The Allen-Rogowicz Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame will hold its annual induction banquet Sunday, Oct. 18, at Pine View Acres, Mill Creek. Assembly is scheduled for 5 p.m., with dinner to follow at 6 p.m.
This year’s 12 inductees are:
Douglas Allen
A 1986 graduate of Blue Mountain High School, Allen earned six varsity letters in basketball and baseball.
In basketball, Allen was the starting point guard for three seasons and still holds the school record for the highest average assists per game. He was a Reading Eagle All-Anthracite selection as a junior and senior and was a Pottsville Republican All-Area team selection as a senior.
In baseball, Allen was the Eagles’ starting center fielder for three seasons, helping Blue Mountain reach the Schuylkill League championship game in 1985. He was named to the Pottsville Republican first team as an outfielder as a senior.
Allen continued his baseball career at Shippensburg University, then later Lipscomb University. He graduated from Lipscomb in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in business management.
Allen has been the director of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Schuylkill County since 1995 and is the chairman of the Sparr Foundation in Reading. He also coaches junior high girls’ basketball at Blue Mountain.
Allen lives with his wife, Donna, and they have two children, Winn and Maggie, who both attended Blue Mountain High School.
Vincent Crochunis
Crochunis is a 1999 graduate of Schuylkill Haven High School, where he was a standout in football, wrestling and track and field.
In football, Crochunis was a three-year starter at fullback and defensive tackle, helping the Hurricanes to the 1998 District 11 Class A championship. He amassed 43 sacks, 291 tackles and 13 touchdowns in his career, earning All-State honors as a senior and named The Republican-Herald Defensive Player of the Year. Crochunis played in the 1999 Big 33 Football Classic.
As a wrestler, Crochunis was a standout heavyweight, compiling a 50-1 career dual-meet record. He captured one Schuylkill League and two District 11 Class AA titles, placing fourth at the PIAA Class AA Championships as a senior. He was named the District 11 Class AA wrestling scholar-athlete and was Schuylkill Haven’s representative to the annual Schuylkill Chapter No. 25 Scholar-Athlete Banquet.
Crochunis continued his athletic and academic career at the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned four letters and started for three seasons at defensive tackle. He played in four bowl games, including the 2004 Fiesta Bowl, and recorded 176 tackles, 23 tackles for a loss and seven sacks during his college career.
Crochunis was a first-team All-Big East selection, a three-time Academic All-American and graduated with a degree with a triple major in political science, history and communications.
Crochunis currently lives in Allentown, New Jersey, with his wife, Anne, and his two children, Leah (6) and Brayden (3). He is a vice president and executive recruiter with Lyneer Search Group in New York City.
Paul Draovitch
A 1979 graduate of Saint Clair Area High School, Draovitch earned 11 letters in football, basketball and track and field.
Draovitch played as a flanker and safety on Saint Clair’s Eastern Conference Southern Division-winning football team in 1977, being named All-County and All-Anthracite during his junior and senior seasons.
In basketball, Draovitch played in the 1978 Schuylkill League championship game and helped the Saints win the 1978 District 11 Class A title. Saint Clair reached the PIAA Eastern semifinals in both 1977 and ’78.
Draovitch was named Saint Clair’s scholar-athlete and also served as president of his high school’s National Honor Society.
After graduating from Princeton University with a degree in mechanical engineering, Draovitch served as the honorary captain of his alma mater’s football team at the 1991 Anthracite Bowl.
Draovitch currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with his wife, Janie, and his children Tyler (22), Ana (19) and Daria (17). He serves as the vice president of Power Generation for Duke Energy in North Carolina.
Peter Draovitch
The twin brother of Paul Draovitch, Pete is also a 1979 graduate of Saint Clair, earning 12 letters in football, basketball and track and field.
Draovitch was the quarterback of the 1977 Southern Division champion football team, and he earned All-County during his junior and senior years. In basketball, Draovitch was the Saints’ point guard for four seasons, helping Saint Clair to the league, district and state playoffs.
Draovitch continued his football career at Gettysburg College, earning three letters as a running back, quarterback and wide receiver. He earned his masters degree in sports medicine at the University of Delaware in 1985, and served in various athletic training roles at Delaware, Lehigh and the University of Miami (Fla.).
Draovitch has proviced care to professional athletes in six different sports and served in advisory roles for PGA golfers Greg Norman and Jack Nicklaus.
He currently resides in Greensburg with his wife, Debra, and his daughter, Victoria Morgan. He works as the team physical therapist for the NHL’s New York Rangers.
Jason Grow
A 1991 graduate of Williams Valley High School, Grow earned eight varsity letters in football and basketball.
A standout wide receiver, Grow finished his high school career holding nine records in football, including 2,747 career receiving yards, 44 career touchdowns, 5,019 all-purpose yards, 1,114 single season receiving yards and 1,787 single season all-purpose yards. He was named the Twin Valley Conference MVP in 1989 and was a two-time All-State selection.
In basketball, Grow scored 1,885 career points, which still stands as the boys’ school record. He averaged 28 points-per-game throughout his senior year and was named an Associated Press All-State selection.
Grow continued his football career at Mansfield, starting two seasons and catching nine touchdown passes.
Grow currently lives in Lykens with his wife, Patti, and their two sons, Connor and Carson. He is a manager with the Pa. Parole Board focusing on several prisons in western Pennsylvania.
Dr. William “Bill” Gudelunas
A 1963 graduate of Minersville Area High School, Gudelunas lettered in football, basketball and baseball.
