SELINSGROVE, Pa. – On Friday, October 22, five distinguished alumni will be inducted into the Susquehanna University Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the 53rd class.
 
The newest members being inducted into the Hall are Rodney Bamfrod '84, Marcus L. Cheatham '13, Chris Persing '97, Christie Savard '11, Alycia Woodruff '11.

"We're thrilled to honor this year's Hall of Fame inductees," Director of Athletics, Sharief Hashim said, "Their hard work on the playing surface and successes in their respective careers are great examples for our current student athletes."

Rodney Bamford '84, a native of Northampton, Pennsylvania, was a captain, three-year starter at linebacker, and MVP of the undefeated 1983 Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championship team. In three years as a starter, he amassed 295 total tackles, leading the team in 1982 and 1983. Over those three years, he also totaled 7 fumble recoveries and 12 interceptions. He was named to both the MAC and Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III South All-Star teams in 1983 as well as a Division III Honorable Mention All-American. He was inducted into the Susquehanna Ring of Honor in 2019. A true "team first" player, Bamford was named to the SU Top 100 All-Century Team in 1999. He graduated Susquehanna with a degree in computer science. Bamford throughout his years, remained an active member of the SU Alumni Club, Habitat for Humanity, and the Alzheimer's Association prior to his untimely passing.

Marcus L. Cheatham '13, a native of Reisterstown, Maryland was a four-year starter for the River Hawks Men's Lacrosse team from 2010 to 2013. As a first-year midfielder he earned All-Landmark First Team and Landmark Rookie of the Year honors as a specialist. In 2011, Cheatham was named to the All-Landmark Second Team as a Defensive Midfielder. He garnered All-Landmark First Team honors in 2012 and 2013, while leading the River Hawks to their first Landmark Conference Championship in 2013. As a senior, the 3-time captain was selected to the USILA/LAXWorld North vs South All-star game, and was named a USILA Honorable Mention All-American, another first in program history. Cheatham finished his career with 23 goals, 13 assists, and 272 ground balls.

Chris Persing '97, a local product of Sunbury, PA, was on the Susquehanna University Baseball roster from 1993-1997. The four-year letter winner and two-year captain was a right-handed pitcher and infielder for the Susquehanna squad. As a hitter, Persing finished his career 148 hits on 416 at bats, compiling a batting average of .356 over his career. In 1996, he led the team in hits, RBIs, and home runs with 41 runs, 20 RBIs and 4 home runs. In 1997, Persing was a once again tops on the team in almost all the major offensive categories with 28 runs, 55 hits, a .470 batting average, 4 home runs and 30 RBI's. As a pitcher, Persing was 16-8 in his career and had an ERA of 3.09 over his last three years. In 1996, he had an outstanding ERA of 1.98. Over his four-year career, the right hander tallied 112 strikeouts.

Christie Savard '11, a native of Berwyn, PA, was a Fly/Individual Medley swimmer who was on the Susquehanna University Women's Swimming roster from 2007 to 2011. In her first season, Savard won her first conference title in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:10.96, which was a conference record time. In the 09-10 season, she was named the Female Swimmer of the Year in the Landmark Conference and was SU's first multi-winner and repeat conference winner. She won three individual events, the 200 IM, 400 IM and 200 BK, in which she set records in all three in her second season. She also was part of the multiple relay teams which won the conference, which included the 200 free relay, 400 free relay, 800 free relay, and 400 free relay. In the 10-11 season, she helped lead the Women's Swimming team to their first conference title. Individually, she broke her previously set conference records in the 200 IM and 200 BK. Also, she helped the relay teams to conference championships for the second year in a row. She was named a Scholar All-American and the Connie Harnum award winner in her final year. Currently, she holds the Susquehanna record in the 200 Backstroke with a time of 2:04.22.

Alycia Woodruff '11, a native of West Chester, Pennsylvania, was a four-year distance runner on the Women's Cross Country, Indoor, and Outdoor Track and Field teams from 2008-2011. Her personal bests for indoor track and field include a 2:24.38 800-meter run in the 2008 landmark conference championship, a 10:31.70 3,000-meter run in 2010, a 17:59.27 5,000-meter run in 2009, and a 5:04.32 1-mile run in 2011. Her personal bests for outdoor include a 2:19.82 800-meter run, a 4:37.75 1,500-meter run in 2008 that stood as a school record for 7 years, a 10:37.66 3,000-meter run in 2008, a 17:14.12 5,000-meter run in 2011 that stood as a record for 8 years, and a 11:04.90 steeplechase in 2011, which stood as a school record for 7 years. In 2010, she was named the Landmark Female Cross-Country Runner of the Year and was also named a 2010-2011 All-Academic Athlete. In 2011, she qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Nationals, and was the first woman from Susquehanna to compete in the event. She also won the 3,000-steeplechase title at the 2011 Landmark Conference Outdoor Championships and was named to the 2011 Spring Landmark All-Academic Team. She was a 4-time Spring Academic Honor Roll Member at Susquehanna and graduated in 2011 with a degree in history-secondary education.

The quintet will be honored with a Hall of Fame banquet dinner at the Evert Dining Room in the Degenstein Campus Center on the Susquehanna campus on Friday night, October 22^nd, 2021, before being recognized at halftime of the Homecoming game against McDaniel College the next day.

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