Women's Cross Country | 9/28/2016 10:02:00 AM

Wingate, N.C.----Five new members will be added to the Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame during induction ceremonies on Friday evening, Oct. 14. In addition, the University will recognize the 1986 Bulldog football team as a Team of Distinction during the event. The Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame ceremonies are sponsored by OrthoCarolina (buy event tickets).
 
The Wingate Sports Hall of Fame class of 2016 includes soccer forward Benjamin Bostic ('10 MBA), softball infielder Sarah Carleton ('06), football defensive end DeMarkes Dogan ('04), lacrosse midfielder Ian Hill ('03) and cross country runner Natalie Creech Topper ('06).
 
"Once again, I have had the opportunity to chair a committee comprised of well-informed, experienced and supportive fans of Wingate University Athletics," WU Athletic Foundation and Bulldog Club director Bill Nash says. "The Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2016 were all standout performers in their sport, great representatives of their teams and this University and worthy of the all-star recognitions earned during their Wingate careers. On behalf of the committee, I would like to express our enjoyment as we reviewed the credentials and relived the performances and influences of these outstanding Wingate student-athletes."
 
Benj Bostic played two seasons for head coach Gary Hamill and the Bulldogs. In 2004, Bostic posted a team-best 45 points (20 goals, five assists) on the way to earning NSCAA/adidas All-America third team, All-Region and All-SAC status. He was named the J. Howard Williams Award winner for Wingate Male Athlete of the Year in the spring of 2005.
 
In two Wingate campaigns, Bostic recorded 24 goals and seven assists in 28 contests. While a student-athlete at Mars Hill, Bostic won the SAC Presidents' Award. He was named to the All-SAC and the All-Region teams during his two years with the Lions.
 
Sarah Carleton was a career .381 hitter for head coach Michelle Caddigan. Carleton is second in program history with her 30 career home runs and her 166 career RBI. She finished her illustrious Wingate career with 238 hits, 52 doubles and 153 runs. Carleton ranks second on the Bulldog career charts in runs and third in total bases.
 
Her trophy case includes three All-SAC awards and a first team All-Region nod her senior year (2006). Carleton was named to the Academic All-District III team as a junior (2005). She started her Wingate career by leading the SAC champions in hits, RBI, doubles, triples and home runs as a freshman (2003).
 
In Wingate's record-setting 2006 season, Carleton hit .391 with 15 home runs and 65 RBI as the Bulldogs recorded the most hits in SAC history. Wingate's runs and batting average are second on the all-time SAC charts, while the team's 47 victories is the seventh-most in the league record books.
 
DeMarkes Dogan is Wingate's career tackles leader with 357. He played for head coaches Joe Reich and Bob Brush. Dogan was named to the All-SAC first team and the All-South Region second team his senior season (2003). His senior year statistics ledger included a team-best 100 tackles (62 solo) with three tackles for loss, two QB sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Dogan led the SAC in tackles per game his junior year with 10.3 (2001).
 
Ian Hill was an All-American sophomore midfielder for the 2001 Wingate Bulldogs and head coach John Dodd. Thanks to the efforts of Hill and his teammates, Wingate qualified for the 2001 NCAA play-offs, marking the first time the Bulldogs reached the lacrosse post-season.
 
Hill was named All-Deep South Conference three times (2001-03), making the honor squad two times as a midfielder (2001-02) and one time as an attacker (2003). Hill's career statistics line included 79 goals and 42 assists.
 
Natalie Creech Topper was All-SAC and All-Southeast Region three times each for head coach Dr. Dennis Johnson. Creech Topper won the 2003 Southeast Region meet with a 6K time of 23:02, marking the first time in Wingate history a Bulldog runner (male or female) has won NCAA regional race. She was named Regional Runner of the Year following the meet.
 
As a senior, Creech Topper was first team All-SAC, team MVP, sixth in the SAC meet with a 19:48 5K time and 12th in the 2005 regionals with a 24:52 6K posting. As a junior, she was first team All-SAC, second in the SAC meet with a 19:34 5K time and eighth in the regionals with a 23:17 6K clocking.
 
In her Regional Runner of the Year sophomore season, Creech Topper was named first team All-SAC while earning Wingate MVP laurels. She was third in the SAC meet with a 5K time of 19:19. She received Academic All-District III honors from CoSIDA following her junior and senior seasons.
 
The Wingate University athletic department will recognize the 1986 football team as a Team of Distinction during the SHOF event. The team was coached by Steve Wilt. Current Wingate president Dr. Rhett Brown was a member of this team, the Bulldogs' first squad as a senior college.
 
"We are also excited to welcome back the members of the 1986 Wingate football team as our Team of Distinction," Nash says. "These guys set such a great standard in reintroducing football to the Wingate University sports landscape."
 
The Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will begin on Friday evening, Oct. 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the LaVerne Banquet Hall. Tickets for the induction ceremonies banquet are $25 per person and $10 for children 12 and under. For more information about the Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame, contact committee chairman Bill Nash at 704-233-8121 or via E-mail at bilnash@wingate.edu.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,100 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 34 minors, 12 career concentrations, nine pre-professional programs, master's degrees in accounting, business, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in education, pharmacy and physical therapy.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past 10 years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000's with 86 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate is number one in this millennium with 86 Academic All-America® honorees. Wingate is tops among all SAC schools with 95 lifetime Academic All-America® picks. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.