Eight former Pioneer student-athletes and one former head coach comprise the 35th annual Malone Athletics Hall of Fame Class, which will be recognized during an induction ceremony banquet dinner on January 24th, 2020 in the Johnson Center Dining Room. The inductees will also be recognized at halftime of the Malone vs. Hillsdale College women's basketball game that will be held in Osborne Hall on Saturday, January 25 (1:00 p.m. tipoff).
 
First established in 1985, the Malone University Athletics Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have distinguished themselves in athletics while at the University. To qualify, athlete inductees must be graduates of Malone, must have graduated at least ten years prior to selection, must exemplify the highest ideals of intercollegiate athletics, and must have earned two letters in one or more sports. As a coach, they must have served the University athletics department five or more years (current coaches ten or more years). In 2007, a provision was established to allow athletics administrators or other support personnel to become eligible, with a minimum of 10 years of athletics service to the University.
 
Below is a list of this year's inductees along with graduation year and sport(s):
 

Troy Montgomery ('83, soccer) Rich Hlaudy ('94, track & field) James Thompson ('94, golf) Kristen (Beach) Huntington ('01, basketball, soccer) Brian Finney ('02, track & field) Joy (Wilkinson) Plumley ('03, basketball) Ray Weisenbarger ('06, track & field) Derek Deardorff ('09, football) Todd Clark ('94, soccer coach 1999-2005)

Hall of Fame Bios
 
Troy Montgomery, a 1979 graduate of Stow High School, played forward for the Pioneer soccer program from 1979-1982 and was one of the most prolific goal scorers to ever step foot on campus.
 
In his freshman season, Montgomery led the Pioneers to their first-ever winning record (8-4) in the 14-year history of the program, scoring a then school record 13 goals and handing out four assists on his way to being named a NAIA District 22 All-Star and earning the team's Best Offensive Player Award. Over the next two seasons, Montgomery helped the Pioneers to 23 wins while scoring 20 goals and dishing out 10 assists.
 
In his senior season in 1982, Malone won a school record 13 matches, a number that would be surpassed just three times in the next 37 years, all by Hall of Fame Coach Sherman Eberly's teams of the 1990's. Montgomery shared team-highs in goals (12) and assists (5) with fellow Malone Hall of Famer Phil Eades. He was selected All-MOC, First Team All-District, and Malone's Best Offensive Player.
 
In total, Montgomery finished his career with 45 goals scored, still the second-most in school history, 19 assists, and 109 points, also the second-most in Malone history. He remains the only Pioneer to ever score four goals in a game twice and he retains the single game goal-scoring record with five.
 
Montgomery graduated from Malone in 1983 with a Bachelor's in Business Administration and has worked as an Insurance Sales Rep for the past 34 years. Troy and his wife Ann (Baskin), a 1983 Malone alum, have three grown children: Megan Flaker (33), Mackenzie Miller (30), and Brooks Montgomery (21).
 
 
Rich Hlaudy, a 1989 graduate of Warren Howland High School, was a member of the Malone track & field teams from 1991-1994. He was elected into the Hall of Fame via the Legacy category which recognizes athletes who graduated 25 or more years prior to induction.
 
A pole vaulting specialist, Hlaudy qualified for the Indoor National Championship in his freshman, sophomore, and senior seasons and reached the Outdoor National Championship in all four years of his career. After narrowly missing out on achieving All-American status during his junior season, Hlaudy finally made his breakthrough during the 1994 campaign.
 
At the 1994 Indoor National Championships, Hlaudy cleared 16'0 to earn a sixth-place finish and his first career All-American award, just the fourth-ever by a Malone pole vaulter.
 
During the outdoor season, Hlaudy won the District Title and then placed fourth at the National Championship meet, vaulting a personal best 16'5.5" to capture his second All-American honor.
 
As of 2019, Hlaudy retains the third-highest indoor pole vault mark (16'0), just one foot below former National Champion and Malone Hall of Famer Brian  Kelly. He also ranks third all-time in the outdoor pole vault, trailing only Kelly and Olympic Gold Medalist Tim Mack. Hlaudy's total score of 6,489 in the decathlon event during the 1993 season also ranks fourth all-time.
 
Hlaudy graduated from Malone in 1994 with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. He later earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh Law School in 2001. He currently works as an Administrative Law Judge in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Rich and his wife Jeanette reside in Sioux Falls with their four-year old daughter Alessandra
 
 
James Thompson, 1990 graduate of Ridgedale High School, competed for Hall of Fame head coach Ken Hyland as a member of the men's golf team from 1990-1994. He joined Hlaudy in this year's class via the Legacy distinction.
 
Thompson, a two-time team captain and team MVP, carried a 76.9 scoring average over his four-year career. He also competed on two NAIA National Championship teams, including the 1992 team, which finished eighth, and the 1993 team, which placed seventh.
 
As a sophomore in 1992, Thompson earned NAIA All-District 22 honors and then finished second among Pioneers, behind only Hall of Famer Andy Lyons, with a four-day total of 301 at the NAIA National Championships.
 
