JEFFERSON TWP — The Knoch High School Sports Hall of Fame will welcome its seventh induction class prior to the Knights’ home basketball game Dec. 20.

Usually done in the fall, The HOF celebration has been moved back this year due to ongoing construction at Knoch Stadium.

Six student-athletes, along with the 1968-69 Knoch boys basketball team, will be inducted this year. The honorees are Knoch graduates Cheryl Polena Grossi, Don Griffin, Russell Kroneberg, Aaron Faulx, Zoe Ashton (Hughes) Morales and Natalie Beilstein.

The 1968-69 basketball team is the only boys hoop squad in school history to complete a regular season undefeated. The three-time WPIAL Class 16-B champions went on to play in the WPIAL semifinals at the Civic Arena, losing to Frazier, 47-41.

Head coach was Ray Ondako. Fred Rothen, a senior, became Knoch’s first 1,000-point scorer that season. The season featured the lowest scoring game in school history — a 25-10 win over Slippery Rock — and one of the most lopsided wins, 84-16 over Millvale.

The team finished 23-1 that year. Team captains were Rothen, Jim Painter and Tom Ritchey. Joe Crush and John Griffin were other starters, with Carter Tackett, Neal Clark and Chris Haller seeing plenty of action. Others on the roster were Paul Rockar, Larry Sleeper, Tom Hillford, Rege Lewis, Tom Long, Dave Howard, Terry Cypher and Ted Haas.

Here is a look at the six individuals in the 2022 induction class:

Cheryl Polena Grossi

A 1979 Knoch graduate who excelled in volleyball and track, Cheryl was a member of two section volleyball championship teams and a team captain. A member of the first year of competitive girls track at Knoch, she set three track records as a freshman and became a four-year letter-winner.

Cheryl still ranks fourth all-time at Knoch in the girls 100 meters and seventh in a relay. She has coached numerous sports, is a PIAA volleyball official and is a retired Pennsylvania state police officer.

Don Griffin

A 1980 Knoch graduate, Don was the Knights’ starting quarterback during one of the most successful runs in school history — the 1978 WPIAL championship season and 1979 WPIAL runner-up campaign. He was 22-2-1 as a starter, throwing for 1,947 yards and 15 touchdowns.

A three-year starter and letter-winner in basketball, Don finished with 680 career points and was tri-captain his senior year. He has coached and officiated many teams, served in the U.S. Navy for 10 years and is now a Chick-Fil-A franchisee.

Russell Kroneberg

A 1982 Knoch graduate, Russ played in two WPIAL championship game in football, earning all-conference as a running back in 1980 and 1981. He was the Greater Allegheny Conference Offensive MVP in 1980. He competed in the state championships for three years in the javelin.

Russ placed fourth in the state in the javelin in 1982, still holds the school record of 220 feet in the event, and lettered in track at Western Michigan University and West Virginia University. He has served as a youth football coach and assistant varsity coach at Knoch.

Aaron Faulx

A 1998 Knoch graduate, Aaron is still the Knights’ all-time leading boys basketball scorer with 1,475 points. He also made a school-record 485 free throws. He went on to play college basketball at Allegheny, where an injury ended his career.

Aaron finished his education at Clemson University, has an award-winning career as a teacher in the Fairfax County Public Schools, and is a council member of the town of Riverdale Park in Maryland.

Zoe Ashton Morales Hughes

A 2008 Knoch graduate, Zoe was an outstanding four-year athlete on the Knights’ volleyball and softball teams. She was named all-state in volleyball in 2007 as Knoch was section co-champion. Her softball teams were section champs in 2007 and 2008.

As a student at Point Park University, Zoe continued playing softball and volleyball into her senior season there before an injury ended her college career. She earned NAIA Scholar Athlete awards in softball. Zoe worked as a ball girl for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2010-13.

Natalie Beilstein

A 2009 Knoch graduate, Natalie was a standout gymnast. As a senior, she won three championship events and the All-Around Championship in the Diamond Division at the WPIAL Championships. She became a two-time NCAA All-American gymnast at the University of Michigan, was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was All-Big Ten during all four years of her college career.

Natalie currently works at Tampa General Hospital in its Cancer Care Center as the Lead LPN for medical oncology, specializing in breast cancer.