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Hall of Fame inductees include champions, officials, moments

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The Washington-Greene Co. Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame will hold inductions Sunday at the Hilton Garden Inn, Southpointe. The event is sold out.

The following are the biographies for the second group of inductees.

Chris Peters

Peters Township High School

Indiana University

Athlete of Distinction – Baseball

Peters was a four-year letter-winner in baseball and two-year basketball letterman at Peters Township. He compiled an 18-4 high school pitching record and was team captain his senior year. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1993 (37th round).

Peters pitched six years in the major leagues – for Pittsburgh from 1996 through 2000 and with Montreal in 2001. He had a 19-25 career record with two saves, 224 strikeouts in 379.2 innings pitched and a 4.81 ERA.

In 1998, he went 8-10 with a 3.47 ERA in 21 starts, and was 5-4 for the Pirates the following season.

Peters had a 42-31 record and six saves with a 3.62 ERA in nine minor-league seasons.

As an Indiana Hoosier, Peters won 19 games, pitched in 136 games (49 starts), had two saves and 224 strikeouts.

Lester Peterson

Canon-McMillan High School

Wrestling

Peterson won three WPIAL championships (1967-69) and is one of 17 wrestlers in school history with this accomplishment. He became the tradition-rich program’s first PIAA state champion when he won the 1969 title at 120 pounds, defeating defending champion Dave Clark of Clearfield, 10-9, after overcoming 6-0 and 8-5 deficits.

He was a PIAA semifinalist in 1967 and 1968. As a sophomore, he lost by default – plagued with cramps – to Ed Osborne of Commodore Perry in the semifinals. The following season, he lost to Clearfield’s Norm Palovcsik in the 120-pound semifinals

As a senior, Peterson won the 120-pound weight class in the WPIAL. There were four regional champions in the bracket. He defeated Waynesburg’s three-time WPIAL champion Gary McClure in the finals, 9-6.

At the state tournament, he earned a 9-6 semifinals decision over Dan Sanders of Lower Dauphin. He then met Clark in the finals.

Peterson also participated in track and field and excelled in the hurdles.

George Preisendorfer

Bentworth High School

Point Park University

Official & Athlete

Preisendorfer was an outstanding baseball player for Bentworth High School and went on to a fine career at Point Park, where he was a standout catcher coach Frankie Gustine, a former Pittsburgh Pirates player. Preisendorfer was a four-year letterman in baseball and three-year letterman in basketball for Bentworth.

At Point Park, from 1968-72, he was a scholarship catcher. In 1972 he was NAIA All-District 18.

After his playing career, Preisendorfer became one of the finest referees in the WPIAL and state as evidenced by the number of championship games he officiated. Preisendorfer was a PIAA basketball official from 1975 to 2015 and worked WPIAL championship games in 15 consecutive seasons. He worked state title games in 1988, 1992 and 1998.

A member of the Washington-Greene County Basketball Officials Association, Preisendorfer received the recognition award in 1979, 2006 and 2014. In 1999, he was the National Federation State of Pennsylvania Official of the Year. He officiated the Roundball Classic and NCAA Divisions I, II and III from 1998-2010, working several regional and postseason tournaments.

Preisendorfer is also a gifted golfer, winning the senior club championship in 2014 at Nemacolin Country Club, where he has been a member since 1978.

Preisendorfer received the William A. Christy Award for Excellence in Officiating in 2013.

Lanfer Simpson

Waynesburg Central High School

West Virginia University

Football

Simpson ran for 4,010 yards and made 496 tackles during his outstanding high school football career. He helped Waynesburg win the 1999 WPIAL Class AA championship and reach the 2000 finals. He scored three touchdowns and had 100 rushing yards in the 1999 title game. He finished that season with 1,542 rushing yards, 19 touchdowns, 115 tackles, four forced fumbles and three interceptions.

He received first-team All-State honors in 1999 and second-team in 2000. In addition, Simpson was the 1999 WPIAL Class AA Player of the Year and the 2001 Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Year.

In wrestling, Simpson compiled an 86-21 record for the Raiders. He won the 2000 WPIAL heavyweight championship and was runner-up in 2001. He placed seventh at the 2001 PIAA Championships.

