RAY SWANSON | Keystoner Mercer County to induct 11 athletes into Hall of Fame

The Mercer County Hall of Fame will roll out the red carpet to 11 of the area's all-time athletic standouts on Jan. 19 at The Radisson in West Middlesex.
Nearly 400 people have been inducted and close to 500 attend the ceremonies annually. This is the 55th banquet, and is by far the largest sports affair in the county each year.
Highlights of the evening include the Si Lyman Award -- given to the High School with the best combined winning percentage in all sports -- and the Tom Burns Award -- given to the male and female senior athlete in with the highest academic standing.
Don Bennett, president of the Mercer County Hall of Fame, said this year's class is "truly outstanding."
"We have received a huge amount of applications this year," Bennett said, "but we can only put so many into the Hall each time."
This year's class: Inductees include Bill "Willie" Alford, Farrell High (basketball); Harry Beil, Greenville High (golf/basketball); Gerald Bodnar, Sharon High (football/basketball); Bob Braine, Grove City High (football/wrestling/track); Dave Cook, Commodore Perry High (baseball/basketball/track); Jim Gollner, Reynolds High (wrestling); Bob Leipheimer, Sharon High (football/baseball); Frank Erimias, Sharpsville High (football); Dr. Gary Roberts, Hickory High (football/basketball); Joe Sebestyen, Hickory High (basketball/baseball), and Lorenza "Renzie" Hoffman, Mercer High (basketball).
The featured speakers of the evening will be announced at a later date. Lanny Frattare, radio and television announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates, will serve as master of ceremonies. Tickets are on sale and can be obtained from any member of the Board of Directors.
Short biographies of all of the 11 inductees will be printed at a later date.
Verrelli steps down: We're going to miss him. The Wilmington Greyhounds are going to miss him even more.
Terry Verrelli, the congenial football coach at Wilmington High for the past 23 years, decided it was time. His resignation sent shock waves throughout Mercer County, however, there were those who believed the Wilmington mentor had been thinking of the move.
Verrelli had made football his lifetime career and his success story is one for the books. He was a student of the game and he learned from his mistakes, which were few and far between. His overall coaching record stood at 165-87-3. He ranks fourth in area football victories on the high school level behind Jim Wildman of Sharon, Bob Stone of Greenville and Farrell's Lou Falconi.
This past season, Verrelli's Greyhounds racked up the school's sixth D-10 championship in the last eight seasons and another MCAC crown in rolling to a 10-2 record.
We've worked with Terry down through the years, and it was all my pleasure. He was never too busy to return a telephone call or just talk football. He loved the game. Always will.
Best of luck, coach. Now and in your future endeavors.