After months of meeting to build the organization, review applications, and determine the first selectees, the 10-person Greencastle-Antrim Athletic Hall of Fame Committee is proud to announce its very first class of inductees.

This Class of 2024 inductees includes five individual state champions, two back-to-back state championship relay teams, and two back-to-back state champion teams. Three coaches/administrators, one other long-time coach and athletic trainer, and one individual athlete were also selected.

“The committee was pleased with the number of applicants we had for the first year.  We realized many people have not heard about the Athletic Hall of Fame, and we hope that the word will spread quickly by honoring this first class.”

With a challenging task, the committee relied on history and those who achieved the highest awards offered in high school athletics (i.e., state championships).

With that in mind, the 12 inductees (teams and relays considered as one entity) selected make up many of the “first” and or have multiple state championships to their credit.

William P. Conrad
Mr. Conrad is considered the “father of Greencastle-Antrim Athletics.”  He was a very successful soccer, basketball, and baseball coach.  He coached those sports for a number of years.  As the school district’s first superintendent, he led the purchase of the property on which the GASD campus now sits.  He ensured that the new high school had a state-of-the-art gymnasium and that plenty of athletic fields were available. Though he is widely known as the district’s first superintendent, as well as a respected historian along with serving as the town’s mayor, his son Michael stated that some of his most satisfying accomplishments were counseling and coaching the many young men who thought of him not only as their coach but also as a friend.

Fred C. Kaley
Of course, you recognize the name Fred Kaley, the name’s sake of Kaley Field.  Like Bill Conrad, he had served in many capacities in the Greencastle-Antrim School District.  His athletic duties consisted of coaching varsity soccer from 1939-1959.  He coached boys’ junior high basketball, boys’ junior varsity basketball, and boys’ varsity basketball throughout his career.  Along with that, he was the school’s athletic director for many, many years, beginning in the late 1950’s.  He became the high school’s first assistant principal before becoming the first middle school principal when the new building opened in 1968.  One of his most successful adventures was the forming and coaching of the boys’ and girls’ varsity gymnastics team and the organizer and producer of the annual high school circus from 1946 to 1959.  In addition, he was the visionary behind the formation of Greencastle Antrim’s Environmental Center, Tayamentasachta.  He was the original director of the center from 1974 to 1977.

James H. Thomas
A pioneer in athletic training at the high school level, James “Jim” Thomas served the Greencastle-Antrim School District for more than 40 years.  Jim coached high school soccer for 10 years and a short stint as a middle school basketball coach.  He was the head coach for wrestling in its inaugural year in 1965.  His favorite sport was baseball, where he starred in high school and played for Penn State University.  It was no surprise that he went on to be the assistant coach for the Blue Devil varsity baseball team for 42 years.  In 1973, while still coaching baseball, he founded the athletic training program at Greencastle-Antrim and served in that capacity for 28 years.  His years of service to athletics at Greencastle-Antrim earned him a spot in The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

Ed Baumgardner
Ed Baumgardner became Greencastle-Antrim’s first state champion in 1957.  During high school, he was a three-letter winner in soccer, basketball, and track and field.  He also participated in the Kaley Circus for four years, walking the high wire.  It was in track and field where Ed became a state champion.  He took two medals at the District 3 meet in 1957, winning the long jump with a leap of 20 feet and 2 inches.  He took second in the pole vault, clearing 11 ft 6 in.  The following week at Penn State University, using a borrowed pole, he cleared 12 ft. to pick up the gold medal in the pole vault, claiming the state championship.  Ed continued his very successful athletic career at Lafayette College. In 2022, he established a track and field scholarship at Greencastle-Antrim for a senior boy and girl to be given each year.

Bill Fitz
Bill Fitz was a three-sport star during his tenure at Greencastle-Antrim.  He starred on the football field as a wide receiver, as he was able to use his athletic ability to make aerobatic catches. Those catches gained him notice from many college recruiters, including Joe Paterno. He also received a Big 33 nomination for his play.  In basketball, his jumping ability made him a force to be reckoned, and he was the second-leading scorer on the team.  In baseball, which he did not play in high school, his fastball caught the eye of the Cincinnati Reds.  But his real claim to fame came in Track and Field.  He ran the low hurdles on the track, but in the jumps, he really shined. In 1972, Fitz went through an undefeated season in the high and triple jumps, setting records in seemingly every meet.  At the state meet held at Penn State University, the senior jumped 6 ft 9 inches to secure the gold medal and set a state record.  That jump put him in the top 16^th spot in that nation that year.  Somewhat overshadowed by the gold in the high jump, he also brought home the silver medal in the triple jump, finishing second by one-fourth of an inch.  His jumping ability earned him a scholarship at Penn State University in Track and Field.

