MCHENRY — Seven Lakers – including the first-ever wrestler – will be inducted into the Garrett College Hall of Fame on Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Garrett College.
Tanner Clark, who wrestled for Garrett College’s first two wrestling squads from 2018 to 2020, is the first member of that program to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He qualified for the national tournament both seasons, winning the district title at 285 pounds and finishing ninth in the nation as a sophomore.
“It was exciting being part of something brand new,” said Clark, who went on to wrestle at NCAA Division I Kent State University. “It was also kind of nerve-wracking, not knowing your fate [in a first-year program] while you were doing everything you could to make a name for yourself.”
Baseball players Mike Mathews (1983-84), Mike Leshok (1991-92), and Michael Dobre (2007) will also be inducted along with men’s basketball player Charles Somerville (1998-2000) and women’s basketball player Ashley Liller Fadley (2003-04).
Eric Hallenbeck, who notched his 500th victory as Garrett College’s baseball coach this past spring, is this year’s seventh inductee.
“We are incredibly proud to announce this exceptional class,” said GC Operations Athletic Director Elizabeth Show. “Each member of this group brought unforgettable moments to Garrett College and left an indelible mark on Laker Nation.”
Fadley – who came back to the area to serve as head coach at Southern Garrett High, where she played her high school basketball – said Garrett College provided her with an opportunity to prepare for Division I competition.
“My whole life my goal growing up was to play D-1 basketball,” said Fadley, who played three years at NCAA Division I Mount St. Mary’s University after helping the Lady Lakers win state and region championships during the 2003-04 women’s basketball season.
“It was amazing – I really think of it as a catalyst,” said Fadley of her Garrett College experience. “I had to play at a different speed than I was used to in high school. Coach [Ed] Wildesen and Coach Thea [Garland] both pushed me. They said conditioning was critical because the game was played at a different speed in college.”
Somerville, who played at Leonardtown High School, said he came to Garrett College as part of the “Family Plan.”
“I was playing in the 1998 SMAC [Southern Maryland Athletic Conference] All-Star game and Coach [Dennis] Gibson offered me a scholarship on the spot,” recalled Somerville, who went on to play two years at NAIA Division I Bluefield College. “I wanted to play with my cousin [Thomas Somerville] and he [Coach Gibson] accepted me and my cousin together.”
Somerville credited sophomores Michael Fields and Lionel Sewell with helping him transition from high school to college athletics.
“They took me under their wings,” recalled Somerville. “They gave me guidelines on how to be a college athlete. They really instilled in me that anything you do in the offseason will benefit you during the season.”
Mathews called his selection “quite an honor” and noted he was “very humbled” to be part of the Class of 2026. Ironically, Mathews said a “southern” trip by the Lakers’ baseball team during his tenure nearly got canceled due to snow before common sense broke out.
“The first thing I learned was that Garrett County weather could be really bad,” Mathews said with a laugh.
“We were scheduled to play at Bridgewater [in Virginia] and it snowed overnight,” recalled Mathews, who went on to play two years at NCAA Division I James Madison (VA) University. “Bridgewater said, ‘It snowed overnight, so we can’t play.’ We said, ‘We’ll drag it off the field’ – and we played those games.”
Leshok said he had been prepared to play at Allegany College of Maryland (then Allegany Community College) before GC head coach Lawrence Nesselrodt recruited him for the Lakers.
“It was a good call. I had a lot of good times,” Leshok said of his two years with the Lakers, which included selection to the all-Region 20 team as a sophomore shortstop. “I was able to play with a lot of good guys and good players.”
Leshok went on to play two years at the University of South Carolina-Aiken, which was an NCAA Division II powerhouse. USC-Aiken, guided by legendary coach Gary Gilmore, went 46-18 in Leshok’s junior season, winning the Peach Belt Conference and advancing to the NCAA Division II World Series.
“It sure is an honor,” Leshok said of his election to the Hall of Fame. “I always considered myself an average ballplayer who got lucky playing with a lot of good guys.”
Dobre was first team all-state, all-Region 20 and all-district in 2007. He hit .389, scored 56 times and drove in 42 runs while playing catcher for the Lakers.
Dobre went 25-for-26 in stolen-base attempts on offense and threw out 23 of 32 would-be base stealers on defense.
Hallenbeck, who has coached the Lakers for 22 years, has won 515 games. The last two seasons have been among his program’s most successful as the Lakers won 69 games and reached the NJCAA Division II Region 20 finals this past season.
“When I look at the incredible depth of talent and character in this 2026 induction class, I am reminded of why Garrett College is such a special place,” said Hallenbeck, who also serves as GC’s administrative athletic director. “I am truly honored and humbled to be alongside this outstanding class.”
The Athletic Hall of Fame, which was founded in 2015, now includes 39 student athletes, eight coaches and administrators, and the 1993-94 men’s basketball team, which became the first Laker squad to win state and region titles and qualify for the national tournament.
“The Garrett College Athletics Hall of Fame represents the absolute pinnacle of our sports history, and the Class of 2026 is a powerhouse class of Laker legends,” said Show.