PSAC Celebrates Black History Month
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- For the month of February, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference will celebrate Black History Month highlighting contributions of former African American student-athletes, coaches and administrative personnel. During the month, the PSAC will feature one person from each campus via social media on the PSAC social media accounts: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
For our final honoree for our Black History Month series, the PSAC office chose to recognize the late John Chaney, from the former PSAC institution, Cheyney University.
John Chaney, Cheyney
Hall of Fame basketball coach John Chaney was an innovator in the game of basketball. Chaney spent his first 10 years as a head coach at Cheyney, putting together a record of 225-59 and a PSAC mark of 107-19. He led the Wolves to eight NCAA Division II tournaments, and in 1978, he coached Cheyney (then Cheyney State College) to an NCAA Division II National Championship victory in a 47-40 win over Green Bay, putting a cherry on top of an impressive 26-2 season. The 1978 Cheyney Men’s Basketball DII National Championship remains the PSAC’s only men’s basketball national championship team. After his final year at Cheyney in 1981-82, Chaney went on to coach for 24 years at Temple University. He won 516 games at with the Owls and 741 games overall, and still ranks among the top 40 college basketball coaches in career wins. He was also the first Black coach to reach 700 wins. Chaney was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Osunde is a four time, first-team All-PSAC East running back, who still ranks among the Top 5 in eight career offensive categories more than a decade and a half after graduation. A team captain on the 2006 squad that reached the NCAA Division II Tournament, Osunde still holds the school record for rushing touchdowns (51) and rushing TD’s by a freshman at West Chester (14 in 2003). His 3,846 career rushing yards and 5,844 career all-purpose yards are both fourth all-time at West Chester while his overall career TD’s (57) ranks him second. He appeared in 40 games between 2003-2007 and led the Golden Rams to the NCAA Tournament in three of those four seasons. He was named Honorable Mention All-America by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette following the 2004 campaign. Today, Osunde serves as the run-game and recruiting coordinator on head coach Bill Zwaan’s football coaching staff. He received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from West Chester (2007, 2009 – respectively). He also served as the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) in 2007.
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Slippery Rock, Jennie (Knox) Brown
Brown was at The Rock from 1952-56 and became a pioneer for African American athletes. She participated in club sports until 1955 when she became a member of the field hockey program for her final two years. Along with field hockey, Brown was active on campus as she was freshman class treasurer, a member of the Women’s Athletic Association Council, the Young Women’s Christian Association, the Women’s Physical Education Club and the Press Club. In her work with the Women’s Athletic Association Council, she aimed to increase female participation in campus athletic activities. Following her graduation in 1956, Brown became a teacher in Pittsburgh, teaching in the public-school system until her retirement in 1996. She married Leonard Brown, Sr. and the couple had two children, Leonetta Brown and Leonard Brown, Jr. Brown passed away in March of 2014 at the age of 79, but her legacy as a pioneer for women’s athletics and equal rights at Slippery Rock will forever be felt.
A native of Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, Keyes was the face of Shippensburg State football teams that produced a PSAC-record 20-game winning streak from 1951-54 – a record that still remains to this day. A two-time All-Pennsylvania Conference (PC) and All-Pennsylvania performer, Keyes scored 26 career touchdowns – including 16 touchdowns of 40 or more yards. IN 1953, Shippensburg went 8-0 and Keyes was both the lead rusher and scorer on the squad with 66 carries for 588 yards and nine touchdowns. The 1953 Red Raiders were the only college to lead the nation in total defense, rushing defense and passing defense in the same season. Keyes was a varsity letter-winner in football, basketball, baseball and track & field at Shippensburg. After graduating, Keyes became a life-long educator who specialized in revitalizing urban school districts. He began teaching at the elementary school and high school level in New York and New Jersey while also coaching football. He moved to Baltimore in 1968 and three years later, became the youngest man ever and the first African American to head the Baltimore city school system. Dr. Keyes moved to New York after receiving his doctorate from University of Pennsylvania in 1973 and later became the Administrator of the Division of Civil Rights and International Relations for the New York Education Department. He passed away in 2002 from prostate cancer at the age of 78.
Wilson was a four-year starter at running back for the Rams from 1975-78. He gained NAIA All-American honors as a senior and was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the 12th round of the 1979 NFL Draft.
