A mix of athletes, coaches and officials spanning all areas of local sports comprise the 15 inductees who will enter the District 11 Hall of Fame this fall.
The annual induction banquet is set for 4 p.m. Oct. 19 at the Delta Hotel in Breinigsville. Tickets for the event can be purchased by contacting outgoing District 11 Chair Bob Hartman at hartmanb@whitehallcoplay.org. The deadline to purchase tickets is Oct. 1.
A dinner will precede the induction ceremony.
The inductees were selected from nominations made by member schools, officials’ chapters and media membership.
Nominees are selected based on their accomplishments at the high school level. Constituencies may nominate additional athletes by completing the forms on the District 11 website, www.districtxi.com. The nomination deadline for each class is May 1 of each induction year.
Here is the Class of 2025, in alphabetical order:
Joe Alansky: An all-state basketball player for Mahanoy Area, Alansky would later have a successful career coaching girls basketball at the school. As a player, he scored more than 1,000 points and was a two-time league champion. As a head coach from 1984-2003, he won 391 games, including 11 league division titles, nine district crowns and three state championships.
Bob Clark: Serving as the head swimming and diving coach at Parkland from 1989-2004, Clark developed the Trojans into one of the premier programs in the PIAA. He won 370 meets and lost just 36. His girls teams won two state titles to go with 10 District 11 and seven league championships. On the boys’ side, his teams won 10 District 11 titles and seven league championships.
Darian Cruz: The Bethlehem Catholic grad was a two-time state and three-time District 11 and regional wrestling champion, compiling 153 wins in the process. As a standout at Lehigh University, Cruz was a three-time All-American, topping it off with an NCAA title in 2017. Cruz was an Olympian in the 2024 Summer Games, competing at 57kg for Puerto Rico.
Bob Hartman: As an athlete, coach and athletic director at Whitehall High School, Hartman distinguished himself in a variety of ways. He was a member of the Zephyrs’ 1989 District 11 football champs. As a wrestling coach, he led Christian Franco to Whitehall’s first individual state championship in any sport. As AD, he led the way for numerous facility upgrades over his tenure and served as the District 11 chair for 11 years.
Anita James: The 2017 Pocono Mountain West graduate won an amazing 15 gold medals out of 16 events in District 11 Track and Field. James excelled on the track and as a cheerleader and was part of the 2006 District 11 championship cheer team. She won 10 PIAA medals in track, winning four apiece in her junior and senior seasons.
Tom Kresge: The Lehighton basketball star amassed 2,236 points during his basketball career, an average of 21.6 points per game, which at the time was the 16th highest total in the state. Kresge was a member of the 1987 Centennial and District 11 3A championship team and hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer to beat Allentown Central Catholic at Stabler Arena. He was СŷƵ’s Player of the Year in 1988. He held multiple scoring records in the Centennial League and went on to an outstanding career at Lafayette.
Gabe Lewullis: One of Allentown Central Catholic’s all-time basketball greats, Lewuillis finished his Vikings career in 1995 with 1,693 points, which was second only to Billy McCaffrey in school history at the time. He led Central to four consecutive District 11 titles and an EPC title. As a senior, he was voted EPC MVP and СŷƵ’s Player of the Year. He was also selected all-state twice. He would go on to be a four-year starter at Princeton, where he scored 1,277 points and was a three-time all-Ivy League selection. In the first round of the NCAA tournament in 1996, he went backdoor for the game-winning basket to upset defending national champ UCLA 43-41.
Jonathan Linton: One of the greatest football players in Catasauqua history, Linton was a monster in the backfield. He was an all-league and all-state selection and ended his career with over 4,000 yards rushing. He went on to the University of North Carolina, where he rushed for more than 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior and also played for the Bills and Titans, scoring nine touchdowns.
Jim Morgans: A two-time state championship coach at Allentown Central Catholic, winning PIAA gold in 1993 and ’98, Morgans also made his mark at Salisbury, Freedom and Parkland. His teams totaled 11 league and 10 district championships, and twice made it to the state finals. He compiled a career record of 262-137-1 in 33 seasons. He was 112-33 at Parkland. He had the distinction of having both ACCHS and Parkland nominate him for the Hall of Fame.
Sheila O’Donnell: O’Donnell was a four-time District 11 singles champ at Allentown Central Catholic and in her four years as a Vikette, she didn’t lose a set in compiling a 62-0 record. She also won four EPC singles titles and was a four-time all-league first-team selection. At the University of Pennsylvania, she earned three varsity letters on the tennis team and was a team captain. She graduated from the Ivy League school in three years.
Marty Ondrovic: One of the most respected officials in СŷƵ sports history, Ondrovic made his mark at the state and national level. He spent 54 years as a baseball umpire, serving the PIAA as the rules interpreter and the National Federation of State High School Associations as a rules book editor. He also officiated football for 43 seasons and basketball for 37. He was inducted into the National Football Foundation СŷƵ Chapter Hall of Fame. He also worked in the umpires’ room at Coca-Cola Park, rubbing down dozens of baseballs with Lena Blackburne baseball rubbing mud before each game and making friendships with umpires who went on to the big leagues, including current MLB umpires Chad Whitson, Mike Estabrook, David Rackley and Nick Lentz.
Ken Schneck: The Minersville Area softball coach compiled a remarkable record of 546-103, winning over 84% of the games he coached. He led the Battlin’ Miners to six PIAA championships, 13 District 11 crowns and 23 Schuylkill League titles. He was the Republican-Herald coach of the year 10 times, and the field at Minersville is named in his honor.
Jon Trenge: An accomplished wrestler at Parkland, Trenge won 150 matches in high school to go along with two PIAA championships, 3 Northeast Regional golds and two District 11 titles. He continued his career at Lehigh University and earned three NCAA All-America honors, including twice being an NCAA runner-up. He finished fifth in the 2004 Olympic Trials.
Kalista Walters: A 2025 inductee into the СŷƵ Basketball Hall of Fame, the former Bethlehem Catholic star adds another major accolade to her post-career resume. She scored a school record 2,273 points during her four-year varsity career. She led the Hawks to three District 11 titles, earned three first-team all-state awards, and was a three-time league MVP. She continued her career at the University of Pittsburgh.
Ruth Weidman: A basketball, golf and softball coach at Nativity BVM in Pottsville, Weidman had success in every sport. As a girls basketball coach for 14 seasons from 1992 to 2005, Weidman led Nativity to five District 11 titles and in a span of five years, her Green Wave reached the state finals five times, winning twice. In softball, she coached for 17 seasons, and Nativity won a District 11 title in 2003. She also coached golf for three seasons.
