As the Roadrunners prepare for a new year, our staff decided it was time to take one last look back at the great 2010-11 year that made GCC history...below the article there are also some helpful links.

2010-11 A Record Setting Year for Roadrunner Athletic Program

The Gloucester County College Athletic Program has a tradition of success and championships. The 2010–11 school year will add another layer to this great tradition as the Roadrunners combined efforts earned them their second consecutive NATYCAA
(National Alliance of Two-Year College Athletic Administrators) Cup as the nation’s best two-year non-scholarship NJCAA athletic program. The Roadrunners used a record breaking spring to secure this honor, led by National Championships from the Softball and Men’s Tennis Teams, National Runner Up performances by the Baseball and Women’s Tennis Teams, a fifth place finish by the Men’s Track & Field Team and a seventh place finish by the Women’s Track & Field Team. This was the first year that GCC had each of its Spring Teams advance to NJCAA National Championships. A 3rd place finish by Men’s Cross Country Team and a 9th place finish by Women’s Cross Country in the Fall 2010 season, as well as a 5th place national finish by the Wrestling Team in the Winter Season helped the Roadrunner's cause.

Among the many highlights of the year, the two Team National Championships shine the brightest. In his 17^th season at the helm of the Roadrunner Softball Program highly decorated Head Coach Steve DePasquale brought home the National Championship that had previously eluded him. DePasquale was already the winningest coach in GCC history, earning his 500th during this 49–5 campaign, and now he has the National Title and National Coach of the Year honors to go with his other achievements.Sophomore Pitcher Katie Trotter led the way earning First Team All-American honors as well as the MVP award in both the Regional and National Championship Tournaments.

The Men’s Tennis Team returned four of six starters from their 2010 National Championship Team and picked up right where they left off in 2011. A 13–2 season was followed by dominating performances at both the Regional and National Championships as the Roadrunners had wrapped up the National Championship prior to the final day of the tournament. Aaron Hartman won three Individual National Championships in his two seasons at GCC and Jared Randazzo was a four-time All-American, both records for the Men’s Tennis Program. Freshman AJ Moore reached the National Championship Match at the #1 Singles Flight. Both National Championship Teams as well as Individual National Champions were honored at GCC's Night of National Champions on July 27th.

Ozzie Huerta led the way with individual honors in 2010-11 as he won the Individual National Championship in Cross Country and then won three events at the Track & Field National Championships. Huerta’s total of six Individual National Championships is a record at GCC and he hopes to add another in the 2011 Cross Country season. Huerta was named the Track & Field Male Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year. Overall, 11 GCC student-athletes earned Individual National Championships in 13 different events. Seventeen Roadrunners were named NJCAA All-Americans. A full listing of Individual National Champions and All-Americans can be found in our 2010-11 Yearbook.

The Roadrunner athletic program knows that winning is not all that matters. This year our program produced six Academic All-Americans and the Softball, Women’s Tennis, Women’s Soccer, Women’s Cross Country and Men’s Tennis Teams all had combined 3.0 or better Grade Point Averages. A complete listing of these academic stars can also be found in our 2010-11 Yearbook.

Two other events in 2010-11 helped GCC and will have an impact on the program moving forward. In September, a $2.8 million dollar renovation was completed on the GCC Gymnasium bringing it up-to-date. Also in September, the Roadrunners inducted their first new class into the GCC Athletics Hall of Fame since 1992. See the links below for more information.

The Roadrunner Athletic Program has now collected 18 NJCAA National Championships, 54 NJCAA Individual National Championship and has had over 275 NJCAA All-Americans. The 2010-11 year added to this as much as any year and overall will be remembered as the best year to date for the GCC Roadrunner Athletic Program!

Additional Links:
Roadrunners Win Second Consecutive NATYCAA Cup - from NJCAA.org
Softball Wins First NJCAA National Championship
Men's Tennis Wins Second Consecutive National Championship
Roadrunners Honor National Champions More on Night of Champions from NJ.com
Athletic Yearbook 2010-11
2010 Hall of Fame Induction
GCC Gymnasium Renovation Project Complete

2010-11 Milestones and News

· In the Summer of 2010, a $2.8 million facelift was completed on the gymnasium. The work included a new roof, up-graded and enhanced HVAC and ductwork, new ceiling tiles and energy-efficient lights in the lobby, coaches’ offices, locker rooms, storage rooms and gymnasium, new men’s and ladies’ locker rooms, new shower rooms and restrooms in the locker rooms (now ADA accessible), reconditioned lockers, new state-of-the-art trainer’s room and equipment, new and expanded lobby restrooms (now ADA accessible), officials/staff changing room, new team locker room, new uniform storage room and trophy display cases.

· In addition to winning the NATYCAA Cup for overall athletic excellence, the Roadrunner Athletic Program also received the CAANJ Cup for the best two-year athletic program in the state of New Jersey.

· Coaches: Head Softball Coach Steve DePasquale earned his 500^th career win. Head Baseball Coach Mike Dickson earned his 200^th career win.

· Former GCC Head Men’s Basketball Coach Steve Solomone was inducted into the NJCAA Basketball Hall of Fame. Solomone coached 11 seasons at GCC and earned 294 wins to 52 losses. His 1994 team went 30-0 and won the College’s only NJCAA Basketball National Championship.

· New GCC Head Coaches Megan Ruttler (Women’s Soccer) and Chris Martin (Men’s Basketball) both led their teams to the NJCAA Region 19 Tournament in their first seasons

· A pair of GCC student-athletes were also honored for their academic success: Lindsay Sampolski (Softball) earned the President’s Medallion for Health, Recreation, Physical Education majors and Ryan Huff (Cross Country) earned the President’s Medallion for Exercise Science majors.

· The Roadrunners continued their commitment to community service in 2010–11. Notable contributions were made by the Women’s Basketball Team with their Pink Zone event, the Women’s Soccer, Men’s and Women’s Cross Country and Women’s Tennis Teams contributed to Operation Backpack, and members of many of the GCC’s teams came together to help with the Emmanual Cancer Foundation  Holiday Gift Drive and Gift Wrapping Event. The Men's and Women's Track and Field Teams collected used track shoes that would be sent to the charity Shoes4Africa.

· Head Wrestling Coach Dan Calhoun resigned at the conclusion of the 2011 season. Calhoun, a former Roadrunner All-American, coached for four seasons with a 21–11 dual match record.