Galloway, N.J. – Stockton University selected four individuals to comprise the 2026 class of the Stockton Athletics Hall of Fame. The 2026 honorees are Abad Akhtar ’11 (cross country/track & field), Samantha Horner ’09 (softball/field hockey), Randy Wetzel ’03 (cross country/track & field) and Kevin Chandler (assistant track & field coach).

The Stockton Athletics Hall of Fame banquet will be held on October 9 at 6 p.m. in the Stockton Campus Center Event Room as part of University Weekend. Tickets, priced at $75 per person and $20 for children under 12, can be purchased via the Stockton Athletics website (link coming soon).

For more information, contact the Stockton Office of Athletics & Campus Recreation at 609-652-4217.

Stockton Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2026

Abad Akhtar

Abad Akhtar (2007-11) was a two-time NCAA Championship qualifier in cross country (2009-10) as well as Stockton’s first-ever NJAC individual cross country champion and NJAC Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Year (2010).

Akhtar was a two-time NJAC First Team runner (2007, 10) and two-time All-Region qualifier in cross country (2009-10). He placed 16th at the 2009 NCAA Atlantic Regionals and followed with 12th place at the 2010 NCAA Atlantic Regionals, qualifying for the NCAA Championship both years.

Akhtar was voted 2011 NJAC Outstanding Male Track Athlete for indoor track & field. Overall, he earned a total of eight NJAC all-conference honors while competing in indoor and outdoor track & field, highlighted by two NJAC First Team honors in the indoor 5000m run after winning the conference title in the event in 2010 and 2011.

Akhtar set four school records in track & field during his career at Stockton, with his mark of 14:49.35 in the indoor 5000m still standing to this day. Akhtar’s other school records were in the indoor mile, indoor 3000m and outdoor 5000m.

Samantha Horner

Samantha Horner (2005-09) was a four-year letter winner in softball and three-year letter winner in field hockey. On the softball diamond, Horner earned NJAC all-conference honors twice (2008 Second Team, 2009 Honorable Mention) and collected an NFCA East Region First Team accolade in 2009.

Horner still holds the Stockton record for runs in a season (47) and shares the mark for career runs (133). In 163 games, she batted .349 and set school records for career hits, triples and stolen bases plus triples in a season. Horner presently sits second in program history in hits (172), triples (13) and stolen bases (64) as well as tied for ninth in RBI (76) and tied for 10th in walks (37).

Horner was voted NJAC Honorable Mention in field hockey in two of her three seasons (2006-07). She led the Ospreys in scoring in 2007 and finished with seven goals and three assists for 17 points in 53 career games.

Randy Wetzel

Randy Wetzel (1999-2003) was Stockton’s first-ever qualifier for the NCAA Cross Country Championships (2000) as well as the first Stockton runner to earn a spot in the NCAA Championships twice (2000, 2002). Wetzel was a four-time NJAC all-conference cross country runner (1999, 00, 02 First Team, 2001 Second Team).

Wetzel also earned All-Region honors in cross country twice (2000, 2002). His 10th-place finish at the 2002 NCAA Atlantic Regionals was the best ever by a Stockton men’s runner at the time, topping his own 13th-place finish at the NCAA Regionals in 2000.

Wetzel was a five-time NJAC all-conference runner in track & field, including NJAC First Team as the conference champion in the 2003 indoor 3000m and outdoor 5000m. He set a school record of 32:00.99 in the 10,000m that still stands 23 years later.

Kevin Chandler

Kevin Chandler is the first assistant coach in any sport to be elected to the Stockton Athletics Hall of Fame. Chandler instructed the men’s and women’s throwers at Stockton for 34 years from 1989 to 2024. He coached eight NCAA Championship qualifiers including three All-Americans (Audra Schappell 2006, Edward Dennerlein 2020, Darren Wan 2022).

Competitors under Chandler’s tutelage won 32 NJAC individual titles and 15 Collegiate Track Conference crowns. He coached five NJAC Most Outstanding Athlete award winners and nine NJAC Outstanding Field Athlete award winners while teaching the shot put, weight throw, discus and hammer throw.

Affectionately known as “Coach Kev”, Chandler was a fixture on the Stockton track & field coaching staff who shared his extensive knowledge of throwing technique with generations of student-athletes while bringing a genuine warmth and infectious good nature each day.