BUTLER TWP — Success was traced back to their roots.

The seven inductees into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame spoke in such a way Saturday night at the BCSHOF's annual banquet at the Butler Days Inn.

John Cavanaugh, Charles “Chud” Cunningham, Erin Ward Witman, Karissa Kusick Dominick, Nick Reiser, Gene Zawrotuk and the late Gil Elliott were inducted at the 48th annual fete. They swelled the Hall's membership to 347.

Elliott was a standout pitcher who spent a couple of years in the Detroit Tigers organization before embarking on a long and successful baseball career in Butler County.

“My father really loved the game of baseball,” said Gil Elliott Jr., speaking on his dad's behalf. “I probably knew more baseball strategy as a 10-year-old than most adults did, just from talking to him.

“He would be very proud this evening.”

Cavanaugh made his fame as a basketball player and coach at Slippery Rock, scoring a school-record 42 points in a game. He still coaches today through the CRONS (Come Ready or Never Start) program he co-founded with his son in 2006.

Cavanaugh spent his childhood years in Williamsport and said his best friend at the time, Joey, wanted to try out for Little League. He didn't want to try out alone, so Cavanaugh joined him.

“I told my mother that I had made the team, but wasn't going to play because Joey didn't make it,” Cavanaugh recalled. “My mother told me that I made a commitment and I was going to play.

“Back then, the 8 through 12-year-olds played together. As an 8-year-old batter, that 12-year-old pitcher looked like Godzilla.

“I've been involved in athletics my entire life. I wonder if any of that would have happened if I wasn't forced to play ball that year,” he added.

Cunningham set the Karns City shot put record of 52 feet, six inches that remains standing today. He was a stellar basketball and softball player as well.

“My brother wanted this for me more than anyone in the world,” Cunningham said of his induction. “He passed away 10 months ago.

“I sure wish he could have been here.”

Kusick Dominick was point guard on Karns City's 2000 state championship girls basketball team. She scored 1,351 points as a four-year starter and the Gremlins won 95 of 110 games during her tenure.

“The Kusick family has always been very competitive,” she said. “I was in a family Easter egg hunt when I was 4 and my uncle was urging on my cousin because I had more eggs than he did ... We were 4.

“Every time I stepped into the gym for a game, my nervous energy just took over.”

Ward Witman was a three-sport standout — basketball, soccer, track and field — at Butler High School and Geneva College. She won WPIAL and NCCAA titles in field events, scored more than 1,000 points in basketball at both schools and was a soccer MVP at both places.

“My success goes back to the endless support of my family friends and teammates,” Ward Witman said. “Life lessons instilled in me as an athlete ... Those values and morals still drive me today to achieve new goals.”

After a stellar football and basketball career at Knoch, Reiser went on to be named Allegheny College Male Athlete of the Year in 1996-97 and made the North Coast Athletic Conference All-Decade team as a defensive end.

“I know when my success started — when I was born,” Reiser said. “I was born into a great family. I was part of a great team from the get-go.”

Reiser was the youngest of eight children and has eight children today.

“My team is all about my family now,” he said. “They're all all-stars in my heart.”

Zawrotuk entered the Hall of Fame through its Lifetime Achievement Award. He coached baseball for 45 years and he played in the Butler Little League during its inaugural season of 1952.

“My wife is the one who deserves this award,” Zawrotuk said. “She was my general manager, phone operator, secretary, travel arranger, meal maker and home maker ... and she found time to raise three children. She made this award possible for me.

“As coaches, we helped our kids win and we helped them lose. It's all part of growing up. As coaches and parents, we only get one shot at that, watching and helping our sons and daughters grow up.

“Coaching will always be in my heart,” he added.