Northampton Area High School inducted the 10th class of the Athletic Hall of Fame on Thursday, Jan. 22, in Pete Schneider Gymnasium before the varsity wrestling match against Whitehall.

The class consisted of six outstanding former student-athletes and one superior team.

Keith Newhard,

Class of 1954

Newhard lettered four years in football and basketball and one year in baseball.

As a senior, he served as captain of the basketball team. He was the Varsity "N" Club President and senior class president. After high school, he served in the Army Infantry for two years as "A" Company 15th Infantry in Bamberg, Germany.

At Kutztown University, he was a four-year starter in football and basketball where he captained the football team his junior and senior year. He graduated from Kutztown University in January 1959, where he earned a BS degree in social studies and English with a certificate in driver safety education.

Upon graduation, he spent three years at Pen Argyl and two years at Stroudsburg as a drivers education and social studies teacher and coach of football, basketball, and track. For 31 years, he was a drivers education teacher at Dieruff and served as a football coach and head track coach earning East Penn League football and track championships in 1981 and 1983. He served as Dieruff Athletic Director for 11 years. He was awarded Teacher of the Year in 1995 from the Allentown School District and Pennsylvania Athletic Director of the Year in 1996.

Newhard retired from the Allentown School District in 1997. He was inducted into the Dieruff Hall of Fame in 1985. He served as secretary for the Lehigh Valley Chapter National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012. He is on the Board of Directors for Lehigh Valley Old Time Athletes and Friends.

Keith worked for AAA East Penn for 18 years as a driver improvement instructor and tour escort. Keith is married to the former Bernice Cizmar of Catasauqua. They have been blessed with three children and six grandchildren. He is enjoying his new role as spectator as his grandchildren grow and participate in sporting events.

Beth (Marushak)

Bersticker,

Class of 2002

Marushak lettered four years in golf.

Beth started to learn the game of golf at age seven from her father, Jim, a lifelong lover of the game. She began her competitive career in 1994 on the Lehigh Valley Junior Golf Tour, where she quickly excelled competing against her male counterparts. She won the Women's Club Championship at Blue Ridge Country Club in 1997 at the age of 13, and defended her title the following two years in 1998 and 1999.

While at Northampton, she was a four-year letter winner and starter on the varsity golf team. She was the only female selected to be on the all-area golf team and received athlete of the week honors on four different occasions. Beth was a three-time all-conference performer (1999, 2000 and 2001), as well as 2002 golfer of the year and the 2001 conference scholar athlete. She was a four-time district champion, a record that still stands today.

Beth posted top-10 finishes in the Pennsylvania State Championship in 1999 and 2000, and won the state title in 2001. A top college recruit, Beth's dream of attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she had attended golf camp as a young teenager, came true when she accepted a full scholarship to join the women's golf team in the Fall of 2002.

While at UNC, she competed in over 20 collegiate tournaments, including two NCAA Championships, finishing in the top-50 individually on multiple occasions. Her top finish came at the 2002 Pine Needles Intercollegiate where she finished 10th. She also posted a 15th and 17th place at the 2003 and 2004 ACC Championships respectively.

Off the course, Beth excelled in the classroom and was a member of the ACC Honor Roll for three years.

She currently manages a team focused on the recruitment of primarily technical, operations and manufacturing professionals up through the executive level within various industries, including biomedical and technology. Beth currently resides in Raleigh, NC with her husband, Brian, who was also a student-athlete and four-year letter winner on the men's basketball team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They recently welcomed their first son, Grayson, in October of 2014. Her parents, James and Brenda Marushak, still live in the Lehigh Valley and are active in the local golf community, as well as members at Woodstone Country Club.

Bob Oplinger, Class of 1963

Oplinger lettered three years in both football and baseball.

He was the Northampton Student Government President as a senior. In football, he earned Lehigh Valley All-League center in 1962. He earned a full Division I scholarship to play football at Wake Forest University.

As the starting center during his sophomore year, he helped Brian Piccolo lead the nation in rushing and scoring. He earned Honorable Mention All-ACC Offensive Center as a sophomore in 1964.

