BUTLER TWP — The Butler Area School District Athletic Hall of Fame will swell to 56 members when the Class of 2017 is inducted Dec. 22.

Dave McKinnis will join the Hall for his coaching exploits. Athletes going in are track and field standout Gwen Murray, swimmer Josh Barthlow and golfer Jeff Diehl.

A reception honoring the inductees will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 22 in the high school cafeteria. The inductees will also be presented at halftime of Butler's boys basketball game against Pine-Richland that night.

The high school hall of fame's first induction class was in 2010. This year marks the eighth annual HOF ceremony.

Here is a brief look at the Class of 2017:

Gwen Murray

A standout sprinter for the Golden Tornado track and field team, Murray became Butler's first female track athlete to qualify for the PIAA championships when she did so as a sophomore in 1976.

Her time of 24.8 seconds in the 200 meters in 1978 stood as the Butler County girls track record for decades.

Josh Barthlow

This 2004 Butler graduate won three WPIAL championships — two in the 100-yard backstroke, one in the 100-yard butterfly — and a PIAA title in the 100-yard butterfly.

He went on to break records as a freshman at East Carolina University, where he still ranks sixth all-time in the 100 and 200 backstroke.

Jeff Diehl

This 1992 Butler graduate won the WPIAL golf championship in 1990, carding a 3-over-par 74 at Westmoreland Country Club. He became only the third Golden Tornado golfer to win that title.

Diehl went on to play golf at Ohio State and Penn State and tied for first in a major invitational in 1996.

Dave McKinnis

McKinnis, a Butler graduate in his own right, coached gymnastics for 45 years and was the Butler High School coach for 20 years. He compiled a 126-23 record while coaching numerous WPIAL and PIAA individual champions.

He was involved in NFL coaching for four years with the Washington Redskins and one with the St. Louis Cardinals as a conditioning coach.