July 25, 2001
Colgate University will enshrine five former athletes in its Athletic Hall of Honor November 2 on the eve of the football game against Lehigh University.
The new inductees are Ray Appenheimer `94, cross country, track & field, Betsy Dinger "86, field hockey, lacrosse, Beckie Francis '87, basketball, Vail Taylor '53, baseball, and Henry White '79, football.
"We are pleased to welcome these five individuals into our Hall of Honor," said Athletics Director Mark Murphy while making the announcement. "Given the challenge of competing both athletically and academically at a school like Colgate, this is a great honor for these people. They have all easily fulfilled the criteria required for induction. We look forward to seeing them on campus in the fall. The induction is a special time for Colgate athletics and the Hamilton community."
Appenheimer earned All-America status five times (twice in cross country, twice in indoor track and once in outdoor track) during his collegiate career with the Red Raiders. He was the first Colgate athlete to win All-America status in cross country, while earning the honor in 1992 and 1993. He was two-time Patriot League cross country champion and placed third in the 1993 IC4A championship.
Appenheimer earned All-America status in indoor track after placing second in the 3,000-meter run in the 1993 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships and competing in the 1994 event in the 5,000-meter race. He was named Outstanding Male Performer at the 1993 and 1994 Patriot League Indoor Championships.
In outdoor track, Appenheimer won his All-America status in the 5,000-meter race when he finished second at the 1993 NCAA meet. He became the first Colgate athlete to win at the Penn Relays in 21 years when he posted a school-record time of 29:13.2 to capture the 10,000-meter race. Later in the spring he went on to win the 5,000-meter race at the IC4A's, smashing the track record in the process.
He was the 1993 and 1994 Patriot League Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and in 1994 was named first team GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America.
Dinger was a standout defensive player for Colgate in field hockey and lacrosse, earning eight varsity letters. She served as captain of both teams in her junior and senior seasons. In field hockey, Dinger was named first team All-Mideast Regional All-America in 1984 by the College Field Hockey Coaches Association.
Her lacrosse career saw her earn honorable mention All-America honors from the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association in 1986 and named first team on the New York State Women's Collegiate Athletic Association All-State team. In her senior season, she led Colgate on defense with 92 groundballs and tallied five goals and one assist. The two-time IWLCA/Northeast Regional All-America was named team's Outstanding Defensive Player in 1986. Dinger won the ECAC Merit Medal Award for 1984-85.
Francis was a four-year letterwinner with the Colgate women's basketball team serving as captain for three seasons.
She finished with 1,229 points which was fourth all-time at Colgate at the conclusion of her collegiate career. In her senior season, she led the Middle Eastern College Association in assists and ranked third in steals. Francis averaged 11.2 points per game and 5.2 rebounds.
She ranks among the all-time Colgate leaders in points, assists (403), steals (224), and field goal percentage (.412).
Taylor won three varsity letters in baseball between 1951-53. The former Colgate outfielder was named second team All-America in 1953, after earning third team All-America honors in 1952. He held the Colgate records for career batting average (.404) and slugging percentage (.570) and in 1952 hit a school record .478.
Taylor, who served as captain in 1953, was first team all-East in 1953 and second team in 1952.
White was a standout running back for the Red Raiders. He earned four varsity letters while leading Colgate to an 18-3 record during his final two collegiate seasons. In his senior year, he became only the second player in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season finishing with 1,032. He also broke the school record for all-purpose yardage in a season with 1,877 yards - ranking second in the nation - and averaged a school record 10.60 yards per play.
White finished his collegiate career with 1,976 rushing yards which ranked him fifth on the all-time chart. He was selected to play in the Blue-Gray Senior All-Star game and shared Colgate's Andy Kerr Trophy as most valuable offensive player. In his junior season, White ranked ninth nationally in kickoff returns with 25.8 yards per return