Baseball | 8/31/2015 1:13:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----Five new members will be added to the Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame during induction ceremonies on Friday evening, Nov. 13. In addition, the University will recognize the 1967-68 men's basketball team as a Team of Distinction during the event. The Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame ceremonies are sponsored by OrthoCarolina.
 
The Wingate Sports Hall of Fame class of 2015 includes baseball pitcher Bruce Benfield (Charlotte, N.C., class of '76), soccer and basketball player Liz Rogers Biggerstaff (Raleigh, N.C., class of '02, class of '06), football defensive end John Bowman (Rockingham, N.C., class of '05), basketball point guard Lorinza "Junior" Harrington (Wagram, N.C., class of '02) and baseball infielder David Yount (Forest City, N.C., class of '04).
 
"The selection process again this year gave the selection committee opportunities to recount Wingate athletics' highlights and those who contributed to those memorable seasons, games and careers," WU Athletic Foundation and Bulldog Club director Bill Nash says. "We had an outstanding slate of very worthy and respected candidates."
 
Bulldog basketball point guard Lorinza "Junior" Harrington (Wagram, N.C., class of '02) was originally slated for induction with the class of 2012. He has 13 years of professional basketball experience. Harrington has played for three NBA teams. During his 2002-03 NBA rookie season, he was the only Denver player to play in all 82 games.
 
In addition to his NBA experiences, Harrington has played professionally in the Ukraine, Spain, Russia, Slovenia, Poland and Colombia. He made the FIBA Cup All-Star team for Azovmash Mariupol (Ukraine), while leading the team to a league championship. Harrington helped Union Olimpija (Slovenia) win a league title and a huge mid-season tournament. Most recently, he won a team championship with Asseco Prokom Gdynia (Poland) in 2010 as the club made the final eight of the Euro League. Harrington played the 2014-15 season for Condores de Cundinamarca in Colombia.
 
As a senior All-American, Harrington averaged 14.8 points per game and 6.4 assists per game as Wingate compiled a 26-7 overall record. He led the South Atlantic Conference in assists and steals, charting in the NCAA top six in both categories. Wingate won 100 games in his career. During the summer of 2010, he was inducted into the SAC Hall of Fame. His coaches at Wingate were Jeff Reynolds and Parker Laketa.
 
Bruce Benfield was All-Conference and All-Region X as a sophomore for head coach Steve Poston (now Wingate's vice-president and director of athletics). During his second (and final) year as a Bulldog, Benfield was 9-0 overall and two saves and a 1.78 ERA. His career record was 16-3 overall with 101 career strikeouts.
 
Benfield won the Geddings Award as Wingate's best overall student-athlete in 1976. The same year, he received the Hendricks Award as the school's top male student at May Commencement Exercises. Benfield was a vibrant member of the campus community, as he served as president of the "W" Club, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Men's Dorm Council.
 
In 2004, Benfield and business partner Carole Joyner formed Joyner Benfield Distinctive Land and Waterscapes. He has been married 34 years to Maureen Wehunt of Chattanooga, Tenn. The Benfields have three children and three grandchildren. His son Kevin Benfield (Wingate '06) played four seasons on the Bulldog men's soccer team.
 
Elizabeth Rogers Biggerstaff was a two-sport standout for the Bulldogs. In soccer, she was an All-SAC goalkeeper three times and an All-Region net minder on two occasions. As a senior, Rogers Biggerstaff posted 84 saves with a 0.70 GAA as Wingate won a (then) school-record 14 matches (14-4-2 overall record). She had a 1.07 GAA with 76 saves as a junior. Her Wingate soccer coach was Andy Thompson.
 
In basketball, Rogers Biggerstaff earned All-SAC honors and team MVP laurels following her senior season. The Wake Forest transfer averaged 14.2 points per game in her final hoops campaign at Wingate. The University presented her the Joyce Gragg Pipes Award for Female Athlete of the Year in 2002. She played basketball for head coach and WU Sports Hall of Fame member Johnny Jacumin.
 
Rogers Biggerstaff is the Associate Athletic Director for Compliance at her alma mater. Her husband Patrick (also a two-time Wingate graduate) is the Director of Operations for Wingate University Campus Services. He also serves as the school's Title IX coordinator. The Biggerstaffs have three sons.
 
John Bowman was a Don Hansen's Football Gazette All-American following the 2003 season. An All-SAC selection the same year, Bowman was fourth in the NCAA Division II in quarterback sacks (1.2/game) as a senior. His football coaches at Wingate were current head coach Joe Reich and Reich's predecessor, Bob Brush.
 
Bowman joined the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes in 2006. During his career, the Alouettes have won the Grey Cup (CFL Super Bowl) in 2009 and 2010. Bowman was named to the CFL All-Star team in 2010. He is a five-time CFL East All-Star (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014). A 10-year CFL veteran, Bowman signed a three-year contract extension with Montreal in 2013.
 
David Yount was an All-American on the field and in the classroom for head coach Bill Nash. As a senior, he was a second team Rawlings/ABCA All-American in 2004, while leading Wingate in batting average (.401), runs (50), hits (87), stolen bases (25) and multiple-hit games (26). He was All-South Region the same season, earning first team All-SAC laurels in 2004 and 2003. Yount and his teammates qualified for the 2001 NCAA Division II tournament.
 
