7 athletes, state champion team, coach to join Jeannette’s Athletic Hall of Fame

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, September 23, 2023 | 4:05 PM

Jeannette announced its 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame class that includes seven athletes, a team, a coach and legend and contributor honorees.

The Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Jeannette Educational Foundation, will include an induction ceremony on a date to be announced in January.

This year’s inductees are:

Athletes

• Bobby Capretto, Class of 1964, football — The quarterback of the 1963 Foothills Conference champions played defensive back at Penn State.

• Katie Brennan Carter, Class of 1996, basketball — Double-figure scorer for two years who went on to play at Pitt-Greensburg.

• Derrick Hall, Class of 1985, wrestling — A PIAA champion and Most Outstanding Wrestler at 132 pounds in 1985, he also won two WPIAL titles.

• Dave Hogg, Class of 1975, baseball — A Major League Baseball draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles who also played in the minor leagues for the Kansas City Royals, he was recruited to Northwestern in baseball and football.

• Nick Spino, Class of 2008, track and field — A four-time WPIAL champion and the school record holder in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles.

• Bob Tatarek, Class of 1964, football — A two-time All-American defensive tackle at Miami who had a six-year NFL career with the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins.

• Jordan Thomas, Class of 2005, basketball — All-section guard and two-time section champion who scored 1,398 career points before a 1,000-point college career at Seton Hill.

Team

• 2008 boys basketball — With a thrilling 76-72 win over Strawberry Mansion in overtime at Penn State, the Jayhawks (24-5) became the first WPIAL school to win state football and basketball titles in the same year. Terrelle Pryor and Jordan Hall were among the standout players for a team coached by Jim Nesser.

Coach

• Ray Reitz, football — Had a record of 48-6 from 2005-08 and guided the Jayhawks to WPIAL championships in 2006 and ‘07, and a PIAA title in ‘07 when the team finished 16-0. Reitz was an assistant for 20 years before becoming head coach.

Legend

• Mel Semenko, Class of 1955 — After a strong high school career, he went on to play on the line at Colorado before a career in the Canadian Football League.

Paul Gaudi Contributor Award

• Larry Sellitto, Class of 1973 — A member of the 1971 WPIAL championship team who went on to support youth athletics in a number of roles in the community.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Jeannette