Char Morett-Curtiss, Craig Fayak Selected For Pennsylvania Sports Hall Of Fame
Two Penn State greats join Joe Paterno and Russ Rose in the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame this year. Field hockey head coach and three time All-American Char Morett-Curtiss and football’s 1990-93 high-scoring kicker Craig Fayak will be inducted on October 22.
Morett-Curtiss captained the 1978 undefeated field hockey team before qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team twice. In four years at Penn State, she scored 50 goals and once scored five goals in a single game, a record she held for 21 years.
She took home the bronze medal from the 1984 Los Angeles Games. In preparation for the ‘84 Games, she and the rest of the USA Field Hockey team competed internationally in more than 100 games and in 1982, Morett-Curtiss earned the USFHA Co-Athlete of the Year.
Her ability didn’t stop with field hockey, however. She was also a leading scorer in the nation for the women’s lacrosse team when it won its second consecutive USWLA National Championship. When Penn State defeated UMass in the 1979 Championship, Morett-Curtiss was named the Most Valuable Player.
She’s no stranger to recognition, as she was inducted into the U.S. Field Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014 with her 1984 Olympic teammates.
Fayak joins Paterno, his former coach, in the Hall of Fame. He was the 1990-93 team kicker and helped lead the Nittany Lions to victory in some of their tougher games in the 90s.
One particular instance of Fayak’s prowess was a fourth quarter field goal that thrusted the Lions to a 24-21 victory over No. 1 Notre Dame in 1990. With 58 seconds left, Fayak booted a 34-yard field goal to finish off the come back that started as the Nittany Lions were down 21-7 at half.
Completing 132 of his 139 career extra point attempts and 50 of his 80 field goals, Fayak comes in with 282 career points — second in Penn State scoring history. He led the Big Ten in extra points made in his senior season.
“Going into the Hall of Fame with Craig Fayak, whom I know, makes it all the more exciting. I’m really proud to represent Penn State,” Morett-Curtiss said in a press release.
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