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Sports
The membership of the Susquehanna Sports Hall of Fame will increase to 159 on Saturday, September 20 as five new members are inducted during ceremonies at halftime of the Crusaders’ Homecoming football game against Moravian.
The five inductees are Gerry Drabina ‘70 (football), Scott Gabel ’84 (basketball), Jodi Henry ‘91 (volleyball), Andy Watkins ‘93 (football/wrestling) and Kristie Maravalli '93 (basketball/track and field). Each honoree will receive a commemorative plaque from university president Jay Lemons during the ceremony. Gerry Drabina ’70 is a native of Erie and a graduate of Cathedral Prep High School. He was a four-year letterwinner on defense for the Crusader football squad from 1966 to 1969, and led the team with 95 total tackles (58 solo) as a senior en route to earning Little All-America honors. Drabina was a three-time ECAC Division III All-Star and was named to the All-State team following his senior year. Scott Gabel ’84 is a native of Boyertown and a graduate of Boyertown High School. He earned four letters as a forward on the Crusader men’s basketball team from 1980-81 to 1983-84 and finished his career as the sixth-leading scorer in program history with 1,414 points and the ninth-leading rebounder with 640 boards. An MAC North Division first-team All-Star selection in both 1982-83 and 1983-84, Gabel helped the Crusaders to a 70-36 record, three MAC playoff berths and the 1984 NCAA Division III playoffs during his career. Jodi Henry ’91 is a native of Huntingdon and a graduate of Huntingdon Area High School. As an outside hitter for the Crusader volleyball team from 1987 to 1990, Henry was the recipient of the Outstanding Female Scholar-Athlete Award in 1991 after helping the Crusaders to a then-school record 23 victories during the 1990 season. She was a four-year letterwinner as an outside hitter and led the team with 243 digs during her senior season while tallying 144 kills and 39 aces en route to earning MAC Northwest Section All-Star honors. Andy Watkins ’93 is a native of Forty Fort and a graduate of Wyoming Valley West High School. A four-year letterwinner in both football and wrestling, Watkins was a recipient of the Blair Heaton Award in 1993 after earning All-American honors in both sports. In 1992, Watkins became the first defensive player to earn MAC Player of the Year honors since 1988 when he made 101 tackles from his linebacker position to help the Crusaders finish 9-1 and just miss a second straight trip to the NCAA playoffs. He led the team in tackles three times and finished his career with 289 stops and 5 ½ sacks. In wrestling, Watkins was a two-time All-American at 190 pounds, finishing third in the nation in 1991 and eighth in 1992. He was a three-time MAC champion, capturing gold at 190 pounds as a sophomore and junior and adding a heavyweight title as a senior. Watkins finished his career with a record of 81-16-1, including 25 pins, and won 24 straight matches during his senior year before suffering his only two losses of the season at nationals. Kristie Maravalli ’93 is a native of Johnstown and a graduate of Bishop McCort High School. She was a four-year letterwinner in both basketball and track and field and received the Outstanding Female Scholar-Athlete Award in 1993. In basketball, she was a four-year starter and two-time team Most Valuable Player, helping the Crusaders to three straight MAC Northwest League titles and three consecutive trips to the NCAA Division III playoffs. Maravalli is fifth on the school’s career scoring list with 1,439 points and is the program’s all-time leader with 293 steals. In track and field, Maravalli set a pair of school records (since broken) as she ran 1:02.7 in the 400 meters as a junior and ran on the Crusaders’ 4x100 relay team that also set a school record in 1992 with a time of 51.64 seconds.
Susquehanna University has appointed former Crusader standout Amy Zimmerman '98 as head field hockey and assistant women's lacrosse coach following a two-year stint as head coach of field hockey and women's lacrosse at Fairleigh Dickinson University's College at Florham.
She succeeds longtime Crusader coach Connie Harnum at the helm of the Crusaders, following Harnum's retirement in December after compiling a 195-159-23 record in 27 seasons. Zimmerman will assist second-year head coach Kate Scattergood with the Susquehanna women's lacrosse program.
Zimmerman returns to Selinsgrove after a two-year stint as head field hockey and women's lacrosse coach at FDU-Florham, where she compiled an 8-29 record in field hockey and a 5-24 mark in lacrosse with the Devils.
A four-year letterwinner in lacrosse and field hockey at Susquehanna, Zimmerman was a two-time second-team All-Commonwealth Conference selection in field hockey and finished her career with a 1.29 goals against average. In 1997, Zimmerman was named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Second Team All-Regional Team.
In lacrosse, she led the Crusaders to their first winning season in 1998 with a 9-7 record as she finished second in the Middle Atlantic Conference with a 9.19 goals against average. For her career, she made 459 saves to rank third on the Crusaders' all-time list.
She was honored by Susquehanna following the conclusion of her senior year as the recipient of the Outstanding Senior Women's Scholar-Athlete Award.
After graduating from Susquehanna with a bachelor's degree in elementary education, Zimmerman served as an assistant field hockey coach in the fall of 1998 at The University of Scranton, helping the Royals to the Eastern College Athletic Conference championship. In 1999, she moved to FDU-Florham and served as an assistant with the Devils for two seasons.
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