Feb 14, 2022 5 min read

The Washington-Greene County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame announced Monday its 2022 induction class, four special honorees, two James C. “Jimmy” Montecalvo and Luke Blanock Memorial Courage Award recipients, Team of Yesteryear and a Hall of Fame Moment.

The 36th induction banquet will be held 4 p.m., June 26, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Southpointe. Tickets for the banquet cost $45. Checks can be made payable to PA Sports H.O.F Washington-Greene, and mailed to PA Sports HOF, 10 Bayberry Road, Cecil, PA 15321.

The 2022 induction class includes:

Rick Bertagnolli - Coach, softball. California University. Bertagnolli has been the Vulcans coach since 1994 and has a 900-332 record at Cal, including NCAA Division II national championships in 1997 and 1998.

Chelsey Pryor Burk - Golf. Bishop Canevin High School and University of Kansas. The longtime resident of Washington was a three-time WPIAL golf qualifier and two-time PIAA qualifier. At Kansas, she was a three-time All-Big 12 honoree. She is currently the deputy athletic director at William & Mary.

Ron Burke and the Burke Racing Stable - Harness racing. Designated an Athlete of Distinction. A 2022 Harness Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Burke has led the sport in wins and purses each of the past 12 years. His $260 million in career purses and more than 11,800 wins are both records.

William Christy - Official. Beth-Center High School and California University. Officiated high school and college basketball, softball and volleyball for more than 35 years, which included state, NCAA and NAIA championships.

Morgan “Bunny” Denson - Football, basketball and track & field. Washington High School and Waynesburg University. Won three WPIAL track gold medals in 1974 and 1975. All-WPIAL wide receiver in football.

Dennis Garrett - Football and basketball. Jefferson-Morgan High School and Waynesburg University. Was a flanker and safety on J-M’s 1973 and 1974 WPIAL Class B football championship teams. All-state in basketball, scoring 1,356 career points.

Chris Peters - Baseball. Peters Township High School. Compiled an 18-4 record as a pitcher at Peters Township and won 19 games in the Big Ten at Indiana. Pitched six years in the major leagues, including five with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and won 19 games.

Lester Peterson - Wrestling. Canon-McMillan High School. Became Canon-Mac’s first PIAA wrestling champion when he won the 120-pound title in 1969. Was a PIAA semifinalist in 1967 and 1968 and won three WPIAL championships.

George Preisendorfer - Official and baseball. Bentworth High School and Point Park University. A standout baseball catcher, Preisendorfer was a PIAA basketball official from 1975 to 2015 and worked 15 consecutive WPIAL championships. He also officiated three PIAA state title games, the Roundball Classic and NCAA basketball from 1998-2010.

Lanfer Simpson - Football, wrestling, track & field. Waynesburg Central High School and West Virginia University. A two-time all-state selection in football and the WPIAL Player of the Year in 1999. He was a two-way starter on Waynesburg’s WPIAL championship team and rushed for 4,010 career yards. Was the 2000 WPIAL heavyweight wrestling champion, the 2001 WPIAL shot put champion and PIAA runner-up.

Dennis Slagle - Baseball. Beth-Center High School. A pitcher, Slagle is believed to have thrown the only no-hitter in B-C history and struck out a record 25 batters in an 11-inning game. Was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates and compiled a 17-8 minor-league record.

Lynn Unice Yater - Basketball. Trinity High School and Washington & Jefferson College. A three-year starting guard at Trinity who scored 855 career points and averaged seven assists per game. At W&J, she was a four-year starter and scored 1,034 career points with a school-record 446 assists.

Terry Wilkins - Basketball. Washington High School and Washington & Jefferson College. A two-time Presidents’ Athletic Conference MVP, Wilkins scored 1,410 career points and grabbed 804 rebounds. Helped W&J win three consecutive PAC titles. Played on one WPIAL championship team at Wash High.

Team of Yesteryear: 1975 Beth-Center football. WPIAL championship team posted a 12-0 record and defeated Kittanning in the title game.

Special honorees: Erman Hartman - Official. Brownville High School and California University. WPIAL football official for more than 30 years and worked WPIAL and PIAA title games. Longtime rules interpreter and evaluator.

Richard Novak (posthumous) - Coach. Mapletown High School and West Virginia University. Coached Avella High School to an undefeated regular season in 1966 and spot in the WPIAL finals. Coached Avells’s girls basketball team for 13 seasons, winning 105 games.

Joseph Taffoni - Football (posthumous). Cumberland Township (Carmichaels) and West Virginia University. All-state in football and played in the 1963 Big 33 Game. Was a second-team All-American and part of WVU’s 1964 Liberty Bowl team. Played six years in the NFL with Cleveland and the New York Giants.

Don Yenko - Race car driver, innovator. Bentworth High School and Penn State. Gained acclaim in the 1950s and 1960s for racing Corvettes in regional races and endurance contests, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Hall of Fame Moment: Patsy Vulcano - Chartiers-Houston. Wins the 132-pound championship in the PIAA Class 3A wrestling championship, defeating four district champions.

James C. “Jimmy” Montecalvo and Luke Blanock Memorial Award: Parker Muhleman (posthumous), Washington High School, and Colby Simkovic (posthumous), Jefferson-Morgan High School.

More extensive bios of the inductees and honorees will be published in future editions of the Observer-Reporter.