Nine former Beaver athletes to be inducted into Hall of Honor

By: April Johnston

On Jan. 27, nine of Penn State Beaver's most accomplished athletes will be inducted into the campus' newly established Hall of Honor. 

The creation of the Hall of Honor and induction of the inaugural class coincides with Beaver's Spirit Weekend when nearly 70 recruits and their families will visit campus for three days' worth of tours, games and activities. 

In addition to celebrating the Hall of Honor inductees, the athletics department will also recognize 80 current student athletes who have been named Penn State University Athletic Conference All-Conference and Academic All-Conference and United States Collegiate Athletic Association All-American and National All-Academic. 

"We're going to literally be bringing the past, present and future of Beaver Athletics together at one event," Beaver Athletics Director Andy Kirschner said. 

Hall of Honor inductees must be former athletes, coaches or administrators who earned a letter in a varsity sport, achieved a superior accomplishment in a sport or made a significant contribution to the Beaver athletics program. 

The inaugural class includes: 

Bert DeSalvo

DeSalvo resurrected the Beaver women's basketball program in 2008 and then coached the team to three straight PSUAC Championships and the USCAA Championship game in the first four years. In that span, DeSalvo compiled a 99-26 record and was named PSUAC Coach of the Year in 2008. He left Beaver to take a position at Clarion University. 

Greg Frederick

Frederick played on the Beaver baseball team that won two PSUAC championships in 2007 and 2010. He was a four-time USCAA All-American, a four-time PSUAC All-Conference and a two-time PSUAC Player of the Year. He won PSUAC Pitcher of the Year in 2009 and pitched a no-hitter in the USCAA tournament. 

Jasmine Green

Green was a guard on the Beaver women's basketball team that won three PSUAC Championships from 2008 to 2010. She was a three-time USCAA All-American, a three-time PSUAC Player of the Year and a four-time PSUAC All-Conference player. She also played on the softball team. 

Jim Karwoski

Karwoski is best known as Beaver's baseball coach. He held the position for 29 years and won the Penn State Commonwealth Campus Athletic Conference Coach of the Year 16 times. He also served as the campus' athletic director and cross country coach. He was elected to the Beaver County Hall of Fame and the National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame. 

Donna Kuga

Kuga served the campus for nearly 40 years as a professor, an athletic director, an academic affairs director, an interim chancellor and a coach of basketball, volleyball and softball. In that time, she earned multiple awards, including the Penn State Commonwealth Campus Athletic Conference Coach of the Year (four times) and the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year. Kuga died last year after a battle with cancer. She posthumously received the Robert J. Scannell Award, which recognizes an administrator, faculty, staff member or coach who has served the PSUAC with distinction. 

Bill Meacci

Meacci worked for Penn State Beaver for nearly 30 years from 1970 to 1999. In that span, he served as the golf, soccer, wrestling and softball coach.  

Eldon Price

Price was hired in 1967 to develop Beaver's physical education, intramural and athletics departments, which he did over his 19 years at the campus. He served as an athletic director, a professor, an intramurals director and a head coach of men's and women's basketball, women's softball, golf, cross country and cheerleading. He was also instrumental in building the campus gymnasium and fields and, like Kuga, was a recipient of the PSUAC's Scannell Award. He later left Beaver to take a position at Ryder University, but later returned to Penn State as a member of the University Park men's basketball coaching staff. 

Heather Sandusky

Sandusky was a two-sport star for Beaver, earning numerous accolades in volleyball and women's basketball. She was a four-time USCAA All-American in basketball, a two-time USCAA All-American in volleyball, and a four-time PSUAC All-Conference and Academic All-Conference. She played on four PSUAC Championship teams. 

Ashley Watkins

Watkins was a member of the 2012 softball team that won the PSUAC Championship. She's a three-time USCAA All-American and PSUAC All-Conference. She was named the PSUAC Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in 2010.

Nominees for next year's class can be submitted online. http://psubeaverathletics.com/information/Hall_of_Honor