Brian Krux '03 a former men's soccer player was primarily a center midfielder and striker for the Wildcats. Krux was a team member during the formative years of Cazenovia College's soccer program earning recognition for men's soccer as an NCAA sport. After participating in 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2002, Krux's statistics were impressive and earned him All-League, All-Tournament and Tournament's Most Valuable Player honors during the inaugural UAA Conference Tournament in 2000.
"I remember the softball coach stepped in since we did not have a coach," said Krux. Even with the
minor setback of not having a true soccer coach, Krux had 28 assists and 35 goals during his final three seasons. As a sophomore, Krux was ranked 8th nationally for assists per game (.74), 17th nationally in points per game (2.42) and had .84 goals scored per game.
One of Krux's fondest memories came during his sophomore season in the inaugural UAA tournament. The young team went to Buffalo, New York for the competitive weekend. During a thrilling second round game against Medaille College, the score was 1-0 Medaille until Krux's penalty kick into the upper corner of the net sent the game into overtime. In the early minutes of overtime, a corner kick, again off the foot of Krux, became the eventual game winner.
Krux said his mother, Sheila Marsh '71, who herself is a graduate and the Associate Director of HEOP at Cazenovia College was the main reason he chose the blue and gold. "The decision made sense," said Krux. "I was given an opportunity to play college soccer in front of my family and friends."
Jessica Custer McNabney '05, a former women's volleyball student-athlete, was a founding member of Alpha Chi National Collegiate Honor Scholarship Society at Cazenovia College. McNabney was successful on the court and graduated with cum laude honor. "We wanted to start an honor society on campus for freshmen that share similar values to give back to the community," said McNabney.
McNabney was a setter and right side hitter since the team ran a 6-2 formation with six hitters and two setters. As a four-year co-captain, she received many honors and recognitions. During her freshman (2002) and sophomore year (2003), she was part of the NEAC second team All-Conference team. McNabney was also a member of the NEAC All-Academic team during her freshman and sophomore seasons.
In one season, McNabney tied for most kills in a match (19); recorded most assists in a match (33); had the top three spots for points in a match (21, 20 and 19.5); third in total blocks for a match (9), and claimed third, fourth and fifth spots for block assists in a match (7, 5 and 4). Despite all of her single game records, McNabney also ranks highly in several career statistics. She is second in kills, first for kill percentage, second for kills per game, second in assists, first in service aces, fifth in solo blocks, second in block assists, and first in total blocks.
Since graduating from Cazenovia a semester early in 2005, McNabney has been back on campus a few times. "My uncle lives in Caz and I went to see the banner of me representing volleyball in the gymnasium," she said. Like most Cazenovia student-athletes, McNabney had numerous memories from her time with the team including road trips. "We were packed like sardines and everyone brought a pillow to sleep on each other. This is the only way to be comfortable," explained McNabney. The team bonding during road trips created lasting friendships that Jessica still has today.
As for advice for student-athletes at Cazenovia, she said, "After you leave the College and move on through life, never stop competing and playing. It has been the easiest and best way for me to meet incredible people and make new friends any place I go."
Aaron Vaber '02, a former baseball player, came to Cazenovia College to play baseball with advice from two role models in his life, Joseph Broker and Bill Sullivan.
Vaber is still the baseball program's leader in home runs (20) and runs batted in (RBI) with 127. As a third baseman, Vaber had to make some tough decisions before landing at Cazenovia College. As a prominent high school football player in the area, Vaber had many college football offers before ultimately choosing to don the Wildcats blue and gold on the field. Vaber was second in games played (131), third in total bases (232), and was named Most Valuable Player in 2002. In 2001, he was selected to the UAA All-Conference team.
Vaber's greatest memory at Cazenovia did not take place on the baseball field. Instead, he remembers sitting next to his future wife (Sarah Kimball Vaber '03) in class. "I had to talk to her so I invited her to the field to see a game. I told her I was going to hit her a homerun," explained Vaber. Well, he did hit a homerun, she got the homerun ball, and one year later they were engaged. Now, Vaber and his wife Sarah have been married for 12 years with three boys Levi, age 5, Mason, age 3, and Silas age 1.
All of the 2015 inductees may have different stories and experiences from their time at Cazenovia, but all of them share a fondness for the years spent at this small college. While earning an education, Brian, Jessica, and Aaron were able to play the sports they loved.
Unable to attend the Blue and Gold Dinner, click here to watch LIVE on October 3rd at 7:30 pm: http://https://livestream.com/cazenoviacollege/blueandgold2015
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