ELKINS – The Davis & Elkins College Athletic Department inducted six new members into its Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday as part of the 2018 Homecoming/Senator Nation Weekend hosted on campus.
The 2018 Induction class includes: Shellie Burda ('92), Glenn A. Davis ('83), William R. Hitchner ('59), John "Jack" Sanzari ('56), Carmel L. Shearer ('82) and Charles A. Straw ('70).
Shellie Burda is a 1992 graduate of D&E and was a two-time NAIA National Championship Meet Participant in 1989 and 1990. She finished as the WVIAC Individual Runner up both years.
Burda was named the D&E Female Athlete of the Year and Scholar Athlete in 1990. After D&E, she earned her Master's Degree and now teaches honors and AP social studies at Elkins High School.
For 21 years, Burda was the head cross country coach at Elkins, leading the girls team to win the West Virginia State Cross Country Championship in 2001.
She also coached two West Virginia State Championship runner-up girls teams in 1998 and 2002, two West Virginia State Cross Country Champions and several All-State Athletes.
Burda was named as the NCAC Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2001, the NCAC Boys Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2002 and the West Virginia Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2002.
Glenn Davis is a member of the Class of 1983 after spending four years as a member of the soccer program from 1979 to 1982.
Davis was a three-year starter for the Senators, helping D&E to a pair of WVIAC Conference Championships. He was named an NAIA All-American as a Defender in 1982 and was a two-time All-WVIAC award winner.
Following graduation, Davis played for multiple soccer clubs, including the Houston Dynamos in 1984, where he earned United Soccer League All-Star honors.
Glenn is currently the play-by-play voice of the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer and has worked for ESPN, FOX and NBC on many national broadcasts, including multiple World Cups and the Olympics.
He has worked heavily with the Texas Childrens Hospital and Pediatric Cancer Awareness and its fundraising efforts for over 12 years and sits on the board for Curing Children's Cancer Fund in Houston.
William Hitchner is a 1959 graduate of Davis & Elkins and was a four-year starter for the Baseball program.
An All-WVIAC honoree, Hitchner hit .444 as a senior, setting the school's record for hits in a season. Over the course of his career, he had just one error and two strikeouts in four seasons and was recognized by the WVIAC, earning a spot on it's 50th Anniversary All-Time Baseball team.
He would go on to continue his education at Glassboro State College while playing semi-professional baseball for more than 20 years.
He is an active member of the Garden State Umpire Association, where he has served for 27 years, including three terms as President.
A retired public school teacher, he is a part-time testing instructor in the New Jersey State Testing Program.
As an avid distance runner, Hitchner has competed in two marathons and continues to race in distance events throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
John "Jack" Sanzari is a 1956 graduate of Davis & Elkins and was a four-year starter at guard on the hardwood in Basketball for the Senators.
In Basketball, Sanzari was named to the All-WVIAC team as a freshman. While he had several high-scoring games in his career, Sanzari is most notably known for his distribution of the basketball as a lead assist man.
He was also a four-year starter for the Baseball program at second base and as a lead off hitter each of those seasons. Following graduation, Sanzari signed with the St. Louis Cardinals minor league system.
He would then join the US Air Force, where he served four years, flying the T-28 and T-34 aircrafts before moving into Human Resources for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Sanzari would eventually be elevated to the Director of Human Resources for the Department of Veterans Affairs, a post he served until his retirement in 2003.
Carmel Shearer is a 1982 graduate of Davis & Elkins and was a member of one of the most dominant eras of Field Hockey in the history of D&E.
A four-year starter playing under legendary coach Dr. Jean Minnick, Shearer helped the Senators to four consecutive AIAW Regional Championships in a Division I landscape, earning bids to the AIAW National Tournament each time.
In her senior year, Shearer and her teammates earned a third-place finish at the AIAW National Tournament. She also was a member of the first varsity Fastpitch Softball team at D&E in 1981.
After graduating from D&E, Shearer went on to spend 25 years as a member of the NASA Astronaut Rescue Team, where she was honored with the prestigious Silver Snoopy Award from the Astronaut Core.
She also established the EMS program at St. John's River Community College where she has served as an adjunct faculty member.
Charles Straw is a member of the Class of 1970 after spending four years with the soccer program from 1966 to 1969, as well as two years with the Baseball program.
Straw played on D&E's National Championship team in 1968, as well as the National Finalist team in 1969. He also served as Senior Class President.
Following D&E, he attended Air University and served as a Commander in the 92nd Supply Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington. With the Air Force, Straw coached the US Air Force team to the Interservice Championship in Soccer in 1985.
He also coached soccer for the Massachusetts Olympic Development Program, FC Greater Boston Soccer Club and the Albuquerque Academy.
He is the Senior Director of Marketing and Capture Management for Quantech Services, Inc. and he is also the Director of the Command, Control, Communications, Computer and Intelligence Division at Dynamics Research Corporation.
Davis & Elkins has honored alumni with induction into the Athletic Hall of Fame since 1974. Plaques and athletic memorabilia are on display in the Hilda and Robert R. Butler Lobby of The McDonnell Center.
Davis & Elkins College Athletics is committed to developing excellence in student-athletes, coaches and staff through education, engagement, character and competition.
