Indiana County Sports Hall of Fame

Tickets for the 42nd annual Indiana County Sports Hall of Fame banquet are on sale. The banquet will be held Sunday, May 17, at 5:30 p.m. at the Indiana Country Club.

Tickets are available at Good and Associates Insurance Agency, 1801 Philadelphia St., Indiana, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or any Board Member. Tickets are $50 for adults and $25 for children 12 and younger. The deadline to purchase tickets is May 6.

The Class of 2026 consists of Lloyd Clemons, Danny Ferens, Jim Irwin, Andy Kish, Fred Mitchell, Brian Pizer, Jeff Putt and Dave Small. Kish will be inducted posthumously. Questions can be directed to Tony Coccagna at 724-840-4056 or [email protected]. You may also message this page for more information.

Bio's for this year's Hall Inductees are below.

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The Hall of Fame’s annual induction banquet will be held Sunday, May 17, at the Indiana Country Club. Tickets will be available at a later date.

Following is a look at the Class of 2026, in alphabetical order:

LLOYD CLEMONS: The 1994 Indiana High School graduate rushed for 1,218 yards in two seasons at Michigan State, where he played for head coach Nick Saban. He started his college career at Rhode Island before moving on to Michigan State. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers and nearly made the team in 2000, and he spent one season on injured reserve with the New York Giants. He was the first player from Indiana High to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season.

DANNY FERENS: The 2012 Penns Manor High School graduate was a record-setting quarterback, a two-time all-state selection, a three-time all-Gazette player of the year and a catalyst behind 40 wins and the school’s only District 6 championship in football. He still holds the area record for career rushing yards with 5,594 and total offense with 7,828. He went on to Penn, where he was a four-year letterman and a member of two Ivy League championship teams.

JIM IRWIN: The longtime Indiana High track and field and cross-country coach established the first boys’ cross-country team at Indiana in 1966 and the first girls’ team in 1980 and went on to mentor several district champions and numerous state qualifiers and medalists, a state champion, a state runner-up and several athletes who went on to run at Division I schools. He also coached undefeated track teams in 1976 and 1981 and won Central-Western League titles in 1973, 1974 and 1979. Indiana won the District 6 team title in 1981, and he ushered the team into the WPIAL in 1986. He was the WPIAL coach of the year in 1999.

ANDREW KISH: A rare four-sport athlete and 13-time letterman at Laura Lamar High School, he started three years in football at running back and linebacker and was a two-time All-Gazette selection. He went on to IUP and led the varsity in rushing yards as a freshman before earning an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he played fullback and linebacker. In 1963, Navy, behind quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach, ended the season ranked No. 2 in the AP poll. A knee injury prevented Kish from playing as a senior. An injury also limited him to one season on the academy baseball team. In high school, he was a three-year starter in basketball, a standout catcher in baseball who had a tryout with the Pirates and a runner on the track and field team.

FRED MITCHELL: A longtime coach at Penns Manor High School, he guided the track and field program from 1993-2012 and the cross-country program from 2000-2010 and made the Comets regular participants and medalists on the District 6 and PIAA level. He coached two Heritage Conference team champions in track — one boys’ and one girls’ — and the girls captured the Indiana County Meet title in 2012. In all, he led 27 athletes to the state meet and 14 to medals, including three state champions. His dual-meet record in track was 146-73.

BRIAN PIZER: No high school player in Indiana County has scored more points than the 2,294 the 2003 Saltsburg High School graduate scored from 2001-2003. As a senior, he scored 827 points, the fourth-most in area history, and averaged 29.5 per game while shooting 54 percent from the floor, a high number for a guard. He was named the All-Gazette Player of the Year after leading his team to the District 6 championship, its second in three years. He also was a rare freshman starter and helped the Trojans win a district title, its first of three in four years.

JEFF PUTT: The Indiana High graduate was a two-time wrestling All-American at Shippensburg University. He placed fourth nationally as a senior in 2000 at 125 pounds and seventh as a sophomore in 1998 at 118 and reached the national tournament as a junior. He recorded 105 career wins from 1997-2000, which remains fourth-most in program history, and he held the program’s fast-pin record of seven seconds at the time of his graduation. In high school, he placed sixth in the state at 119 pounds and won his match in the Dapper Dan Classic. He also was an assistant coach at Armstrong High School, Indiana High and Kutztown University and continues to coach youth teams in the area as well as officiate PIAA matches.

DAVE SMALL: A 1980 Purchase Line High School graduate, he began his coaching career in 1982 and was head coach at his alma mater from 2000-2012. He led his teams to Heritage Conference titles in 2001, 2006 and 2008 and reached the District 6 semifinals each season. He was twice named the All-Gazette Coach of the Year. After he left Purchase Line, he was a highly sought-after assistant coach at programs in the area. As a scholastic athlete, he was an All-Gazette selection in football and basketball and a state qualifier in track and field.

