Franklin Regional announces 1st Athletic Hall of Fame class

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, July 6, 2022 | 3:04 PM

A venture that athletic director Zach Kessler said was long overdue, Franklin Regional finally has an athletics hall of fame in place to honor the legacy of its finest athletes.

Now, it has its inaugural class.

The Franklin Regional Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2022 was unveiled Wednesday.

It includes:

• The 1979 girls basketball team

• Ed Eyles (multiple-sport coach)

• Jodi Eyles Horvath (swimming)

• Aaron Lovelace (basketball)

• Eric Mausser (wrestling coach)

• Nico Megaludis (wrestling)

• Robert Moose (baseball)

• Samantha Pickens (diving)

• Tom Ricketts (football)

• Leigh Kincaid Tanquist (track/cross country)

• Michael Verona (track/football)

Inductees will be honored Sept. 2 at a home football game.

The hall of fame plans were set to be rolled out in 2020, but the committee shifted gears when the pandemic took over.

The hall committee includes Kessler, Franklin Regional principal Ronald Suvak, board of directors president Herbert Yingling and alums Roberta Chunko, Dom Berardinelli, Eli Visnick, Richard Bullock and Tina Gillen.

Franklin Regional joins two other Westmoreland County schools that have halls of fame in Norwin and Jeannette. Penn-Trafford has a football-only hall.

New Story: Congratulations to our Inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees! https://t.co/KruLbEnS5U

— FR Panther Sports (@FRPantherSports) July 6, 2022

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

Tags: Franklin Regional