Tag Archives: PA Sports Hall of Fame

Dunmorean of the Month: Susan Dempsey

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Dunmore volleyball coach selected to Northeast Chapter of PA Sports Hall of Fame

By Steve Svetovich

Longtime Dunmore volleyball coach Susan Dempsey is going into the Northeastern Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

Daughter of Edward and Joyce Schmidt, Susan is one of 10 new members to be inducted into the Northeastern Chapter of the PA Sports Hall of Fame during the annual induction ceremony Sunday, October 6, at Fiorelli’s, Peckville.

The others to be inducted include Jordan Hoyt Calvey, Joseph Dente, Matt McGloin, Elizabeth (Beth) McGowan, Steven Pratico, James Tomcho and Gina Chieffallo Moreno. Rick Muntean will receive the annual service award. Scranton Times-Tribune sports editor Chris Imperiale is the annual media recipient.

“Honestly, I was very honored and humbled just to be considered for induction,” coach Dempsey said. “I am very grateful that I was chosen and sincerely thank everyone that made this possible. My philosophy has always been if we have fun, the wins will come. We need to work hard every day to achieve our goals, but if we are not having fun doing it then we won’t be successful.”

Coach Dempsey started the first ever girls volleyball program in the district in 2006 with Dunmore.

Susan Dempsey from a recent Dunmore alumni volleyball game held this past December with grandson Will and daughters Jaclyn and Kimberly. Both daughters played for her. Jaclyn was a part of the first team in 2006.

“I feel fortunate to have been an integral part of starting the girls program at Dunmore. This program has given student-athletes an opportunity to learn a sport without a youth feeder program and potentially continue their athletic career in college. We’ve had several students play at the collegiate level and that makes me proud.”

Susan was selected to the All-County volleyball team as a graduate of Cranford High School in New Jersey in 1981.

She played volleyball for Big East NCAA Division I Seton Hall University in 1982, then for Marywood College in 1983 and 1984, earning MVP honors in the later year.

She became women’s volleyball coach at Marywood College in 1992. She coached there through 1996. She led the team to a PAC runner-up spot in 1992, then to the PAC championship in 1993 when she also earned Coach of the Year honors.

Susan became head girls’ volleyball coach at Abington Heights in 1998, coaching there through 2001. She led Abington Heights to the first PIAA District II AAA girls’ volleyball championship in school history in 2001.

She established the first ever girls’ volleyball program in the district at Dunmore in 2006. At Dunmore, she has won two PIAA District 1A volleyball championships in 2013 and 2014. She has also led Dunmore to 10 Lackawanna League girls’ volleyball championships and to seven PIAA District 2A Runner-up finishes.

Coach Dempsey, both dedicated and humble, reached the 200 career wins milestone in 2018. She has a remarkable 264-41 won-loss record at Dunmore. She was the Scranton Times-Tribune girls’ volleyball Coach of the Year in 2013 and 2017.

Three of her players were named all-state and four were Times-Tribune Players of the Year. A total of 15 of her players were named to the All-Region team.

Dempsey’s daughters Jaclyn and Kimberly congratulating her on school’s first volleyball district championship concluding 2012-13 season.

Susan and her husband Sean have been married 34 years and reside in Dunmore. The couple have three children: Jaclyn Dempsey Youssef (married to Cameron), Kimberly Dempsey Roberts (married to Justin) and Sean Dempsey, Jr. The couple has one grandson, William Roberts. A second grandchild is due this month.

Both Jaclyn and Kimberly played for their mom at Dunmore. Jaclyn was a part of the first team in 2006.

“I am very fortunate and humbled that I’ve had the opportunity to coach at Dunmore over the past 18 years,” Susan said. “I thank the administration, my assistant coaches, the athletic directors, the trainers, student-athletes, the parents and my family who have given me the support to be able to pursue my passion as a volleyball coach.

“I often refer to the quote, ‘If you can change one person’s life you feel like you’ve done something. I hope I have done that with the student-athletes I’ve had the pleasure to coach throughout my career.”

Coach Dempsey received a Bachlor of Science degree in Mathematics from Marywood College in 1985. She is currently a senior project manager at Geisinger.

Dunmore ties to Hall of Fame class

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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.