Staten Island, NY – Wagner College Athletic Director Walt Hameline has announced that six former student-athletes will comprise the 2016 Seahawk Hall of Fame class: Mike Cerminaro (Class of 2000, Baseball), Melody Javaheri (Class of 2000, Volleyball), Mike Jones (Class of 1989, Football), Tom Moles, (Class of 1965, Football), Janet Sobieski (Class of 2000, Women's Lacrosse), and Ryan Tobin (Class of 1994, Football).
 
These six former Seahawk greats were selected on the merit of their athletic prowess and will be inducted on October 8, 2016 when the Green & White football team hosts Columbia at 6:00 pm. The Class of 2016 will be formally inducted at an afternoon ceremony in the VIP Room on the Spiro Sports Center's second floor, before being publicly recognized at halftime.
 
The Hall of Fame, in 2016, will enjoy its 26^th year of nominating, selecting and displaying those Wagner athletes who have distinguished themselves as extraordinary representatives of the Green & White. With the addition of these six individuals, the number of members in the Wagner Hall of Fame will grow to 166, each representing the best among the thousands of student-athletes who have dedicated themselves to competition in the name of Wagner College.
 
Mike Cerminaro ('02, BA, Sociology)
Baseball (1999-2001)
Mike Cerminaro played an integral role in his team becoming the first Wagner team in any sport to qualify for NCAA postseason competition in the Division I era when the Seahawks captured the 2000 Northeast Conference (NEC) Baseball Tournament Championship. The speedy infielder remains the Seahawks' all-time career leader with 66 doubles and also ranks in the top five in RBI's (2nd-147), assists (T-3rd-432), hits (4th-214), and triples (T-4th-8). The Howell, NJ native, who gains entry into the Hall of Fame in his first season of eligibility, also ranks in the Wagner Career Top 10 in batting average (6th-.344), home runs (26), and at-bats (10th-624). As a junior in 2000, Cerminaro set the Seahawks' single-season record for hits (82), runs (61), and doubles (28), while leading the NEC in each of these categories. In addition, his 56 RBI's in 2000 ranks second on the Seahawks' all-time single-season list while his 203 total at bats that season ranks eighth. While leading the Green & White to the 2000 NEC title and subsequent NCAA appearance, Cerminaro earned First-Team All-NEC honors. In addition to his prowess on the baseball diamond, Cerminaro was a three-year member of the Seahawks' football team where he excelled at both wide receiver and quarterback. Following his decorated collegiate career, Cerminaro signed a professional minor league baseball contract with the Chicago Cubs and played two seasons of Class-A ball with the Boise Hawks of the Midwest League and the Daytona Cubs of the Florida State League.

Melody Javaheri (Fischer) ('00 BS, Business Administration, '03, MBA)
Volleyball (1996-1999)
Melody Javaheri has the distinction of becoming the first volleyball player in Wagner history to be voted into the Wagner Hall of Fame. The primary setter on the Seahawks' only Northeast Conference (NEC) Volleyball Championship Team in 1997, the Edmund, OK native was a three-year captain and floor general who set school records in assists (3,478), matches played (122) and games played (435). During a career which spanned from 1996 to 1999, Javaheri also finished her stellar Wagner career ranked fourth in school history in both aces (132) and digs (994 digs). Her 1,164 assists as a sophomore in 1997 are ranked No. 1 in school history while her 1,111 assists as a senior in 1999 are second, and she is the only Seahawk to ever achieve a pair of 1,000-assist seasons. As a junior, in 1997, Javaheri recorded 796 assists which rank No. 4 on the Seahawk all-time single-season list. Her 60 assists against Central Connecticut (10/4/97) are the most in a single game in school history. Regarded as an athlete who made those around her better, Javaheri's school-record 3,478 career assists are 806 more than the second-ranked player. She was a Second-Team All-NEC choice as a junior in 1998 and earned a spot on the 1997 NEC All-Tournament Team. In leading Wagner to its first, and only NEC Volleyball Championship, Javaheri played a significant role in leading the Seahawks to a pair of upsets over top-seeded Saint Francis U, first in Round 3 of the winner's bracket, and then in the title game itself (15-7, 15-5, 10-15, 15-9).

