An outstanding group of 15 honorees, including 10 living inductees, one deceased inductee and four Volunteers of the Year were selected to the West Branch Valley Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. 

The induction ceremony will take place during the annual Hall of Fame banquet at the Genetti on Sunday, Nov. 10.

The induction class includes living inductees Madina Ali, Jen Allen, Gary Cook, Alan Eck, Tom Gravish, Bobby Lynn, Chris Masse, Maria Morgan, Gabe Sinicropi, Biff Walizer. The deceased inductee is Rodger Cook and the Volunteers of the Year are Rod Laub, Tom Aber, Hal Spooner and Ron Bowes. Joe Person was selected for induction, but cannot attend. His induction will be held during the 2025 ceremony.

Numerous have ties to The Express area.

Cook wrestled at Lock Haven High School and was a 1961 state champion at 165 pounds, going 24-0. He finished second in 1960 at 165 pounds. He went on to be a three-time Division I All-American at East Stroudsburg, earning three national top-4 finishes. 

Gravish has posted 173 wins in 28 years as a football coach at East Juniata (1996-98), Bellefonte (1999-06), Williamsport (2007-11) and Jersey Shore (2012-present). He has led the Bulldogs to a 106-44-1 record since 2012 and has won seven district titles in 12 years,including five in a row from 201-22. He was the 2020 Pennsylvania Class AAAA Coach of the Year, a two-time Eastern PA Coach of the Year and a four-time Sun-Gazette Coach of the Year.

Lynn was a three-time All-PSAC selection at receiver at Lock Haven University and a four-year starter who was part of the team’s 1979 PSAC championship. He has officiated baseball and footbal sinc e1990, starting at the PIAA level and ising to work the Division III and Division II World Series in 2005 and 2010, respectively. He’s a 2012 Lock Haven University Football Hall of Fame selection.

Morgan was a standout at Bucktail in basketball and tennis. She’s a two-time first-team Class A all-state baseball selection and three-time all-state selection after earning second-team honors. She set the Clinton County’s girls basketball scoring record with 2,407 points, second in area history. She went 62-3 in tennis and won the district doubles title in 2014. 

Walizer was a standout wrestler at Bald Eagle-Nittany High School and was a 1999 NCAA Division I All-American at 149 pounds for Penn State where he went 101-61 with 31 pins, second in program history at the time of his graduation. He won the PIAA Class AA state championship at 125 in 1992 and 193 and finished with a 137-7 record in high school.

DECEASED INDUCTEES

Cook was a three-time NAIA qualifier and one-time NCAA championship qualifier (1963) at Lock Haven, going 56-19-5 overall and had four PSAC Championship places. He was a two-time District 6 runner-up (1959, 1960). He’s a Lock Haven University (1994) and Clinton County (2001) Hall of Fame inductee.