Oct. 9, 2008

ORONO, Maine--Former ice hockey standout David Capuano and track and field Olympian Viktoriya Rybalko highlight a list of six inductees for the 2008 University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame Induction ceremony will be held on Sunday, Oct. 26 at the Black Bear Inn starting at 12 noon. John Smist, sports anchor at WLBZ Channel 2 in Bangor, will emcee the event. Tickets are available for the event by calling the Black Bear ticket office at 207-581-2327.

Capuano '90, an All-American in 1988 and 1989, ranks fourth on Maine's all-time scoring list. He will be joined by Rybalko '03, baseball's Russ Quetti '78, administrator Dr. Rome Rankin, Norm Tardif '67 of the football and baseball teams, and cross country and track and field standout Dereck Treadwell '98. The six will be inducted during homecoming weekend, Oct. 25-26, 2008.

Capuano played ice hockey for Maine from 1986-1989. He was Maine's first two-time All-American and one of just seven players to be named an All-American more than once. He was one of just two players in Maine history to be a two-time finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the top collegiate hockey player in the nation. He is a two-time Hockey East First Team selection and a two-time All-New England selection. His 85 points during the 1987-88 season is tied for the third most points in a single season in Maine history. He was part of Maine's first two NCAA Frozen Four teams.

Rybalko, a native of the Ukraine, was a 10-time America East Champion where she set three conference records. She currently holds 10 Maine track and field records. She won six New England titles. Rybalko was named an All-American in the long jump after placing second in the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She also received the 2003 M Club Dean Smith Award as top scholar-athlete at Maine. Recently, she competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. She has been ranked as the 19th best long jumper in the world.

Quetti was Maine's starting shortstop from 1975-78 and captain of Maine's 1978 team. Maine played in the NCAA Regionals in 1975 and 1976, including an appearance in the College World Series in 1976. Quetti is one of just five players in Maine history to be named to the College World Series All-Tournament Team. Quetti led Maine in batting in 1977 and 1978. Quetti was a two-time All-Yankee Conference selection, one of only nine Maine players to earn that honor twice in the 30-year history of the Yankee Conference as an all-sport Division I Conference.

Rankin served on the Maine faculty for 20 years as a professor of education and as Director of Athletics for 15 years. Only Harold Westerman had a longer tenure of Athletic Director. Hundreds of his former students went on to have successful coaching careers at the high school and college levels. He had a keen eye for coaching talent and the record shows that his selections, all Maine Hall of Fame members, included Jack Butterfield, Harold Westerman, Brian McCall, Ed Styrna and Woody Carville. He also coached basketball for several years and was an assistant in football for a few seasons. He was a highly successful basketball coach at Western Kentucky before arriving in Orono.

Tardif played both football and baseball for the Black Bears. Tardif is one of only four Maine athletes to earn first team All-Yankee Conference honors three or more times. He earned two All-Yankee Conference honors in football and one in baseball. He played on Maine's 1965 Tangerine Bowl team and was the team's leading receiver with four touchdown catches. Since 1951, his seven interceptions in 1965 is the second best mark in Maine football history. He was also part of Maine's 1964 College World Series baseball team.

Treadwell was a former cross country and track and field standout. He was a five time North Atlantic Conference Champion and a two-time New England Champion. Treadwell was named an All-American in 1996 when he finished 11th in the NCAA Championships in the 1,500-meters. He also placed 11th in the 1,500-meters at the 1996 Olympic Trials. He set nine school records, five of which still stand today. Treadwell is currently competing in Duathlons. He is representing the United States in the 2008 ITU Duathlon World Championships in Remini, Italy, Sept. 26-28, 2008. Treadwell is currently the head men's cross country coach at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y.

With the support of the M Club, the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame was initiated 22 years ago to honor Maine's finest athletes and administrators, and since then 145 people have been inducted, including six this year. The Hall of Fame is just one of many services supported to the University by the M Club.

The criteria for selection into the Hall of Fame is achievement in the athletic program, but other factors are also considered. They include character, leadership and integrity, as well as non-athletic service to the University community and achievement later in life.

The six will be honored at Homecoming Weekend on Oct. 25 and 26, 2008. The honorees will be recognized at the football game on Saturday, Oct. 25 against Northeastern and at the men's ice hockey game that same day against the Huskies as well. They will be formally inducted in a ceremony at the Black Bear Inn in Orono on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008, at 12 noon. Tickets may be purchased all of the aforementioned events by calling the Maine ticket office at 207-581-2327.

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