Local alums honored at JMU

Harrisonburg, Va. (Map, News) - Two local James Madison alumni have been announced as inductees into the Athletic Hall of Fame at their alma mater.

Dr. Mark Gabriele, a Calvert Hall alum, and Matt Holthaus, a Wilde Lake High alum from Columbia, are slated to be inducted in Harrisonburg, Va., on Thursday. They will be joined by two other former Dukes as members of the Class of 2006.

Despite his numerous honors, Gabriele was still shocked by his nomination.

“When they told me I was kind of taken aback a little bit,” he said. “Looking back at my teammates and thinking about it since they told me, they could have put that honor on a number of different guys.”

A member of the Class of 1995, Gabriele was a key competitor for the James Madison swimming and diving teams. Among his eight individual Colonial Athletic Association crowns, he won four 100-meter butterfly titles.

“It’s not really about me. It’s more about the team of guys I spent four years with at JMU,” Gabriele said. “I am extremely honored, and honestly a bit overwhelmed by it. If you look at the names of the people that come before you, it’s a little bit overwhelming.”

He is now a member of the JMU faculty, having earned his Ph.D. in neurobiology and anatomy from Wake Forest.

“It made a big difference,” the biology professor said about the influence his athletic experience had on his life. “I noticed, my first year of grad school, this huge void. There’s a lot of stuff that converts over from athletics into whatever realm you choose. That’s especially true in academia.”

Gabriele, 32, now lives with his wife and two children near Harrisonburg, and he continues to volunteer as a coach with the JMU program.

Holthaus, another member of the Class of 1995, was named the JMU male scholar-athlete of the year twice in track. He was also an All-American four times. Holthaus was the indoor championship in the 1000-meter event and the 1500-meter event.