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Introducing the Indiana County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2026:
1 Lloyd Clemons
2 Danny Ferens
3 Jim Irwin
4 Andrew Kish (posthumously)
5 Fred Mitchell
6 Brian Pizer
7 Jeff Putt
8 Dave Small

Short bios will added in the near future.

Congratulations to all! The Class will be honored at our Annual Banquet presented by Colonial Motor Mart, Force Turf Solutions and Bowman Land Surveying on May 17, 2026 at the Indiana Country Club.

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Circle W Sports Launches New Site For Indiana County Sports Hall Of Fame-2025 News - Circle W Sports The Complete High School Athletic Platform

The Indiana County Sports Hall of Fame is currently accepting nominations for the Class of 2026. Nominations are due by the end of October. In order to nominate someone, you must be a paid up member of the Hall. If interested in becoming a member you may message us on our page or contact any of our Board of Governors.

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The Indiana County Sports Hall of Fame, sponsored by Force Turf Solutions; Colonial Auto Group; and Bowman Land Survey held its 41st annual induction banquet at the Indiana Country Club on Sunday evening. A crowd of over 250 witnessed the Induction of the Class of 2025 as well as individual and team standout performances from the past year. Additionally, the Hall presented a $350.00 award to a male and female scholar/athlete from each of the eight high schools in the county. Pictures follow this post. A special thank you goes out to Senator Joe Pittman for covering the cost of our banquet booklets. Next year's banquet is scheduled for Sunday May 17, 2026 at the Indiana Country Club.

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The Class of 2025 consists of, from left, Jim Klyap, accepting for George Gibson, who was inducted posthumously, Bruce Yard, Ashley Burkholtz, Jessica (Bungo) Livermore, Frank Garritano and Chris Matava.

Scholarship awards were presented to, from left, Homer-Center’s Braden Dunn, Indiana’s Tuscan Blystone, Marion Center’s Noah McCoy, Purchase Line’s Jakob Mountain, River Valley’s Samuel Yanits and United’s Gideon Bracken. Apollo-Ridge’s David Cochran and Penns Manor’s Dylan Kuzemchak were not able to attend.

Scholarship awards were presented to, from left, Homer-Center’s Ava King, Indiana’s Kate Mill, Marion Center’s Mollie Shadle, Purchase Line’s Alonna Phillips, River Valley’s Callie Reaugh and United’s Sierra Oleksa. Apollo-Ridge’s Mirabella Andree and Penns Manor’s Summer Fennell were not able to attend.

Honorees included, from left, brothers Troy and Travis Redinger, who bowled perfect 300 games on same night at Mohawk Lanes; Indiana U14 softball coach Jenny Brewer, who led her team to the Little League World Series; Purchase Line junior high girls’ basketball coach Lisa Nelson, who led her team to the Pennsylvania Middle School championship; Penns Manor football coach Bill Packer, a former state coach of the year who recently retired after 20 seasons; and Eddie Gaydosh, who represented his late father and special honoree Ed Gaydosh, who was recognized for his dedication to Purchase Line athletics. Not pictured are Indiana baseball coach Dan Petroff, who led his team to appearances in the WPIAL and PIAA championship games last season; and IUP baseball coach Steve Kline, who led the Crimson Hawks to the NCAA Division II College World Series last season.

Honorees included, first row, from left, Bo Bartlebaugh, seven-time NWTF turkey calling champion; Dylan Depp, a Penns Manor junior who led the state in tackles; Hannah Scardina, an Indiana High graduate and IUP women’s soccer standout who was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Year; and Ava Persichetti, a River Valley senior who set the Indiana County scoring record in basketball with 2,426 points; and second row, Colton Henning, the District 6 champion in cross country; Landon Cook, a Marion Center senior and world champion on the U.S. Fly-Fishing Youth Team; Alex Polenik, a Penns Manor senior who is a four-time District 6 champion and defending state champion in the discus and a three-time district champion in the shot put; Ben Ryan, an Indiana High graduate who helped guide his team to appearances in the WPIAL and PIAA championship games in baseball last spring; and Josh Henning, who led United to the District 6 cross country championship in his first season as head coach. Not pictured are Indiana wrestling standout Nico Fanella, who set career records for victories; and River Valley graduate and track and field standout Sara McConnell, who won the state championship in the high jump last spring before moving on to the United States Naval Academy.

Honorees included Indiana swimming coach Sarah Brown, center, and swimmers Joey Margita, left, and Matthew Blystone. The coach led Indiana to the PIAA boys’ championship in 2024 and the boys’ and girls’ team to WPIAL titles in 2025. The swimmers were part of two relay teams that won state championships. Not pictured are state champion swimmers Preston Kessler, Joshua Reed, Rey Nunez and Peyton Scott.