Guido: Halapin highlights Kiski Area Sports Hall of Fame class

Former Kiski Area all-state football player Mike Halapin leads a list of 10 inductees and one team at this year's Kiski Area Sports Hall of Fame banquet.

The induction banquet will be at 6 p.m. Sept. 1 at the Clarion Hotel in New Kensington.

Halapin was part of the 1990 conference championship team that made it to the WPIAL semifinals before heading to Pitt on a football scholarship.

He also was Comcast Channel 3/PNC Bank Football Player of the Year in 1990 and later played in the NFL with the Houston Oilers, Tennessee Titans and New Orleans Saints.

Here are the other inductees with their Kiski Area graduation year in parentheses:

• Ralph Antenucci (1965) — A linebacker and fullback on the first undefeated football team from 1964, he went on to coach football, track and tennis at Kiski Area. He coached a WPIAL team track champion and a PIAA runner-up in 1988.

• April Allensworth Bell (1999) — In addition to earning four track letters and one in basketball, she was a WPIAL champion in the 100 and 200 meter runs. She also was a member of the Cavaliers' WPIAL-champion 400 relay team and set the Duquesne record in the 50-yard dash.

• Laura Berberich (1983) — Kiski Area swim team MVP for three seasons, she earned seven letters in swimming and volleyball. She was Kiski Area's 1982-83 Female Athlete of the Year and later swam at Allegheny College.

• Richard Booker (1972) — A standout in gymnastics, football and track, he was the state gymnastics champion in the long horse. He later lettered in track and gymnastics at West Virginia.

• Marc Calderone (1981) — After earning eight varsity letters in football, tennis and basketball, the quarterback was Foothills Conference MVP in 1980. A top-ranked tennis player for three seasons, he later went on to Allegheny College, where he lettered eight times in football and tennis.

• Jessica Mohammed Carter (2000) — She earned 12 varsity letters in track, cross country and swimming. She was Westmoreland County's Scholar-Athlete of the year in 2000. She was a member of the WPIAL's silver medalist team in the 3,200-meter relay run in 1998. She went on to run cross country and swim at the U.S. Naval Academy.

• Mike Meighan (1966) — A football and track standout at Kiski Area, he earned a football scholarship to Kentucky and coached high school football in the Bluegrass State for 34 years.

• Anthony Nicholas (Vandergrift 1951) — He earned two football letters for the Blue Lancers before serving in the Navy during the Korean War. He later played football for four years at Indiana (Pa.) and coached football for 23 years and track for nine years at Kiski Area.

• Dayna Shelkey (1998) — A multi-sport standout who earned nine letters in softball, soccer and basketball, she was all-section in softball three straight seasons with the Cavaliers and later played soccer and softball at Mercyhurst.

• The 1982 boys gymnastics team, the state runner-up that season, also will be honored.

The hall of fame also will honor the Charlie Club, an exceptional group of businessmen that held various football fundraisers to supplement the program for nearly 30 years.

To obtain banquet tickets, call Tony Nicholas at 724-727-2527.

George Guido is a Valley News Dispatch scholastic sports correspondent. His column appears Wednesdays.