UNIVERSITY PARK — The Centre County Sports Hall of Fame inducted 11 new members in a ceremony held at the Penn Stater on Oct. 22.
The 2023 class is made up of record-setting athletes from Centre County who collectively excelled in virtually every sport from football to golf and represented every one of the public high schools in the county.
The inductees included Jon Condo, Kelly Kephart-Rees, Josh Hull, Dave Breon, Doug Taylor, Larry Wiser, Gawen Stoker, Ken Walker, Ann Infield, Ron Pavlechko and Eric Brugel.
Condo is perhaps the best known inductee. He graduated from Philipsburg-Osceola High School, where he was an all-state linebacker, PIAA wrestling champion and all-state baseball player. Condo went on to have a 15-year NFL career with the Oakland Raiders.
Kephart-Rees is also from P-O and was a four-year starter in four sports for the Mounties. She won 16 varsity letters and played in 10 District 6 championships. She is presently the athletic director at Philipsburg-Osceola.
Josh Hull was a Penns Valley graduate and a walk-on linebacker at Penn State who worked his way into a starting job for the Nittany Lions. Hull was named to many All-Big-Ten academic and athletic teams during his career with the Lions.
Breon was a 1971 BEA graduate who became a fast-pitch softball player who won over 500 games in a 33-year career, while Doug Taylor, another BEA graduate, was an outstanding high school wrestler who continued on with a career at West Virginia, where he finished fifth in the NCAA tournament in 1993.
Larry Wiser was an outstanding football player for BEA and then a very successful coach for Clarion High School. His 217-97 record made him the winningest coach in District 9 history.
Another BEA football inductee was Gawen Stoker, who coached the Eagles to their first District 6 title and earned a record of 152-85-2. He was the District 6 and 7 director of the Pennsylvania Football Coaches Association and also coached the West team in the Big 33 Game in 1981.
Ken Walker was an outstanding Bellefonte athlete in football, wrestling and baseball. He went on to star in two sports at Lock Haven and then coached two sports for Ashley Ridge High School in South Carolina.
Ann Infield, Ron Pavlechko and Eric Brugel were all State College graduates.
Infield coached wildly successful girls track and field teams and cross country teams. Her cross-country teams lost just one meet in five years, while the track and field teams had eight undefeated seasons.
Pavlechko was a Penn State offensive lineman who began a coaching career at State High in 1971. He was 117-103-4 as the head coach and had two district championships and four undefeated seasons.
Eric Brugel was a State College wrestler who won two PIAA championships and was named the outstanding wrestler in the 1983 state tournament. He went on to Penn State and was named an All-American in 1984.
Hall of Fame President Keith Bierly presided over the ceremony, which was highlighted by videos of each of the inductees, a lunch and the induction of each of the new members.
Each year, the Hall of Fame members nominate potential inductees and then vote on which athletes will be admitted.
Infield, Pavlechko and Stoker were inducted posthumously. Jack Infield represented his late wife, Ann; Tim Pavlehko stood for his father, Ron; and Pat Stoker for her husband, Gawen.
