Courtesy of Logan Smith, Walsh Sports Information Director
NORTH CANTON -- It was a special night at Walsh University as seven alumni were honored and inducted into the Class of 2017 Wall of Fame. Ingrid (Brainard) Hughes, Corey Jones, Kami (Kessler) Treharn, Chad Lahna, George Theodoris, and Brandon Weems were all selected on athletic achievements, while Timm Fautsko joined for meritorious service.
Ingrid Brainard was a four-year letter winner and four-time All-AMC team selection during her career with the Cavaliers from 2003 through 2007. During her first three seasons, she was an All-AMC honorable mention and earned All-AMC Third Team honors her senior season. She holds numerous school records and is first in career assists with 498, first in assists in a single season with 151, third in career free throw percentage at 80 percent, and third in steals with 244. Brainard averaged double-figures in her junior and senior season and was just shy of that with 9.5 and 9.1 points per game during her freshman and sophomore seasons respectively. In total, Brainard scored 1,233 points in her career.
Corey Jones becomes a two-time selection to the Wall of Fame as he was a member of the 2004-05 NAIA National Championship basketball team. He was also a four-time All-AMC selection. The season Walsh won the national championship, he was selected to the All-AMC Freshman team as well as Honorable Mention team that same year after he scored 11.6 points per game, shot 41.7 percent from behind the arc, and 87.8 percent at the free throw line. He averaged 13.5 points per game and scored 1,777 points over the span of his career at Walsh. Jones was named to the Second-Team All-AMC his final three years after he averaged double-figures each season. He helped Walsh make four NAIA tournament appearances and win four AMC Championships over his career. He is currently ranked first in free-throw percentage at 88.5 percent and 3-point field goals with 354 all-time at Walsh.
Kami Kessler joins the Wall of Fame as one of the most successful players on the softball diamond for the Cavaliers. She ranks in the top 10 throughout the record books in numerous categories. For her career, she is first in RBI with 128, fourth in home runs with 15, sixth in runs scored with 114, eighth in hits with 172, and eighth in doubles with 32. She also hit for an average of .361 for her career. For single season marks, she ranks first in RBI with 50 in 2000, third in triples with six in 1998, third in runs scored with 48 in 1999, and fourth in home runs with eight in 2000. She was named an NAIA All-American on the Second Team in her senior season as well as the Great Lakes Region All-Tournament Team after she hit for a batting average of .375, eight home runs, 50 RBI, and eight doubles. Kessler was also named to the First-Team All-AMC three times and the NAIA Player of the Week in her junior campaign.
Chad Lahna joins the Wall of Fame after three spectacular years on the baseball diamond in the outfield and on the mound with the Cavaliers. He finished his career with 113 RBI, sixth-most in program history. For his senior year, he was named AMC North Player of the Year and was an All-AMC First Team selection after he hit .339 with nine home runs, 58 RBI, 58 runs scored, 10 doubles, three triples, and recorded a 1.02 ERA pitching. He proved he could do well in the classroom as he was named an AMC Scholar Athlete as well. As a result, he was named Walsh Male Athlete of the Year. His 58 RBI ranks second in school history for a single season and his 58 runs are tied for third in a single season. His 1.02 ERA is second on the all-time list for Cavalier pitchers. Lahna was also selected to the All-AMC First Team his junior season after he hit .316 with four home runs, 34 RBI, eight doubles, and a triple.
George Theodoris was a two-sport star that excelled in Track & Field and football. It was with Track & Field where he made his best strides as he was a conference champion in multiple events in multiple years. In his freshman season, he was an NAIA national championship qualifier after he won the AMC triple jump with a distance of 45 feet 9 inches and 4x100 meter relay with a time of 43.29. In his junior season, Theodoris qualified for the NAIA championships again after he was the AMC Outstanding Athlete with championships in the 4x100 meter relay with a time of 42.24, triple jump with a distance of 47 feet 6.5 inches, and 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:21.29. His senior year resulted with two AMC championships in the long jump with a distance of 22 feet 7 inches, and in the triple jump with a distance of 48 feet 1.25 inches for a new conference record. He later became an All-American in the triple jump with a distance of 49 feet 2 inches at the national championships. As of now, he still holds four school records: the outdoor 400 meter and triple jump and the indoor 200 meter and triple jump. On the gridiron, he was a part of Walsh's conference championship team in 2001, had 145 tackles, three interceptions, three forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, and 17 pass breakups in his career.
Brandon Weems becomes a two-time selection as he was a member of the 2004-05 NAIA National Championship basketball team. He was a four-time All-AMC selection. He was selected to the All-AMC Freshmen team and won the NAIA Champions of Character Award after he scored 6.5 points per game, recorded 80 assists, and had a 2.1 assist to turnover ratio. He earned All-AMC Honorable Mention honors his sophomore and junior seasons. In his junior year, he led the NAIA in assists with 237 for 7.4 per game and tied a single-game record with 17. He recorded 10 or more assists in a single game seven times, averaged 9.1 points per game, and was second in the NAIA and first in the AMC with a 3.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. His senior season was even better as he was named to the NAIA All-American Second Team, All-AMC First Team, and was AMC South Player of the year after he recorded 11.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game with 190 assists. He also had a 3-point percentage of 41 percent. For his career, Weems scored 1,160 points, was second all-time with 649 assists, and third all-time with 185 3-point field goals. His 237 assists rank first for a single season at Walsh, and he helped the Cavaliers make four NAIA tournament appearances and won four AMC championships.
Timm Fautsko joins the Wall of Fame for meritorious service. He has been a member of the Walsh Board of Directors since 2011 and has served on both the Academic and Advancement Committee. He established the Timm and Marianne Fautsko Endowed Scholarship which funds Sociology and Psychology Students at Walsh University. He also won the Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1987. Fautsko was also one of the first letter winners at the University and lettered four times for the men's basketball program from 1963 through 1967 at Walsh, one of the first students to achieve this honor.
