CASTLETON, Vt. – Four individuals were inducted into the Vermont State University Castleton Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday evening, marking their permanent place among Spartan legends.
Rachel Brousseau (Preusser) '13, Alyssa Leonard '14, Tyler Carpenter '14 and former president Dave Wolk were enshrined as the newest members of the Hall of Fame, a tradition that began in 1988 to preserve the traditions of Castleton Athletics by recognizing outstanding Castleton student-athletes, other individuals, and teams who have made a significant contribution to Castleton Athletics.
Rachel Brousseau (Preusser) 13
A star from day one, Rachel Brousseau (Preusser) '13 rewrote the Spartan field hockey record book during her time on the turf. She set career records in points (219) and goals (86) that stood for a decade and is still the program's all-time leader in career assists with 47. At the time of induction, she holds three of the 10 highest-scoring seasons in program history. She earned NFHCA Second Team All-America honors as a senior and was named NAC Player of the Year twice while earning All-Region honors on three occasions. Her stellar play guided Castleton to its best four-year stretch in program history, with the team winning 55 games and two NAC Championships during her reign. She racked up 26 goals and 11 assists for 63 points to help the team to a program-record 17 wins and a NAC Championship in 2012, and followed up with her own record-setting season in 2013 with a then-program-record 79 points on 26 goals, while leading all of NCAA Division III with 27 assists. Her performance on the field led the Spartans to a perfect 9-0 record in NAC play that season and resulted in Castleton's second NAC Championship in a row. A mainstay near the top of the national leaderboards, she ranked among the NCAA's top 20 in scoring three years in a row from 2011 through 2013. Her career numbers rank her 25th all-time among Division III field hockey players in total points, and her 1.29 assists per game in 2013 still stand as the fourth-most in a single season in NCAA Division III history. Following graduation, Brousseau (Preusser) earned a post-graduate degree at LeMoyne and now works as a physician assistant in her home state of New York.
Alyssa Leonard '14
One of the most accomplished players to wear a Castleton women's basketball uniform, Alyssa Leonard '14 made her presence known from the jump. Hailing from Amherst, Massachusetts, she started all 114 games of her career and averaged double-digit point totals each season, graduating with the fourth-most points in program history with 1,375. A well-rounded player, she also graduated with the sixth-most rebounds (640) and the fourth-most assists (375) in program history. To this day, Leonard remains the only player in Spartan history to amass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists in a career. As a senior, she was selected as the North Atlantic Conference Player of the Year and was named to a pair of All-Region teams after averaging 13.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. To cap off the 2014 season, Leonard led the team on the deepest NCAA Tournament run in school history as the Spartans reached the Sweet 16, knocking off Bowdoin and Plattsburgh State in the NCAA Tournament. She was also voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team in 2014, recognizing her achievements both on the court and in the classroom. As a junior, Leonard was appointed to the All-NAC First Team and was selected as the team's MVP when the Spartans set a program record with 29 victories and an ECAC Championship. A recipient of NAC postseason honors in all four years of her career, Leonard was named the NAC Rookie of the Year in 2011 and earned a spot on the All-NAC Second Team in 2012. After graduation, Leonard has worked in a variety of roles at NCAA Division I colleges and universities and now resides in her home state of Massachusetts.
Tyler Carpenter '14
A native of Fort Edward, New York, Tyler Carpenter '14 was a member of the first football team at Castleton and a standout running back for the Spartans. In the record book for many of his accomplishments, Carpenter holds the distinction of being the first touchdown scorer in program history as he found the end zone on Castleton's inaugural drive in 2009. He graduated as the all-time leader in rushing yards, all-purpose yards, rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns. During his time with the program, he amassed 2,781 yards on the ground and 4,134 total yards. He found the end zone 58 times, with 50 of those coming as rushing touchdowns. To this date, Carpenter is still the program's all-time scoring leader and holds program single-game records after amassing 298 rushing yards and 374 all-purpose yards against Becker on October 31, 2009. The Team MVP in 2009, he was named Second Team All-ECFC three times in his career and led the conference with 16 total touchdowns in 2011—a mark that ranked him among the nation's leaders in touchdowns that season. He followed up with 16 more touchdowns in 2012, 11 rushing and 5 receiving, to once again rank among the nation's best in the category. Following his graduation, Carpenter has worked in his home state of New York as a teacher and coach.
Dave Wolk
Dave Wolk took over as the president of Castleton State College in 2001, and through tireless efforts more than doubled the institution's athletic offerings during his tenure. In 2009 Wolk ushered in the Castleton Student Initiative, a $25.7 million project which reinvigorated student life and learning and changed the face of campus, bringing with it the addition of a football program and the multi-purpose Spartan Stadium—now named in his honor as Dave Wolk Stadium. Wolk's investment in athletics paid massive dividends, increasing athletic participation rates five-fold and pushing the total offerings to 28 varsity programs at the time of his retirement. The increased enrollment brought in more students from across the country and around the world, providing a robust student experience for all at the "small college with a big heart." Also included in the Castleton Student Initiative were renovations to Glenbrook Gymnasium, the Spartan baseball and softball fields, and an expansion of the Spartan Athletic Complex. The purchase of Spartan Arena and the addition of the Castleton Pavilion and new tennis courts came along with the project as well. Wolk guided Castleton through a turbulent time when parts of campus were under water following Hurricane Irene in 2011, and modernized the institution in 2015 with a name change to Castleton University. A man who was visible in all areas of the campus, he took great pride in knowing every student's name that attended Castleton. The institution's rapid growth was no hinderance to that mission, as he continued to interact with students, faculty and staff on a daily basis. Though Wolk retired in 2017, reminders of his presence remain throughout campus in the form of 343 green magnets with his daily reminder: "Keep Smiling."
The Hall of Fame also recognizes alumni who have gone on to make significant contributions in the world of athletics and recreation. Any member of the Castleton Alumni Association, friends and family of Castleton alumni, or full-time member of the faculty, staff, or administration of Vermont State University may nominate candidates for membership into the Hall of Fame.
Nomination forms are available by contacting the Athletics Department or by visiting castletonsports.com/halloffame.
