Mar 26, 2024 8 min read

By The Observer-Reporter

Kathy Knabb is widely considered one of the greatest long-distance runners in WPIAL history.

A Peters Township graduate, Knabb won 11 WPIAL gold medals in track and field and two indoor state championships. From 1989-1991, she won the most difficult WPIAL trifecta for three consecutive years, achieving gold in the 800-, 1,200- and 1,600-meter runs.

She was part of Peters Township’s 1989 WPIAL championship 3,200-meter relay team, and as a senior, she won state indoor championships in the 1,000 and 2,000-meters.

Knabb was more than just a runner who made left-hand turns on a track. She won the 1991 WPIAL Cross Country title and placed third in the PIAA Class AA race, and was a PIAA Class AAA state runner-up in 1990.

Knabb’s running success continued in college at North Carolina State, where she twice received All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors. She was part of three ACC champion cross country teams and helped the Wolfpack to NCAA national team finishes of 8th, 11th and 9th from 1991-1993. She was selected as the women’s team’s MVP in 1994.

Knabb was recently selected as an inductee to the Class of 2024 for the Washington-Greene Co. Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

The other class of 2024 inductees include Bill Dukett, Damon “D.J.”

Faldowski, Jeff Frazier, Wes Harrington, Terry Havelka, Josh Koscheck, Tom Morrell, Mike Sirianni, Ramont Small, Paul Stanley and Jim Vulcano. The 1994 McGuffey Highlanders football team is the Team of Yesteryear.

Special honorees include James J. Faiella, Roy Winfield, George Malanosky, Marissa Rush, Cherie Mazutis and Lorie Wise Hildreth.

The Washington-Greene Co. Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame will induct its Class of 2024, special honorees, Courage Awards, Above and Beyond Award recipient and Hall of Fame Moment during ceremonies Sunday, June 9 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Southpointe.

The public sale of tickets for the banquet will begin Monday. Tickets cost $55 each. Tables are rounds of 10 for $550.

Make checks payable to: PA SPORTS H.O.F. Wash-Greene

Mail completed order form and check to: PA SPORTS HOF, 1707 S. Eighty Eight Road, Greensboro, PA 15338. Tickets can also be purchased at www.wash-greenesportshall.org.

The following are biographies for half of the inductees. The remaining biographies will be published in a future edition of the Observer-Reporter:

Bill Dukett – Coach, Youth Services, Athlete, Football, Golf; Washington

& Jefferson College and East Stroudsburg University – Dukett served as W&J’s associate head coach and offensive strategist from 1982-1998, helping the Presidents win 137 games with two NCAA Division III national championship game appearances, four NCAA regional titles, and 14 PAC championships. He also spent 10 years as W&J’s head track and field coach and nine as the head men’s and women’s golf coach with six conference titles. Dukett also served as W&J’s athletic director for seven years. For decades Dukett, whose son B.J. became a Special Olympian at the age of seven, has been a longtime Special Olympics coach, advocate and volunteer who sits on the board of Special Olympics in Washington County. Dukett, a three-time Honorable Mention All-American quarterback at East Stroudsburg, was inducted into the ESU Hall of Fame in 1985 and W&J’s Hall of Fame in 2018.

Damon “D.J. Faldowski – Athlete, Baseball; Trinity H.S. and U.S. Naval Academy – A three-year letterman and team captain his senior season, Faldowski helped the Hillers win the WPIAL section baseball championship in 2002 and compile a 23-2 record. Faldowski also helped his American Legion team win a district title with a 21-2 record. He was a three-year letterman and all-conference selection in football. In 1997, he helped the Washington All-Stars win the East Zone championship, and in 1998, was

the starting right fielder for the eventual Pony League World Series runner-up. His sixth-inning homer led to the team’s second victory at the World Series. At Navy, Faldowski played 117 games from 2002-2006 and batted .302 his senior year. Against Old Dominion, he went 2-for-3 with a double against future Hall of Fame MLB pitcher Justin Verlander. A multi-decorated Navy SEAL, who was a Pat Tillman Scholar with several deployments overseas, Faldowski was named a Zuckerman Fellow at Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership.

