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The Athletic Hall of Fame Welcomes New Members BY JOSH KESSLER ’04, DIRECTOR OF ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
Each year, our Athletic Hall of Fame inducts new members. Due to COVID, the last banquet welcoming new members was held two years ago. This year, on September 17, we welcomed five new members during a ceremony in the Dion Family Student Center’s Roy Room. The induction Class of 2021 featured STEVE DOWD ’73, cross-country standout and champion coach; MARY (DAVIS) STANTON ’81, field hockey star and women’s lacrosse program founder; BRIAN YOUNG ’89, all-conference basketball player; GREG CLUFF, legendary women’s tennis coach; and PROFESSOR DAVE LANDERS, long-time faculty athletics representative. A native of Harwichport, Mass., Dowd was a key member of early cross-country teams at the College, consistently finishing among the Purple Knights’ top two between 1969 and 1971, winning five races. Dowd later taught English and coached cross-country and track & field at nearby Essex High School, claiming 25 state titles and numerous New England crowns in 20 years of coaching. He returned to his alma mater as a men’s crosscountry assistant in the early 1990s before heading the women’s squad for six seasons, from 1995 to 2000. The Purple Knights placed fourth at the Northeast-10 Conference Championship three times under Dowd’s guidance.
Steve Dowd ’73, back row, third from the left with his arms folded, is captured in this old black & white team photo. Stanton, a native of Purchase, New York, was an early field hockey star at Saint Michael’s and a driving force behind the foundation of the women’s lacrosse program. She totaled eight goals and one assist as a field hockey rookie in 1977, kicking off a career that saw her graduate second in program history in both goals (16) and points (37). During that first fall on campus, Stanton also worked with MARY CULLEN ’79 to organize the school’s first club women’s lacrosse team. She was a multiyear captain, including when the team debuted in spring 1978, and later served as player-head coach her junior year. After she graduated, the program went varsity in 1983 en route to two decades of greatness, as the Purple and Gold was 113-59 between 1984 and 2000 while never finishing below .500.
Young was a versatile hardwood presence, as the New York City native graduated ninth at Saint
Mary Cullen ’79 showcasing her field hockey prowess.
