Jan 30, 2018 3 min read

Three individuals will comprise California University of Pennsylvania’s 23rd Athletic Hall of Fame class.

The 2018 inductees are Inga Chilingaryan-Babakhanyan ´07, ´08, ´09 (women’s tennis), Ishmieal Kamara (men’s basketball) and Joe Ruggiero (football).

These former Vulcan standouts will be inducted officially at the Cal U Athletic Hall of Fame dinner, set for April 21 at 6 p.m. in the Performance Center of the Natali Student Center on the University’s main campus in California, Pennsylvania.

Tickets for the Hall of Fame dinner are $30 each or $10 for children 10 and younger. The public may attend.

For reservations, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 724-938-4418 or email University Development and Alumni Relations Administrative Assistant Staci Tedrow at tedrow@calu.edu. Proceeds from the dinner will be used to establish a Hall of Fame athletic scholarship.

Inga Chilingaryan-Babakhanyan played for the women’s tennis team from 2005-06 through 2007-08.

She was a three-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American selection and was the 2008 ITA Senior Regional Player of the Year.

Also a three-time, first-team all-conference selection in both singles and doubles competition, Babakhanyan was the 2006 and 2007 PSAC West Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Year and compiled a 29-1 overall singles record and 26-5 doubles record in 2006.

Ishmieal Kamara was a three-year starting guard for the men’s basketball team from 1999-00 through 2002-03.

Kamara was a three-time all-conference selection, which included first-team honors his junior and senior seasons. He was also the 2003 PSAC West Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Year after leading the Vulcans to 25 victories. Kamara’s 538 points that season remains 12th-best in school history and his .822 free-throw percentage (139-for-169) was fifth-best in the conference.

He finished his stellar career with 1,421 points, which ranks 11th in school history. Kamara also shot 78.4 percent from the foul line (326-for-416) and produced 354 rebounds, 213 assists and 80 steals.

Ruggiero was a Harlon Hill Trophy regional finalist in 2006 for the award given to the top player in NCAA Division II.

In 2007, Ruggiero passed for 2,365 yards and a then-school record 25 touchdowns, leading the Vulcans to a 13-1 overall record and the team’s first-ever NCAA Division II playoff appearance. After achieving the program’s first undefeated regular season in 49 years, Cal U won two playoff games and advanced to its first of three-straight national semifinal appearances.

He finished his career with 7,462 passing yards and 67 touchdown passes, which both still rank second in school history. Those figures along with his career 63.4 completion percentage, 611 completions and 963 attempts still rank among the conference’s top 20.