HUNTINGTON, WV (WOWK) – Marshall University announced its 2022 hall of fame class, with two former Herd football legends among the nine-member group.
Former Head Coach Jack Lengyel was inducted. Lengyel led Marshall from 1971-1974 and was the first head coach following the 1970 plane crash which killed 75.
Vinny Curry was a second team All-American by CollegeFootballNews.com in 2010. Curry was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year in 2011, leading the Herd with 12 sacks as a junior and 11 as a senior. He was a second-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, winning a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018.
The annual Hall of Fame dinner is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m.
Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame inductees per Herdzone.com:
Stefanie Cook-Lewis, Softball/Women’s Soccer, 1995-98
Cook was selected to the Southern Conference 100th Anniversary Team in 2022 and was a three-time all-conference selection (1995 at shortstop, then at second base in 1996-1997). She was one of only two Herd players to earn such honors in the SoCon at least three times. The 1995 SoCon Freshman of the Year, Cook-Lewis finished in the top 10 in 11 different Marshall statistical categories. Her 235 games played are also more than anyone else in the history of the program. For her career, she is No. 1 in fielding assists (489), third in stolen base percentage (.876), eighth in stolen bases (78) and in walks (68), ninth in runs scored (120) and hits (208) and 13th in double-plays turned (16). She also lettered in soccer following her four-year softball career.
Sarah Crandall-Fletcher, Women’s Cross Country/Track and Field, 1990-94
Crandall-Fletcher was part of a 4 x 800 relay team whose school record of 9:33.13, set in 1992, is still standing. She was a two-time SoCon medalist in the Indoor Championships in the 800 meters in both 1993 and 1994. She also set an 800-meter school record of 2:16.10 as a senior and set the 1,000-meter school record of 2:59.10 in 1993. At the 1992 Outdoor Southern Conference Track Championships, she was part of the Distance Medley Relay record-setting team that ran the event in 12:37.10.
Vinny Curry, Football, 2008-11
Curry was named a second team All-American by CollegeFootballNews.com in 2010 (honorable mention by SI.com), then was first team by FWAA and Phil Steele as a senior as well as second team on AP, Walter Camp, CBS and Pro FB Weekly (and again honorable mention by SI.com). The Neptune, N.J. native was tabbed the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year for 2011 and was first team All-C-USA as both a junior and senior after making the honorable mention list in 2009. Curry is the school’s single-season record holder with seven forced fumbles in 2011, while his nine in a career is third most. He led Marshall in quarterback sacks as a junior (12.0) and senior (11.0), also leading in tackles for loss in those seasons with 18 in 2010 and 22 as a senior. Following his stellar Marshall career, Curry has spent more than a decade playing in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets. While with the Eagles, he was part of the organization’s Super Bowl LII-winning team.
Carrie Hinkle, Softball, 1994-97
Hinkle, an outfielder during the program’s infancy, was named All-Southern Conference in 1995, when the Herd was SoCon Tournament Champions and is one of just five players named All-Southern Conference four times in league history. She is Marshall’s all-time leader in at-bats (743), sixth in runs scored (137), seventh in hits (231), ninth in stolen bases (70). She played in 218 games and held a career batting average (.311). Hinkle went a perfect 16-for-16 in stolen bases as a freshman and was successful in 19 of 21 attempts as a sophomore. Her 224 at-bats as a junior and 227 as a senior are the top two career marks in school history, while her 69 hits as a junior are fourth-most. As a junior, she helped lead the program to its first winning record (39-23). Hinkle holds the mark for the toughest to strikeout in team history at just 44 times in 743 at bats.
Jody Lambert, Volleyball/Women’s Basketball, 1970-73
Lambert played three seasons of volleyball — the Herd compiled a record of 52-24 during that span — and she was named team captain in 1972 with the volleyball team advanced to the AIAW Tournament. She was also the first four-year letterwinner for the “Green Gals” and was on the original women’s basketball team at Marshall. She helped lead the team to a 7-0 record in 1970, a 13-4 mark in 1971 and a 21-2 record in 1972. Lambert was an honor graduate at Marshall, with a 3.6 grade-point average as a PE major in the Teacher’s College.
Jack Lengyel, Football Head Coach, 1971-74
Lengyel was head coach of the “Young” Thundering Herd, the program’s first teams following the 1970 plane crash. He rebuilt the football program, and picked up a 15-13 win in Marshall’s first home game after the crash by beating Xavier on a last-second touchdown on September 25, 1971. Later that same season, MU upset Bowling Green at Homecoming, taking down Coach Don Nehlen’s Falcons, 12-10. Following his time in Huntington, Lengyel joined the administrative ranks, being named Director of Athletics at Fresno State, Missouri and Navy. In 2006, Lengyel’s story was brought to the silver screen by Warner Bros. Pictures in We Are Marshall, where he was portrayed by Matthew McConaughey.
Kim Nutter, Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field, 1978-82
The late Kim Nutter was named All-Southern Conference in cross country in 1979, qualifying for the nationals that season. He also won back-to-back SoCon Indoor titles in the 3-mile run in 1979 and 1980, breaking the school record in both performances. Nutter was a six-time all-conference performer in indoor and outdoor track and cross country. He is still the school record holder for the indoor 5000 meters (14:18.94). Nutter passed away on November 15, 2004.
Dave Tabor, Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field, 1983-86
Tabor was selected to the Southern Conference’s 100th Anniversary Team in 2022 after being named all-conference three times (1984, 1985, 1986) in cross country and nine times in track. He was also the league’s individual champion as a senior, helping the program to win its second SoCon Championship, after earning team runners up in 1984 and 1985. As a freshman, he helped the team to a third-place finish. Tabor finished in the top 12 in all four SoCon cross country championships and was all-league in indoor and outdoor track and field four times apiece.
Travis Young, Men’s Basketball, 1997-2001
Young was the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year and garnered all-conference honorable mention acclaim as a senior. He is one of just 21 Thundering Herd players to be named all-league in the MAC and was third all-time at Marshall in steals. He is also ninth in program history in assists. To date, he is also among the program’s all-time leaders in scoring, field goals made, field goals attempted and free throw percentage. Young helped lead Marshall to a 55-29 record over the course of his sophomore, junior and senior campaigns.