The SUNY Oneonta athletics department is pleased to announce the 2026 class of Hall of Fame Inductees. The 26th class will be enshrined as part of Alumni Weekend on Saturday, June 6, 2026, at 11:00am. The event is free and open to the public.
 
This year's class includes eight former student athletes and one Honorary Inductee bringing the total number of individuals to 191 including 19 Honorary Inductees. The Hall of Fame also includes eight Teams of Distinction.
 
This year's class of honorees includes Berthier "Bert" Bidos '76 (Soccer), Anne Donnery Apker '81 (Basketball), Ronald L. Vannoy '83 (Wrestling), Danielle Kennedy '14 (Cross Country, Track & Field), Matt Puerta '03 (Lacrosse), Rebecca Monteith Shepland '12 (Lacrosse), Shannon Weir Beisler '11 (Basketball), Albert F. Slawson Jr. '57 (Basketball, Baseball), who will be inducted posthumously.  Mr. James J. Weir will be this year's Honorary Inductee.
 
Bidos was a top offensive threat for the Red Dragons during his career that spanned 1971-74.  Bidos led the team in scoring during his first three years with the program. As a freshman in 1971, he recorded 12 goals to lead the team to its first undefeated season. He scored 13 goals and added seven assists in 1972 to help lead the Red Dragons into the NCAA college division Championship game. When he completed his final season in 1974, he was the first male player to reach 100 career points and his 109 total is fourth all-time.  He still holds the record for goals (6) and points (13) in a game, which he did against New Paltz in 1973.
 
Bidos still ranks in the top-5 all-time in goals (44), goals per-game (.862), assists (21), assists per-game (.412) points (109) and points per-game (2.14). During his career he was selected as an All‑Conference (1971) and All-State (1973) player.
 
Postgrad, Bidos continued his soccer career playing for the Brooklyn Italians (1976-81), Les Aces F.C. (1981-85) and Victory F.C. (1986-90).  He was a three-time champion with the Aces.  From 2001-09, Bidos coached the Coral Springs Storm, a youth team in Florida.
 
After receiving his BFA in 1976, he earned another certificiate from the Institute of Design and Construction in 1995.  He has owned two businesses during his 50-year professional career – Citywide Transportation Corporation and BV & A Installation LLC.  He is now retired, but is involved with land development in the country of Belize.
 
As a transfer student, Donnery Apker played three seasons for Oneonta from 1978-81.  She helped the team performance and captured the record for points in a single game (41) that stood until 1990.  She still holds the single game record for field goals with 18 set in her 1980 performance versus Potsdam.  She is second in season points prior to the 3-pt. shot with 350.  The team went 28-28 during her career and qualified one season for the NYSAIAW tournament.
 
In 52 career games played, Donnery Apker scored 835 points and grabbed 463 rebounds.  She also blocked 53 shots and recorded 126 steals.  Her 16.1 points per-game is still the program.
 
Donnery Apker earned her bachelor of science degree in 1981 majoring in Home Economics – Clinical Dietetics.  She received a master of science degree in Nutrition from Case Western Reserve University in 1982 completing an internship with the University Hospitals of Cleveland.
 
Donnery Apker stayed on full time at University Hospitals as a Clinical Nutirion Specialist (1983-85) before working full time at Yale New Haven Hospital (1985-87).  After leaving the workforce to raise her children, she did some teaching at the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford and has provided sports nutrition seminars at the local YMCA.  Donnery Apker maintained her status as a Registered Dietician for 40 years.
 
Puerta was a four-year impact player for the lacrosse team from 1999-2002.  During his tremendous career, he ammassed 275 points, which was second all-time at the time of his graduation.  His 160 career goals was first when he graduated while his 115 career assists is currently second most all-time.  His career was highlighted with his selection as a USILA Third Team All-American at the conclusion of his final season in 2002.
 