During the 1993 season, Thompson helped the Pioneers to their sixth-straight District Title, shooting 150 over two days to finish in second-place overall. Thompson then went on to earn Second Team All-American honors, shooting 300 (71, 72, 78, 79) and finishing in a team-best 17th-place at the NAIA National Championships. Thompson concluded his Pioneer career with a third-place finish at the 1994 District Championship and his third straight All-District accolade.
 
Thompson graduated in the spring of 1994 with a Bachelor's Degree in Business. He is now the owner of James Thompson Distributing LLC. James and his wife Heidi live in Marion, Ohio. They have three children, Molly (17), Megan (11), and Michael (7).
 
 
Kristen (Beach) Huntington, a 1997 graduate of Pine Tree High School in Longview, Texas, was one of the most talented athletes in Malone history, playing four years of basketball from 1997-2001, two seasons of tennis (99-00), and two seasons of soccer (00-01).
 
On the hardwood, Huntington appeared in 106 career games and scored 1,704 career points, the fourth-most in school history. She also ranks sixth all-time with 245 steals, and 11th all-time with 589 career rebounds. A four-time All-Conference selection, Huntington added 214 career assists, and 52 blocked shots.
 
Huntington averaged a team-high 14.4 points as a freshman in 1997-98, setting the stage for a remarkable four-year career. As a sophomore, she tossed in 16.6 points an outing and was named First Team All-AMC, First Team NCCAA All-East Region, and a Second Team NCCAA All-American.
 
In 1999-2000, Huntington led the Pioneers to 22 wins while scoring a team-high 18.5 points per game. She was voted an NCCAA All-American and the East Region Player of the Year as well as First Team All-AMC and an NAIA Scholar Athlete. In her senior season, in which the Pioneers went 21-6, she was once again voted First Team All-Conference and NCCAA All-East Region.
 
After two years of playing tennis, Huntington joined the soccer team and made an immediate impact, scoring 13 goals. She was named Honorable Mention All-Conference and All-Ohio.
 
During her final season, she totaled 19 goals, nine assists, and 47 points and led the Pioneers to a school record 18 wins. Huntington was named All-AMC, NCCAA East Region Player of the Year, NCCAA All-American, and NAIA All-Region IX. In just two seasons, she scored 32 goals and piled up 77 points, both the fifth-highest totals in school history.
 
Huntington graduated from Malone in 2001 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sports Science. She later earned her Master's in Sport Management at the University of Florida in 2005. Kristen is now a stay-at-home-mom and lives in Des Plaines, Illinois with her husband Jeremy and children Wesley (9), Grady (6), and Sydney (4).
 
 
Brian Finney, a 1998 graduate of Triway High School, competed four years on the track & field team in the sprints, hurdles, indoor pentathlon, and outdoor decathlon and established himself as one of the best multi-eventers in program history, becoming a four-time NAIA All-American.
 
Finney qualified for the NAIA Indoor and Outdoor National Championships a total of 10 times during his outstanding career. After narrowly missing out on reaching All-American status twice during his sophomore season by finishing ninth in the 2000 indoor pentathlon and eighth in the outdoor decathlon, Finney would realize the accomplishment in his junior season.
 
At the 2001 NAIA Indoor National Championships, Finney placed sixth in the Pentathlon to earn his first All-American award. He then repeated the honor in the Outdoor meet, placing fifth in the Decathlon with 6399 points. 
 
During the 2002 campaign, Finney finished 10th in the pentathlon, but pocketed two All-American distinctions in his final collegiate meet at the Outdoor Nationals, placing sixth in the 110-hurdles (14.42) and third in the decathlon with 6836 points. In addition to being a four-time NAIA All-American, Finney was the 2001 AMC Athlete of the Meet and a multiple time NCCAA Champion in the 110 hurdles and the decathlon.
 
To this day, Finney remains the school record holder in the pentathlon (3559) and he ranks second in the decathlon (6836), trailing only Hall of Famer Mark McClure by just 27 points. Finney also stands among the top-10 in the 55-meter hurdles (7.59, 2nd), 110 hurdles (14.14, 2nd), 60 hurdles (8.22, 4th), 55 meters (6.59, 7th), 400 hurdles (54.86, 9th), indoor long jump (21'6.5", 9th), and indoor triple jump (40'11.5", 9th).
 
Finney graduated from Malone in 2002 with a Bachelor's Degree in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences and later earned his Master's in Education from the University of Akron in 2008. He is currently a teacher at Tusky Valley High School. Brian is married to Tanya (McQueen), a 2018 Malone Athletics Inductee. The two live in Navarre, Ohio with their four children: Zane (9), Piper (7), Cortland (4) and Brock (2).

 
Joy (Wilkinson) Plumley, a 1999 graduate of Lincolnview High School, was a four-year point guard on the women's basketball team from 1999-2003. She started all 118 games during her time at Malone.
 
In her first year, Plumley set the school record for assists in a season (228) while leading the AMC and ranking third in the NAIA with 7.1 assists per game. She added 94 steals and was named to the AMC All-Freshmen Team for her rookie performance. Plumley continued to produce during her sophomore season, totaling 206 assists and 106 steals on her way to earning Honorable Mention All-AMC accolades.
 
