Quarterback Jake Eaton, who led the University of Maine to back-to-back NCAA playoff appearances, is among six former Black Bear standouts in the 2016 class of the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame.
Also selected for enshrinement in the 181-member hall are All-America baseball player Andy Hartung, all-conference field hockey star Margaret Henrick, wrestling figure and journalist Bob McPhee, track and field standout Johanna Riley and soccer player Edward “Ted” Woodbrey Jr., who will be inducted posthumously.
The group will be honored during a banquet and awards ceremony scheduled for Sept. 30.
The UMaine hall of fame inductees were selected for the first time this year by the M Club, which has taken over administration of the process. The individuals were approved by UMaine President Susan J. Hunter and athletic director Karlton Creech.
Eaton led the Black Bears to Atlantic 10 championships and NCAA national quarterfinals in 2001 and ’02. He was a three-year starter, setting school records for completion percentage in a season (.659, 184-for-279, in 2000) and a career (.594, 569-for-957).
In a 2001 playoff game against Northern Iowa, Eaton set five UMaine postseason passing records, with three touchdown passes, 330 yards passing, 29 completions, 42 attempts and a .659 completion percentage.
Hartung, a three-year letterman, was a first-team All-American as a senior in 1990. He hit .414, the highest season batting average in program history for a player with 200 or more at-bats. His 76 RBIs that season are second in UMaine history, his 87 hits rank fourth and his 15 home runs are sixth.
Hartung never reached the major leagues, but spent six seasons in organized professional baseball.
Henrick lettered four years and earned All-America East first-team accolades for three straight seasons. She was a National Field Hockey Coaches Association all-region first-team pick as a senior and a second-team choice as a sophomore.
The team captain was as an assistant to head coach Terry Kix for a year following graduation.
McPhee has demonstrated determination and perseverance. An outstanding wrestler for Stephens High School in Rumford, he suffered a brain stem contusion during a football scrimmage in 1976 and was left a quadriplegic, unable to speak.
McPhee, who uses a voice synthesizer, spent five years in rehabilitation, then spent a year at Husson College before transferring to UMaine. He earned a varsity letter at UMaine for his contributions to the wrestling program, as he helped wrestling coach Nick Nicolich lead the Black Bears to a 9-4 record in 1983-’84.
McPhee, who served as co-sports editor of the Maine Campus, has been a sportswriter for the Maine Sunday Telegram, Lewiston Sun Journal and the Rumford Falls Times.
Riley set UMaine records during an impressive track and field career from 1994 to 1998, captaining the outdoor team as a senior. During the 1996-’97 indoor season, she was the New England champion in the pentathlon with 3,507 points, which was a school record for 15 years.
She also once held records in the high jump, long jump, hurdles and 4×400-meter relay.
Woodbrey Jr. was a four-year letterwinner (1973-’76) in soccer and was the only UMaine player to be named twice to the All-Yankee Conference team (’73 and ’75), when he earned All-New England honors.
Woodbrey, who led the team in scoring his last three seasons, was the son of Edward Woodbrey, who lettered in baseball (1947-’49). His uncles, Hank Woodbrey and Victor Woodbrey, played baseball and basketball at UMaine in the late ’40s and early ’50s.