Watch banquet video at https://youtu.be/dM6KWYV4WWM
On a night when many of the award winners spoke of athletic achievements at J.P. McCaskey High School, the diversity of this year's class of honorees was a more obvious theme at the annual Lancaster County Sports Hall of Fame banquet held before more than 300 people at the Eden Resort.
First the sports -- women's basketball, tennis, softball, swimming, football, men's basketball, track and field, youth baseball, field hockey, lacrosse and parasports.
Gender -- 3 of the 9 honorees are female.
Racial -- including NFL player Kris Wilson, a J. Freeland Chryst Sports Achievement Award winner and Hall of Fame inductee, who spoke of concerns about his new neighborhood when he moved to Lancaster.
And age -- from 10-year-old Dakota Nesbitt, the youngest ever Inspirational Athlete, to George W. Kirchner Award winner Pete Horn, former McCaskey basketball coach and athletic director, at 83.
Horn, who said he didn't have the opportunity to coach Wilson, acknowledged the other Chryst Award winners from McCaskey, Barbara Barr and Damien Henry, who both played basketball, among other sports, and have achieved success beyond the high school arena. He introduced his two brothers, Harry from Maryland and Nick from California, who he said helped keep him in line.
He described turning down the McCaskey job the first time because it didn't include a teaching position at the high school and he was so pleased it was offered again the next year because "I could not have landed in a better place."
He encountered a history of losing seasons and troubles with player eligibility because of not attending school, but said the talent level was greater than he thought "and we had many, many good seasons. But the credit for those seasons does not belong to me. It belongs to all the people that helped us with all those years." He mentioned Mike McKonly, Steve Powell, Mark Macik, Steve Polonus, Willie McDowell and Earl "Papa" Boots.
And, he said, "I coached many of the best young men you could ever find in Lancaster, who, fortunately for me, were also good basketball players."
He ended with a jab at Hall of Fame board member Ed Flick, who officiated basketball and gave Horn his only technical foul. He said in a tense moment Flick asked him if he was questioning his integrity. Horn said he responded "No, man, I'd never do that. I'm questioning your eyesight."
Barr, a Hall of Fame board member, also played tennis and softball, was a three-year basketball starter at Boston University and is still a WGAL sports and news reporter.
She displayed a picture of her mom, "a single mom who raised me herself ... and this award is dedicated to her." She recalled her mother, Ona, taking her to a McCaskey football game when she was 2 and then supporting the love of sports it generated as both spectator and player. "It's her I want to live up to, and she has made me a better person."
Henry, who played football, basketball and track at McCaskey and has a phenomenal record as track coach at Coatesville High School, said he's "a product of a tremendous support system, and it starts with my family." He also talked of football players he watched as a youth, coaches, teammates, his Coatesville supporters and others. "You're the reason why I'm here standing here today."
He listed many cherished athletic moments, particularly a 1988 football playoff game against York High on Lancaster Catholic's field. After McCaskey's 15-12 win, "when I came home, they had cake there for all the players and I couldn't even chew it because Jody Kearse, Number 9, hit me so hard."
Wilson, who played in the NFL with the Chiefs, Eagles, Chargers and Ravens, now works for NFL Films and owns Live Picture Studios of Philadelphia, said a Confederate flag in the neighborhood made him wonder how he'd fit in when he moved to Lancaster as a youth. But he said he found there were other kids in the neighborhood who wanted to play baseball, basketball and tackle football. He also spent time at the Boys Club.
He said he had many exhilarating times in sports, but "I think I always had a passion to film."
Kyle Salyards, Chryst Award winner and Hempfield graduate who swam in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, thanked his family and three coaches -- Andy Amway at Hempfield, club coach John Ponce and University of Georgia coach Jack Bauerle.
He said he treasures the experience of swimming in 48 different states and 13 different countries, and suggested swimmers embrace the journey and hold yourself accountable.
Ken Riley, a leader in bringing Little League Baseball to Lancaster, received the Kennth G. Stoudt Volunteer Award, described the growth of Conestoga Valley's East Lampeter Little League, saying "nothing of consequence is accomplished alone."
Inspirational Athlete Dakota said she first met other kids with disabilities two years ago at a basketball practice. "When I showed up to that practice I used a wheelchair for the first time in my life. I kind of felt like I could keep up with everyone around me. Then six months later, my coach put me in a racing wheelchair and I felt like I could fly. The first time around that track I had never felt so fast in my whole life. Getting in wheelchair races has opened my life to many opportunities I never thought were possible."
She described competitive hopes, but said "most of all I hope to keep inspiring other kids with physical disablilities to chase their dreams."
The 2024 LNP | LancasterOnline High School Senior Athletes of the Year — Manheim Central's Aaron Enterline and Manheim Township's Brenna Campagna — also were recognized.
Dana Chryst, daughter of J. Freeland Chryst, presented those awards. Sportswriter John Walk presented the LNP | LancasterOnline Awards, including Inspirational Athlete, on behalf of LNP. Awards Committee chair Doug Kraft presented the Kirchner Award.
Master of ceremonies was former WGAL sportscaster Mike Hostetler, who noted the Chryst Award winners who officially make up the Hall of Fame now total 100. Lancaster Stormers director of baseball operations and first base coach Troy Steffy led the group in singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Hall of Fame chair Jack Neal presented opening comments. Board member Jack Blackman offered the invocation.
Top photo is George W. Kirchner Award winner Pete Horn and his daughter Laura. Below: Chryst Award Winner Barbara Barr with photo of her mother, Ona. Chryst Award Winner Damien Henry and his wife, Doni. Chryst Award Winner Kyle Salyards (right) and his brother, Jed. From left, Chryst Award winner Kris Wilson, LNP | LancasterOnline reporter John Walk, emcee Mike Hostetler. Kenneth G. Stoudt Volunteer Award Winner Ken Riley and his wife, Livia. Inspirational Athlete Dakota Nesbitt and present John Walk.
October 23, 2024
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