Five Inducted into Keene State Hall of Fame

From Stuart Kaufman, Sports Information:

The Keene State College Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame inducted five new members on Saturday night. The Class of 2012 includes Raymond “Lippy” De Rocher ’64 (Baseball), Debbie Higgins ’76 (Basketball), Wilson Perez ’03 (Cross country/track), Michelle Mason ’05 (Soccer and Lacrosse) and Meghan McLoughlin ’05 (Softball).

De Rocher becomes the seventh baseball player to be inducted into the Keene State Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame. The honor holds special significance for De Rocher, who joins his wife Bette as a hall of fame athlete, although from rival schools. De Rocher is being recognized as a hard-hitting, smooth-fielding first baseman on the Keene State baseball team from 1960-64, while Bette, a former women’s state golf champion, was inducted into the Plymouth State Hall of Fame in 2001. The couple now reside in Bedford, N.H.

Higgins is the eighth women’s basketball player to be inducted into the Keene State Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame. Quiet by nature, Higgins from Bellows Falls, Vt., who played four seasons for the Owls (1972-76) and was one of the building blocks of a fledging program, was taken aback at the honor.

Perez runs into the Keene State Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame after a stellar four-year career (1997-01) competing on the trails and track for the Owls.

Mason has the distinction of earning induction into the Keene State Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame for her accomplishments in two sports. Not only was she a record-setting goalie on the Keene State women’s soccer team, but also a prolific and high-scoring attack player on the Owl women’s lacrosse squad.

Standing six feet tall, McLoughlin joins an elite circle as the fifth Owl softball player to be inducted into the school’s hall of fame.

For more on these athletes, see the full story at keeneowls.com.