Richard Stockton College held its 2013 Stockton Athletics Hall of Fame dinner in the Campus Center Event Room on October 4. Tara Barker '06 (softball), John Epley '04 (men's soccer), Leland Griffin '95 (track & field), Mike McAlarnen '03 (men's soccer) and Whitney Verduin '06 (volleyball) were the five individuals inducted into Stockton's fifth Hall of Fame Class.

The program began with the inductions of Epley and Verduin. Epley was a 2002 NSCAA All-American, NSCAA All-Region First Team selection as well as an NJAC First Team honoree that season. He is just one of three Ospreys to ever score 20 goals in a season and ranks third all time in goals (46), fourth in points (114) and fifth in games played (95). Epley also was a member of the 2001 national championship squad. Epley thanked all three of his coaches, including Stockton head coach Jeff Haines, his high school coach and his dad. He commented that" I was as competitive as I was because of my older brother Bill", calling him his hero. He called the honor "the ultimate highlight of his career to be inducted with his best friend McAlarnen."

Verduin, the first Stockton volleyball player to ever be inducted, was a two-time NJAC Player of the Year and 2002 NJAC Rookie of the Year as well. She is Stockton's all-time leader in kills (2,161) and aces (252) and holds the record for kills in a season (634) and ranks fourth all-time in digs (1,561). Verduin stands 19th in Division III history in kills. "I never wanted to let my teammates down," she said. "It's amazing that I wanted to be like my sister (Stockton head coach) Allison (Walker). We're both Ospreys after all this time and we both are Hall of Famers now." Walker is in the Muhlenberg Athletic Hall of Fame.

The inductions resumed after the meal with Griffin who earned a total of five All-American honors in three appearances at the NCAA Track and Field Championships. He holds the school records for the outdoor 100m and 200m and shares the indoor 55m record. Griffin was introduced by Director of Athletic Operations Jon Heck, who described Griffin as a smiling person who had an infectious personality. Griffin thanked Stockton intramural director Jim Gwathney for nominating him and said, "I got my speed from my mom. I couldn't beat her until my senior year in high school." He mentioned that Stockton "helped build my confidence and allowed me to become the man that I am today."

Mike McAlarnen, a 2002 NSCAA All-American, two-time NSCAA All-Region selection and two-time NJAC Defensive Player of the Year, is best known for his game-winning header that propelled Stockton to the 2001 national championship. He said, "it's amazing that I met John Epley as a freshman, we became national champs together and now Hall of Famers together."  McAlarnen thanked Stockton head coach Jeff Haines for his passion and commitment and said that, "you don't accomplish what we did without support from the faculty, staff and community at Stockton."

In obviously the most emotional moment of the night, Tara Barker was honored posthumously for her efforts in softball after passing away from colon cancer on August 6. Barker is the first Stockton softball player to be inducted. "She was the shining example of the combination of athletics and academics," said Heck. Her uncle Doug Barker mentioned that "Stockton was a place she could balance both. The people at Stockton made her transition from her home in California to South Jersey an exciting and challenging transformation."

Barker sustained a stress fracture in her back when she was in eighth grade and the recovery process opened her eyes to the world of physical therapy, and she knew that she wanted to pursue that field, said Doug Barker. According to her uncle "Tara lived by the 10/90 rule. 10% is what happens to you and 90% is how you react to it." She was an understated person and after graduation stayed in South Jersey until her illness forced her to return home. In a letter to Stockton after she found out that she would be inducted, Barker wrote, "I'm grateful but embarrassed by being singled out for this honor."

Barker is the all-time leader at Stockton in doubles (42), and ranks third in hits (147) and walks (46) plus fifth in home runs (7), seventh in RBI (65), eighth in runs (60) and ninth in career hitting (.349). She was a four-time NJAC all-conference selection (First Team in 2004, Second Team in 2003 and 2006 and Honorable Mention in 2005). Barker helped turn the softball program around as Stockton has had just one season below 20 wins since her arrival in 2002. In addition, she graduated from Stockton with her degree in physical therapy in 2006 and became the first person alphabetically ever to receive a Doctor of Physical Therapy from Stockton in 2008.