Mike Jones ('89, BS, Economics)
Football (1985-1988)
Mike Jones was one of the most dominant and durable offensive lineman in the long and rich history of Wagner football. Smart, athletic and versatile, the Matawan, NJ native was literally at the center of many of Wagner's outstanding offensive accomplishments during the mid-1980's. The starting center on the Seahawks Division III National Championship Team in 1987, he anchored an offensive line that helped pave the way for the Seahawks to set a host of school records along the way. Jones played an instrumental role in Wagner earning ECAC Championships in each of his freshman and sophomore seasons, of 1985 and 1986, respectively, followed by NCAA Playoff appearances in 1987 and 1988. A Pizza Hut Third-Team All-American in 1988, Jones was a top player during one of the most successful eras in Seahawk grid iron history. The four teams he played on combined for a 39-7 record (.847) – 1985: 9-2; 1986: 9-2; 1987: 13-1; 1988: 8-2. His offensive line coach, Mark Murray, called him "In my 35 years of coaching the offensive line, Mike Jones is, without question, the best center I ever had. 'Jonesy' made all of our line calls and his skills allowed us to use techniques and schemes that we would not have been able to employ with a less talented player at center."

Tom Moles ('65, BS, Business, H'00)
Football (1961-64) Women's Lacrosse (1997-2000)
Sobieski, who becomes the first women's lacrosse player to be voted into the Wagner Hall of Fame, was at the forefront of Wagner Women's Lacrosse as a member of the inaugural Seahawk women's lacrosse team in 1997. An extremely efficient scorer, the Long Valley, NJ native remains the only Seahawk on the All-Time Top 10 Scoring List to have a better than 50% shot-to-goal ratio as she scored on 53% of her shots, she went on to earn First-Team All-Northeast Conference honors in 1999, as a midfielder, and in 2000 on attack. Along the way, she became the first Seahawk to score 100 career goals and break the 150-point mark. Nearly 20 years after her playing career, while playing in era prior to the advancement of equipment and technology which the sport of lacrosse has enjoyed in the past 15 years, Sobieski remains one of the program's all-time statistical leaders. She ranks second in career goals (149), third in total points (177), fifth in shots (281), fourth in ground balls (143), and sixth in draw controls (113). "Janet was exactly what a coach wanted in a player," said Heather Dent, who took over as Wagner head coach prior to Sobieski's senior season of 2000. "She was a player that might be relied upon not only to score goals but to be a leader on and off the field. She was humble, unselfish, and had an undeniable spirit and joy for the game. Her exceptional play helped elevate the play of others, and she performed on a daily basis with quiet confidence and composure. Janet Sobieski is emblematic of the type of athlete that Wagner intends to foster, promote, and celebrate - athletically gifted, academically talented, and held the values of a team that she helped to create from the onset of its history."
 
Ryan Tobin ('94, BA, Sociology)
Football (1990-1993)
A four-year starter and two-year captain at middle linebacker, Ryan Tobin was one of the most dominant defensive players in the long and rich history of Wagner football. The four teams he played on amassed a combined record of 28-14 (.667) and won two ECAC Championships. As a junior in 1992, the 6-2, 220-pound native of Milford, CT led the Seahawks to a 9-2 record and the ECAC Southeast Championship. The following season, as a senior in 1993, he again led the Green & White to a 9-2 mark and to the ECAC-IFC Division I-AA Bowl. More than 20 years after the conclusion of his playing career, Tobin remains among the top two all-time in seven statistical categories. He ranks No. 1 all-time in unassisted tackles (219) and No. 2 all-time in total tackles (419). On the Wagner all-time single-season list, he ranks No. 1 in total tackles with 150 (1993), No. 1 in unassisted tackles with 99 (1993). On September 11, 1993, Tobin set the Wagner all-time record with 27 total tackles, which included a school-record 16 unassisted tackles, in leading the Seahawks to a 27-21 victory over C.W. Post.  Two weeks later, on September 25, 1993, he tied the Seahawk all-time record by recording four sacks in a 27-15 victory over Central Connecticut. "Ryan Tobin was a great player who set the tone with his attitude," said Wagner head football coach Walt Hameline. "He was equally effective in stopping the run as he was in pass coverage – just a very difficult player to match up with his tremendous athleticism and his drive. When you flipped on the film, No. 51 was always around the ball."
 
 

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