Wilson went on to a successful NFL career with the Oilers, New Orleans Saints, Minnesota Vikings, and Washington Football Team. He spent the bulk of his career with the Saints from 1979-86. Wilson set a team record in 1983 with three consecutive 100-yard rushing games en route to Team MVP honors. He led the Saints in rushing in 1985 with 168 carries for 645 yards.
Wilson later returned to Shepherd as an assistant football coach from 2005-16. He helped lead the Rams to eight conference titles, eight regional appearances, three Super Region One titles, and a national championship game appearance.
Wilson was inducted into the Shepherd Athletic Hall of Fame in the initial class in 1986.
Seton Hill, Kameico Robison
A two-time AMC North Player of the Year award winner, Kameico Robison is the all-time leader in scoring at Seton Hill finishing with 2,197 career points. She is also the all-time leading rebounder finishing her career with 1,258 career rebounds. During her four-year career, she led the AMC in scoring four times and led the AMC in rebounding in three seasons. In 2002, she was honored with the Sportswoman of the Year Award by the Westmoreland YWCA. During her junior season, she led NAIA Division II in scoring, averaging 29 points per game. Robison was inducted into the Seton Hill Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011. She is currently the HR Position Manager at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Pitt-Johnstown, Carlton Haselrig
Carlton Haselrig, a native of Johnstown, Pa., is the most decorated athlete in Pitt-Johnstown history. Haselrig won six heavyweight NCAA National Wrestling championships, three at the Division I level and three at the Division II level. Haselrig holds five Pitt-Johnstown all-time wrestling records, as well as an overall career record of 143-2-1, which equates to a .979 winning percentage.
Haselrig, a 2009 inductee into the Pitt-Johnston Athletics Hall of Fame, never lost a match in the Division I National Tournament (15-0 record and three titles), and he never lost or tied a Division II opponent. His six titles were unprecedented and will remain so because the NCAA no longer allows wrestlers to compete in both division tournaments. Also, during his Pitt-Johnstown tenure, Haselrig wrestled his way to an NCAA record of 122 consecutive matches without suffering a loss.
In 2005, he was named to the NCAA 75th Anniversary Wrestling Team, which included other notable heavyweights, such as NCAA and Olympic champion Kurt Angle, who Haselrig had defeated during his college wrestling career. In 1990, he was inducted into the Cambria County Sports Hall of Fame for wrestling and for football in 2014, and was inducted into the Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame, before earning induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 2016.
While in high school, however, Haselrig was forced to wrestle freestyle during the summer because a high school wrestling program was not available to him. But, after taking an interest in Haselrig's career, local individuals convinced the Greater Johnstown School board to allow him to represent Johnstown High as an independent "one-man team" as a senior. He posted a 10-0 record and won the Pennsylvania AAA State Heavyweight Title.
In 1989, Haselrig was a 12th round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he went on to be selected as a Pro Bowl offensive lineman without ever having played college football.
On July 22, 2020, Haselrig passed away of natural causes at the age of 54.
He is survived by his wife Michelle and children, Cameron, Jordan, Demetrius, Jade, William, Cortez, Cantara, Carlton, Jr., and Carlee.
Millersville, John Parker
When John Parker arrived at Millersville in 1953, he was one of two Black student-athletes on campus and it's believed that he was only the second Black basketball player in the school's history. Over the next four years, Parker became the most dominating player the PSAC had ever seen and one of its greatest winners. He set four PSAC records, scored 1,748 points, and averaged 17.3 rebounds per game. He still holds the record for career rebounds. In 1955-56, he set PSAC records by scoring 54 points in one game and grabbing 32 rebounds in another. Parker led Millersville to four-straight PSAC "Saylor System" Championships, and as a senior, he took the team to the NAIA national tournament in Kansas City. He was the first Marauder to have their jersey retired, and he was a member of the first Millersville Athletic Hall of Fame class in 1995. After graduation and a playing career in the Eastern Basketball League, Parker continued to blaze trails, becoming one of the first Black referees in the NBA. His first NBA game was also the debut of Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), which was a nationally televised game. Parker continued to referee for 30 years while also working as a teacher and administrator in the Upper Dublin school district for 42 years.
