GENESEO, N.Y. - The SUNY Geneseo Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation is pleased to announce the 2023 SUNY Geneseo Sports Hall of Fame class. The group will be honored at the annual Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, slated for Saturday, December 9, 2023. Registration and ticketing information for the ceremony will be released in the fall.

The 2023 Hall of Fame class includes a slate of five student-athlete alumni and one longtime staff member who will join the "Legends of the Knights" category. 2005 ECAC Upstate Women's Lacrosse Champions Lauren Chatterton '05 and Shauna Leonard '08 are joined by National Champion distance runner Alyssa Smith '13, women's lacrosse standout and distance runner Maggie Morris Hober '09 and women's lacrosse star Maggie Benham-Whitcher '08.

In addition, the ceremony will recognize longtime department administrative assistant Donna Gerould as a "Legend of the Knights" and will highlight the 2005 ECAC Upstate Champion women's lacrosse team members.

A native of Syracuse, New York and graduate of Corcoran High School, Chatterton was a four year member of the women's lacrosse team, revolutionizing the attack position for the Knights. The Knights compiled a record of 43-19 with Chatterton on the roster, participated in three SUNYAC tournament finals and earned three bids to the ECAC Upstate tournament. A two-time All-SUNYAC selection, including first team in 2004, Chatterton graduated as the all-time leading scorer at Geneseo with 222 points on 152 goals and 70 assists, which were also tops on the Geneseo charts at the time of her commencement. She earned first team All-SUNYAC, first team All-ECAC and SUNYAC All-Tournament honors in 2004 and in 2005, she scored a then school record 69 points and 46 goals on her way to pacing the Knights to the 2005 ECAC Upstate Tournament title. She is the school record holder for points in a game with 12 after netting six goals and six assists in a win over Medaille in 2005. Chatterton culminated her outstanding career with the Louise Kuhl Award as Geneseo's top female athlete in 2005.

A four-time All-SUNYAC selection and two-time SUNYAC tournament finalist, the Knights compiled a record of 48-15 in Leonard's tenure as the program's most prodigious midfield scorer. A 2008 All-New York Region selection, she scored 52 goals and 68 points during that campaign on her way to career marks of 211 points on 156 goals and 55 assists. A native of West Henrietta, New York and graduate of Rush-Henrietta High School, Leonard earned first team All-SUNYAC in 2008 and 2007 and second team honors in 2006 and 2005, when the Knights won the ECAC Upstate Tournament title. Leonard capped her career with the Louise Kuhl Award as Geneseo's top female athlete in 2008.

A three-time All-American and 2013 National Champion, Smith was a four-year member of the cross country and track teams. The Rochester, New York native and Brighton High School graduate was a four-time SUNYAC team champion and eight-time SUNYAC individual champion. The Knights captured the conference cross country title in 2008, '09 and '11, while the 2010 outdoor track team won the crown. Smith was a four-time All-SUNYAC performer in cross country, including first team honors on three occasions. On the track, Smith won the SUNYAC indoor mile in 2009, '10, '11 and '13 and the SUNYAC outdoor steeplechase in 2009, outdoor 800 and 1500 in 2011 and the outdoor 5K in 2013. At the Division III National Championships, Smith earned All-American in the 3K steeplechase in 2011 and the indoor Distance Medley Relay in 2013 before claiming the National Championship in the 3K steeplechase outdoor in 2013.
 
A two-sport student-athlete, Hober excelled for four years on the lacrosse field before using her graduate year as member of the distance running program. A lightning fast midfielder, Hober aided the Knights to a record of 44-19 and a trip to the SUNYAC tournament finals in 2006. A 2009 first team All-New York Region and first team All-SUNYAC selection, she scored then school records of 62 goals and 79 points during that campaign on her way to career marks of 196 points on 154 goals and 42 assists. The Massapequa native finished her career second all-time in draw controls with 112, fourth in career groundballs with 162 and still holds the school record with 12 groundballs in a game. During her grad year, Hober contributed to the 2009 SUNYAC Cross Country team champions by finishing 11th place individually for a second team All-SUNYAC award, before finishing 17 th at the Atlantic Region and aiding the Knights to a ninth place team finish at the NCAA Division III championships. On the track, she placed fourth in the SUNYAC indoor mile, third in the SUNYAC outdoor 1,500 and fifth in the outdoor 800.

After transferring from William Smith College, Benham-Whitcher posted staggering offensive numbers over three seasons in the Navy and White. Her 162 career points and 47 career assists ranked fourth at graduation, while her 115 career goals stood third. In 2007, she set then school records with 57 goals and 77 points and has a still standing record of 10 goals in a game vs. Elmira. The Canandaigua native was a two-time All-SUNYAC selection (second team in 2006, first team in 2007), two-time SUNYAC All- Tournament team choice and a 2007 second team All-New York Region member. The Knights posted a 34-13 record during her three seasons and reached the SUNYAC championship game in 2006.

For more than 30 years, "Legend of the Knights" Donna Gerould was the backbone of the SUNY Geneseo Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation as the Department Secretary and Program Aide. Gerould handled team travel arrangements, human resource responsibilities, NCAA compliance tracking and the calendars and schedules for three Directors of Athletics; John Spring, Marilyn Moore and Michael Mooney.

Lastly, the ceremony will celebrate the accomplishments of the 2005 ECAC Women's Lacrosse Upstate champions, who posted a record of 14-2 for head coach Carly Ritchlin on their way to a SUNYAC finals appearance and the 12-11 win over Oswego in the ECAC championship game.