Kiski Sports Hall of Fame’s newest class spans decades

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, September 4, 2024 | 6:09 PM

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When Brent Kennedy found out he would be enshrined as a member of the Kiski Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2024, thoughts immediately turned back to when he made his mark on the Cavaliers cross country, track and field and soccer teams.

His successes, he said, were made all the more special because he got to share them while bonding with his teammates, friends, coaches, and family.

That support system for Kennedy, and the support systems for the seven other individual inductees, came together Saturday at the Greek Social Hall in Oakmont for a celebration of some of Kiski Area’s all-time athletic greats.

“A lot of my memories are centered around those relationships, and a lot of those people who were important to me during my time at Kiski, we got a chance to share stories and reminisce,” said Kennedy, currently the cross country coach at Plum who holds several Cavaliers track school records, individually and on relays.

Joining the six-time state medalist and three-time WPIAL champion in this year’s class were Shane Kuhn (Class of 2014, football and wrestling), Jennifer Tokar Alter (Class of 2000, golf, basketball, track), Joe Brungo (Class of 2014, football, basketball, baseball), John Mazurek (Class of 1996, swimming, track and field), Jodi Travaglia (Class of 1987, volleyball, softball), John Vida (Class of 1987, football, track and field, wrestling) and Michael Zidek (Class of 1980, football, basketball, track and field).

“The hall of fame committee does a nice job, and I was excited for this event,” Kennedy said.

“I was honestly blown away by the number of people in attendance. It was special to see so many from the Kiski community in support of me and the other inductees. It was a fun night, and having so many friends and family there made it even more special.”

More than 200 attended the banquet to honor the inductees and others throughout the evening.

“We hope we can make it a special and memorable evening every year we do this for everyone we are recognizing and honoring,” hall-of-fame chairman Anthony Nicholas said.

This year’s class of eight brings the total number of individual inductees to more than 150 since the first group was enshrined in 2006.

Plaques recognizing the inductees will be on display in the athletic wing of the high school.

The evening began with a moving tribute to Richard Dilts, the legendary former Kiski Area football coach and athletic administrator who was inducted into the first hall-of-fame class in 2006 and served on the hall-of-fame committee until his death in May at the age of 93.

Dilts’ family — his sons John and James and his wife of 68 years, Sally — were on hand to accept a special award for his years of dedication to all facets of the Kiski Area experience.

“It was such a wonderful tribute to my father throughout the night,” John Dilts said. “It was especially emotional for my mother. They would’ve been married 69 years on August 13. It was a team effort the whole way. My mother supported my father 110 percent.”

John accepted the plaque in representation of the family and talked about a father who he said loved Kiski Area, from the students and his colleagues to the athletic and academic opportunities it offered.

“(The speech) was hard to give. There were a lot of emotions,” he said.

“My brother and I didn’t grow up inside the Kiski Area School District, but ever since 1962, my dad was one of the original plank holders of Kiski Area. He was so dedicated to the school. I wanted to show what I saw as my father’s son. I went there and hung out at so many events probably since the age of 5. It was just a great evening of reminiscing about my dad.”

A video tribute featuring recollections from some of Dilts’ former football players captured the essence of what he meant to so many.

The hall of fame also recognized the accomplishments of the Kiski Area wrestling teams from the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. Members from those teams, Darren Miller, Nick Delp, Brandon Roscosky, Cam Connor, Jim Bendtsen, Jack Blumer, Danny Star and Troy Kuhn, along with coaches Chris Heater and Chuck Tursky, reunited during the evening and were celebrated.

Both Cavaliers squads won WPIAL Class 3A team championships.

The 2017 team finished third in the PIAA tournament and ended the season 24-1. Its only loss was to Bethlehem Catholic in the PIAA quarterfinals.

Eleven wrestlers won at least 30 matches that year.

The 2018 squad compiled a 21-2 record and finished runner-up to Bethlehem Catholic in Hershey.

Lefteri Despotakis also was honored with the Bill Miller Community Service Award for his many years of service to the school district and community.

“It was a special celebration of Kiski Area athletics,” Nicholas said of the hall-of-fame evening. “I think it was one of our better banquets, quite frankly.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Kiski Area