Veronica "V" Sansom, another Mercyhurst Prep alum, made her mark in women's soccer. She came to Mercyhurst College in 1988 and was a major player in getting the second-year varsity program national recognition. The Lady Lakers finished 16-2 in 1988 and made the NCAA Final Four. "V" scored 29 goals and accumulated 66 points. She was named to the All-Northeast second team and was an honorable mention All-American. Despite some nagging sophomore injuries, Veronica led the team in scoring again and made first team All-Northeast. Mercyhurst finished 14-5 and made the ECAC Playoffs. The Lady Lakers ended the 1990 season with a 17-2-3 record, the best in the country but, strangely, weren't invited to the Final Four. Sansom led the team with 58 points and again made the First team All-Northeast region. Sansom ended her career in 1991 with 56 points. The Lady Lakers even hosted an NCAA Playoff game in which they lost to Cal State Dominguez Hills 2-1. Cal State won the national championship that year. Veronica was the leading scorer in the country in Division II in 1991-92, was a Flo Hyman nominee, made first team All-American, first team All-Northeast, was honored as an Academic All-American, and was a recipient of the Dean Garvey Award for scholarship and athletics. She graduated in 1992 with a 3.39 grade point average and a degree in business marketing. Sansom is also a Mercyhurst and Erie Hall of Famer.
Carr led the Mounties on their most dominant run of the decade, reaching the PSAC playoffs 3-of-4 seasons, while winning the PSAC East twice and reaching the NCAA tournament during his senior season in 2010-11. Nine years removed from his last game as a Mountie, Carr's name is still scattered throughout the program's record book. Carr's 1,497 career points is good for sixth all-time. Carr is the record holder for career free throws (610), is second in games played (109) and career blocks (125), while his 46 blocks in 2010-11 rank fifth. Carr is second in career free throws (394), while his 129 free throws in 2010-11 are eighth. During the 2011 NCAA Championship, Carr was selected to play in the Reese's Division II College All-Star game.
Lock Haven, Shannyn Gillespie
Gillespie was a four-time national tournament qualifier and an All-American in 1993. During his Lock Haven career, he was a two-time Eastern Wrestling League champion and a two-time PSAC champion winning over 100 matches for the Bald Eagles. After college, he spent two years at the United States Olympic Training Center. He continues to enjoy a very successful men’s and women’s wrestling coaching career. To date, he’s coached athletes at 34 national championship events, 12 international tournaments and four world championships. Gillespie has been inducted into the following Hall of Fames: Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association, Eastern Wrestling League, Lock Haven University Wrestling and Evanston Township High School.
Kutztown, Andre Reed
Andre Reed, a three-time All-Pro with the Buffalo Bills, set 10 school records at KU. He was a two-time Pennsylvania Conference East and Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference first-team selection in 1983 and 1984. Reed's college career consisted of 142 catches for 2,020 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was only the second KU football player to be drafted, being taken in the fourth round by Buffalo in 1985. He is the Buffalo Bills’ all-time leading receiver and has played in seven Pro Bowls. Reed earned his degree from KU in 2005.
IUP, Nafee Harris
Harris was a four-time NCAA Division II National Champion and seven-time All-American for IUP track & field from 2008-11. He was also a two-time PSAC Field Athlete of the Year and won two conference titles in the long jump during the 2008-09 season. Harris won his first national title at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships, winning another in 2010 along with indoor titles in 2010 and 2011. He earned six All-American nods in the long jump (three indoor, three outdoor) and helped the 4x100 relay to All-American status in the spring of 2009.
He still owns IUP records in the indoor long jump (25-07.25), outdoor long jump (26-01.75), and outdoor 4x100 relay (40.60). Harris’ long jump leap is also an all-time PSAC record.
Gannon, Glen Summors
Glen Summors stands third in all-time scoring at Gannon with 1,822 points, an average of 19.2 points per game. A 6-8 center and is Gannon’s all-time leading rebounder, with his figures of 1,819 total rebounds for an average of 19.1 per game likely never to be broken. The Brooklyn, New York native holds the single-game rebounding record with 32 against Central Connecticut State on February 19, 1968. In all, Summors pulled down 20-plus rebounds in 37 of his 95 career games. In addition, he scored 30 or more points nine times. Summors led the Knights in both scoring and rebounding in 1967-68, 1968-69, and 1971-72. He averaged 17.2 points and 18.7 rebounds during the 1968-69 campaign, a season in which the Knights finished 24-6 and advanced to the second round of the NAIA National Championship. He was drafted by the Buffalo Braves in 1971 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972.
Edinboro, Ernest James
Ernest James was a three-time NCAA Division I Wrestling National qualifier with a career record of 100-49 for the Fighting Scots. On top of his 37 pins, he also earned one Eastern Wrestling League and one PSAC championship. As a redshirt senior in 2014, James ended the year with a 29-7 record with 8 pins. Following his Edinboro career, he competed in MMA – posting a career record of 1-1. In 2019, James joined the Edinboro University coaching staff after earning his bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education.
