The Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame will induct eight new members at its annual banquet April 29 at the Butler Days Inn.

The 2006 inductees are Bill Sepich, Rodger Hathaway, Bob Beatty, Dave Cavalero, Dave Zirnsak, Ken Bedford, Bill Cress and the late Harold "Bo"Voelker.

This year's inductions will swell the Hall's membership to 298. Retired major league umpire Ed Vargo was the charter inductee in 1966.

Here is a synopsis of this year's inductees:

Harold "Bo"VoelkerAn assistant football coach at Butler High School from 1964-81, Voelker coached players who became all-state performers in high school, all-Americans in college or who made the professional ranks.He played football and ran track at Slippery Rock College after graduating from Butler, played in the Steel Bowl against Carnegie Tech in 1957 and in the Beaver Bowl against Edinboro in 1958.Voelker was voted most valuable defensive player on the 1956 Butler Cubs football team. He was a clubhouse boy for the Butler Yankees and Butler Tigers of the Mid-Atlantic Baseball League in 1946 and 1947.

Rodger HathawayA 1953 Butler graduate, Hathaway played football in high school and was the first freshman to compete and letter in track for the Golden Tornado.As a sophomore, he dressed on the 1950 Butler football team that went unbeaten and won the WPIALchampionship. As a senior, he carried the ball 71 times and averaged nine yards per carry.Hathaway was part of Butler's quarter-mile relay team that recorded the fastest time in the WPIALat that time. He received a football scholarship to Thiel College.

Bill SepichA 1954 Winfield-Clinton graduate, Sepich led the varsity basketball team in scoring his sophomore and senior years. He played Tri-County Baseball for seven years with Sarver and Freeport.He won the Tri-County batting title in 1963 and league home run titles in 1963 and 1965. He was invited to a free agent tryout with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1958. He was released, but was invited back the following year. Military duty prevented his return.Sepich went on to play for the 1975 Negrich Brothers USSSAworld tournament championship softball team, played in 10 world tournaments and was a five-time all-world selection.

Bob BeattyA 1976 Slippery Rock High School graduate, Beatty was a first-team Tri-County all-star quarterback and punter in 1975. He was a four-year letter winner in baseball and was an American Legion all-state outfielder at age 18.He went on to Clarion University and played quarterback for three PSAC championship teams there. He completed 166 of 328 passes — both school records at the time — for 1,733 yards and 13 touchdowns his senior year.Clarion was 33-8-1 with Beatty at quarterback and he ranked first in career passing attempts, second in completions and yards, third in touchdown passes on the school's all-time list when he graduated.

Dave CavaleroA 1968 Butler graduate, he played football and basketball for the Golden Tornado and set many of the school's passing records.Cavalero went on to play at McCook Junior College in 1970, a team that was ranked No. 8 nationally among junior colleges. He had a 57 percent pass completion rate with the semi-pro Pittsburgh Ironmen in 1976.He coached the Butler Cubs basketball team from 1973-75 and was an assistant coach for Institute Hill's Butler Area Midget Football League team in 1977-78.

David ZirnsakA 1969 Butler graduate, he excelled in gymnastics and won the PIAAstate championship in still rings his senior year.Zirnsak went on to Georgia Southern University and was selected team captan in 1973. He won the school's Most Valuable Gymnastic award in 1972-73.Zirnsak placed second in still rings in the 1973 Junior National AAUGymnastic Championships and placed third in that category a year earlier,

Ken BedfordA 1994 Butler graduate, he was captain of the school's swimming and diving team that year and won the WPIALdiving championship in 1993 and 1994, setting a meet record the latter season.Moving on to Clarion University, Bedford won the NCAADivision IIdiving national championship on the 3-meter board three times. He was an eight-time national placer in college.Bedford later coached diving at Hillsdale College in Michigan for a year before returning to his high school alma mater to coach the sport. He coached the first girl in Butler High School history to qualify for the PIAAstate meet.

Bill CressA 1970 Mars graduate, he was the school's all-time leading scorer in boys basketball with 1,098 points until Tim Frye broke that record this seasonCress had 1,001 career rebounds with the Planets, a record that still stands. He played on the 1969 Mars team that put together an 18-4 record, best in school history.He went on to Westminster College, where he was named basketball co-captain and team MVPin 1974. Cress led the Titans with 16 rebounds and five blocked shots per game. He is currently the junior high basketball coach at Pine-Richland.