Yakas leads nine into Aston Sports Hall of Fame
During her days as a track and field athlete at Sun Valley, Caitlin Yakas looked over the list of members of the Aston Sports Hall of Fame with her mother, Kathy.
“Imagine if it was me one day,” Yakas said. That dream came true last week when she was one of nine individuals who became members of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018 at the association’s 19th awards dinner at Kings Mill.
Joining Yakas as the newest Hall members were softball player Alie Alkins, football players Glenn Walrath (deceased) and Ken Novotni, basketball players Sue Malloy Adelman and Jenna Crowley, baseball player/coach Dickie Noles, multi-sport athlete Jim Buggy Jr., and coach Chris Lambert.
Also honored were the 2012 Sun Valley softball team; Nancy Sipple, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award; and Madison Gutowiecz of Sun Valley and Episcopal Academy’s Blair Orr, winners of William “Butch” Ryan Memorial Scholar/Athlete awards.
Yakas was an All-Middle Atlantic Conference thrower while competing at Widener, where she studied nursing.
“Track and field is a sport that teaches you perseverance and how to overcome bad days,” she said.
Alkins, a member of Sun Valley’s 2012 softball team, graduated at the top of her class academically at Widener and became a special education teacher.
“I know how special each of the kids I work with is, and I encourage all of them to get involved in sports,” she said.
Walrath, who died in 1975, was an All-Delco football player at Sun Valley and a three-year starter at linebacker at PMC Colleges (now Widener), where he also spent two years as an assistant coach.
“He loved football,” his brother, Ken, said in his acceptance speech. “And he wouldn’t talk about himself. He said he’d leave that for other people.”
Novotni set records for interceptions as a Sun Valley All-Delco linebacker and also was an outstanding punter. The father of four daughters, he has become a youth basketball and soccer coach.
“I’ve come to understand how important coaches can be and have tried to use some of the things I learned from my coaches with the teams I’ve worked with,” he said.
Malloy Adelman, a lawyer, played basketball at Villa Maria Academy and Princeton University after her days at Aston A.A., where she listed Sipple as her favorite coach.
Crowley was a three-year basketball starter at Sun Valley, leading the team in assists three times and in scoring twice.
“My dad pushed me to (be better) every day,” she said. “There were (some) days when I thought I’d never speak to him again.”
Noles, who pitched for the Phillies’ 1980 World Series champions, remains with the team as an employee assistance professional.
“I coached with Dickie (Aston Valley Babe Ruth) for three years and got to know him as a father, a mentor, and a friend,” Mark Treml said in accepting Noles’ award. “He was concerned with developing players on and off the field and teaching them how to respect their teammates and their opponents.”
Buggy Jr., an outstanding football and baseball player at St. James High, was an All-ECAC pitcher at Wesley University and is a member of that school’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
“I learned through sports not to be afraid to fail and to push myself to excel,” he said.
Lambert played soccer at Sun Valley and West Chester University and coaches the girls’ varsity soccer team at Sun Valley. He also works as a physical therapist.
“I learned early the influence a coach can have,” said Lambert, whose father, Don, coached several sports at Penncrest. “All I remember from growing up was that my dad was always coaching. It’s great to have had the chance to work with so many wonderful individuals through coaching.”
Four members of the Delco Stallions Track Club of Collingdale were medal winners at the USATF Hershey National Indoor Championships in Staten Island, New York.
Mekhi Sharper finished first in the boys 8-and-under 1,500-meter run and was second in the 800-meter run. Abaas Hunter (boys 9-10) also earned a gold medal in the 400-meter dash, took second place in the 55-meter dash, and placed third in the 200-meter dash.
Maurice Richardson Jr. was fourth in the boys 11-12 400-meter dash and fifth in the 800-meter run. Ziyahh McLean placed sixth in the girls 9-10 high jump.
The Sports Legends of Delaware County Museum on Iven Road in Radnor is closing in on the deadline for ads for the commemorative program for its June 2 dedication of a statue of Emlen Tunnell, the Radnor graduate who saved two lives while serving with the Coast Guard during World War II.
The statue will be located outside the Radnor Township Municipal Building on Iven Road.
Anyone who would like to purchase an ad can visit www.emlentunnell.com or contact Jim Vankoski at 610-909-4919.
The deadline for purchasing tickets to the Delaware County Athletes Hall of Fame’s awards dinner, which will take place Sunday, April 22, at Concordville Inn, is approaching.
Tickets are $45 for adults and $15 for children 10 and under. The deadline for table/group reservations (10/12 per table) is April 7, and the deadline for ticket sales is April 12.
Additional information can be obtained by contacting Patricia Mescanti at delcohalloffame@gmail.com or by calling 610-793-7931.
Among those joining the Hall of Fame will be basketball players Clarence Armstrong, Bill Carr, and John O’Reilly; football players Tim Chambers, Dan Connor, and John Esher (deceased); multi-sport athletes Dave Kasarsky, Rachael BeckerDeCecco and Joe Piela; track and field athletes Bo Smart and Jim Tuppeny (deceased); lacrosse players Jenn Cook and Kerri Whitaker; Olympians R. Norris Williams (deceased), Daniel Barrow (deceased), and William Hermann (deceased); body builder Cynthia Anast; and soccer player Sinead Farrelly.
Special award winners include Springfield High’s Kylynn McNichol and Penncrest’s Mike DeLeo (Coach of the Year) and William “Bugsy” Greto (Humanitarian Award).
The Team of Distinction will be the Darby-Colwyn High boys basketball teams of 1962 and 1963, winners of 50 consecutive games and a pair of state championships.