In 2004, Yount was the only NCAA Division II baseball student-athlete to achieve the academic-athletic All-American double-double. He was named to the Academic All-America second team following his final season. His career numbers include a .330 batting average with 41 doubles, 13 triples, 27 home runs, 157 RBI and 64 steals.
 
Yount earned a Master of Science in Sport Administration from Appalachian State and a Master of Physical Therapy from Western Carolina. He has 10-plus years of experience throughout the sports medicine continuum. Currently, he serves as the Center Manager for Carolinas Rehabilitation (Carolinas Healthcare System) in Huntersville.
 
"The Wingate University (Sports Hall of Fame) selection committee is excited to present the Class of 2015 for induction on November 13," Nash says. "We are grateful to our friends at OrthoCarolina for their sponsorship of the 2015 Wingate Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet."
 
The Wingate University athletic department will recognize the 1967-68 men's basketball team as a Team of Distinction during the SHOF event. The team was coached by Wingate Sports Hall of Fame member Bill Connell (athletic director and long-time coach). "We recognize the 1967-68 Bulldogs' men's basketball squad for an incredible 78-77 victory over Gardner-Webb and future NBA star Artis Gilmore in Sanders Sikes Gymnasium," Nash says.
 
The Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will begin on Friday evening, Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the LaVerne Banquet Hall. Tickets for the induction ceremonies banquet are $20 per person and $12 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 3,000 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, master's degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.
 
With a 15 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 nine 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 77 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate's 77 Academic All-America® honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate's 86 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.

Wingate Sports Hall of Fame Members (by induction year)
 
2014: Temeshia Dawkins-Abney (women's basketball), Julie Law (women's soccer/women's basketball), John Spencer (baseball) and Stephanie White (softball)
 
2013: Tracy Bowen (football), Ben Hill (soccer), Frank Pait (baseball)
 
2012: Kendall Chaffin (football), Karyn Deese Hart (volleyball), Marc Tsitouris (baseball)
 
2011: Patrick Bartlett (men's tennis/basketball/soccer), Cindy Irvin Behe (softball), Mark Caudle (men's soccer), Mike Ragin (football), Dr. Jerry McGee (president)
 
2010: Cynthia Thomas Cooper (women's basketball), John Ellis (men's golf), Paul Talbot (men's basketball), Allen Thomas (baseball)
 
2009: Jeremy Byers (baseball), Kirk Calvert (men's soccer), Angela Curlew Lampley (softball), Andrea McCloud (men's basketball)
 
2008: Audley Bell (men's tennis), Bill Foster (men's basketball), Dr. Jerry Pierce (baseball), Dave Thomas (football)
 
2007: Jimmy Fortenberry (baseball), Jill Deardorff (tennis), Jerry Ratchford (football), Bill Walters (golf)
 
2006: Nolan "Obe" Leonard (baseball), Cindy Lowery James (women's basketball), Jeff Waisner (baseball)
 
2005: Tony Coble (baseball), James Gordon (football), Chip Lewis (golf)
 
2004: Chris Huntley (men's basketball), Danny Lampley (baseball), Kerrie Porter (softball)
 
2003: Sean Bakes (soccer), Harry Greene (baseball), Everette Pigg (men's basketball)
 
2002: Andrea Grissett (women's basketball), Ron Ladimir (soccer), Winston Parks (men's basketball), Charles Ray Williams (baseball/basketball)
 
2001: Vernon Buck (football), Darren Hayes (baseball)
 
1999: Johnny Jacumin (women's basketball coach), Alvin Morman (baseball)
 
1998: Ann Hancock (women's basketball), Wiley "Butch" Harris (baseball), Ron Smarr (tennis coach)
 
1997: Allen Johnson (baseball), Direne Thomas (women's basketball), Jimmy Sutton (football)
 
1996: Rick Motsinger (baseball), Jack Perry (baseball coach), Beverly Greenard Poston (women's basketball), Larry "Satch" Sedberry (baseball), Dr. Jerry Thomas (baseball/basketball)
 
1995: Julie Barbee (tennis), Cheryl "Sweet Pea" Barrineau (women's basketball), Darryl Barrino (baseball), Pam Elleby (basketball), Marshall Thaxton (men's basketball)
 
1994: Vann A. Chaney (lifetime coach), Steve Mastin (baseball), Jim Morris (baseball)
 
1993: Dianna Monroe (women's basketball), Jack Musten (baseball/basketball), Don Williams (football/baseball)
 
1990: Dr. Ron Christopher (baseball coach), H. Russell Turner (football)
 
1989: Michael "Mike" Martin (baseball), Robert "Bob" Nunnery (football)
 
1988: Bill Connell (AD/Coach), Herschel "Red" Edwards (multi-sport athlete), Thomas "Dude" Renfrow (football)
 
1987: Gary Laws (baseball), Danny Maples (golf), Danny Miller (basketball coach), Johnny Wike (football)
 
1986: Sonny Basinger (football), Darrell Floyd (men's basketball), Nield Gordon (men's basketball)