In track and field, Simpson was the 2001 WPIAL champion and PIAA runner-up in the shot put. He placed 4th in the 2000 WPIAL shot put.

He was a member of WVU’s 2004 Eastern Wrestling League championship team and lettered in football and wrestling at West Virginia.

Dennis Slagle

Beth-Center High School

Baseball

Slagle is believed to have thrown the lone no-hitter in Beth-Center history, a 6-0 victory over Charleroi with no ball hit out of the infield on April 21, 1969. Slagle struck out a record 25 batters in an 11-inning 2-1 win over defending section champion Waynesburg in 1969. He helped the Bulldogs win the WPIAL Section 16 championship.

He led both the Bulldogs’ basketball and football teams in scoring. During his three-year football career, Slagle passed for 1,509 yards with 12 touchdowns and posted a 15-5-6 cumulative record including a 5-0-4 mark in 1967.

During his three-year scholastic basketball career, Slagle scored 589 points.

Slagle was selected in the 43rd round of the 1969 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1969, he had a 7-1 record and 2.60 ERA in the Gulf Coast League.

Pitching for three different teams in 1970, Slagle went 6-6 with a 4.27 ERA. In 1971, Slagle had a 4-1 record with a 4.21 ERA for Niagara Falls in the New York-Penn League. He was invited to the Pirates’ major league camp in 1970.

Slagle finished with a pro career record of 17-8 with a 3.82 ERA and 159 strikeouts in 98 innings pitched.

Terrance Wilkins

Washington High School

Washington & Jefferson College

Basketball

Wilkins helped the 1989-90 Little Prexies win their fourth WPIAL title in seven years and reach the PIAA semifinals.

He was the President’s Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player in 1992 and 1993, and was a three-time first-team All-PAC selection. He scored 1,410 career points, which ranks eighth in W&J history. His 804 career rebounds ranks third.

Wilkins finished in the top 10 in NCAA Division III in rebounding one season and helped the Presidents win three consecutive PAC championships (1992-94). He led the 1993-94 Presidents to a program-best 22-3 record as the team advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III tournament.

Lynn Unice Yater

Trinity High School

Washington & Jefferson College

Basketball

Unice Yater was named to the Washington & Jefferson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010. She was a four-year starter for the Presidents with 446 career assists, a school record.

The Presidents won 57 games in her four years, including a 19-5 record during her senior season in which W&J won both the PAC and ECAC Southern Regional – the first postseason title in W&J women’s basketball history.

She was a three-time All-PAC player and won the 1993 Paul Reardon Award for academic and athletic excellence. She scored 1,034 career points.

At Trinity, Unice Yater was a three-year starter and scored 855 points. She was a member of the WPIAL Section 5 team in 1989 and 1990 and was named to the Observer-Reporter All-District team. She was MVP of the Washington County All-Star game and played in the Keystone State Games, winning a bronze medal, in 1990.

She averaged nearly seven assists per game during her three seasons at Trinity.

1975 Beth-Center Football Team of Yesteryear

Coached by Bill Connors, the Bulldogs won the WPIAL Class AA championship, compiling a 12-0 record with seven shutouts. Beth- Center outscored its opponents, 364-47. The Bulldogs’ first-team defense was unscored upon during the nine-game regular season.

Ten players earned all-conference honors, seven were all-WPIAL and five were nominated to the Big 33 team.

In the last 50-plus seasons, this Bulldogs team was one of only four Class AA teams in Washington County to win a WPIAL championship.

In the postseason, the Bulldogs defeated Peters Township, 34-13, and earned a 13-0 semifinals victory over Beaver. Beth-Center won the WPIAL title by whipping Kittanning, 13-0, at Mt. Lebanon Stadium.

The team rushed for nearly 3,000 yards while the defense had 19 interceptions and recovered 15 fumbles.

Special Honoree Erman Hartman

Brownsville High School

California University of Pennsylvania

Official

Hartman had a football officiating career of more than 30 years and officiated WPIAL and PIAA championship games. He also officiated baseball, basketball, and volleyball, and in 2010 received the Tri-County Athletic Director’s Bill Christy Memorial Excellence in Officiating Award. A longtime rules interpreter and evaluator, Hartman helped found the Iron City Official’s Chapter.

