Theresa Yingling Plunkett, Alter Class of 1982 Theresa Yingling Plunkett was successful in basketball and track at Alter. In basketball, she was a District 15 All Star, a Journal Herald All Star and a Greater Dayton League 1st team all-star in her junior and senior years while earning 1st Team All-Ohio honors in 1982. Theresa was a member of the District Championship basketball teams as a sophomore and senior. Her basketball career at Alter culminated in becoming the second woman to join the 1000 Point Club, scoring 1050! In track, she was the Most Outstanding Field Event Performer in 1980 and MVP in 1982, becoming the District Champion high jumper and state qualifier in 1981. She graduated with 7 varsity letters and was named the Gerald R. Bart Award winner. Theresa went on to the University of Dayton where she was named to the Freshman All-American team and reached the Division II Final Four her sophomore year. As a junior at UD she scored her 1000th point and is still the #5 all time leading scorer in women’s basketball at UD with 1,413 total points.
Andrea D’Innocenzo, Alter Class of 1992
Graduating from Alter with 10 varsity letters and being voted “Most Athletic” in her senior class, the soccer and basketball standout continued on in college with her greatest strength, softball, at the University of Connecticut. While at UConn, she was the Big East Conference Rookie of the Year in 1992, Player of the Year in 1995, was voted the Outstanding Senior Athlete at UConn and was an NCAA All-American in 1993 and 1995. For three consecutive years, Andrea was 1st team All-Big East Conference, All-Northeast Region, All-New England and All-East Coast. In 1993, she took part in the Women’s College World Series. Andrea also spent four years playing in the Women’s Professional Softball League where she was named to the All-Star Team in 1998 and 1999 and finished her career ranked in the Top 10 in 6 different offensive categories. Additionally, Andrea spent a season in Parma, Italy playing professionally as well. After completing her Masters at Clark University, she has returned to her under-graduate alma mater, the University of Connecticut, where she is in her 5th year as Assistant Softball Coach.
Jerry Rudzinski, Alter Class of 1994 As an Alter Knight football player, Jerry was 1st Team All-GCL in 1992 and 1993, and earned 1st team All-Ohio honors both years. He was named MVP his junior year, and earned AP Ohio Defensive Player of the Year and Greater Catholic League Player of the Year honors; additionally, he was named to the Schutt and BlueChip All-American Teams. Jerry also lettered in basketball for three years helping win a regional championship that took Alter to the Division II Final Four in 1993. As a senior, he won the Student Athlete Award from the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame and earned a full athletic scholarship to Ohio State University. Jerry was a starting linebacker with OSU for 3 years and a team captain in 1998. He played in a Rose Bowl, a Citrus Bowl and 2 Sugar Bowls. As part of Buckeye teams that won two Big 10 titles and finished #2 in the country in 1996 and 1998, he was a 4 year letter winner, 4 time Academic All Big Ten and 2 time GTE Academic All-American. Jerry’s class ended with a 43-7 career record, currently the highest winning class ever at OSU and he went on to sign as a free agent with the Cleveland Browns in April 1999.
Special Athletic Recognition 1987 Men’s Soccer Team Ending the regular season with a record of 13 wins, 3 losses and 2 ties, the team then proceeded to win 8 straight tournament games to win the first state championship in Alter history. With an overall season record of 21-3-2, the team allowed only 2 goals while scoring 16, and recorded 6 shutouts during the state tournament run.
Team members are: (Front Row) John Sammon (Capt.), Steve Reichman, Dan O’Brien (Capt.), Ben Pickrel (Capt.), Marc Frient (Capt), Tom Connolly. (Middle Row) Bob Ellis, Jeff McRaven, Joe Shelby, David Thesing, Kevin Bonanno, John Leff, Ore Mahoney, Terry Graham. (Back Row) Head Coach, Roy Bohaboy, Mark Schuermann, Ethan Cox, Andy Gerdeman, Steve Zimmer, Tom Muzechuk, Nick Seubert, Drew Fusnecker, Assistant Coach Bob Ellis. (Not Pictured) Mark Holton
Theresa Yingling Plunkett was successful in basketball and track at Alter. In basketball, she was a District 15 All Star, a Journal Herald All Star and a Greater Dayton League 1st team all-star in her junior and senior years while earning 1st Team All-Ohio honors in 1982. Theresa was a member of the District Championship basketball teams as a sophomore and senior. Her basketball career at Alter culminated in becoming the second woman to join the 1000 Point Club, scoring 1050! In track, she was the Most Outstanding Field Event Performer in 1980 and MVP in 1982, becoming the District Champion high jumper and state qualifier in 1981. She graduated with 7 varsity letters and was named the Gerald R. Bart Award winner. Theresa went on to the University of Dayton where she was named to the Freshman All-American team and reached the Division II Final Four her sophomore year. As a junior at UD she scored her 1000th point and is still the #5 all time leading scorer in women’s basketball at UD with 1,413 total points.
Graduating from Alter with 10 varsity letters and being voted “Most Athletic” in her senior class, the soccer and basketball standout continued on in college with her greatest strength, softball, at the University of Connecticut. While at UConn, she was the Big East Conference Rookie of the Year in 1992, Player of the Year in 1995, was voted the Outstanding Senior Athlete at UConn and was an NCAA All-American in 1993 and 1995. For three consecutive years, Andrea was 1st team All-Big East Conference, All-Northeast Region, All-New England and All-East Coast. In 1993, she took part in the Women’s College World Series. Andrea also spent four years playing in the Women’s Professional Softball League where she was named to the All-Star Team in 1998 and 1999 and finished her career ranked in the Top 10 in 6 different offensive categories. Additionally, Andrea spent a season in Parma, Italy playing professionally as well. After completing her Masters at Clark University, she has returned to her under-graduate alma mater, the University of Connecticut, where she is in her 5th year as Assistant Softball Coach.
As an Alter Knight football player, Jerry was 1st Team All-GCL in 1992 and 1993, and earned 1st team All-Ohio honors both years. He was named MVP his junior year, and earned AP Ohio Defensive Player of the Year and Greater Catholic League Player of the Year honors; additionally, he was named to the Schutt and BlueChip All-American Teams. Jerry also lettered in basketball for three years helping win a regional championship that took Alter to the Division II Final Four in 1993. As a senior, he won the Student Athlete Award from the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame and earned a full athletic scholarship to Ohio State University. Jerry was a starting linebacker with OSU for 3 years and a team captain in 1998. He played in a Rose Bowl, a Citrus Bowl and 2 Sugar Bowls. As part of Buckeye teams that won two Big 10 titles and finished #2 in the country in 1996 and 1998, he was a 4 year letter winner, 4 time Academic All Big Ten and 2 time GTE Academic All-American. Jerry’s class ended with a 43-7 career record, currently the highest winning class ever at OSU and he went on to sign as a free agent with the Cleveland Browns in April 1999.
Ending the regular season with a record of 13 wins, 3 losses and 2 ties, the team then proceeded to win 8 straight tournament games to win the first state championship in Alter history. With an overall season record of 21-3-2, the team allowed only 2 goals while scoring 16, and recorded 6 shutouts during the state tournament run.