Six new members will be inducted into the Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame in September, the school announced Monday. The Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022, the 14th to be inducted into the Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame, will be honored during special ceremonies surrounding Liberty’s Hall of Fame Weekend football game against UAB on Sept. 10 at Williams Stadium.
The six-member class includes Jose Gomez (men’s soccer), Glenn Inverso (football), Natalie (Barr) Lyttle (field hockey), Jessica Moore (softball), Jacob Swinton (men’s track & field), and Paul Wetmore (head softball coach).
Gomez had a standout career for the Flames on the pitch from 1997-2000. He was named the 2000 Big South Player of the Year, becoming the program’s first ever player to earn conference player of the year honors. He was also named first team all-conference twice and second team all-conference twice. He finished his days in a Liberty uniform with 77 points, 32 goals, and 13 assists.
Inverso played quarterback at Liberty from 1977-80. He was the program’s first four-year starter under center and held all the passing records for the first 10-plus years during the infancy of the Liberty football program. He was the second quarterback in program history to throw for 1,000 yards in consecutive season and the first with 10 or more passing touchdowns in a single campaign. He was an All-American nominee in 1979 at the NAIA level after leading the team to a 9-1-1 record as the team finished No. 18 in the final NAIA Top 25 national poll. Inverso became the first player in program history to sign a free agent contract in the NFL when he signed with the New York Jets in 1981.
Natalie (Barr) Lyttle helped jumpstart the rapid ascension of the field hockey program to the national level. She became the first player in program history to earn All-American honors when she was named third-team NFHCA All-American as a senior. She led the Lady Flames to consecutive NorPac Championships with wins over Stanford in both title games in 2013 and 2014, helping Liberty earn its first two appearances in the NCAA Tournament in program history. She finished her career with 134 career points.
Arguably the best hitter in program history, Jessica Moore became the softball program’s first All-American in 2007 when she was named to the Easton Fastpitch All-America second team. She still holds 16 program records and is the program’s all-time career leader in batting average, grand slams, slugging percentage, and on-base plus percentage. She also ranks in the program’s career top 10 in home runs, RBI, runs, and hits. She helped lead Liberty to the Big South regular season title in 2007 and was a two-time Big South Player of the Year while also twice being selected the VaSID State Player of the Year.
Jacob Swinton joined the men’s track & field program as a sophomore and quickly earned All-America honors as he finished in seventh place in the 100 meter dash at the 1994 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championship. Swinton helped the Flames win Big South Men’s Track & Field Outdoor Championships each of his three years with the program. He still holds the program’s record in the 55-meter dash and owned the Liberty 100, 200 and 4 x 100 relay standards for more than 25 years.
Paul Wetmore finished his coaching career with 547 wins, the most of any head coach in the history of Liberty Athletics. He was a three-time Big South Coach of the Year and a four-time VaSID State Coach of the Year. Wetmore guided Liberty to the program’s first two Big South Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances. He also helped Liberty win three Big South regular season titles. Wetmore coached the program’s only two All-Americans, five Big South Players of the Year, and six VaSID State Players of the Year.