During his record-setting senior season, Puerta set season marks at the time for points (95) and assists (43), which were just surpassed last spring by current star Jamie O'Neil.  In 2002, Puerta led the Red Dragons into the ECAC Championship game and was selected as an ECAC All-Star.  He was also selected to the All-SUNYAC First Team for a second time and played in the USILA North/South All-Star game.
 
After graduating from Oneonta in 2003 with a degree in Elementary Education, Puerta then received a master's degree in Early Language and Literacy in 2006.  Puerta has spent 22 years as a 6^th grade teacher in the North Bellmore School District.  He also coached boys lacrosse from 2017-23 in the Bellmore-Merrick School District.
 
Vannoy was a four-year standout wrestler for Oneonta.  During his career, he was a two-time All-State and four-time NCAA qualifier.  Vannoy is one of only three wrestlers in program history to qualify for the NCAA championships four times.  In 1979, Vannoy captured the SUNYAC title and earned Most Outstanding Wrestler at the conference championships.  Vannoy posted a career dual-match record of 43-7 that included 13 pins.  He finished the 1980-81 season with a perfect 13-0 mark in dual matches.
 
Vannoy has spent his entire postgraduate career the self-employed owner of Raindance Systems LLC.  His company specializes in low voltage lighting and lawn irrigation systems.
 
Weir spent 39 years in service to the SUNY Oneonta athletics department including 20 years as the Head Janitor in the Field House.  During his years of service, he was a tireless worker and always went above and beyond what he was expected to do.  Always smiling, Weir was a friend to the thousands of student athletes that he interacted with over the many years.  Everyone associated with the college knew who Jim was.  His contributions to the athletics department earned him the Ross Cordell Contributors Award in 2015.
 
Beyond the campus, Weir impacted many young people through his coaching and umpiring in the region.  Weir has spent nearly a half century coaching at nearby Milford in the sports of baseball, girls basketball and softball.  His accomplishments include 16 league championships, three section championships and one regional championship.  Weir has amassed more than 900 wins combined in all sports, which puts him in a very selected group of High School coaches.  He has been inducted into both the Tri Valley Coaches and Legends of Baseball Halls of Fame.
 
Weir Beisler stepped right into a starting role from the moment the 2005-06 season began and became one of the all-time greats in the history of the women's basketball program.  As a rookie, she led the team in scoring and rebounding while helping to lead the Red Dragons to its first and only ECAC championship.  During Oneonta's run to the ECAC title, Weir Beisler averaged 15 points and eight rebounds including 15 points and 11 boards in the championship game versus Elmira.  When the dust finally settled, Weir Beisler was an All-Conference selection and Rookie of the Year for both the SUNYAC and NYSWCAA.  She also received the Dr. Fred Puritz Rookie of the Year from the athletics department in 2006.
 
Weir Beisler would earn All-Conference honors one more time during her career and led the team in scoring as a senior.  She would also help to lead Oneonta into the semifinals of the SUNYAC tournament twice during her four years.
 
Having grown up locally in Maryland and Oneonta and going to school in Milford, Weir Beisler scored 1,130 points during her brilliant career making her one of only eight women's players to eclipse the mark.  Her total places her fifth on the all-time scoring list and, at the time of her graduation, Weir Beisler was only the second player in program history to score 1,000 points and collect 500 rebounds.  She continues to be the program's career leader in free throws made (309) while being second with a career free throw percentage of 79.4.
 
Weir Beisler completed her degree in 2011 earning her bachelor's degree in Elementary Education.  Four years later, she earned a master's degree in Mathematics from Western Governors University.  From 2012-22, Weir Beisler was an elementary school teacher first in Schenevus (2012-15) before moving to Milford Central School where she taught until 2022.
 
Monteith Shepland was an accomplished student athlete during her record-setting lacrosse career from 2009-12.  From the opening whistle of her first game on Mar. 1^st vs Roanoke in St. Croix to the final horn on May 1^st, 2012, at Hartwick, she was the leader of the program.
 