Gudelunas scored 1,055 points during his two years of varsity basketball, leading the South Schuylkill League in scoring in 1961-62 and 1962-63. At the time of his graduation, he held school records for scoring average (25.1 ppg), points scored in a single game and points scored in a single season.
Earning his bachelor’s degree at West Chester State College and his master’s and Ph.D. at Lehigh University, Gudelunas taught U.S. history for 40 years in both Pennsylvania and California. He received 10 “Teacher of the Year” awards at four different colleges.
Gudelunas is a widely published author, including a book on Schuylkill County voting patterns in the 19th century and an article in the Journal of Sports History about the Pottsville Maroons.
Gudelunas lives in Delaware with his wife, Barbara. They have two sons.
Michelle Forney Heenan
A 1993 graduate of Nativity, Forney Heenan lettered all four years in volleyball, basketball and softball.
In volleyball, Forney Heenan helped lead the Golden Girls to four consecutive Schuylkill League championship appearances, four consecutive District 11 championships and four state playoff appearances. She was a first-team All-Area selection as a sophomore and junior, Co-Player of the Year as a senior, and a two-time All-State selection.
Forney Heenan played in two PIAA state championship games on the basketball team, helping the Golden Girls win the 1990 title. She was also on the District 11 championship team in 1991.
In softball, she helped Nativity to three playoff appearances in four seasons. Forney Heenan was named Outstanding Female Athlete of Nativity at graduation.
Forney continued her volleyball career at Lycoming College, where she was a three-time Freedom League all-star.
Forney Heenan and her husband, Thomas, reside in Pottsville with their daughter, Samantha (12). She is a counselor at the State Correctional Institution in Mahanoy City.
Teddi Hesser
A 1984 graduate of Pine Grove Area High School, Hesser was a star basketball player for four years.
Hesser played on Pine Grove’s first state championship team during her sophomore year. The squad went 37-1, winning the Schuylkill League championship, District 11 championship and 1982 PIAA Class A state championship. Hesser was the Cardinals’ leading scorer in the state final with 17 points.
During Hesser’s junior year, her team was the Schuylkill League and District 11 runner-up. Her senior team won both the District 11 championship and PIAA Eastern title, falling to Bishop Guilfoyle by one point in the state title game.
Hesser scored 30 points and pulled 20 rebounds in the district final, then scored 18 points in the state title game. She finished her high school career with 955 points.
After playing college basketball at Shippensburg University, Hesser graduated with a degree in criminal justice. She served as an assistant coach with the Cardinals’ girls’ program from 2006-10.
Hesser resides in York with her two children, Jacob (21) and Steffi (19). She is a criminal behavior analyst for the Pennsylvania State Police, Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Julie Deibert Masser
Deibert Masser is a 1987 graduate of Tri-Valley High School, where she earned nine varsity letters in basketball, softball and volleyball.
In basketball, Deibert Masser was a four-year starter. As a sophomore, she scored the game-winning bucket in the fifth overtime of a contest against Line Mountain that ended a 61-game losing streak for the Bulldogs.
She later broke Tri-Valley’s scoring record, and became the first girl in school history to score over 1,000 career points. Deibert Masser was selected to the Schuylkill All League basketball team twice and named the female scholar-athlete at Tri-Valley.
In softball, Deibert Masser batted .419 with three home runs during her senior year when she guided her team to the District 11 playoffs. She also helped the volleyball team make the District 11 playoffs as captain during her senior year.
Deibert Masser graduated from Lock Haven University in 1991 and has spent more than 24 years as a teacher in the Millersburg and Line Mountain school districts. She currently teaches learning support at Line Mountain Elementary School.
Deibert Masser and her her husband, Jeffrey, live in Leck Kill with their two children, Casey (21) and Kellan (18).
Jack Reed
A 1955 graduate of Lykens High School, Reed was a standout in basketball, football and baseball.
Reed was a member of the NCAA baseball championship team at Elizabethtown College. He also played with the Valley View American Legion team, winning the state championship in 1955 and the Twin County League state championship.
After graduating from Elizabethtown College with a degree in elementary education, Reed taught in the Upper Dauphin Area School District for 30 years before retiring in 1992.
Reed currently lives in Gratz with his wife of 55 years, Virginia. They have two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret, and four grandchildren.
Frank Schuettler
A lifelong fan of the Pottsville Crimson Tide, Schuettler is a meritorious inductee for 2015.
Schuettler, 81, has worked has worked with boys and girls for 55 years in basketball and 47 years in baseball. He still coaches for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Port Carbon Little League and the Lions team in the Pottsville Boys’ Basketball League.
In 2008, Schuettler was inducted into the Pottsville Area High School All-Sports Hall of Fame. He is a member of the Crimson Tide’s chain gang for football games. He has also received the President’s Award for Distinguished Service to the Port Carbon Little League.
Schuettler worked at Penn Steel Foundary for 31 years before retiring. He currently lives in Port Carbon.
He was married to the late Rosemary Reedy Schuettler for 54 years, and he has two daughters, Beverly and Nancy, two grandchildren and one great-grandson.
John Taylor
A 1954 graduate of Pottsville High School, Taylor is a posthumous inductee, having passed away in 2004. He was a two-sport athlete, excelling in both football and track and field.
Taylor played tackle and was a placekicker for the Crimson Tide. In 1954, Taylor broke records in both discus and shot put. He was known as the “Discus King” because he set eight new discus records during his career at Pottsville.
After playing guard at Lafayette College and graduating with a degree in electrical engineering, Taylor became a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. He retired from working at the Ford Motor Company in 2000 and is survived by his wife and three children.