East Stroudsburg, Stacy Perryman
Stacy Perryman ’97, a 2009 inductee to the ESU Athletic Hall of Fame, helped lead the Warriors to their only PSAC women’s basketball championship in 1995, when she was named the PSAC East Athlete of the Year and was an All-America selection. One of the “Killer P’s” with forward Lori Pio ’96, Perryman was part of ESU’s only two teams to qualify for the NCAA Tournament (1994, 1995) and is one of three players in school history to be named All-PSAC East in each of her four seasons. She scored 1,695 career points, third in school history, and set and still holds school records for career assists (607) and steals (338). She ranks sixth in PSAC history in career assists. Perryman, a graduate of East Stroudsburg High School, dedicated her life to her community and the game of basketball. She was a local educator and head coach at Pocono Mountain West High School for 14 seasons. She passed away after a battle with cancer in January 2020.
Clarion, Doris Black
Golden Eagle women’s basketball was not very successful in its early days as a program, but Doris Black's tenure as the program’s head coach changed all that. Inheriting a program that was 5-35 in its previous two seasons, Black used 1984 and 1985 as building blocks, recruiting the future stars of the program. In 1986 Clarion posted a surging 11-15 record, was 5-5 in the PSAC West and won five of its final six games, providing a springboard for the great things to come. In 1987 the Golden Eagles jumped to the head of the pack by posting a 16-9 overall record and winning the PSAC West division with an 8-2 record. Black’s ability to rejuvenate the program earned her PSAC West Coach of the Year honors. The encore performance proved to be even better as Black led her Golden Eagles to a school record 18-9 overall record in 1988, including a second straight PSAC West title. Clarion finished their season winning 14 of their final 16 games.
Black coached a trio of players that were later inducted into the Clarion Sports Hall of Fame in Kim Beanner, Cheryl Bansek and Lisa McAdoo, and earned that honor herself in 2017. In just four years at the helm, Black still ranks second all-time in wins in program history.
California (Pa.), Carolyn Tardd
Carolyn Tardd served the University as an administrative assistant several decades and was a mainstay at all athletic events while also mentoring hundreds of student-athletes. Carolyn Tardd '78 received the John R. Gregg Award for Loyalty and Service in 2020 from Cal U. She retired in 2019 after 40 years of service to the athletic department. She served as an unofficial mentor and "mom" to thousands of student-athletes and student workers. Carolyn is still a mainstay at Vulcan athletic and continues to volunteer as a gameday administrator.
Bloomsburg, Jahri Evans
Jahri Evans is one of the most decorated offensive linemen to put on a Bloomsburg University football jersey, earning eight different All-American accolades during his career and being named a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award in each of his last two seasons.
Evans was selected in the fourth round (108th overall) by the New Orleans Saints in the 2006 NFL Draft. He was selected to six consecutive Pro Bowls (2009-14) and was named a First Team All-Pro in four consecutive seasons from 2009-12 while earning Second Team All-Pro accolades in 2013. Evans was also named to the Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie Team in 2006, was a two-time Madden Most Valuable Protectors Award recipient (2009, 2011), and was a member of the New Orleans Saints' 50th Anniversary Team in 2016. Evans was named to his first Pro Bowl and earned First Team All-Pro recognition for the first time in 2009 – a season that was capped off with the Saints' victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV.
While playing in the NFL, in 2008, he created the Jahri Evans Foundation which was created to illustrate to student-athletes that academic excellence paves the way to athletic excellence through encouragement, determination and hard work. It is dedicated to enriching the lives of youth by improving their quality of education and promoting overall health, safety and physical fitness of all children.
Evans graduated from Bloomsburg in 2007 with a degree in exercise science. In 2009, he established a full scholarship for out-of-state minority students enrolled in Bloomsburg's Master of Science Clinical Athletic Training Program. The Jahri Evans Football Endowed Scholarship was established in 2014 and will carry on forever.
ABOUT THE PSAC
Headquartered in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference comprised of 18 institutions in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The member institutions are Bloomsburg University, California University of Pennsylvania, Clarion University, East Stroudsburg University, Edinboro University, Gannon University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown University, Lock Haven University, Mansfield University, Mercyhurst University, Millersville University, The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Seton Hill University, Shepherd University, Shippensburg University, Slippery Rock University and West Chester University.