By Steve Svetovich
Lauren Carra, Gabrielle (Gabby) Giordano and Al Callejas, Jr. are those with Dunmore connections among 11 to be inducted into the Northeastern Chapter of the PA Sports Hall of Fame, Oct. 1 at Fiorelli’s in Peckville. The dinner and induction ceremony will take place at 5 p.m.
Dunmore’s Bob Walsh is Chapter president. Mid Valley product Jerry Valonis is vice president.
Carra scored more than 2,000 points at Dunmore, was a three-time all-state selection, Times-Tribune Player of Year, All Regional four times and Female Athlete of Year and All Regional Player of the Year in 2009. She was a three-time Athlete of the Week as a member of the Lady Bucks. She was twice named to the Chic Feldman All-Tournament team. She was Lynett Tournament MVP in 2008 and three times on the Lynett All Tournament team. Lauren was a four-year starter at the University of Delaware and scored 1,275 career points. She was named to All-Tournament teams in 2009 and 2010 in her collegiate career.
Giordano scored more than 1,000 points for the Holy Cross Lady Crusaders. She was All Regional for basketball, broke the school record for homers and named All Regional Player of the Year for softball. She received the Female Athlete Award and Jamie Kotula Leadership Award at Holy Cross. She was selected a softball all-star all four years at Holy Cross and named all-state first team. She went on to play basketball and softball for both Marywood and Wilkes Universities. Gabby was a second team CSAC all-star as a freshman at Marywood. She was MVP in her sophomore year scoring her 1,000th point. She was a first-team MAC Freedom Conference all-star in her senior softball year at Wilkes. She was also third team NFCA Division III All Region.
Callejas, Jr. was Times-Tribune Player of the Year in 1996 playing basketball for Bishop O’Hara in Dunmore. He was a two-time all-state leading scorer and led Bishop O’Hara to the state title game in Class A. Callejas, Jr. led the nation in 3-point shooting in 1999 while playing for the University of Scranton. He was first-team Freedom Conference player in 2001. He was the John “Les” Dickman co-recipient as University of Scranton senior MVP in 2001. He scored 1,372 career points with a .483 3-point field goal percentage and .895 free throw percentage at the University of Scranton.
Other inductees include Mike Zanghi, George Howanitz,Joey Runco, Joe Baciotti, Mike Cerra and Dr. Michael Ciccotti.
Carbondale’s Larry Gabriel is the Media Award recipient. Paul “Red” Brower is the Service Award honoree.
Zanghi, a former PIAA football and basketball official, lettered in four sports at Scranton Tech. He earned a full scholarship to attend Temple University, where he set a record for most receptions as a freshman. He earned four Athlete of the Week awards, two All Region berths and was honorable mention all-state during his high school career. He was a two-time All Regional football player at Tech. He received the Daniel Costello Award which exemplifies the combined attributes of a student and athlete. At Temple University, he had the most catches by a freshman receiver in one game with 19. He was a PIAA and ASA umpire for 35 years.
Howanitz was an all-state first team defensive back with seven interceptions in his senior season and recorded a combined 3,340 yards and 50 touchdowns rushing and throwing for Valley View and was the winner of the Fiore Cesare Award, presented to the area’s top student-athlete. As football coach, he won four District 2 titles and five league titles.
Runco was an All-Region shortstop at North Pocono, but it was his career at Fordham University where he became record holder for hits with 242 and games started with 218. He is second with 91 stolen bases. He was a three-time All-Academic team member. He is in the Fordham Athletics Hall of Fame. He is a three-time Atlantic 10 All-American team member.
Baciotti was a baseball and football standout at Valley View where he won league batting and fielding titles. He was a three-time starter on the football team, leading the league with 10 interceptions in 1972 while playing for a team that had a 30-2-1 record. He led West Chester with a 426 batting average in 1977. After playing baseball at West Chester, he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals and named a Carolina League all-star in 1977.
Cerra was a football official for 42 years, basketball referee for 38 years and umpired baseball for 35 seasons. He worked more than 1,400 Division I college baseball games, including 15 Division I regionals and 25 conference championships. He was a founding member of the Carbondale Junior Sports Association and coached junior football 34 years, winning 13 championships.
Dr. Ciccotti was a standout wrestler at Scranton Prep and wrestler of the year in 1978. He was a three-time all-star and two-time District 2 runner-up. He served for 26 years as head team physician and medical director for the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Joseph’s University. He received the Dick Vermeil Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to sports medicine.
Gabriel is the former sports editor of the Carbondale Miner and Carbondale News, with over 40 years experience in sports journalism. His “Behind the Bench” column and photography earned him awards for both at the state level. The awards at the state level for both writing and photography are a rarity. He also produced stories for the Scranton Times and the defunct Scranton Tribune and Scrantonian.
Brower was equipment manager of the 1972 Scranton Prep championship baseball team and then served for 27 years as the longest tenured minor league baseball clubhouse manager for the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Red Barons. He served as clubhouse manager for both home and visiting teams.
Tickets for the dinner are $60 and can be obtained by calling Walsh at 570-346-2228 or Valonis at 570-498-9461. Advertisements in the program booklet are also available.