Group of talented athletes to be recognized at induction ceremony
The 13th Annual Coatesville Area High School Sports Hall of Fame banquet will be held Saturday, Oct. 20, at the Coatesville Country Club.
The 13th Annual Coatesville Area High School Sports Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremony will be held Oct. 20 at the Coatesville Country Club.
This year’s inductees:
Christine Tobelman, who was named the outstanding female athlete in the graduating class of 1985. She was the point guard on the basketball team, goalie on the field hockey squad and third baseman on the softball team.
It was in softball that Chris made her greatest contribution to Coatesville athletics. She batted .408 as a junior and .393 as a senior and was named to the first team All-Ches-Mont squad. Her mark of 21 stolen bases as a senior is still a Coatesville record. Chris was named as honorable mention on the All-Time Ches-Mont softball team.
Ed Kovatch had an excellent career as an athlete at Coatesville High. He was a two-way starter on the football team – quarterback and defensive end for the undefeated Ches-Mont Champions in 1981.
Baseball was Ed’s best sport as he led the Raider pitching staff with an 18-2 record in two seasons. This included two no-hitters along with leading the league in home runs during the 1981 season.
From 1982 to 1986, Ed played for Temple University, achieving a record or 24-7 as a starting pitcher. In both 1984 and 1985 he made the All Atlantic-10 team, leading the league in wins and strike-outs.
Pete “Sonny” Gracia is a throwback to the old days of high school sports – a three-sport athlete. He won nine varsity letters – four in cross country, three in track and two in basketball.
Sonny was the point guard on two successive Ches-Mont Championship teams. Both had to win three consecutive games to the titles, Henderson in 1971 and Pottstown in 1972. Sonny was the catalyst that provided the leadership for those championship seasons.
He received the senior award as the outstanding member of the basketball team and continued his athletic and academic career at Shippensburg University.
Larry Lewis was a two-sport standout at Coatesville High in basketball and track. He was named the Most Valuable Player on the 1971 basketball team which won the Ches-Mont and advanced to the District Championship.
In track, he was the Ches-Mont champion in the high and low hurdles, District Champion in the highs and State runner-up in both hurdle events. An injury prevented him from competing in the State meet as a senior. Larry was named the outstanding male athlete in the Class of 1971.
He continued his athletic career at the University of Pennsylvania in track and basketball.
Clint Seace was a two–time All-State football star at Coatesville. He was named to the third team as a junior linebacker and to the first team as a senior. He was All Ches-Mont and All-Area in both his junior and senior seasons. He was the team leader on an outstanding Coatesville defense.
Clint also completed in track and field and excelled in the javelin. He accepted a full scholarship to Penn State for football where he was switched to defensive end. Clint graduated in 1998 with a degree in engineering.
Gavin “Scotty” Beam ended his wrestling career with 77 victories, placing him sixth on the list of all-time wins at Coatesville High School.
In 1980, he placed third at the District Championships in the 98-lb. class. The same year, Scott won the Southeast Regional Championship and qualified for the Senate Meet. In 1981, now wrestling 112 lbs., he was District Champion and the Section 4 runner-up.
Aja Anderson exceled in basketball at Coatesville High School. As a sophomore, she was the leading scorer on the 1994 PIAA AAAA State Championship Basketball team. Total points scored in her career were 2011.
In the old-timers’ category, Ken Mateer, who played football and basketball for the Class of 1923 and Coach Vic Emanuel will also be honored. This year’s recipient of the J “Mac” Stuber Award, given for special contributions to Coatesville athletics is Becky Layfield, a longtime athletic trainer. The Hall of Fame is also paying tribute to the 1952 Boys Basketball Team, which was the state runner-up.
Information on all inductees can be found at coatesvillesportshalloffame.org. Tickets, which are going fast, are $30 and are available at the Coatesville Flower Shop (610-384-2677) or from any committee member (listed on web site). The banquet begins at 5:00 p.m. with a social time followed by dinner and the induction.