C.Gregory Hoover
Dr. Hoover took over the head coaching job of the cross-country program in 1978, becoming just the third coach in the team’s history.  Within three years, the program produced the school’s first state championship, as the boy’s cross-country team brought home the first-place trophy in 1980.  During his tenure as head coach of both the boys’ and girls’ programs for a 10-year period from 1978 to 1987, he guided them to four state championships, including three boys in 1980, 1981 and 1987.  The girls team won a state championship in 1986.  In ten years of coaching, the teams won 169 dual meets while losing just 25, with 17 of those losses coming in the first two years.  In addition to the four state championships, the boy’s and girls’ cross-country programs finished second in states in two other years, won 9 District 3 championships with two runners-up, and combined for 11 league championships with three runners-up.  Hoover also served as distance coach for both boys’ and girls’ track.   During his tenure as an administrator for the Greencastle-Antrim School District, he secured funds to install the first all-weather track.  As the district superintendent, he led renovations to Kaley Field that included two new synthetic playing areas and new lights and scoreboard.

 1980 and 1981 Boys Cross Country Team
This group of young men lead Greencastle-Antrim to the school’s first and second state championships.  They went into the 1980 season picked to finish fourth in the Blue Mountain League but went through the dual meet season 13-0 and started a winning streak of 77 meets over an eight-year period for Greencastle-Antrim Boys Cross Country.  Along the way, they won the Smithsburg and Boonsboro Invitationals and the Blue Mountain Conference meet.  They pulled off a major surprise with the school’s first district championship at the District 3 meet and followed that up with a win at the state meet at Lehigh University, where they won 141 to 184 over the runner-up team, placing their top five runners in the top 40.

With a large mark on their back, the 1981 team returned nine members of their state championship team and picked up where they left off the year before, racing through a 14-0 dual meet season with wins at the Franklin County Judges Classic in Winchester, Boonsboro, and State College invitationals.  A repeat championship at both the Blue Mountain League Conference Championships and the District 3 championships sent them to State College to defend their state championship.  This time, this group placed four runners in the top 13 positions and easily won by a 108 to 313 score over the second-place team.

1986 and 1987 3200 Meter Relay Team
These six individuals combined to bring home back-to-back 3200-meter relays at the PIAA State Track and Field Championship at Shippensburg University in 1986 and 1987.  Both teams entered states as District 3 champions, but certainly not as the favorites in the event.  Other teams were sporting faster times.  Even after running qualifying trails the day before, they were seeded way down the list of the teams included in the championship race.  But both teams saved their best effort for last.  In 1986, the team of Matt McDonald, Steve Kerr, Keith Eshleman, and Pete Lazich finished in a time of 8:02.8, three seconds ahead of the nearest competitor.  McDonald and Kerr returned to team up with Todd Hirneisen and Todd Martin in 1987 to make it back-to-back, posting a time of 7:58.79, four seconds over second place.

 Tracy Bowers
Tracy burst on the running scene in her freshman year and never let up.  Along the way, she became Greencastle-Antrim’s first female state champion, winning the 3200 meters in 1984 and coming back to win the 1985 cross-country title while leading her team to a state championship.  Along with the three state championship gold medals, she accumulated five District III individual championships, including three 1600 meters and two 3200 meters.  Tracy went on to run for Arizona State and the University of Maryland.

Matt McDonald
Matt had a stellar distance running career at Greencastle-Antrim.  He picked up both an individual and team championship in the 1986 PIAA State Cross Country Championships.  Along with that, he ran the lead-off leg for both the 1986 and 1987 3200-meter relay team on the track, accumulating four state championship gold medals. He also collected four District III gold medals, winning the 1600 meter twice, along with two first place finishes in the 3200-meter relay.  Matt went on to run at Shippensburg University, where he was part of the 1990 team that finished number two in the nation in Division II cross country.

Andrew Diffenderfer
Though a very talented cross-country runner, it was on the track that Andrew dominated the 1600-meter run, winning gold for two straight years in 2000 and 2001. He also won seven district titles, including three 1600 titles, was a part of two 3200 relay teams that won gold, and won a 3200 and 800 title. Those seven district championships are a school record. Andrew furthered his running career at Division I Mount St. Mary’s.

Trevor Gelsinger
Trevor Gelsinger, the 2007 graduate of Greencastle-Antrim, left his mark on GA athletics.  Though a major contributor on the 2006-2007 boys’ varsity basketball team that played in the state championship game that year, it was on the soccer field where Trevor excelled.  He has been called the best soccer player in Greencastle-Antrim history and Franklin County.  And he has the numbers and accolades to back that statement up.  He was a four-year starter in the sport and finished his career with 105 goals and 88 assists, setting a new school record in both and still holding those records today.  He was an All-State selection in his sophomore, junior, and senior years and All-Region his senior year.  He was a three-time Mid Penn Capital division conference Most Valuable Player, two-time Herald-Mail Player of the Year, and three-time Public Opinion Player of the Year.  His play earned him a scholarship to Penn State University, where his success continued, being named Big Ten All-Freshman team and in 2008 second team All-Big-Ten, as he led Penn State in scoring that year and finished third in scoring in the Big Ten Conference.  He was named to the All-Big Ten Academic team in all four years.

The committee will recognize the inductees at halftime of the September 27^th home football game.  The following evening, a banquet will be held to honor the Class of 2024.

For more information on the Greencastle-Antrim Athletic Hall of Fame, including the application process and this year’s inductees, go to the Greencastle-Antrim School District website at gcasd.org.