2013 Hall of Fame Class

Ashleigh Barnhart Jeff Fetzner Candace Sonberg Glenn Patton

Ashleigh Barnhart

Barnhart had a decorated two-year career as a member of the cross country and track & field teams.  She ran to All-American honors four times.

Barnhart led the Lady Pioneers to a 3rd place finish at Nationals and a Region III Championship in 2002 and helped the team to a 2nd place finish at Nationals and a Region III runner-up finish in 2001.  Both years she raced to All-American honors.  In 2001 she finished in 3rd place and in 2002 she finished in 8th place.

In 2003 indoor season, Barnhart finished 5th at the National Championships in the 5k (19:21.63) and helped the Lady Pioneers to a 16th place finish.

During the outdoor track and field season, Barnhart earned All-American twice.  She set a NJCAA Division III Championship record in the 10,000 m with a time of 40:41.11.  During the 2002 Outdoor National Championships she was named track athlete of the meet after winning the 5,000 and 10,000.

Barnhart’s name is all over the Alfred State record book.  She is 1st in the 10,000 (38:54), 4th in the 1,500 (5:00.99), and 5th in the 5,000 (19:13.75) in the outdoor record book and is 2nd in the 5,000 (19:12.3), 3rd in the 1,500 (5:05.58), 3rd in the 1,000 (3:15.12), 4th in the 3,000 (10:59.89), and 6th in the 1-mile (5:44.3).  Following her first year at Alfred State, Barnhart was named the Alfred State freshman athlete of the year.

Barnhart went on to continue her athletic and academic career at Edinboro (PA). 

Jeff Fetzner

Fetzner was a catalyst for three championship baseball teams during his two year career at Alfred State.  He appeared in 114 games and helped the Pioneers to an 93-26 record.

In the 2002-03 season, Fetzner was part of the only team in program history to win a WNYAC Championship and a Region III title in the same school year (40-13 overall record).  In 2003-04, the Pioneers won the Region III Championship and won a program best 53 games.

Fetzner was a career .399 hitter (140 for 351) with 24 doubles, 11 triples, 1 homer, and 85 RBI.  He scored 112 runs, stole 49 out of 52 bases, and had a .947 fielding percentage.  He was named the Region III Player of the Year in 2003-04, twice named All-Region, and was All-WNYAC following his sophomore year.  He was named Alfred State most valuable position player twice and was named the Alfred State senior athlete of the year in 2004.

He still is in the top five in the baseball record books for batting average and stolen bases and in the top ten in hits, triples, and walks.

After completing his career at Alfred, Fetzner went on to St. John Fisher where he was an All-Empire 8 selection and graduated with a business degree.  He then returned to Alfred State and served as an assistant coach for over three years.

Candace Sonberg

Sonberg was one of the most talented runners in Alfred State history.  She won the NJCAA Division III National Cross Country race in 2003 and led the Lady Pioneers to the NJCAA National title.

At the 2003 Nationals, Sonberg ran the 5k course in 22:35 to become the 2nd Lady Pioneer to ever win the overall title.  The team national title was the 1st female National Championship in school history.  This followed a freshman season in which she finished 14th at the 2002 National Championships.

Sonberg was a two-time NJCAA All-American in cross country and in outdoor track & field.  Her name is all over the track & field record books.  In the Indoor record books, she is ranked 1st in the 4x800 (10:03.82) the Distance Medley Relay (13:08.04), 3rd in the 600 (1:46.49), 4th in the 800 (2:28.34), and 7th in the 1-mile.  Outdoors, she is ranked 5th in the 4x800 and 9th in the 800 (2:27.75).

During the 2002 cross country, Sonberg was a member of the 3rd place team at Nationals and Region III Championship team.  In the 2004 track season, she was part of the Region III Indoor Track Championship and on the 4th place finish at Nationals during the outdoor season.

Glenn Patton

Patton was the architect of National Championship swimming team during the 1970’s at Alfred State.  Patton led the Pioneer men’s swimming and diving teams to four straight NJCAA titles. 

During his tenure, Alfred State became a national power.  On top of coaching the team to four straight titles (1971-1974) he coached two NJCAA Swimmers of the Year – John Meade (1972) and Paul Eaton (1975), was named NJCAA Coach of the Year three times, and had 19 athletes named All-Americans during the championship years.

Alfred State was the 1st team to ever win four championships in a row and the Pioneers were the last men’s team to win the national title other than Indian River CC.

Patton also served in numerous positions in the NJCAA Swimming Coaches Association (secretary, treasurer, and president) and the Western New York State Swimming Coaches Association (president).  He also was the assistant coach for the United States team in the World University Games.

He went on to coach at the University of Iowa where he became the winningest coach in school history.  He coached the Hawkeyes to six undefeated seasons in the Big Ten, led his team to two Big Ten Championships, guided his team to 16 top 25 finishes at the NCAA Nationals, and coached 11 Olympians.  He was honored for his outstanding achievements by being inducted into the Iowa Athletic Hall of Fame.