Kayleigh Semian inducted into NEPA Hall of Fame

By Steve Svetovich

Former Dunmore Lady Bucks basketball standout Kayleigh Semion was among 13 inducted into the Northeast Chapter of the PA Sports Hall of Fame last month at Fiorelli’s in Peckville.

Long-time local sportscaster Phil Schoener served as toastmaster for the 42nd Annual Induction Ceremony.

Schoener is currently with SportsFever TC Network, a syndicate of NCAA college sports to ESPN, serving as play-by-play announcer for college football and basketball.

Dunmore’s Bob Walsh is Chapter President of the Northeastern Chapter of PA Sports Hall of Fame. Former Mid Valley baseball standout Jerry Valonis is vice president. Judy Igoe Carr is secretary. Terry Greene is treasurer.

Other members of the Executive Committee include Dunmore’s Rich Revta, Jerry Dempsey, John Davies and this scribe.

Besides Semian, other inductees included Bob Beviglia, Katie Dammer, Alan Finegan, James P. Gordon, Andrew Kettel, Jack Ott, Bruce Smallacombe, Will Squier, Evan Kraky, and the late Shirley McLaughlin.

Larry Holeva received the John McCormick Media Award. John Martin Davies received the Tom “Doc” Dougherty Service Award.

Semion was team All-Conference and Dunmorean Athlete of the Month in her freshman year at Dunmore. As a sophomore, she was first-team Scranton Times All-Star and on the Lynett Tournament All-Tourney team. As a junior, she was All-Regional, first-team All-Conference and Lynett Tournament MVP.

As a senior, she scored her 1,000th point, was on the Lynett Tournament All-Tournament team and Scranton Times Athlete of the Week.

She helped the Lady Bucks to a third straight District 2 Class AA title. She was also named Lackawanna Conference Female Student Athlete of the Year, Lackawanna Conference Player of the Year, Scranton Times-Tribune NEPA Player of the Year, team MVP, All-Lackawanna Conference, Scranton Times-Tribune All-Regional team, Lackawanna League Coaches Player of the Year, PA All-State selection, second-team Lackawanna League All-Star, WNEP16 top five high school basketball players. She scored 34 points in a loss to Neumann-Goretti, ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today. She also was a key player for the Penn State University girls’ basketball team where she made the roster as a walk-on.

Katie Dammer at Abington Heights earned nine stars medals for cross country and track. She was seven times first-team All-State and Times-Tribune Performer of the Year for both track and cross country. She was three-time Lackawanna Scholastic Cross Country Runner of the Year. She holds numerous school records for cross country and track and field. She was undefeated in League and District level individual races in 2017 cross country season and 2017 and 2018 track and field seasons. She had record setting performances at Spagna track and field championship meet.

At Georgetown University, she was captain of a Big East championship cross country team. She also excelled in track and field at Georgetown.

Finegan was a high school football official for 50 years and 10 years for softball. He officiated high school basketball for 35 years and high school and college baseball for 40 years. He worked games involving the U.S. Olympic team and Japanese, Korean and Canadian National teams.

Gordon formed Scranton Central’s first golf team. He represented Central in the 1959 and 1960 PIAA championships. He formed the golf team at Keystone in 1960 and finished third in the State Junior College Tournament. He went on to win numerous golf tournaments. Kettel coached basketball at Scranton Prep winning eight PIAA titles and three Lackawanna League championships. He organized the first “Coaches vs. Cancer” unit while at Lackawanna Trail in 2007. The unit has raised $4 million to date.

As Lakeland’s quarterback, Kraky was twice named Times-Tribune offensive Player of the Year. He broke the PA record for yards passing in a career with 7,447. He threw for 29 touchdown passes in his senior year, including a record seven against Western Wayne. He was named AP small school State Player of the Year in Class 2A-1A in 2001. The late McLaughlin officiated field hockey from 1953 to 2020, just short of her 88th birthday, for a total of 67 years. She was influential in beginning the NE area girls youth leagues.

Jack Ott had All-State recognition as a linebacker for Riverside. He was an All-Scholastic and Riverside football MVP in 1973 and 1974. He was first-team All-Conference as a Riverside basketball player. He was an All-Region linebacker in his freshman year at Potomac State Junior College. He later coached at Riverside both as head football coach and defensive coach and was part of three district titles. He is currently a PIAA football and baseball official.

As a bowler, Bruce Smallacombe won 16 league championships, eight league high game awards, four league high average awards, four high series awards and two league sportsmanship awards. He was invited to the PBA Masters Tournament and bowled a 710 series in the Pro Am. He started playing softball at 17 in the Jermyn-Mayfield Tavern League and continues to play in two softball leagues at age 72. He won the International Senior Softball World championship in 2006 and earned three State titles.

Will Squier has a record of 697-180 as Elk Lake girls’ cross country coach and 745-152 record as boys’ cross country coach. He led the boy’s cross country team to three State titles. His teams have earned a combined 11 State titles and runner-up finishes.

Bob Beviglia had a 240-53 record in 11 years as Scranton Prep girls’ basketball coach. He won eight Lackawanna League Division I titles, eight PIAA District II championships, and had 11 consecutive trips to PIAA 4A State tournaments. His 18 State tournament wins are most active among Lackawanna League girls basketball coaches. He coached the only undefeated basketball team in Scranton Prep history.

Larry Holeva has a 43-year distinguished career as a journalist. He began as a copy boy for the defunct Scranton Tribune and sports writer for The Pennsylvania Athlete. He spent 11 years in sports journalism, including 11 as a beat baseball writer before transitioning to editing in 1998. He became managing editor of The Citizens Voice in 2004 after 16 years as a reporter-editor for the Scranton Times-Tribune. He is currently executive editor for MediaNews Group’s Northeast PA publications. He is past president of the PA Associated Press Managing Editors.

John Davies was the first Public Address announcer for the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Red Barons where he was employed from 1989 through 2006. He announced the league’s AAA All-Star game on national TV in 1995. He also was an announcer for Scranton Prep football, Scranton Miners basketball in the Atlantic Basketball Association, the Lynett Basketball Tournament, University of Scranton men’s and women’s basketball, and the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. He announced a total of 2,407 games in 35 years.