The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) is excited to introduce the WPIAL Hall of Fame Class of 2024, which features 14 inductees across seven different categories. The 17th annual WPIAL Hall of Fame class was announced to the public on Wednesday morning in a press conference at the Senator John Heinz History Center and Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum.
Out of the 14 inductees, five are listed in the Athlete category, three in Coach, two in Team, and one each in Official, Contributor, Heritage, and Courage. The full class is listed below, as well as a brief overview on each inductee’s career.
WPIAL Hall of Fame Class of 2024
Tyler Boyd (Athlete) – Helped lead Clairton to a 63-1 record and four WPIAL and PIAA Class 1A championships from 2009 to 2012 … Held the WPIAL record in touchdowns (117) and ranked fifth in WPIAL history in rushing yards (5,755) after graduation … Rushed for 2,584 yards and accounted for 51 total touchdowns as a senior … Selected to play in the 2013 U.S. Army All-American Bowl … Earned Big 33 Classic MVP honors after scoring five touchdowns (91-yard kick return, 68-yard pass, four-yard run, 16-yard catch, five-yard catch) … Lettered in basketball and baseball at Clairton, and played in the WPIAL Championship Game in basketball as a senior … Played football collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh, finishing as a three-time All-ACC selection with school records in receptions (254) and receiving yards (3,361) … Picked in the 2nd round (55th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals and currently is in his eighth season with the team
Jim Chacko (Official) – Served as a WPIAL official for football, basketball, and baseball … Umpired pro baseball for a few seasons in the Gulf Coast League and MLB spring training … Officiated for ABC’s “Superstars” show, which featured top athletes competing in events that were not their own … Well-rounded athlete at Charleroi, lettering in baseball, basketball, football, and track & field … Won a WPIAL championship in basketball as a junior … Named to the All-State and All-America First Team as a senior in 1959 … Scored 1,188 career points at Charleroi … Played baseball collegiately at Long Beach State University … Inducted into the Washington-Greene County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and the Mon Valley Sports Writers Hall of Fame in 1997
Ron Faust (Coach) – Finished his 36-year career with a record of 653-241, spending two different stints at his alma mater Washington as the boys’ basketball head coach (1981-2010, 2014-2022) … Guided Washington to 22 section championships, four WPIAL titles (1984, 1985, 1986, 1990), and two PIAA Class 2A championships (1984, 1986) … Posted a perfect 6-0 record in WPIAL and PIAA Championship Games … Led the Little Prexies to 52 consecutive wins from 1984 to 1985 … Named Dapper Dan Basketball Coach of the Year twice and the Pennsylvania Class 2A Coach of the Year in 1984 … Graduated from the California University of Pennsylvania in 1973 and was a four-year letterwinner in baseball … Inducted into the Washington-Greene County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2002
Jordan Geist (Athlete) – Captured six WPIAL and six PIAA gold medals, completing three-peats in shot put and discus … Owns the WPIAL championship meet records in shot put (73-10.75) and discus (208-07.00), and boasts the PIAA championship meet standards in shot put (74-03.50) and discus (207-06.00) … Won a national title at the 2017 New Balance Outdoor Championships in the hammer throw with a toss of 238-00.00, which was the third best mark in U.S. high school history … Took home gold in shot put at the 2017 Pan American Under-20 Championships with a record toss of 72-03.00, and at the TSTCA Indoor Championships … Named the Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year in track & field for 2017 … Competed collegiately at the University of Arizona, earning 11 All-America honors and two Academic All-America First Team nods … Swept the NCAA shot put titles in 2023 for outdoor and indoor track & field
Simmie Hill (Heritage) – Starred for the 1964-65 Midland boys’ basketball team, which won the WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A titles and was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame in 2009 … Named to the Parade All-America First Team in 1965 after scoring 652 points, including a record 38 points in the WPIAL Championship Game against Aliquippa and 31 points in the PIAA Championship Game versus Steelton-Highspire … Scored 1,327 points over his career at Midland … Played collegiately at Wichita State University, Cameron Junior College, and West Texas A&M University … Garnered All-America honors at Cameron and West Texas A&M, joining LSU’s Pete Maravich and UCLA’s Lew Alcindor on the list as a senior … Picked in the 2nd round (16th overall) of the 1969 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls … Played four seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) … Inducted into numerous Hall of Fames, including Beaver County Sports (1986), West Texas A&M Athletics (1988), Midland Sports (2010), Cameron Athletics (2011), and the Pittsburgh Basketball Club (2018)
Heather Lewis (Courage) – Battled breast cancer for 10 months from 2021-22 … Serves as the athletic director at Seneca Valley since 2012, and is the school’s first female athletic director … Named 2022 PSADA Region IV Athletic Director of the Year … Elected to the WPIAL Board of Directors prior to the 2019-20 school year … Spent time as an associate athletic director and the head coach of the field hockey and women’s lacrosse programs at Bucknell University … Worked with U.S. Olympic Committee ahead of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics … Graduated from the University of Maryland, earning All-Region plaudits for the field hockey and women’s lacrosse teams, and winning an NCAA title in the latter
George Rudolph (Coach) – Coached for 50 seasons at Oakland Catholic and Sacred Heart, starting the cross country and track & field teams in the fall of 1973 … Led his teams to 15 conference titles, three WPIAL individual cross country gold medals, 16 WPIAL individual track & field titles, and a pair of WPIAL cross country team championships (2016, 2017) … Earned the Tri-State Track & Field Coaches’ Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 … Served as the athletic director at Sacred Heart and Oakland Catholic, and the president of the Pittsburgh Softball Association for Umpires … Taught social studies for 47 years
