ALUMNI
Eight Inducted into Athletic Hall of Fame
E
IGHT ALUMNI WERE INDUCTED into the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2020, and one team was selected for special recognition this past November. The annual ceremony and dinner was postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic. The honorees included John Bruckner ’74 (football), Mary DudekSerre ’05 (women’s lacrosse), Carey Edwards ’93 (men’s basketball), Milan Jotanovic ’09 (men’s track & field), Walter Olsewski ’68 (men’s and women’s swimming & diving/golf), Mike Parisi ’13 (baseball), Joe Ryan ’81 (men’s and women’s track & field) and Michael Ward ’91 (men’s and women’s rowing). In addition, the 1977 men’s soccer team was honored for its outstanding achievement. John Bruckner ’74 was a four-year starter for the football team, and the defensive leader of the 1972 team that matched the program record with six victories. A two-way player, he suited up at linebacker on defense and guard on offense, and was a three-year defensive captain. Bruckner was named Manhattan’s Best Offensive Lineman as a sophomore in 1971, and the Best Defensive Player one year later. He would go on to serve as team captain as a senior. A longtime member of the FDNY, Bruckner retired as a battalion chief in 2002 and was named as the 2011 FDNY Holy Name Society Man of the Year. Mary Dudek-Serre ’05 is one of the most accomplished players in the history of the women’s lacrosse program. She helped Manhattan to back-to-back MAAC Championships in 2004 and 2005, and is the only three-time MAAC All-Tournament team selection in school history. A First Team All-MAAC selection as a sophomore in 2003, she earned Second Team honors in 2004 thanks to a career-high 33 goals in leading Manhattan to a school-record 11 wins. At the time of her graduation, she was second in program history in both goals (114) and points (148). Carey Edwards ’93 was one of the cornerstones of Manhattan’s outstanding basketball teams during the Steve Lappas and Fran Fraschilla eras. He scored 1,139 career points while helping the program to 79 wins during his four years, highlighted by three straight trips to the postseason. As a redshirt sophomore in 1991-92, Edwards and the Jaspers earned a then school-record 25 victories and a berth in
46 N spring 2022
the NIT, while setting the table for a historic season in 1992-93. He had a breakout year as a redshirt junior, earning All-MAAC Second Team honors, averaging 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, as Manhattan secured its first-ever MAAC Championship along with a date in the NCAA Tournament. Milan Jotanovic ’09 is one of the top throwers in the history of the men’s track and field program. A five-time All-American in the shot put, he finished third at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. A standout for the program for five years, he redshirted the 2008 outdoor season and qualified for the Serbian Olympic team. A seven-time NCAA Championship participant, seven-time Met Champion and six-time IC4A Champion, he won the Penn Relays and NCAA Preliminary titles. Walter Olsewski ’68 served as the head of the swimming and diving program for 20 seasons and was instrumental in resurrecting the men’s team at Manhattan. During his 20 years, he guided the women’s team to a 155-124 record (.556) and led both squads to a combined 200 victories. Olsewski also served 11 seasons from 2000-11 as the Jaspers’ golf coach. Mike Parisi ’13 was an outstanding pitcher for the baseball program, winning 14 games with 272 strikeouts and a 4.03 ERA over 243.2 innings. Following his junior year, he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2004 MLB Draft. Parisi would join the major leagues in 2008, playing a total of 12 games for the Cardinals. He burst on to the Manhattan scene as a rookie in 2002, going 7-4 with 81 strikeouts and a 2.83 ERA in 86 innings while helping the Jaspers to a then school-record 32 victories. Parisi earned Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American honors, and would cap his three-year Jasper career with a then school-record of 104 strikeouts in just 81 innings in 2004. Joe Ryan ’81 has had a tremendous impact on the illustrious history of the track and field program. Ryan, who was named the 2003 AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year, coached several college recordholders and numerous All-East performers in both the IC4A and ECAC Championships. A total of 62 MAAC Championships, 39 Metropolitan Championships, and one IC4A Team Championship were won during his time. In 2000, Ryan helped guide Aliann Pompey ’99, Manhattan’s first female All-American, to both the NCAA indoor 400-meter title and a national collegiate record in the 500 meters. He also served as the head track and field coach for Guyana at the 2008 Beijing and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. Michael Ward ’91 was one of the elite oarsmen in the long history of the rowing program before also making an impact as a coach. He joined the team as a junior in 1988-89 and was a member of the lightweight eight and four. During his tenure, Manhattan medaled at many local races, including the New York State and Metropolitan Championships. Ward coached at Manhattan from 1991-97 and again from 200313, before returning in 2017. The 1977 men’s soccer team finished the 1977 season with a 10-3-3 record. At the time, the 10 wins set a program record, which has only been surpassed once, when the team won 12 matches in 2018.