Then during her junior season in 2001-2002, Plumley guided the Pioneers to a 24-7 record and their first and only NAIA National Championship Tournament appearance, again surpassing 200 assists and 100 steals. She repeated as an All-Conference honoree and was voted NCCAA Second Team All-Region.
 
Plumley averaged a career-high 7.6 points per game and made 46 three-pointers during her senior season in which she also collected 191 assists and 107 steals. She was once again named All-AMC and NCCAA All-East Region.
 
Over her four-year career, Plumley accumulated a school record 830 assists – 300 more than the next closest athlete. She also totaled a school record 411 steals, which at the time of her graduation were the most in NAIA Division II history. Plumley also contributed 688 career points and 334 rebounds while helping the Pioneers to 79 wins in four seasons.
 
Plumley graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Malone in 2003. She then went on to earn her MBA from the college in 2006. Plumley is now the Director of Operations at Brahler's Cleaning & Restoration in Massillon. Joy and her husband Michael reside in Canton with their children, Mason (9) and Annaston (8).
 
 
Ray Weisenbarger, a 2002 graduate of Troy Christian High School, was a six-time NAIA All-American thrower, competing for three seasons on the Malone track & field team.
 
Weisenbarger earned his first All-American honors during the 2003 NAIA Outdoor National Championships where he finished sixth-place in the discus. In 2004, he captured his second All-American honor with a second-place finish in the shot put at the Indoor National Championships.
 
Weisenbarger's crowning achievement came at the 2004 Outdoor National meet where became the 16th Pioneer in program history to win an individual National title, claiming first place in the shot put with a personal-best throw of 53'5" – two feet better than second place. He would add a fifth-place finish in the discus during the same meet.
 
In 2005, he placed fifth in the indoor weight throw (55'6.5") and fourth in the discus (167'10") at the outdoor Nationals. As of 2019, Weisenbarger still ranks second all-time at Malone in the outdoor shot put, third in the indoor shot put and the weight throw, fourth in the discus, and eighth in the hammer throw.
 
Weisenbarger graduated from Malone in 2006 with a Bachelor's Degree in Adult Fitness. He then earned his Master's in Education in 2007 at the University of Akron where he competed for one season. Ray is now self-employed and living in Orlando, Florida with his wife Charity (Light), a 2006 Malone graduate. He is the proud father of three daughters, Brynn (16), Violet (4), and Ravyn (1).
 
 
Derek Deardorff, a 2005 graduate of Kenton High school, played four seasons of football for the Pioneers and is regarded as one of the most productive wide receivers in program history.
 
In four seasons, Deardorff caught 165 passes for 2,838 yards, and a school-record 32 touchdowns. He helped lead the Pioneers to three straight NCCAA Victory Bowls in 2006-08, including Malone's only ever postseason win in the 2007 Victory Bowl.
 
Following a breakout sophomore season in which he was named Second Team All-AMC, Deardorff came on strong during his junior season, totaling 60 receptions for a school record 1,118 yards and 13 touchdowns. In the 45-17 Victory Bowl triumph over Geneva, Deardorff totaled 133 yards receiving and scored two touchdowns.
 
In his 2008 senior season, Deardorff set new school records in receptions (69), receiving yards (1,155), and receiving touchdowns (14), all three of which were never broken. He was named First Team All-AMC and became just the fifth NAIA All-American in program history.
 
Deardorff graduated from Malone in 2009 with a Bachelor's Degree in Community Health. He later earned his MBA from Tabor College and a Master's in Human Resource Management from the University of Hawaii. Derek currently works as an Advisor and Real Estate Agent. He and his wife Alicia live in Phoenix, Arizona.
 

Todd Clark, who coached the Malone women's soccer team from 1999-2005 and the men's team from 2003-2005, is this year's recipient of the Meritorious Service Award.
 
Clark posted an 18-36-1 record while doing double duties coaching the men's team, but found the bulk of his success coaching the women, leading the Pioneers to by far their best stretch in the 22-year history of the program.
 
Clark became the women's head coach midway through the 1999 season, inheriting an 0-6-1 team that finished 12-4 down the stretch and placed third in NCCAA National Championships. He then led the Pioneers to a fifth-place finish in 2000 and then back-to-back American Mideast Championships, following an 18-3-1 season in 2001 and an 18-3-2 record in 2002.
 
His 2002 team went on to win the NCCAA National Championship, the first and only such title in the history of the program. A year later, Malone made its first-ever appearance in the NAIA National Tournament. In his final season in 2005, Clark led Malone to a fourth-place finish in the NCCAA.
 
Altogether, Clark posted a 103-35-13 record across seven seasons. His teams produced numerous All-Conference, All-Region, NCCAA All-Americans, Scholar Athletes, Academic All-Americans, and now four Malone Hall of Famers.
 
Clark was a three-year starter on the Malone men's soccer team in the early 90s and he graduated from the college in 1994 with a degree in Education. He earned his Master's in Sport Science from Ashland University. Clark is currently the head women's soccer coach at Canisius College where he has been the last five seasons. Todd and his wife Heather are the parents of Nate (24) and Halle (23).