The 2011class of the Rutgers-Camden Hall of Fame features its 2006 national championship softball team, Tameka Jackson (a track All-American in the 100-meter dash in 2004 and 2005), Reggie Owens (the second-leading scorer in men’s basketball history) and Fran Dickson (a record-setting rebounder who led the basketball program to its first two titles with Delaware Valley Conference championships in the late 1950’s and early 1960s).
Rutgers-Camden started its Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005 and holds inductions every other year.
The inaugural Hall of Fame class in 2005 featured three-sport star Tara Harris (basketball, softball, tennis), baseball and basketball player Gar Miller, former Rutgers-Camden Dean of Students, Associate Provost and golf coach Barry Millett, basketball stars Ray Pace and Karla Robinson, former Athletic Director and basketball coach Wilbur “Pony” Wilson and the 1977 men’s soccer team, which played in the NAIA national tournament and finished sixth in the country.
The second class of the Hall of Fame in 2007 featured baseball great John “Rocky” Gianvito, who also played basketball and soccer, basketball all-time leading scorers Terry Cole and Bill Bramble and the sibling duo of basketball stars Cetshwayo and Kamilah Byrd.
The third class in 2009 featured the late soccer star Pat Baldiserra, 1,000-point basketball scorer and baseball star Joe Bretschneider, two-time track All-American hurdler Matt Collins, former softball pitching great Sarah O’Malley and the 2002-03 women’s basketball team which became the first program in school history to earn a New Jersey Athletic Conference championship and NCAA berth.
The 2011 class will swell the Rutgers-Camden Athletic Hall of Fame to 18 individuals and three teams.
2011 RUTGERS-CAMDEN ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME
DICKSON, FRAN (1957-61 basketball, 1958, 1960 baseball, 1961 golf) – A prolific rebounder, Fran Dickson was a four-year basketball letterman who led the Pioneers to their first two conference titles in program history, winning the 1959-60 and 1960-61 Delaware Valley Conference championships.
In an era where many of the rebounding records have been lost to time, Dickson’s senior year has been recorded and stands as a testimony to his stellar work off the boards. During the 1960-61 campaign he set the all-time Rutgers College of South Jersey record by averaging an amazing 19.8 rebounds per game. Nobody else has averaged more than 13.1 rebounds in a season.
While only playing a 16-game schedule, Dickson recorded 317 rebounds which would translate to nearly 500 rebounds in the current era of 25-game schedules. Along the way, Dickson set the single-game rebounding record of 31 against Juniata on March 4, 1961. That total broke his own program mark of 30 rebounds set against Eastern Baptist on Jan. 9 of that season.
A basketball force from his freshman season, Dickson notched his career high of 29 points against Susquehanna in 1958. He finished his Rutgers-Camden career with 838 points. He played 71 career basketball games, never missed a game for injury or illness, and served as basketball co-captain during a senior season which featured 14 double-doubles. He averaged 14.4 points and 19.8 rebounds as a senior, never scoring less than nine points or grabbing less than 14 rebounds. He had eight games of 20 or more rebounds, giving him eight spots out of the top 20 all-time for Rutgers-Camden.
In addition to ranking among the national rebounding leaders as a senior, Dickson earned First Team All-Delaware Valley Conference and Second Team All-Philadelphia Area honors. He was named the Philadelphia Sports Writers Player of the Week after collecting 28 points and 50 rebounds in two games. He capped his collegiate career by earning team Most Valuable Player honors and was named Rutgers-Camden’s Outstanding Athlete of the Year in 1961.
On the baseball diamond, his fondest memory was of a come-from-behind victory against Philadelphia Pharmacy College when he had three hits, three runs, a home run and four RBIs late in the game during Rutgers-Camden's Delaware Valley Conference Championship season in 1960. In 1961, he was literally recruited off the baseball field to play on the golf team one day and found himself teeing up against Temple on the next day.
Dickson graduated from Pitman High School, earned a BA from Rutgers-Camden in 1961, and received his MA from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1983. Now retired, he served as a Financial Services Managing Director in the New York City and Washington, D.C. areas. He now resides in Kennett Square, Penn. with his wife Aurora and has three married children, Debi, Fran, Pamela, and eight grandchildren.
JACKSON, TAMEKA (2002-2005 Track, 2001 Cross Country) –Tameka Jackson was a two-time All-American in the 100 meter dash during her four-year career with the Rutgers University-Camden outdoor track program. Jackson, who also ran cross country during her freshman season in 2001, joined the track program later that scholastic year and was named the Lady Raptors’ Most Valuable Player in each of her four seasons from 2002-2005.
Jackson became the first Rutgers-Camden female to qualify for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2004 and she ended up finishing eighth nationally to earn All-American honors. She repeated that accomplishment with another eighth-place finish in 2005 to cap her career as a two-time All-American.
Jackson collected numerous Rutgers-Camden track records during her career, while adding many accomplishments in both the New Jersey Athletic Conference and ECAC Championships.
During her 2002 freshman season, Jackson finished second in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the NJAC meet. She also played a key role on the Lady Raptors’ conference championship 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams to earn NJAC First Team honors in both events. As a sophomore, she earned NJAC Second Team honors (second place) in the 100-meter dash and on the 4x100 relay team. She helped Rutgers-Camden finish third in the 4x100 to earn NJAC Honorable Mention in 2004 and capped her career in 2005 with NJAC Second Team honors in the 4x100-meter relay and both the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Her performance in that meet led earned her honors as the Outstanding Female Track Athlete at the NJAC Championships.