Robert Schilken (Athlete) – Three-year starter for Mt. Lebanon football, helping lead the team to WPIAL Class 4A championships in 1980 and 1981 … Garnered Parade All-America, Associated Press All-State First Team, and United Press International All-State Second Team accolades in 1981 … Played football collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh from 1982 to 1985, winning three letters while competing in the 1983 Cotton Bowl and 1984 Fiesta Bowl … Received the Blue-Gold Award for Academic Achievement and an NCAA scholarship for post-graduate studies as a senior at Pitt … Currently is a team physician for the Pittsburgh Pirates and surgeon with Allegheny Orthopedic Associates
Nicole Sleith Schaffer (Athlete) – Posted a 62-10 record with 989 strikeouts, 0.57 earned run average, and a .463 batting average, and tossed 13 no-hitters over her career with Yough softball … Helped lead the Cougars to the 2011 WPIAL Class 3A title, the school’s first in any sport … Became the second student and first female student-athlete to have uniform jersey retired at Yough … Garnered three All-State honors and was the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Player of the Year in 2011 … Competed collegiately for the Robert Morris University softball team and was named to the RMU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022 … Won three NEC Pitcher of the Year awards, three NFCA All-Region nods, and was the 2012 NEC Rookie of the Year … Currently works as the director of player development for Duke University’s softball team
Beth Swink (Athlete) – Three-sport letterwinner (basketball, softball, cross country) at Connellsville, garnering All-Section accolades in basketball and softball … Scored 1,500 career points for the Falcons basketball team and helped lead it to the PIAA playoffs … Compiled 27 victories, 324 strikeouts, and 11 shutouts in two seasons as a pitcher for the Connellsville softball team, also leading it to the PIAA postseason … Named a WPIAL James Collins Scholar-Athlete in 2001 and donated the money back to the softball program … Played basketball collegiately at Saint Francis University, accumulating 2,127 points and 957 rebounds while making four straight NCAA Tournaments … Collected two Academic All-America honors and was named to the NEC 25th Anniversary Team in 2006 … Played professional basketball in Sweden for two seasons … Inducted into the NEC Hall of Fame in 2011, SFU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015, and Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame in 2018
Bob Trautwine (Contributor) – Long-time member of the cross country and track & field steering committee … Compiled 110-56 record as East Allegheny track & field coach, winning 28 consecutive dual meets from 1973 to 1976 and seven Keystone Conference championships … Coached five WPIAL Class 3A individual champions and 29 PIAA qualifiers … Served as East Allegheny athletic director from 1989 to 1999 … Held roles on the WPIAL Board of Directors, as president of the WPIAL Athletic Directors Association, and as a WPIAL playoff game manager in football, soccer, basketball, and track & field … Received the John & Michael Ferrante Memorial Award for promoting sports and student-athletes in 2004, and the Tri-State Track & Field Coaches’ Association Lifetime Achievement Award
Mike Zmijanac (Coach) – Only coach in Pennsylvania high school history to win state titles in football and basketball … Spent 48 seasons coaching football and 24 as a head coach, compiling a 240-59 record … Guided Aliquippa football to six WPIAL championships (2000, 2003, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2015) and the 2003 PIAA Class 2A title … Became first coach in WPIAL history to take team to 10 consecutive WPIAL Championship Games … Helped lead Aliquippa to an additional four WPIAL golds as a defensive coordinator … Registered a 166-43 record in seven seasons as the Aliquippa boys’ basketball coach, winning three WPIAL titles (1998, 2000, 2003) and the 1997 PIAA Class 2A championship … Inducted into the Minor Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015, Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016, and Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2018 … Taught creative writing and American literature for 39 years at Aliquippa
1989 Peters Township Boys’ Soccer (Team) – Finished the season with a 23-2-2 record, successfully defending its 1988 Class 2A championships at the WPIAL and PIAA level … Allowed just 19 goals over the entire campaign, posting 15 shutouts … Blanked each of its postseason opponents, outscoring them 23-0 over the course of the WPIAL and PIAA tournaments … Defeated Quaker Valley, 1-0, in the WPIAL Championship Game … Topped Perry Traditional Academy (5-0), Fairview (2-0), and Quaker Valley (3-0) in PIAA playoffs before drawing with Great Valley (0-0) in final … Boasted an All-State selection in Kevin Shaeffer
2011-12 Canon-McMillan Boys’ Wrestling (Team) – Captured the WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A team championships with a 26-0 dual meet record … Garnered four WPIAL individual championships (Connor Schram at 120, Solomon Chishko at 138, Cody Wiercioch at 170, Cody Kiempay at 285), one PIAA gold medalist (Wiercioch), and eight PIAA place winners … Boasted 14 wrestlers with 20 or more wins, eight with 30 or more wins, and five with 40 or more wins … Topped North Allegheny, 53-12, for WPIAL team crown … Defeated McDowell, 35-20, to win the PIAA team championship … Saw numerous student-athletes go on to wrestle collegiately at the NCAA Division I level at programs such as Cal Poly, Clarion, Cornell, Lehigh, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Stanford, and Virginia Tech
The WPIAL Hall of Fame was organized as a means of recognizing, preserving, and promoting the heritage of interscholastic sports in Western Pennsylvania. Many individuals have made extraordinary contributions and have achieved superb accomplishments in high school sports. The WPIAL Hall of Fame honors the contributions and accomplishments of these individuals who are worthy of recognition as examples for others to emulate.
The annual WPIAL Hall of Fame induction banquet will be held on Friday, May 31 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Greentree (500 Mansfield Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15205).