At Cal, Hartman was a standout in basketball and the starting shortstop on the Vulcans’ 1962 and 1963 NAIA Northeast Regional title teams.

He was Upper St. Clair’s baseball coach from 1967-70

Special Honoree Richard P. Novak

Mapletown High School

West Virginia University

Coach (Posthumous)

Novak was Avella High School’s head football coach for 10 years and led the 1966 Eagles to an undefeated regular season and WPIAL championship game appearance. Novak then coached Avella’s girls basketball team for 13 seasons, winning 105 games with four playoff appearances and the program’s first section title in 24 years (1993-94).

He also coached Avella’s boys basketball team.

Novak was a multi-sport star at Mapletown, where he was the starting quarterback and received the basketball team’s Most Outstanding Player Award.

At WVU, he played football as a freshman and was a four-year quarter-miler in track.

Novak died Nov. 7, 2020, at the age of 80

Special Honoree Joseph Taffoni

Carmichaels High School

WVU and Tennessee-Martin University

Football (Posthumous)

A star fullback and defensive tackle who was also a standout in baseball and track and field, Taffoni earned all-county and all-state football honors and played in the 1963 Big 33 Classic.

Taffoni was an all-conference and second-team All-American and member of WVU’s 1964 Liberty Bowl team.

After WVU he played one year at Tennessee-Martin before playing six years in the NFL. He played four seasons with Cleveland and two with the New York Giants before retiring in 1974 after 78 career games and 38 starts.

Taffoni died July 26, 2021, at the age of 76

Special Honoree Don Yenko

Bentworth High School and Penn State

Auto racing/entrepreneur/innovator (Posthumous)

Yenko gained international acclaim in the 1950s and 1960s for racing Corvettes in regional races and prestigious endurance contests, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Yenko was a four-time Sports Club of America national driving champion.

He set up a performance shop for Chevrolet vehicles and others at his Canonsburg-based family dealership where he is best known for creating the Yenko Camaro, a high-performance version of the Chevrolet Camaro. He and three other passengers died March 5, 1987, when a Cessna 210 crashed while landing near Charleston, W.Va. Yenko was 59 years old.

James C. Montecalvo and Luke Blanock Memorial Courage Award Parker Muhleman (Posthumous)

Washington High School

In his short life, Muhleman battled an incurable congenital heart defect, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Despite enduring multiple surgeries at a young age for the condition, which prevented blood from flowing normally through his heart, Muhleman remained upbeat, always giving 100 percent on the baseball diamond, golf course and in the classroom. He was an all-star selection in the Washington Youth Baseball League and part of the Southwest Pennsylvania Junior Golf Tour. He courageously told his story and inspired many, including the Washington & Jefferson College baseball team, which made him an honorary member in 2019. The son of Stephanie and Dave Muhleman, Parker died May 10, 2021.

Colby Simkovic (Posthumous)

Jefferson-Morgan High School

Simkovic was an athlete who was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor in 2010. A 2020 graduate of Jefferson-Morgan High School where he was an all-state and all-county standout on the Rockets’ WPIAL championship rifle team, Simkovic endured a decade-long battle with cancer. He inspired many by actively speaking of hope and perseverance at various fundraising events during his illness, supporting others struggling with serious illness. His family has established Colby’s Stars Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit organization created to help children who are fighting cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. The son of Carrie and Jerry Simkovic, Colby died March 7, 2021.

Hall of Fame Moment Patsy Vulcano

Chartiers-Houston High School

Patsy Vulcano won the 132-pound PIAA Class AAA wrestling championship in 1984 at Hersheypark Arena. It was the only tournament Vulcano won in his career at Chartiers-Houston. He defeated four consecutive wrestlers who were all district champions, including Tom Haught of Trinity in the semifinals, who had beaten Vulcano four previous times. Trailing 4-2 in the finals, he turned Shikellamy’s Mike Balestrini for two back points in the second period. He gained an escape and late takedown in the third period to win the gold medal.

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