WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley formally inducted six new members into the Bentley Athletics Hall of Fame last week at the Westin Waltham (Sept. 19).
The new members are Mark Argust '01 (men's basketball), Stan DeMartinis '96 (football, baseball), Melissa Nash Ramirez '09 (track and cross country), Mary Kay Samko (coach, swimming & diving), Holt Sihvonen '18 (track and field), and Ryan Soderquist '00 (hockey).
 
Samko, who announced her retirement late in the 2024-25 academic year, led the Bentley swimming and diving program since 1996 after inheriting a two-year-old program. In 29 years at the helm, the multi-time coach of the year honoree has amassed a 506-150 record (224-78 men, 282-72 women) and her teams are regularly amongst the top finishers in the Northeast-10 Conference. The men have captured conference championships (2010, 2017, 2019, 2020).
 
All of Bentley's school records have been broken multiple times during Samko's time with the Falcons. She came to Bentley with 20 years of coaching experience, including 14 as head coach at three institutions (Tufts, Southern Connecticut, University of the South) and the Arlington resident concluded her career with an overall record of 600-210.
 
Argust, a native of Allentown, Pa., had an outstanding career for Bentley as a power forward from 1997-2001 and was the Falcons' ninth all-time leading scorer upon graduation. He totaled 1,464 points and 640 rebounds during his four seasons, three of which were spent as a starter, and had a career field goal percentage of .606, second best in program history. A force inside, Argust also ranks in Bentley's top ten in free throws made and attempted, offensive rebounds and blocks.
 
The two-time All-Northeast-10 honoree saw his scoring average increase every season, peaking at 15.8 as a senior, and he led the team in rebounding as a senior (6.7). Argust's .643 field goal percentage that same season set a school record and ranked fifth nationally in Division II.
 
DeMartinis, a power-hitting first baseman for Bentley from 1994-96, owns the second best slugging percentage (.668) in program history with 54 percent of his 118 career hits going for extra bases. His production climbed each season, topping with a .355/.483/.786 slash line, 14 home runs and 49 RBI as a senior. DeMartinis' son, also named Stan, is currently a member of this year's baseball team.
 
In addition to being number two in school history in slugging, he's third in home runs (32) and seventh in RBI (118).
 
Honors for the Lynnfield native and St. John's Prep alumnus included two-time second-team All-Northeast-10 and both ABCA second-team All-Region and ECAC Division II North All-Star in 1996.
 
DeMartinis also played football for Bentley during the 1991 and 1994 seasons, totaling 61 tackles and seven tackles for losses.
 
Nash, a Marshfield native, as a standout runner for the Bentley track and cross country teams from 2005-09. She earned a quartet of Northeast-10 championships at a variety of distances ranging from 1500 meters to 10,000, winning both on the track and through the woods in cross. She was named the NE10 Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year as a senior.
 
In cross, Nash qualified for the NCAA Division II nationals annually from 2007-09 and was the NCAA East Regional runner-up all three years as well. The four-time NCAA provisional qualifier and two-time All-New England honoree remains active today with multiple wins, including the Newburyport Half Marathon and the Toyota Music City 10 K. The resident of The Colony, Texas has qualified for Monday's Boston Marathon.
 
Sihvonen, a javelin specialist from Lebanon, Conn., made two trips to the NCAA Division II Championships and was recognized as the 2017 Northeast-10 Men's Outdoor Track Field Athlete of the Year. He finished ninth in the nationals as a junior, earning second-team All-America accolades, and was 16^th as a senior in 2018.
 
Sihvonen was a two-time NE10 javelin champion, a four-time All-New England honoree and a four-time All-East Region performer. He broke the school record multiple times, with the premier throw of his career (214'10") coming at Bryant's Black and Gold Invitational on April 1, 2017.
 
Soderquist, Bentley's head hockey coach from 2002-23, shined on the ice for the Falcons from 1996-2000 and finished his career as the program's all-time leading scorer with 84 goals, 89 assists and 173 points. He was the team's top scorer in three of four seasons, including his senior campaign which was the program's first since transitioning to the Division I MAAC.
 
His honors as a player included 1997 ECAC Central Rookie of the Year, 1998 All-ECAC Central first team, 1998 Sports Information Directors' Division II All-America, and 2000 All-MAAC first team.
 
Soderquist won 277 games during his 21 years as head coach and earned Coach of the Year three times (Atlantic Hockey in 2009 and 2012, MAAC Hockey in 2023).
 
The addition of these seven will boost the total of Bentley Hall of Famers to 179.