Class of 2024

 

 

Tickets to the Induction Banquet are available for purchase at Frank's Star Lunch, at the high school main office, and from any of the Hall of Fame Committee Members listed on the home page.  Tickets are $30 each and include a delicious catered dinner prepared by Shannon's Catering.  Please plan ahead, as tickets are NOT available at the door.

 

 

Renea graduated from PAHS in 2003 where she was a 3-sport standout and 4-year letterwinner in cross country, basketball, and track & field.  In cross country, she was a 4-time state qualifier and 4-time team MVP selection.  She was the District 9 Girls Champion her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons, and was the team captain her senior year.  In basketball, she made the District 9 All-Star team following her freshman, junior, and senior seasons, and helped lead her team to the D9 title in 2002 and 2003.  In track & field, she was a 7-time District 9 champion, having won the 400m dash in 2001 and 2002, the 200m dash in 2000 and 2002, and was a member of the winning 3200m relay team in 2000 and 2002, and the 1600m relay team in 2000.  Her senior year, she earned MVP honors for having the most points in the track events.  After graduating from PAHS, Renea attended Slippery Rock University where she competed for two years on their cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track teams.  Her collegiate highlight was a PR time of 2:16.26 in the outdoor women’s 800m run, good for 8^th place in the PSAC conference and helping SRU to win the 2004 PSAC team championship.  She graduated from SRU in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science and later received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Saint Francis University in 2015.

 

Mike is a 1976 graduate of PAHS and was named the Varsity Club’s “Outstanding Athlete” and “Outstanding Senior Harrier” in 1975-76, when he led the PAHS basketball, cross county (which went undefeated), and track & field teams all to District 9 championships.  He was voted MVP of the basketball team his senior season, where he was co-captain and led the team to a 20-2 record.  He graduated as Punxsy’s all-time leader in assists, and was named to the D9 All-League team as a senior.  He also qualified for the PA state cross country and outdoor track meets his senior year.  Esposito went on to play collegiate basketball, cross country, and track at Westminster College where he was named the school’s most valuable runner in 1979 and 1980.  Afterward, Mike began an illustrious career as a cross country and track & field coach.  He is currently the head track & field and cross country coach at High Point University (NCAA Division 1) in North Carolina, where he has been since 2005.  He built High Point into a Big South Conference power, winning numerous conference championships.  He has been named the Big South track and field Coach of the Year 10 times, and cross country Coach of the Year twice.  He previously served as Mount Taber High School’s coach from 1990 to 2005, where his teams won an astounding 11 North Carolina state championships.  His men’s cross country team at Mount Taber was undefeated from 1994 through his departure in 2005.  Eight times he was named the North Carolina high school Coach of the Year.  He was inducted into the North Carolina High School Track & Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame in February of 2024.

 

A PAHS graduate in 2007, Lauren was a gifted all-around athlete who earned 4 letters in basketball, 3 in softball, and 2 in volleyball.  She was the MVP and Co-Captain of her junior and senior basketball squads, and finished her career with 1,046 points, good for 4^th on the all-time list.  She was named the District 9 MVP her senior season, and was also awarded the Carl Truance Holiday Tournament MVP award.  In softball she was MVP and Co-Captain her senior year, and was named all D9 1^st-team following both her 11^th and 12^th grade seasons.  Her Punxsy Softball team finished 21-3 and were the State Runners-Up her junior season. In volleyball she was a co-captain and District 9 1^st-team selection her senior year.  Lauren and

her teammates may best be remembered for their magical run to the 2005 Senior Little League Softball Pennsylvania State Championship, which culminated in an East Regional Championship, and a 3^rd-Place finish in the Senior League World Series.  After graduation from PAHS, Lauren attended Clarion University of PA where she played two seasons on the Golden Eagles SoftballTeam, earning 2 varsity letters.  Martino graduated in 2011 with a degree in Business/Sports Management, then went on to earn a Masters Degree in Health Management Systems from Duquesne University.