Jeff Frazier – Athlete, Golf; Washington H.S. and Washington & Jefferson

College – A multisport star on many championship teams, Frazier was a 1983 WPIAL 132-pound wrestling champion, two-time section champion, three-time all-section baseball player and all-state defensive back. At W&J, Frazier earned all-conference honors in both baseball and golf, helping both teams win PAC championships in 1986. He competed in 10 United States Golf Association National Championships. Frazier advanced to the semifinals of the 2022 USGA Senior Amateur after winning four straight Match Play victories. Some of his numerous Pennsylvania Golf Association accolades include 2022 Senior Match Play champion, 2021 Senior Match

Play runner-up, 2019 Mixed Team Champion (with daughter Morgan).

He was the 2022 Golf Association of Pennsylvania Senior Player of the

Year, and 2023 Silver Cross Award winner for total combined scores of three major events. Frazier also won more than 50 Harrisburg District Golf Association Tournaments from 1995-2022.

Wes Harrington – Athlete, Baseball; Burgettstown H.S. and Ohio University – A shortstop and pitcher, Harrington batted .583 (6th in WPIAL) in 1982 with a WPIAL-leading nine home runs. On the mound that year, he led the team with six wins and 63 strikeouts, including 16 in one game. Harrington set six school hitting records as the Blue Devils won their first section title in 21 years and advanced to the WPIAL semifinals. Before missing most of his junior season because of a broken femur, Harrington led Burgettstown his sophomore season in pitching wins, home runs (3) and all other offensive categories except doubles and stolen bases. At Ohio he was a four-year starter at third base and designated hitter. Harrington finished his collegiate career as the school’s career leader in runs (114) and RBI (134). He was second in school history in home runs (26) and slugging percentage (.643). Harrington surpassed MLB Hall of Famer and Ohio graduate Mike Schmidt in three of the four offensive categories listed above. Harrington would have tied Schmidt for career home runs at 27 but a home run against WVU did not count because of a shortened game.

Terry Havelka – Coach, Athlete, Administrator, Wrestling and Football; Burgettstown H.S. and William & Mary – Havelka was Burgettstown’s head wrestling coach for 24 seasons (1992-2016) after serving 13 years as an assistant. Havelka retired from coaching and teaching as the 24th winningest coach in WPIAL wrestling history with a 242-101 (.706) record. He was Burgettstown’s athletic director from 2010-2016, head football coach from 2012-2015 after being an assistant from 1979-1992. A wrestling standout, Havelka was a 1974 WPIAL finalist and PIAA state qualifier. He was Burgettstown’s starting quarterback for three seasons, earning all-conference and WPIAL all-star honors in 1973 and 1974 as well as Big 33 honorable mention in 1974 while helping the team reach the WPIAL playoffs. Havelka was also a four-year starting pitcher and shortstop on the baseball team before going on to play college football at William and Mary University.

Tom Morrell – Athlete, Wrestling; Immaculate Conception H.S. and

Washington & Jefferson College – A four-year letterwinner and three-year

starter at IC, Morrell compiled a 65-6 record with 44 wins by fall. He was a 1977 section runner-up, and in 1978 Morrell won the section championship at 185 pounds before going on to win WPIAL and PIAA championships. He completed his 22-2 season with a 5-4 decision over Conneaut Lake’s Rick Rigby in the finals after a 7-5 decision over top-seeded and undefeated Tim Noerr of Chief Logan in the semifinals. That season he competed at the PA Matt Classic. At W&J, Morrell became a four-year starter and four-time NCAA Division III Tournament qualifier. He had a 13-2 record as a freshman, leading the team with 71 points, which was second-best in the PAC. During his 1979-1980 sophomore season, Morrell finished second at the PAC Tournament before winning championships in both his junior and senior seasons. He finished with a school-record 29 pins.

Mike Sirianni – Coach, Football; Washington & Jefferson College – One

of the NCAA’s most successful head coaches, and the winningest coach in W&J history, Sirianni has a 21-year record of 185-44, and his .808 winning

percentage ranks fourth among all active NCAA football coaches with 10-or-more years of experience. He has guided the Presidents to 18 postseason appearances, including 11 NCAA playoff appearances. Sirianni has helped W&J achieve 40 straight winning seasons. He has been selected PAC Coach of the Year seven times, as well as the 2021

D3football.com South Region Coach of the Year and the 2017 AFCA Region 2 Coach of the Year. He served as the Presidents’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 1999-2002 after stints at Wilkes and his alma mater Mount Union. As a player, Sirianni helped the 1993 Raiders win the NCAA Division III national championship, was a three-year starter and two-time all-conference receiver, and also a four-time triple jump conference champion in track and field.