TGFC - Hall of Fame Members - Class of 1997
Class of 1997 - Biographies
Mike Aquino, 1997
HIGH SCHOOL CAREER: A 1978 graduate of Baltimore County’s Parkville High School…Earned three varsity letters in gymnastics…Two-time county, regional and Maryland State Champion in the floor exercise…School and county record-holder…Captain of his team two years…First prep gymnast in Maryland High School history to perform a double-back flip in competition…KSU CAREER: Won four Varsity “K’s” in gymnastics (1979-82)…Won the 1981 and 1982 floor exercise title at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Gymnastics League (GLIGL) Championships…NCAA Eastern Regional Floor Exercise Champion in 1982…Represented Kent at the NCAA Championships…Four-time recipient of Kent’s Floor Exercise Award…Qualified for the GLIGL floor exercise finals four years…Also qualified for GLIGL finals in vault and parallel bars…Broke Kent’s floor exercise scoring record six times during his career…Two-year captain…Earned his BBA in marketing (1982) and his MBA (1985) from Kent…Member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity…Received the Order of the Omega for outstanding service…POST KSU CAREER: Continues to compete, judge, and coach gymnastics…Has competed six times at the NGJA Metro Invitational, U.S. Naval Academy…PERSONAL: Full name is Michael Dominick Aquino…Born on September 1, 1960, in Baltimore, Maryland…Currently serves as a Senior Staffing Consultant for the Strategic Resource Group…Also serves on Kent State University’s National Alumni Board.
Brian Bridges, 1997
HIGH SCHOOL CAREER: Graduated from Whitehall Yearling High School in 1987 after earning four letters in golf…Was a four-time All-District selection…Four-time Ohio All-State Team member…Won Ohio State High School Tournament as a junior…KSU CAREER: Won collegiate golf’s equivalent to the Heisman Trophy when he was presented the prestigious Ben Hogan Award in 1991 as the nation’s top male golfer based on academics and athletics…Named to eh NCAA All-American Golf Team in 1990 and 1991…Four-year letterman (1988-91)…All-Mid-American 1990-1991…Two-time All-District IV selection…Won Kent’s Phi Epsilon Kappa and Merle Wagoner Awards as a senior…One of only eight collegiate golfers selected to represent the United States against Japan in 1991…Earned his Bachelor of Business Management degree from Kent…POST KSU CAREER: Coached the Bloom Carroll High School Team (1993-95)…Set Pine Hill Golf Course record (62 on a par 72) in 1992…Served as the Golf Professional at Licking Springs…PERSONAL: Is married to the former Elizabeth Ann Wolfe…Currently is the owner/general manager of the Licking Springs Trout and Golf Club in Newark, Ohio…Three-time Ohio Public Links Champion (1987, 1988, 1990).
Marty Kane, 1997
HIGH SCHOOL CAREER: Graduated from Cleveland’s St. Ignatius High School in 1956…Earned three varsity letters in baseball…Was named to the All-West Senate and Plain Dealer All-Scholastic teams in 1956…KSU CAREER: Three year letterwinner for the Golden Flashes under Matt Resick and “Moose” Paskert (1957-60)…Was named to the All-Mid-American Conference First Team as a pitcher in both his junior and senior seasons (1959-60)…Captained the Flashes as a senior…Led the MAC in strikeouts in 1959 and 1960…Was the MAC’s earned run average leader in 1959…Holds the distinction of averaging more than one strikeout per inning pitched during his collegiate career…Registered 200 strikeouts at Kent…Awarded the 1960 Merle Wagner Award…Earned his bachelor’s degree in education in 1960…POST KSU CAREER: Played in the Boston Red Sox minor league organization for Olean, New York, Waterloo, Iowa and Winston-Salem…Earned his M.Ed from Ohio University in 1965…Is currently a doctoral candidate in Educational Administration at Kent…Retired after 31 years in education, including serving as the principal at Kent Roosevelt High School from 1980-91…Is currently serving as the Director of the Educational Administration program at Ursuline College in Cleveland…Has been the head baseball coach at Parma Normandy High School since 1992 posting a record of 76-46…Chosen to coach the Ohio High School All Star Series in 1992…Served as president of the Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators (1983-85)…PERSONAL: He and his wife, Kathleen, have three children: Jennifer, Kathleen and David.
