She is currently an assistant coach at North Carolina.

Todd Steussie was one of the most dominant offensive linemen in school history, playing from 1990-93 and earning the Morris Trophy as the top offensive lineman in the Pac-10 his senior year when he was also tabbed a first-team All-American. Twice named first-team All-Pac-10, he helped the Bears to three bowl game victories - the 1990 Copper Bowl, the 1991 Citrus Bowl and the 1993 Alamo Bowl. Steussie was selected with the No. 19 pick of the first round of the NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. He spent 14 years in the league, starting 185 of 213 games during stints with Minnesota, Carolina, Tampa Bay and St. Louis. A two-time Pro Bowl selection, Steussie returned to campus and earned his bachelor's degree in 2010, and he recently completed requirements for his MBA from the Kellogg Business School at Northwestern.

Staciana Stitts earned 14 All-America honors in swimming for the Bears from 2000-03. The breaststroke specialist, she set a world record with three of her teammates in winning the 200-yard medley relay at the 2000 NCAA Championships, and she established individual school records in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. Stitts captured a gold medal as part of the U.S. 400-meter medley relay at the 2000 Olympics. She also won gold in the 100 breaststroke at the 1999 Pan American Games and a silver medal in the 100 breast and gold in the 400 medley relay at the 1998 Goodwill Games. In addition, Stitts was a three-time Pac-10 All-Academic choice.

Gary Rogers '63 is the 2013 recipient of the Hall of Fame Service Award, given for outstanding long-term contributions to Cal Athletics and presented to an individual for demonstrating exemplary leadership and setting a standard for excellence in enhancing the student-athlete experience. A rower during his undergraduate days at Cal, he received the Dean Witter Trophy for loyalty, proficiency and spirit for Cal crew his senior year. He was also named a Cal All-University Athlete in 1963 and rowed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1964. Rogers went on to a very successful business career, which included serving as chairman and CEO of Dreyer's Ice Cream for 30 years and as chairman of Levi Strauss & Co. and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Rogers is a long-time contributor to the rowing program at Cal and the team's boathouse is named in his honor (T. Gary Rogers Rowing Center). A member of the Chancellor's Executive Advisory Council and the UC Regents Investment Advisory Group, he is a recipient of the Bear of the Year Award, the Wheeler Oak Award and has received a Trustees' Citation. He also serves on the High Performance Olympic Committee for US Rowing.

Courtesy Cal