As a senior in 1966, he earned First Team All-ACC Offensive Center, Bill George Award recipient as team Most Valuable Lineman, North Carolina All-State Collegiate Offensive Center, and All-American Honorable Mention by Associated Press.

Bob graduated from Wake Forest University in 1997 with a Bachelor's Degree in physical education. He signed a professional football contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1967 and with the Baltimore Colts in 1968 where he made the practice squad, but left the team to complete his undergraduate degree at Wake Forest.

He was inducted into the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame by the Lehigh Valley Pennsylvania Chapter in 2008. He played football under legendary coach Al Erdosy and baseball under legendary coach Mike Lisetski.

Bob will join his two brothers Jim (2007) and Willard (2009) as members of the Northampton Athletic Hall of Fame. Bob is married to his wife Neely for 48 years whom he met while at Wake Forest University. They have two children and three grandchildren.

Mary (O'Brien) Fromhartz, Class of 1986

O'Brien lettered four years in basketball, two years in track and field, and two years in softball. In basketball, she scored a school record, 251 points as a sophomore. She twice earned all-tourney team for the NHS Christmas Tournament.

As a junior and senior, she led the team in scoring, and earned First Team All-East Penn Conference, Express-Times and Morning Call All-Area Team. She earned the girls basketball Senior Award and Carole Weil Courageous Student-Athlete Award. She graduated with the school records for steals in a game (10), season (108), and career (261) as well as the leading girls scorer with 901 points. She was voted to the 1980s All-Decade Team by the Morning Call.

In softball, she was a starting shortstop for the first team in NHS history to win back-to-back District 11 championships in 1985 and 1986. The team won an EPC Championship (1986) and had an overall record of 45-5 over the two years including a 25 game home winning streak. As a senior, Mary led the team in batting average (. 452), RBIs (19), and home runs (2). She earned All-EPC shortstop and starting shortstop in the Lehigh Valley Big Brothers/Big Sisters Softball All-Star Classic.

After Northampton, Mary earned an athletic scholarship to Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY. After a medical redshirt in her freshman year, she was a four-year letter winner, receiving the prestigious "Iron Man" award for playing every game of her college career. She earned all-tournament recognition at Seton Hall Holiday Tournament and was named a senior captain. She graduated with school records in most games played (112) and three-point field percentage in a year.

Mary graduated from Marist College in 1991 with Bachelor's Degrees in marketing and communications. She worked for KeyCorp as a legal analyst and bond operations administrator as well as a tax specialist at H&R Block for 10 years. From 2010-13, she was the JV girls basketball coach at Bishop Shanahan.

Currently, she is an assistant coach at Division II West Chester University. She volunteers her time as assistant girls athletic director of the St. Joseph CYO program. Mary and her husband, Jim (2011 Northampton Athletic Hall of Fame inductee), live in Downingtown, and have five children. She is a cancer survivor who has instilled her love of sports and competition in her children and athletes.

Steve Pritko, Class of 1939

Pritko lettered three years in football, two years in both basketball and two in baseball.

He was born in Northampton, on Dec. 21, 1920, and at the current age of 94, he is the only living member of the 1937-38 Wonder Team where he played football for the legendary coach Elwood "Woody" Ludwig as a 6-2, 209-pound end.

Pritko was a first-generation high school graduate. His parents, immigrants from Austria-Hungary, could not speak English, so he signed his father's $30 paychecks from the slate quarry every two weeks.

After high school, he earned a scholarship to the Admiral Farragut Naval Academy in New Jersey where he played football for one year. He had multiple scholarship offers, but he decided to attend Villanova because it was a great Catholic school with strict rules and strong education. He started at end and punter for Villanova his last three years since no freshman could play varsity back then.

