Browsing: Hall

By: Ed Weaver  /  September 2, 2017

The Wellsboro Hornets Sports Booster Club and the Wellsboro Athletic Department held their 2nd annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony at halftime of the Wellsboro vs. Sayre football game on Friday, September 1.

Making up the Hall of Fame Class of 2017 are athletes John Deibert and John Antoine Prevost, and the 1998 Girls Track 4x800m Relay State Championship team.

Deibert was a 1960 Wellsboro High School graduate and was a member of the first undefeated Wellsboro Football team in 1958. Deibert played two years of football, three years of basketball, and four years of baseball. Deibert was named Tioga County League MVP in basketball during the 1959-60 season and helped the baseball team win hree straight league championships in 1958, 1959, and 1960.

“Wellsboro High School was where I got my start,” Deibert said. “I was born and raised in Wellsboro, born at Soldiers + Sailors Memorial Hospital in 1942, lived my whole life here until I went to Penn State. This community and the school system and everything is responsible for me having the background to be successful. When I got the notice that I was selected for this honor I told my wife that I had to go. I live in New Jersey but I came up just for this.”

Prevost, who Wellsboro’s Male Athlete of the Year Award and Female Athlete of the Year Award are named after, graduated from Wellsboro in 1953. Prevost was the captain and starting guard of the 1951-52 District IV Boys Basketball Championship team, captain of the 1953 Baseball team, a Babe Ruth Leadership Award winner, President of the Sophomore and Junior Class, members of the National Honor Society, band, Glee Club, and Senior Class play before being killed on Navy Air Duty serving on the U.S.S. Oriskany in Subic Bay, Philippines in preparation for the Vietnam conflict on August 20, 1960.

“It’s everything, his dedication to sports is something that my kids, John, his namesake, Connor, I want them to look up to,” said John’s nephew Matt Prevost. “Our entire family, extended family, we get excited every time we come up to Wellsboro. My dad, my uncles, my aunts, it means a lot to the family as it has over time. Since his passing it means a lot to our family for the namesake and also the tribute to him in the gym.”

The 1998 Girls Track 4x800m Relay Team, consisting of Flori (Simonis) Prough, Daria (Guelig) Keyser, Tara Guelig, and Kim (Sayre) Williams, set a new Wellsboro High School record (9:35.7) in their first time running together the entire year at the District IV Championships at Williamsport Area High School. After a first place finish at Districts, the team won their qualifying heat on the first day of States, then captured the gold medal with a time of 9:36.65, nearly 8 seconds ahead of the 2nd place Nativity BVM (9:44.93).

WellsboroAthletics.com would like to congratulate all of the members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2017.

Nominations for the Hall of Fame Class of 2018 are now open, running from now until January 1, 2018.

Source link

By: Ed Weaver  /  August 22, 2016

The Wellsboro Hornets Sports Booster Club and the Wellsboro Athletic Department held their inaugural Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Swarm the Hive on Sunday, August 21.

Making up the Hall of Fame Class of 2016 are athletes Phil Hickey and Tom Mann, coaches Anne McNaight and Keith Tombs, and the 1997-98 Girls Cross Country State Championship team.

Hickey was a two-time All-State selection in basketball and led Wellsboro to 3 NTL Championships. Hickey currently holds school records in points (2,584), rebounds (1,468), blocked shots (338), foul shots (409-for-607), and field goals made (1,087).

Mann competed in Track during his sophomore, junior, and senior years. Mann was the District Champion in the High Jump all three years, placed 4th in the High Jump in the state meet as a junior, and placed 1st in the High Jump in the state meet during senior year, jumping 6-feet.

Anne McNaight started coaching in Wellsboro during the 1970-71 school year. She first started coaching basketball then went on to start the volleyball and the track & field programs later that year. Combined, her teams won 29 varsity league and district championships, was the top JV team once, the best middle school team twice, and has a combined career record of 589-160-4.

“I’m highly honored and especially honored that it’s the inaugural class,” McNaight said. “I didn’t play but my athletes did all the work. I organized them and took them to the event and they did so well. I’m so proud of all the ones, every one of them. We used to have 82 girls come out for volleyball and I’d have to make cuts, and cuts, and cuts until I got it down to a managable size. Everybody wanted to play, they wanted to be on the team wether they played or not. The parents wanted their daughter on a team to be part of a team. I feel very blessed that I coached when I did.”

Keith Tombs coached for the Wellsboro from 1964-2007. He coached 8 sports for various years which amounted to 72 sports seasons in those 43 years. The teams accumulated over 1,000 victories and over 30 NTL championships. Coach Tombs served as Athletic Director for 12 years in addition to teaching math, os member of the Pennsylvania American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame and the Tioga County Sports Hall of Fame.

“It’s just a tremendous honor and I can’t put it in words to be honest with you,” Tombs said. “This was my home for 70 years and went to school here and graduated so I played, and coached not only the parents of the kids that are here now but some of the grandparents of the kids who are here now. It’s hard to express but I really appreciate the committee in doing this and recognizing people, and for all the other inductees congratulations.”

The 1997-98 Girls Cross Country team is the only PIAA State Championship team in Wellsboro High School history. The girls had an undefeated dual meet season as well as being champs of the Big Valley and NTL Coaches Invitationals. They defeated rival Danville to win the District IV title and then the same Danville team by one point. The team went undefeated in dual meets for 100 consecutive wins, won 5 straight NTL titles, and were 1994 and 1997 District IV champions.

“It was a little nerve wracking because we had to wait because they kept viewing the film to see what team actually won,” said 1997 Girls Cross Country head coach Aaron Yungwirth. “We had a longer wait than usual but were sort of hoping. We knew Danville was probably close but when it was over, it was pouring down rain, but we didn’t worry about any of that stuff. It was a great day. It was a great finish and a great way for a couple of the girls to end their career.”

“It was kind of a surprise because we weren’t positive we were going to win,” said Holley (Sayre) Taboada. “It was a feeling of euphoria really.”

“I remember standing up on that podium and when they announced the runner-up, and it was Danville, so as soon as we heard the ‘D’ for Danville we just erupted,” said Flori (Simonis) Prough. “It was awesome and it was a really good feeling.”

“It was also extra special because we were all best friends already and it made it even more special experiencing that with our friends and sisters,” said Daria (Guelig) Keyser.

“We were standing out in the pouring down rain with all this anticipation waiting for that final announcement,” said Jessica Spencer.

Also taking place at Swarm the Hive was a speech from Strength Coach John DeLeonardis, a class vs. class tug of war competition won by the seniors, music from the band and cheers from the 2016 cheerleading squad, and the presentation of Lettermen’s jackets to eligible athletes.

WellsboroAthletics.com would like to congratulate all of the members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2016, and would like to wish all athletic teams the best of luck during the 2016-17 season. Nominations for the Hall of Fame Class of 2017 are now open, running from now until January 1, 2017.

Source link