 

Les Shoop was Punxsutawney’s Head Basketball Coach for 12 seasons from 1970 – 1983 where he posted an overall record of 198-96, and his teams won five District 9 AAAA Championships.  Shoop also started the PAHS Cross Country team during his tenure.  Prior to arriving in Punxsy, Les was a 3-year starter on Shannock Valley’s basketball team and was selected 3^rd team All-State following his senior season in 1965.  He graduated as the 2^nd leading scorer in SVHS history.  He went on to play collegiately at Indiana University of Pennsylvania where he was a 4-year letterman and 3-year starter.  He was the team’s captain his senior year and finished with 991 career points, the 7^th

best total in school history at that time.  For his efforts, he was named a Little All-American Honorable Mention following his senior season.  Upon leaving Punxsy, Shoop coached at Knoch High School where he amassed another 313 wins.  He retired in 2006, having won a total of 511 games as a high school basketball coach.  Shoop was inducted into the Armstrong County Sports Hall of Fame in 1984, the IUP Hall of Fame in 2004, and the ButlerCounty Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.  One of Shoop’s personal highlights was coaching in the 1992 Dapper Dan Roundball Classic, a national high school basketball all-star game, which was the last one held at Pittsburgh’s Civic Arena after a 28-year run at that facility.

 

Kody is a 2011 graduate of PAHS and was Punxsutawney’s first 4-time District 9 AAA wrestling champion, winning at 112, 125, 130, and 125 pounds.  During his senior campaign, he was the Northwest Region Class AAA Champion at 125 pounds and advanced to the PIAA State Championships with a 32-2 won-loss record.  Kody’s career record was 141-13, with 96 wins by fall, which ranks him #1 for most wrestling wins in Punxsy school history.  Kody also played soccer for the Chucks and was a 4-year starter, a 3-year captain, and a 3-time MVP of 

the squad.  Kody was an integral part of the Punxsy soccer team that won the school’s first playoff game in 2010.  During the fall of 2010, Kody split his time by also serving as kicker for the Chucks football team where he set the school record for most kicking points in a season with 37.  Following graduation, Kody attended Division II Mercyhurst University where he was a 2-time national qualifier in wrestling.  In 2023, the District 9 Chapter of the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association inducted Kody into its 23^rd class of their Hall of Fame.  Kody currently works in Clinical Research at MEDPACE in Cincinnati, Ohio and coaches wrestling at Cincinnati LaSalle High School.

 

Strano is a posthumous inductee who graduated with the PAHS Class of 1962.  Dick was a three-year letterwinner in both football and basketball (1959-1961).  Under the direction of head coach Jack Hart,

 Strano was all-league in football in 1960 and 1961.  Playing for Chuck Daly, he was the District 9 leading scorer in basketball and was selected as the 1^st Team All-District 9 point guard in 1961.  Dick went on to play college football at Southwestern College in Kansas from 1962-1965,where he was all-league in 1965.  He later taught for 15 years in Kansas, and owned a sporting goods store for 30 years.

 

Recipient of the 2024 Chuck Daly “Lifetime Contributor Award”, Chris was a long-time and well-respected teacher and athletic trainer at PAHS from 1984-2021.  He began his sports career as a wrestler at Bald Eagle-Nittany High School, where he was a 2-year varsity letterwinner and a District 6 wrestling champion.  His collegiate career began at IUP, where he earned one varsity wrestling letter, followed by three seasons at Lock Haven University, where he earned two varsity letters.  Along the way he also won two PA State Freestyle Championships and one runner-up.  In addition, he earned a coveted 2^nd-place trophy at the Mat Town USA wrestling tournament, and was a 3^rd-place finisher at the Mid-Atlantic Championships.  He was Punxsutawney’s first certified Athletic Trainer, and built the operation from scratch to the invaluable program that it is today.  In addition to athletic training, Chris is a certified EMT, a certified weight assessor, and a certified firefighter (and member of the Lindsay Fire Co.).  He holds an advanced open-water SCUBA

 certification, and a deep- and wreck-diver SCUBA certification.  He was awarded the “Above the Call” award from “Training and Conditioning” magazine, and was athletic trainer for PA-USA wrestling from 1998-2019 (at the Fargo National Championships).  As a teacher, Chris developed and instructed the “Introduction to Sports Medicine” course at PAHS.  He also developed and managed the Functional Strength Training and Conditioning summer programs for all athletes from 2002-2015.  He spent many hours at the PAHS facility over those 37 years, helping to heal, support, and mentor athletes from every sport.