After graduating from Villanova in 1942, he entered the Marines. Having bulked to 235 pounds, Pritko played football for New York Giants in 1943, Cleveland Rams in 1944 and 1945 where he became an all-pro end who helped the Rams to a world championship in 1945. The Rams moved to Los Angeles where he played in 1946 and 1947. He played for Boston in 1948 and with the New York Bulldogs in 1949 and 1950, but was traded to the Green Bay Packers for the remainder of the 1950 season. In eight NFL seasons, Pritko had 93 receptions for 1,114 yards and 13 touchdowns.

After his playing days, he was an NFL official for many years. At age 94, he is one of the oldest living professional football players and NFL officials. He currently resides in California.

Mike Schneider,

Class of 1972

Schneider lettered two years in both basketball and baseball.

As an athlete, Mike played basketball for Northampton Athletic Hall of Fame coaches Pete Schneider (2005) and Bob Nemeth (2008). He helped lead the team to back-to-back Lehigh Valley League (LVL) Championships in 1971 and 1972. As a senior captain, he led the team to the District 11 championship and earned LVL All-League Team.

In Baseball, Mike was a star pitcher who played for 2007 Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Jim Oplinger. He went undefeated his senior year and threw the LVL and NHS' only perfect game. He holds the NHS' record for ERA in a season 0.51 and career 0.83. He is a member of the Blue Mountain Baseball Hall of Fame and holds the distinction of pitching the only no-hitter in league playoff history.

As a coach, Mike led 34 teams, 13 subvarsity and 21 varsity. He coached girls varsity basketball 1981-86, varsity baseball 1982-1994, and varsity boys basketball 1997-2001.

His varsity baseball teams compiled an overall record of 191-97 winning five division titles, three EPC titles, three District 11 titles (1982, 1986 & 1989) and reaching the PIAA Eastern Finals in 1982. He was named baseball coach of the year four times.

As a junior high girls basketball coach, his teams won 73-straight games over four seasons. As an educator, he graduated from East Stroudsburg State College in 1975 and began his teaching career at NHS in 1976 where he taught special education. In 1993, he became the athletic director where he held the position until he retired in 2012. His professional career in education spanned 36.5 years.

During his 19 years as athletic director, he served as league president 11 years, vice-president eight years, scheduler 17 years, statistician eight years, baseball assignor six years as well as chairman for the sports of baseball, basketball, swimming, and field hockey.

While on the District 11 Committee for 12 years, he served as the baseball and basketball chairman. He was also a member of the Eastern Football Conference Steering Committee for 12 years and served as the District 11 Athletic Directors Association president and vice-president.

Mike was named Athletic Director of the Year five times including the Pennsylvania State AD of the Year in 2005. Mike and his wife Nancy are life-long Northampton residents with three children and six grandchildren.

1992-93 "National Champion" Wrestling Team

- Team record 24-0 (first undefeated season in NHS wrestling history)

- #1 Ranked Team in the nation by USA Today

- School record for most wins in a season (24)

- Team point differential of 1,243-235

- Team individual wrestling record of 381-101

- All regular individual wrestlers at each weight-class had winning records (7 wrestlers 30+ wins each and 4 others 20+ wins)

- Emmaus match won 78-0 (all pins) broke a national record for the fastest match in High School history

- Bethlehem Christmas City Tournament Team Champions (278 team points, 13 of 13 placed in the top five, 12 of 13 into semifinals - all records at the time)

- Cedar Cliff Duals Champion

- District XI Duals Champion

- District XI Tournament Team Champion

- 11 of 13 reached semifinals (record at the time)

- Three Champions

- NE Regional Tournament Team Champion

-Four Champions and Five PIAA Championship qualifiers

- PIAA State Championships Team Champion

- One Champion (Mike Tomsic)

- One Third Place (Frank Mazzocchi)

- One Fourth Place (Steve Gaugler)

- One Sixth Place (Dennis Liberto)

- Jason Grim set school records for team points in a season (125) and career (328)

- Frank Mazzocchi set school record for pins in a season (21)

- Mike Tomsic set school record for career pins (51)

- Bob Gresko led team with takedowns in the season (71)

- A.J. Bucko led team with career takedowns (184) and wins (100)