George Guido: New Edinboro football coach to headline Armstrong County Sports HOF class

By: George Guido
Tuesday, February 18, 2020 | 2:37 PM

It’s been a pretty busy 2020 so far for Apollo-Ridge graduate Jake Nulph.

He was named Edinboro’s football coach Jan. 19.

On April 26, he will be inducted into the Armstrong County Sports Hall of Fame.

Nulph quarterbacked Apollo-Ridge to its first undefeated season in 2000, passing for 26 touchdowns and 2,600 yards and running for 12 TDs.

The Armstrong hall’s 48th induction dinner is set for 4 p.m. April 26 at Laube Hall in Freeport.

Here are the other inductees:

Angela Hileman Bevans: A softball and basketball standout at Ford City, Hileman Bevans recorded an 11-2 record in the circle for the Sabers and struck out 157 batters in only 70 innings. She also had 122 assists for Ford City’s PIAA semifinalist basketball team in 1998 before heading to IUP.

Anne Colligan: A four-year letter-winner in softball and golf, Colligan was the first Kittanning High School golfer to qualify for the PIAA finals. While at St. Francis (Pa.), she was selected four times to the Northeast Conference all-conference team.

Diane Geist: A pioneer of female sports at Freeport, Geist lettered in volleyball, softball and basketball before becoming a volleyball standout at IUP. As volleyball coach at Knoch for 34 years, she has a 466-131 record, and her teams have won WPIAL volleyball titles the past three seasons.

Chris King: As a member of the Apollo-Ridge basketball team that won three straight section titles, King will be inducted in the builders category. He was named vice president and director of athletics at his alma mater, Robert Morris, on May 6, 2019.

Everett LeSueur Sr.: A posthumous inductee, LeSueur was a 1961 graduate of Leechburg, where he began his competitive archery career. He won 13 Pennsylvania archery championships as a member of the Chieftain Archery Club of Allegheny Township. LeSueur died Sept. 20, 2019.

Rick Maffei: A Shannock Valley graduate, Maffei helped the Spartans basketball team to four consecutive section championships — then the only way to get into the WPIAL playoffs. He later competed in football and track at IUP and was a Colonel in the Air Force.

Sandra Brestensky Mitchell: A 1987 Freeport graduate, Brestensky Mitchell played volleyball, basketball and softball four years each. She was a Valley News Dispatch basketball all-star twice and continued her athletic career at Saint Vincent in basketball and volleyball.

Dale Ruth: An inductee in the builders category, the Worthington High School graduate played men’s league hockey at the Belmont Arena until age 65. He is best known for spending 14 years as the video goal judge at Pittsburgh Penguins games, making him one of the few hall of famers to be booed by 17,000 fans for taking away Pens goals upon review.

Derek David Shaffer: At Shannock Valley, Shaffer lettered in baseball, football, basketball and track. He was a key member of the Spartans basketball team that won three section titles and was the 1978 WPIAL runner-up and PIAA semifinalist. He played basketball at IUP.

Steve Smerick: A graduate of Ford City and The American Military University, Smerick is this year’s military awardee. He was a four-year baseball starter and played for the Armstrong American Legion team. He served with the army in Afghanistan and Iraq and was awarded the Bronze star and numerous other commendations.

Banquet tickets are $25 each and can be obtained by contacting Dennis Wolfe at 724-882-3557.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Armstrong, Freedom, Leechburg