Monteith Shepland is still the all-time leader in points (317) and goals (253) for the lacrosse program and is one of only two players to outright lead the team in points and goals all four years.  She still holds the single season record for points (103) and goals (75) which she set during her final season.  It was in 2012, that Monteith Shepland landed on the IWLCA All-American Team, being named to the Third Team.  She was a four-time All-Conference and All-Region selection earning First Team honors in the SUNYAC on two occasions.
 
Off the field, Monteith Shepland excelled in earning SUNYAC All-Academic Team honors all four years while being named to the SUNYAC Commissioner's list all three years she was eligible.  She was also inducted into ODK Leadership Honor Society.
 
Since graduating from Oneonta with a bachelor's degree in communication studies with minors in Advertising and Sports Management, Monteith Shepland has held various positions with companies in New York City.  She began as a Publishing Associate with MediaVest Worldwide in 2013 and has continued to move up in the business into her current role as Client Partner with Boostr where she started in 2024.
 
Kennedy is one of the most accomplished student athletes in the history of Oneonta athletics earning top honors as an athlete and a student.  Her accolades are numerous while she was attending Oneonta from 2010-14.
 
Kennedy's athletic highlights include being the first female All-American in cross country history when she crossed the finish line 19^th overall at the 2013 NCAA championship meet.  She was a three-time, First Team All-Conference runner and was inducted into the SUNYAC Cross Country Hall of Fame in 2011 after placing fifth at the conference championship.  She still holds the third fastest 6K in program history of 21:31.
 
In track & field, Kennedy was a two-time indoor SUNYAC champion in the 3K earning First Team All-Conference honors in the process.  Her outdoor 5K time of 17:32.56 still sits in No. 2 all-time.
 
Departmentally, at the end of the year athletic awards ceremony, Kennedy was the 2012 Female athlete of the Year while receiving the Dr. Joseph Heissan Senior Achievement Award in 2014.
 
Kennedy's academic highlights include being a USTFCCCA Scholar Athlete in 2013, being inducted into the National College Athlete Honor Society of Chi Alpha Sigma while being selected as one of the College's Best and Brightest in 2014.
 
After receiving her bachelor's degree in mass communications from Oneonta, Kennedy earned her master's degree in Broadcast Journalism and Digital Journalism from the Syracuse University Newhouse School in 2015.  Her first two professional jobs were as a Multimedia Journalist/Reporter in South Bend, IN and Providence, RI.  She then moved to the west coast in February 2022 where she worked as a communications specialist with Orange County Parks before being elevated to her current position with the same organization as the Public Information Officer.
 
A native of Oneonta, Slawson was a two-sport standout during the early years of athletics at "State".  Slawson was a four-year starting player for both the basketball and baseball teams between the years of 1953-57.  Slawson served as Captain of the basketball team during his final two years while being the captain of the baseball team as a junior.
 
During his basketball career, he was the team's leading rebounder for three seasons while being a consistent scorer.  As the center, Slawson usually played against taller opponents, but was skilled in getting into position for rebounds and was a skilled passer, according to Hall of Fame teammate Len Gereau.
 
On the diamond, Slawson was a versatile player with the ability to play short, third and outfield during his career.  As a freshman, he finished the season hitting .353.  Slawson continued to be one of the team's top hitters throughout his final three seasons.
 
Slawson graduated from Oneonta in 1957 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education, followed by a Master of Counseling and Administration in 1960. He began his professional career teaching and coaching at the new Schalmont Central High School in Schenectady, N.Y. Slawson then moved west to Tucson, AZ where his career in the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) included teaching at Utterback Junior High, and counseling and administrator positions at: Palo Verde, Sahuaro and Project MORE (Models and Options for Renewing Education), which was the first alternative education program in the district.
 
As its first Director, Project MORE was established to be a seven-to-ten-year experimental program in 1972that is still going strong today. After leaving Project MORE, Slawson was Director of Secondary Alternative Education, Instructional Support for Regular Programs - K-12 for TUSD where he retired in 1988.