Gettysburg Adds Five to Hall of Athletic Honor

The 2019 Hall of Athletic Honor Class with Mike Plantholt, Lauren Frankford, Cynthia Hoenes, Jennifer White, Joe Cordova, and Chris Pryor.
The 2019 Hall of Athletic Honor Class with Mike Plantholt, Lauren Frankford, Cynthia Hoenes, Jennifer White, Joe Cordova, and Chris Pryor.

– The Gettysburg College Hall of Athletic Honor welcomed five new members into its ranks in a special induction ceremony held inside the College Union Building Ballroom as part of Homecoming Weekend on Oct 4.  
 
The Class of 2019 is as talented and outstanding as ever and features individuals that led their respective programs to a total of eight conference titles and 10 NCAA Division III Championship appearances. This year’s inductees are Joe Cordova ’97 (baseball, football), Lauren Frankford ’00 (basketball, soccer), Cynthia Hoenes Saindon ’97 (tennis), Mike Plantholt ’01 (lacrosse), and Chris Pryor ’00 (soccer).  
 
Additionally, Jennifer White Egan ’01, a 2018 Hall of Athletic Honor inductee, was recognized as part of the night’s festivities.
 
Cordova came to Gettysburg as a two-sport athlete in both football and baseball. On the gridiron, the Haddonfield, N.J., native was one of the team’s top performers in the secondary as a defensive back and totaled 143 tackles in 20 games. He helped the team post an 8-2 record in 1994. After two years playing both football and baseball, Cordova opted to focus his attention on the diamond and the decision paid dividends. When he left Gettysburg as a graduate in 1997, he held nearly every record in the book, including career marks for batting average (.406), slugging percentage (.643), games started (127), runs scored (118), hits (190), doubles (39), triples (18), home runs (12), RBI (107), and total bases (301). Cordova was a three-time All-Centennial Conference selection and was tagged All-Middle Atlantic Region Second Team in both 1996 and 1997. His .461 batting average in 1996 was the best by a Bullet in over three decades and he capped his career hitting .433 with career highs for runs (37), hits (55), doubles (13), RBI (32), and stolen bases (13) in 1997.
 
Frankford didn’t have far to travel to make her mark at Gettysburg as the Harrisburg, Pa., native and Central Dauphin High School product was a two-time All-American as a back for the women’s soccer program. She helped the Bullets rack up a total of 31 shutouts in four seasons, including a program-record tying 10 in 1998 when the team posted a microscopic goals against average of 0.86. Frankford was lauded as an all-region selection three times and garnered first-team all-conference accolades in each of her final three seasons on the pitch. She also posted 34 points in 77 career matches out of the backfield. Gettysburg lost only four conference matches during her tenure and posted a perfect 10-0 mark in 1999. The Bullets won Centennial titles in 1998 and 1999 and advanced to the NCAA playoffs three times. Frankford also competed on the women’s basketball team for three seasons, appearing in 67 games with 11 starts and totaling 381 points and 203 rebounds. She helped the basketball team to a winning record each year, including a 17-8 mark in 1997-98. Frankford went on to coach the soccer program at Lebanon Valley College for 10 years and led the Dutchmen to the program’s first NCAA appearance in 2011.
 
Hoenes remains atop the record lists for the women’s tennis program and is Gettysburg’s only CC Player of the Year, earning the award in 1997. A native of Absecon, N.J., she posted more wins on the court than any Bullet before or since, going a combined 108-27 in singles and doubles action. Hoenes was a four-time all-conference honoree, including first-team honors twice in singles (1996, 1997) and once in doubles (1997). In 1996, she went 20-3 overall in singles action and was unbeaten in doubles play at 16-0. Gettysburg rolled to its first and only Centennial Conference title with a 19-1 overall record and a perfect 10-0 mark in league competition in 1996. Hoenes capped her career by being named CC Co-Player of the Year after going a combined 28-6 and leading the Bullets to a runner-up finish in the conference.
 
Plantholt was the unquestioned top defensive player in the country by the time his four-year tenure with the Orange and Blue team ended in 2001. He was a two-time All-American, earning third team in 2000 and first-team accolades in 2001 when he was also honored with the William Stiles Award for the top defensive player in Division III. Plantholt was at the center of an incredible four-year run for the Bullets that included four Centennial titles, a 24-0 record in conference play, and four trips to the national playoffs. The run culminated with the program’s first trip to the NCAA championship game in 2001. As a senior captain, the Cockeysville, Md., native posted 50 ground balls and 43 caused turnovers in helping Gettysburg to a 16-2 record and a No. 1 national ranking. A three-time All-CC selection, Plantholt helped the Bullets post a 54-12 record during his tenure. He went into coaching right after graduation, first serving as an assistant at Muhlenberg College and Gettysburg before head jobs at Randolph-Macon College and Ohio Wesleyan University. Plantholt has led the Battling Bishops to five NCAA appearances in his nine years at the helm.
 
The men’s soccer program’s most prolific point scorer, Pryor was tabbed All-CC three times and was the CC Player of the Year in 1999. He set the still-standing standards for both career points and goals, racking up 127 and 50, respectively, during his time in orange and blue. Pryor scored at least 35 points in each of his final three seasons, including 41 on a career-high 17 goals and seven assists in 1997. That season, Pryor scored the game-winning goal in the 108th minute to beat Muhlenberg and send the Bullets into the national quarterfinals for the first time in program history. He helped steer the Bullets to three consecutive NCAA appearances and in 1999, he served as team captain as the team captured the CC title. Pryor led the CC in scoring with 38 points and was tabbed CC Player of the Year, All-CC First Team, and All-Mid-Atlantic Region in his final campaign. During his time on the soccer pitch, Pryor led Gettysburg to an incredible four-year record of 61-13-6, including 28-4-4 in conference play.
 
White put together a playing career that led to a total of seven all-conference citations for two programs at Gettysburg. In the fall, she was a three-time all-league honoree in field hockey, including first-team honors in 2000 when she led the team with 22 points. She was also named an All-American in her final year of field hockey and she led the team to three Centennial Conference titles (1997, 1998, 1999) and a pair of NCAA appearances (1997, 19998). For her career, White totaled 71 points in 75 games on the field hockey field. On the diamond, Egan became the program’s first four-time first-team all-conference selection as an outfielder. She set season records for hits, doubles, triples, and total bases in 1998, while hitting a robust .442. She finished her career with a .383 batting average to go along with 131 hits, 79 runs, 59 RBI, and 26 stolen bases in 112 games. White led the team to a conference title and an appearance in the NCAA playoffs in 1999.

Since 1978, the Orange and Blue Club has overseen the recognition of the College’s outstanding former student-athletes with selection to the Hall of Athletic Honor. With the addition of this year’s class of standout performers, 256 former Bullets have been selected for induction over the last 41 years. The five inductees were selected from a list of more than 60 candidates by the Hall of Athletic Honor Selection Committee.

This story was originally posted on the Gettysburg College Website.