Jackson also helped Rutgers-Camden finish second in the 4x100 relay at the 2002 ECAC Championships and added a brilliant individual performance at the 2004 ECAC meet, finishing second in the 100-meter dash and third in the 200-meter dash.
A former star at Sterling High School, Jackson holds eight Rutgers-Camden track records, including individual marks in the 100-meter dash (12.04, set at the NCAA Championships on May 27, 2005), the 100-yard dash (11.49 from the Albright Invitational, April 10, 2002) and the 200-meter dash (25.02 at the ECAC Championships, May 15, 2004). Jackson also anchored five record-setting Rutgers-Camden relay teams: the 4x100 meters (48.13, Spiked and Psyched Last Chance Meet, May 18, 2005), the 4x110 yard (50.50, Albright Invitational, April 10, 20002), the 4x200 meters (1:43.59, Penn Relays, April 26, 2002), the 4x400 meters (3:59.69, NJAC Championships, May 4, 2002) and the 4x440 yards (4:24.89, Albright Invitational, April 10, 2002).
A stellar student as well, Jackson received NJAC Academic Honorable Mention in both 2004 and 2005. She graduated Rutgers-Camden in 2005 with a BA in Criminal Justice and added her Master’s in Criminal Justice in 2008. Jackson works as a police officer for the City of Philadelphia.
OWENS, REGINALD “REGGIE” (1981-1985 basketball) – Reginald “Reggie Owens carved out one of the greatest basketball careers in the history of Rutgers University-Camden.
A stellar athlete out of Philadelphia’s University City High School, Owens became Rutgers-Camden’s all-time leader in games played, appearing in 100 contests from 1981-85. He ranks second on the program’s all-time career charts with 1,545 points, 96 blocked shots, 610 field goals, 325 free throws and 480 free throw attempts, while placing third with 724 rebounds. He also is fourth in field goal attempts (1,115) and in field goal percentage (54.7) for all players with the minimum of 250 attempts. He ranks seventh in career rebounding average (7.2 rpg) and 11th in scoring (15.5 ppg) for all players with a minimum of 35 career games played.
Owens’ name also appears throughout the program’s single-season charts, including twice for the most points (505, the ninth-highest total, in 1982-83 and 453 points, 14th, in 1983-84). He had 229 rebounds in 1982-83 (the 10th highest season total) and 189 in 1983-84 (22nd), averaged 19-4 points in 1982-83 (18th) and 18.1 points in 1983-84 (24th), had an 8.8 rebounding average in 1982-83 (16th) and collected 35 blocked shots in 1984-85 (fourth). His 58.9 percent field goal percentage in 1983-84 (175-for-297) is the third-highest single-season total in program history for all players with a minimum of 100 attempts.
A three-time team captain at Rutgers-Camden (1982-83, 1983-84 and 1984-85), Owens captured team MVP honors in each of those seasons. He also was honored with the Samuel Strauss Memorial Award as the team’s Most Dedicated Player for the 1982-83 season. That same year he notched his career highs of 36 points against Eastern (Jan. 15, 1983)and 17 rebounds against Spring Garden (Jan. 18, 1983) and captured Rutgers-Camden’s Male Athlete of the Year award.
During the 1983-84 campaign, Owens was named All-New Jersey State Athletic Conference First Team, received ECAC New York/New Jersey Metro First Team honors, was named to the Philadelphia Area Small College All-Star Team and was honored as the Player of the Week by the Philadelphia Sports Writers.
During his senior season, Owens was named to the New Jersey College/University All-Star Team.
Owens received his BA in Social Work from Rutgers-Camden in May, 1986. He now works as a team leader with the Glen Mills Schools and as a Real Estate Proprietor.
2006 SOFTBALL TEAM – The team that set the gold standard for all others to follow, the 2006 Scarlet Raptors became the only national champions in Rutgers-Camden history. Led by senior pitcher Michelle Schlichtig, who earned her second straight NFCA First Team All-America honor, Rutgers-Camden set program marks with a 47-5 record and a 29-game winning streak. Coach Carl Taylor and his assistants were named the NFCA Div. III National Coaching Staff of the Year among countless honors which included four New Jersey Athletic Conference First Team players – Schlichtig, Mo Baney, Kathleen Dreitlein and Autumn Millett – and a pair of NJAC Honorable Mention stars in Jayme Feriod and Amber Parker. Taylor also was named the NJAC Coach of the Year. The numerous season highlights included four no-hitters – two of them perfect games – by Schlichtig, a perfect 18-0 regular-season NJAC record, championships of the NJAC and NCAA Eastern Regionals and a 3-2 victory over top-ranked and two-time defending champion St. Thomas to win the NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
In addition to Schlichtig, the team also included the only other First Team All-American in Rutgers-Camden softball history. Millett captured that honor a year later, during her senior season in 2007.
Members of the team included Baney, Dreitlein, Feriod, Millett, Parker, Schlichtig, Valeri Bohn, Megan Farrell, Alaina Giles, Julie Grochowski, Pam Kienzlen, Mandi Moore, Nancy Nkumsah, Heather Pohorely, Natalie Powell, Brittany Sports, Therese Taraschi, Heather Taylor and Marissa Van Cleef. In addition to Head Coach Carl Taylor, the coaching staff included Celeste Chinappi, Megan Johnston, Tom Tobin and Brian Wolverton.
Media Contact: Mike Ballard
856-225-6198
E-mail: mballard@camden.rutgers.edu