Witman

BEAVER FALLS — Erin Ward Witman has been inducted into Halls of Fame before.

The 1997 Butler graduate became a member of the Butler Area School District Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

But this induction coming up Saturday is her most unique yet.

Witman will be one of 12 comprising the inaugural Geneva College Athletic Hall of Fame class that day. The group will be recognized at halftime of the Westminster-Geneva football game.

“It's a tremendous honor to be part of that first class,” Witman said. “There have been so many great athletes, coaches and administrators to pass through that school.

“To be one of the first 12 recognized ... I'm very excited about it.”

Geneva played its first football game in 1890, its first basketball game in 1893. Witman played basketball, soccer and did track and field for the Golden Tornadoes.

“We probably had 60 or so applications we considered for this first class,” Hall of Fame director Andrew Fee said. “We're talking more than 100 years of history, so it was a daunting task.

“Erin's record speaks for itself. She is very deserving.”

Witman was a multi-year captain and team MVP of each sport she played. Friends on the Geneva football team nicknamed her “Franni” in reference to her being a franchise player.

“My dream in high school was to play major college basketball,” Witman admitted. “When I saw that wasn't going to happen, the next best thing was to play all three sports somewhere. Geneva was the only school willing to give me that opportunity.”

And she thrived in all three at the collegiate level.

Graduating from Geneva in 2001, Witman still ranks among the Tornado women's basketball program top 10 with 256 steals (second), 1,367 points (third), 276 assists (seventh) and 528 rebounds (ninth). Her 62 goals rank No. 2 all-time in Geneva women's soccer and she was a two-time NCCAA and NAIA national champion in the javelin.

Now a middle school teacher in Carlisle, Witman has two daughters and a son involved in sports. They are ages 10, 8 and 7.

“It scares me how kids are becoming specialized in one sport at so young an age today,” Witman said. “My daughter is only 8 and playing soccer year round. I convinced her to play basketball this winter.

Switching sports changes your mind-set. It keeps you fresh and works different muscles and skills. Staying with one sport all year ... You can burn out before the end of high school.”

As a mother, Witman wants her children to “experience different things.”

“Just mentally, you need a break. Changing sports does that,” she said. “Nowadays, kids believe if they don't stay with one sport all year, other kids in that sport will get ahead of them. It's all about keeping up with the Jones'es. That's all it is.”

Having graduated from Butler nearly 20 years ago, Witman still ranks second all-time in the shot put for the Golden Tornado with a toss of 41 feet, 3 inches. Her javelin throw of 138-1 is still third all-time at Butler.

Witman won WPIAL championships in both events.

“I was unaware I was still up that high,” she said. “Records are made to fall. I'm just glad my hard work paid off back then. Sports have done a lot for me in life.”