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MC Hall welcomes Class of 2022

By KENNY VARNER

Sentinel correspondent

sports@lewistownsentinel.com

BURNHAM — It was a night of celebration Sunday as 2022 Class of the Mifflin County Hall of Fame inductees were honored for their contributions to the landscape that is Mifflin County sports.

To celebrate the present success of the local sports scene, it was a look back to those who created the foundation with their on and off the field accolades.

The night of who’s who among local athletes and teams kicked off with sure future Hall of Famer and five-time All-American (North Carolina State) and PIAA champion wrestler Hayden Hidlay.

Hidlay put his thoughts on how important it is in carving out a successful career.

“Tonight is an important night. Sports has a way of giving us and showing us how strong we can be. A lot has been said about NCAA performances and things like that,” Hidlay said. “But at the end of the day I think it makes you become a stronger person. Nothing quite like sports can give you that.”

Such was the case for all the individuals honored Sunday.

Leading off the ceremony was one of the pioneers in girls basketball, Wendee Booher, a 1987 Chief Logan graduate.

Booher, who was a standout three-sport athlete (cross country, basketball, and track and field) for the Mingoes finished her high school career as a state champion and four-time medalist in cross country. In 1986 she led the Mingoes to the state championship under fellow inductee Ron Sprecher.

On the track, she was a three-time District 6 champion and state medalist in the two-mile run.

She surpassed the 2,000-point scoring mark on the hardwood. She played college for Temple and played pro basketball overseas and has coached.

Presenting the award to Booher was longtime friend John Pannizzo.

“This is a huge honor … when you leave a town, small like ours, you never expect anything like this to happen,” she said. “It a big deal and my neighbors in Boiling Springs asked me what was I doing Sunday. I get to go back to my hometown for the Hall of Fame. So it’s a big deal.”

Next up, the Hall of Fame honored longtime local sports fixture Dick Gingrich.

Gingrich was a four-sport letter-winner at Chief Logan. He was is probably best remembered for quarterbacking the Chief Logan football teams to win 28 of 30 games, including two undefeated seasons and a 22-game winning streak.

He was selected to both the UPI and AP All-State teams and was a Wigwam Wiseman High school All-American. He also was named to the the Big 33 Classic.

After graduation, he was a standout at Penn State under then coach Rip Engle. He was named to Nittany Lions’ 1960s All-Decade team.

He ended his playing career with two interceptions in the East-West Shrine game. He was also a graduate assistant for Joe Paterno.

His presenter was son Aaron Gingrich.

“This is an honor for me to stand here this evening being an honoree of the Mifflin County Hall of Fame,” the elder Gingrich said.

Wrestling took to the big stage after Gingrich’s speech as the Hall of Fame honored one of the true icons in local wrestling history, Joseph Heller.

Heller, a 1979 graduate of Chief Logan, was Mifflin County’s first two-time state wrestling champion, winning back-to-back titles while posting a record of 55-1 over those two seasons. He was a three-time state qualifier. His career record was 70-10 in just three seasons on the mat.

He was a Northwest Regional champion and a two-time District 6 champ. He garnered the district’s Outstanding Wrestling award as junior.

The Amateur Wrestling News listed him as an honorable mention high school All-American. He wrestled for the University of Virginia at the college level.

Presenting the award for Heller were children Caitlin, Joseph and Ethan Heller.

“I’d like to start by thanking some folks. I’d like say thank you to the Mifflin County Sports Hall of Fame. It’s members, it’s group members for putting this all together,” Heller said. “It means a great, great deal to me. The older I get, the more it means.”

Joining the ranks next was Harold “Junior” Powell from the Maroon and Steel days of the Lewistown Panthers.

Presenting the award for Powell was longtime friend Edgar Parks.

Powell, a 1959 graduate of Lewistown, was a key member of the legendary Lewistown football teams that went 26-2 over three varsity seasons. Included in that run were back-to-back undefeated seasons in 1957-58.

Powell was a member of the “Dream Backfield.” He also played on defense and returned kicks. He was an All-State honorable mention in his senior year. He had an amazing stat in that he reached the end zone by catch, carry or return on average one in five times he touched the ball.

He continued his playing career at Penn State where he was declared by Penn State legendary coach Rip Engle as one of the best pound-for-pound players he had ever coached, something that Powell had just found out about in recent months.

“I just became aware of this that way back when, it was about two months ago that I found out,” Powell said. “It just knocked me over.”

The last individual to be honored for the night was Ronald Sprecher.

Sprecher has been active for more than half a century coaching running sports in the Mifflin County area. He is synonymous with cross country, track and field across Pennsylvania.

Presenting his award was former runner Tona Williams.

He first coached at Rothrock High School in 1968 where his runners won a District 6 title in cross country. Shortly after that, the legendary coach moved onto coach Chief Logan and turned the Mingoes into a forced to be reckoned with.

He then spearheaded Indian Valley’s program after Chief Logan and Kish High Schools merged in 1988.

All in all, Sprecher’s teams collected 28 boys and girls District 6 cross country and track and field championships. Numerous individuals won district titles as well. He has had a successful time coaching several state qualifiers and state champions.

He coached the 1986 Chief Logan girls cross country team to a state title. Sprecher was humbled by his nomination.

“I feel honored but humbled. It’s very difficult accepting that I’m part of this group,” he said, adding, “a group that I highly respect.”

Adding to the night was a new award that was given out, the Volunteer Recognition Award.

This year’s winners were longtime Babe Ruth historian and writer Ray Wilde and longtime Babe Ruth coach Bill Corbin, who both have spent more than 40 years with the Mifflin County Babe Ruth program.

In 40-years as a head coach, Corbin has anointed an impressive win-loss mark at 764-413. He has won numerous state titles and a national runner-up bid.

Wilde started out as a book keeper for Belleville in 1970. He has attended and provided sports coverage for more than 2,000 games. He has also produced media guides to keep fans up to date on the history of the organization, and has covered it for The Sentinel throughout that time.

In a heartwarming final tribute of the night, the county’s first team to win a state title was honored for its magical season in 1963.

The Rothrock High School basketball team won the state championship that year, defeating Jim Thorpe in buzzer-beater fashion, 43-41. The team, then Class C, took the title at Bethlehem, setting the stage for future teams to come. The team was coached by Harold Wertz.

Wertz and eight members of his team were present for the presentation.

The Mifflin County Hall of Fame rounded out the night bigger and better thanks to the dynamic athletes that have led the way for others — and most of all for adding the Mifflin County legacy.

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