Jim Loveless, 1997
HIGH SCHOOL CAREER: A 1987 graduate of Shelby High School where he earned eight varsity letters in track, cross country, and basketball…Two-time All-Ohio selection in cross country – placing eighth in the state as a junior and sixth as a senior…Led Shelby to a second and third place State Division I cross country finishes…All-Ohioan in track, placing fifth, as a senior…Set 3200 meter record with a 9.26…Three-time county champion…KSU CAREER: An eight-time letterwinner for the Flashes…Mid-American Conference cross country champion and Ohio Athlete of the Year in 1991…Earned All-America honors by placing 19th at the 1991 NCAA Cross Country Championship…Three-time first team All-MAC performer…Won both the 5,000 and 10,000 meter titles in track…Voted MAC Track Athlete of the Year in 1991…District IV Cross Country Champion in 1991…Set Kent records in the indoor (14:19.63) and outdoor (14:28.2) 5,000 meters and the outdoor 10,000 meters (29:37.0)…Five-time All-MAC Academic Team selection…Awarded an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship in 1991…Earned his BBA in finance in 1992 and his MBA in 1994…POST KSU CAREER: Placed 13th at the 1991 World Cross Country Trials…PERSONAL: Is currently serving as a contract coordinator for SummaCare in Akron…he and his wife, the former Karyn Pomfrey, also a former Kent track and cross country standout, reside in Cuyahoga Falls.
Jim McDonald, 1997
HIGH SCHOOL CAREER: Graduated from Newtown High School in New York, New York in 1953…Won two varsity letters in basketball for coach Bruno Valvano…COLLEGIATE CAREER: Attended Bowling Green State University where he earned three varsity letters in basketball (1955-59)…Team captain in his junior and senior seasons…Twice selected as the Catholic Athlete of the Year at Bowling Green…Earned his bachelor of education degree in health and physical education from Bowling Green…Received his Masters degree in physical science from Eastern Michigan…KSU CAREER: Came to Kent in 1983 after serving 12 seasons as an assistant coach under Bob Nichols at Toledo…In 10 seasons, he guided the Golden Flashes to three Mid-American Conference Championship Game appearances and three National Invitation Tournament berths…Is Kent’s all-time winningest basketball coach (148-139)…Voted MAC coach of the Year in 1989-90 and Ohio College Coach of the Year in 1989…Well-known for his tenacious defense, “Mac” expected, and got, the most out of his players…Posted winning records in six of his ten seasons at Kent, including back-to-back 20-win campaigns in 1988-89 (21-10) and 1989-90 (21-8)…Coached players to 18 All-MAC berths at Kent…Served as Kent’s Interim-Director of Intercollegiate Athletics…PERSONAL: He and his wife, Nancy, are the parents of six daughters: Kim, Cathy, Mary Helen, Carol, Jill, and Beth…They have 10 grandchildren…”Mac” continues to be an avid tennis player and has won several Portage County Tournament titles.
Gary Pinkel, 1997
HIGH SCHOOL CAREER: A 1970 graduate of Akron’s Kenmore High School…Earned three letters in football…Named to the All-City and All-District teams in his junior and senior seasons…Led his team to the league championship as a senior…KSU CAREER: Earned three Varsity “K’s” for coach Don James (1971-73)…Was the leading receiver on Kent’s 1972 Mid-American Conference Championship Team, grabbing 34 passes for 477 yards and three touchdowns…Also led Kent in receiving as a senior with 36 catches for 409 yards and a TD as the Flashes posted the best record in school history (9-2-0) and finished second in the MAC…Named First team All-MAC at tight end in 1972 and 1973…Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American in 1973…Team captain and MVP as a senior…Earned his BS in Health and Physical Science from Kent in 1975…POST KSU CAREER: Earned a tryout with the Pittsburgh Steelers…Served as a graduate assistant at Kent (1974-75) and Washington (1976), assistant coach at Bowling Green (1977-78)…Returned to Washington where he spent five years as the wide receiver coach and seven seasons as offensive coordinator under James…Was named the head coach at Toledo following the 1990 season…Has coached the Rockets to a 41-23-3 record in six seasons at the helm, the best in Toledo history for coaches with a least five years as head coach of the Rockets…Became the fastest Rocket coach to reach the 40-win plateau…His 1995 team won the MAC Championship with an 11-0-1 record and was ranked 24th in the nation by the Associated Press and CNN/USA Today polls…PERSONAL: Born on April 27, 1952, in Akron, Ohio…A member of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the National Football Foundation…He and his wife, Vicki, have three children: Erin, Geoff, and Blake.
Thom Stolkey, 1997
HIGH SCHOOL CAREER: Graduated from Redford Union High School in Redford Township, Michigan in 1973…Earned three varsity letters in swimming…KSU CAREER: Four year letterman for the Flashes (1974-77)…Won eight Mid-American Conference individual and relay titles during his career…Set MAC records in the 400 IM and the 400 and 800 freestyle relay (1975, 76, 77), 400 IM (1976, 77) and 200 IM (1976, 77)…Helped Kent win three MAC team titles (1974, 76, 77)…Team captain as a junior and senior…Received the Bill Hoover Outstanding Swimmer Award…NCAA qualifier in 1977…Earned his BBA in Transportation Management in 1977…PERSONAL: Currently works as a load planner for C.R. England.
