Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, East Boros Chapter, to induct Class of 2019

A tradition continues Thursday evening as a new class of athletic greats will be celebrated and inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, East Boros Chapter.

The Class of 2019 – Colleen Connors Marston (Gateway), Maria Beth Silverio (Turtle Creek), Paul Fox (Plum), Dan Grubbs (Turtle Creek), Dave McDonald (Churchill), Doug Conklin (Turtle Creek), Elmer Kreiling Jr. (Churchill) and Jack White (Wilkinsburg) – will be enshrined at a banquet ceremony at Edgewood Country Club in Churchill.

This year’s class is the 42nd to be inducted since the hall of fame was established in 1978. More than 350 are members, including such notables as Pittsburgh Pirates greats Dick Groat and Elroy Face, Plum native and former NHL standout R.J. Umberger and the voice of Pitt football and basketball and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bill Hillgrove.

For more information about the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, East Boros Chapter, visit paeastborosshof.com.

Here is a closer look at each of this year’s inductees:

Colleen Connors Marston

The Gateway graduate started every varsity game in both soccer and basketball from 1989 to 1993.

She helped the 1992 Gators girls soccer team, as its leading scorer, to the program’s first undefeated section championship in its seventh year of existence.

Basketball was where Marston found her greatest success.

She led Gateway in scoring in each of her four varsity seasons, and at the time of her graduation, was the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,227 points. As a senior, she earned numerous media honors and all-star selections.

Marston received a full basketball scholarship to Division I St. Francis, and she helped the 1995-96 Red Flash squad become the first team in program history to win the Northeast Conference and qualify for the NCAA Tournament. That team was inducted into the St. Francis Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.

Maria Beth Silverio

The Turtle Creek High School graduate started at point guard her junior and senior years and scored 512 points.

Silverio helped lead her team to two section titles and the 1978 WPIAL Class A championship. She finished as one of the top 10 scorers in program history.

She also was a four-year starter on the softball team and earned all-conference honors as an infielder.

Silverio earned a basketball scholarship to West Liberty State, started four seasons at point guard and scored a career-high 30 points in a single game.

She has experience in bodybuilding competitions, winning many in her weight class, in addition to playing dek hockey nationally and owning first-place finishes in the Warrior Dash and Spartan obstacle races.

Silverio has worked as a professional personal trainer since 1985 and opened a fitness studio in 2001.

Paul Fox

The 1982 Plum graduate earned four letters in swimming, set three Mustangs swim records, and qualified for states as a senior member of the 200-yard medley relay.

At Clarion, Fox continued his record-setting performances in the 100 backstroke and 400 medley relay.

The seven-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion won the league title in the 100 back as a sophomore, setting a conference record in the process.

Fox swam at the NCAA Division II championships three times and earned top-10 All-American status in the 100 back, 400 medley relay and 400 free relay.

The Shaler resident continues to train, compete and coach and is a member of both the U.S. Masters Swim Team and the Allegheny Mountain Swim Association.

Dan Grubbs

The 1976 Turtle Creek graduate was a four-year letterman and three-year starter on the basketball team and finished with 1,048 career points and more than 1,000 rebounds.

The multi-year all-section performer led the team to two section titles. In his senior year, Turtle Creek finished as the WPIAL Class AA runner-up and placed third in the state with a 28-2 record. He was named to the WPIAL and PIAA Class AA all-star teams.

Grubbs played four years of college basketball with his final two seasons as one of the first scholarship players at Division I Radford. He was named team MVP as a junior and senior, completed his career with 1,322 points and 1,021 rebounds and was inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame in 2001.

Dave McDonald

By his senior year at Churchill High School, McDonald had established himself as one of the top scholastic district runners in the country and captured WPIAL gold.

He continued to compete in college at Pitt, where he set five school records running 5K and 10K races. Those records stood unbroken for 12 years.

After college, McDonald coached track and cross country at Duquesne and Old Dominion and also served as the coordinator of the Jesse Owens and Hershey Track programs in Pittsburgh.

The three-time U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier has earned numerous top marathon and 10K finishes and is a past winner at the Pittsburgh Great Race. He placed 12th in the 1984 Boston Marathon (2:17.51).

In May, McDonald will be inducted into the Pittsburgh Marathon Hall of Fame.

Doug Conklin

The 1968 Turtle Creek graduate was a two-year basketball letterman. He helped the 1966-67 team capture a WPIAL championship.

Conklin, a team co-captain as a senior, was selected first-team all-section.

After college, he made a name for himself in coaching, and his resume included basketball, football and golf.

A basketball coach for 38 years, the final 14 as a head coach, Conklin finished his tenure at Franklin County High School in Rocky Mount, Va., as the winningest coach in school history with a 195-125 record. His teams won three district titles and twice made it to the state quarterfinals.

Conklin led Franklin County varsity teams to a pair of 21-win seasons, the best season records in school history.

Elmer Kreiling, Jr. (posthumously)

A three-year starting point guard at Churchill High School, Kreiling helped the basketball team to a 16-6 record as a junior and a 15-7 mark as a senior.

He capped his senior year as an alternate for the Dapper Dan Roundball Classic.

Kreiling continued to play in college at Clarion and was a three-year starter. He finished the 1971-72 season with 160 assists, tying him for sixth in the category in the Golden Eagles record books.

He also holds a Clarion single-game record of 16 assists and ranks sixth all-time in career assists with 413.

Kreiling participated in two conference championship games and helped Clarion make two straight NAIA district appearances.

Jack White

A 1962 Wilkinsburg graduate, White was an all-WPIAL quarterback and also earned all-WPIAL honors in wrestling at 180 pounds.

In his first game as a varsity starter, he threw four touchdown passes.

White received numerous offers to play college football. He first decided to attend Florida before transferring to Penn State.

He started at quarterback for the Nittany Lions as a junior and set passing records for completions and yardage.

As a senior in 1966, White scored the first touchdown in Joe Paterno’s first game as head coach, a 15-7 victory over Maryland.

He was an eighth-round pick by the Baltimore Colts in the 1966 NFL draft, but opted to forgo a professional career in favor of graduate school and dental school.