Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame announces Class of 2025 inductees

Posted by Admin December 10, 2024 Sports

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Last week, the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame announced the 11 individuals who will be inducted into the Class of 2025.

Below is a look at this year’s class, which will be the newest induction into the Hall of Fame recognizes local student-athletes, coaches, and media members who have had vast accomplishments at the local, state, national, and international levels.

Jonathan Baldwin, Aliquippa, football

Baldwin was a multi-sport athlete who earned letters in basketball, football and track & field. The Quip alum earned bronze in the 100-meter dash and was part of the 4×100-meter relay team that won gold. On the gridiron and the hardwood, Baldwin was named to first-team All-State in basketball and football by the Associated Press. He also had the opportunity to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and the Big 33 Classic. The five-star recruit played football and the University of Pittsburgh finishing sixth all-time in receiving yards garnering All-Big East team honors in 2009-10. He was later drafted in the first round by the Kansas City Chiefs with the 26th overall pick playing wide receiver for two seasons and one with the San Fransisco 49ers before his career in the NFL was cut short due to injuries.

David Girardi, Geneva College, coaching

Girardi played quarterback for Geneva College and helped lead the Golden Tornados to win the National Christian College Athletic Association Victory Bowl. The New Kensington native’s first coaching job was as the quarterbacks coach at Geneva College before stops at Northwestern and Lafayette. For the past seven seasons, he has been a coach within the Kansas City Chiefs organization as an analyst/assistant quarterbacks coach and offensive quality control coach. Girardi is currently in his second year as the team’s quarterback coach and has been a part of the Chief’s three Super Bowl Championships in 2020, 2023-24.

Lance Jeter, Beaver Falls, basketball

Jeter was named to the Associated Press Class 2A first team in football and basketball during his career at Beaver Falls. Jeter put up 37 points including a three-point shot that sent the game against overtime and then a buzzer-beater three-pointer to win the championship in overtime. Jeter played basketball internationally in the Dutch Basketball League earning the MVP award twice and All-First Team three times during his career that spanned from 2011-19. He will join his mother Joy Jeter who was inducted into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame in 2005 and will become the first mother-son inductee into the Hall of Fame.

Adam Liberatore, Blackhawk, baseball

Liberatore was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2010 Major League Baseball draft and was named the Rays’ Minor League Reliever of the Year in 2014. He made his Major League debut in April 2015 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He set the Dodger record for consecutive scoreless appearances in 2016 and later in 2018, combined with three other pitchers for a no-hitter.

Larry Milosh, Central Valley, coaching

Milosh’s coaching career spanned 16 years and during his tenure coached one of the most successful girl’s golf programs at Monaca and Central Valley. He won 100 consecutive matches, 13 section titles, five WPIAL and three PIAA state championships. During his career, he had 17 golfers receive partial or full scholarships to college with five of them playing at the Division I level. Outside of coaching Milosh was the local qualifier for the U.S. Open and has won over 10 club championships.

Derek Moye, Rochester, football

Moye was a four-spot athlete with the Rams lettering in baseball, basketball, football and track & field. He won gold in the 200-meter and 400-meter dash at the PIAA track & field championships. He was named to the All-State team in football and played in the Big 33 game. Moye went on to play football at Penn State and ranks seventh all-time in receiving. In 2012 he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Miami Dolphins and one year later was a receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Jeff Nixon, New Brighton, coaching

Nixon has been coaching at the professional and collegiate level since 1997 when he began his career at Penn State. He has had tenures at Temple, Baylor the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants. Nixon is currently the running backs coach and offensive coordinator for Syracuse University.

Brian Omogrosso, Blackhawk, baseball

Omogrosso was a three-sport athlete at Blackhawk High School helping the Cougars to the 2000 WPIAL Championship in boys basketball. He played first base and pitcher for Blackhawk compiling a 7-1 record and a 0.91 earned run average as a senior. Omogrosso pitched for Indiana State University and posted a 1.53 ERA across 41 innings in 2006. Later that season, he was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the sixth round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft and pitched two seasons in the big leagues in 2012-13.

Joe Palumbo, Beaver Area, football

The late Palumbo was a standout at the University of Virginia as a defensive middle guard. In 1951, he earned first-team All-America from the Associated Press and the Newspaper Enterprise Association while also receiving the Outstanding Defensive Lineman Award from the DC Touchdown Club. The Cavaliers retired his number and was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1973 and later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

Josh Sharpless, Freedom Area, baseball

Sharpless was a four-year starter at Allegheny College earning second-team All-Conference in 2001 and first-team All-Conference in 2003 as a pitcher in the North Coast Athletic Conference. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2003 and played in the 2006 Futures Game at PNC Park. Sharpless made his Major League debut in 2006 for the Pirates pitching 20 games in the 2006-07 seasons.

Mike Zmijanac, Aliquippa, coaching

Zmijanac coached football and boys basketball at his alma mater Aliquippa High School becoming the first and only coach to lead a team in football and basketball to a state championship. Over his seven-year tenure as the Quips boys basketball coach, they posted a 166-43 record with three WPIAL championships and a PIAA state championship. During Zmijanac’s 21-year football career, he posted a 237-36 with six WPIAL championships and a PIAA state championship. He was inducted into the Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016 and the WPIAL Hall of Fame in 2024.

This year’s class will be recognized at the 50th-anniversary banquet on Sat. May 17, 2025, at The Club at Shadow Lakes in Aliquippa.