Jeff Christy should be proud.

Gaining entrance into the WPIAL Hall of Fame is one tough ticket.

The 1987 Freeport graduate, 10-year NFL center and a Super Bowl champion, is one of seven athletes slated to be inducted June 12 during a banquet at the Greentree Doubletree Hotel.

Christy’s accomplishments speak for themselves, particularly his 2,482 yards rushing, 337 career points and 340 career tackles accumulated at Freeport.

What’s amazing is he had to wait nine years before getting the call from the WPIAL Hall of Fame Committee. Christy shouldn’t feel badly about that.

He’s not alone.

Upper St. Clair’s Missie Berteotti led her high school to consecutive WPIAL golf titles, Miami (Fla.) to the NCAA golf crown and spent 14 years on the LPGA Tour. North Allegheny’s Paul Failla was Pennsylvania Player of the Year in baseball, threw for 2,576 yards as a quarterback, played football and baseball at Notre Dame.

Frazier’s Joe Lafko holds the PIAA record of 37 career interceptions — 22 in one season — and has over 400 basketball wins as Hampton’s coach. Monessen’s Gina Naccarato is the WPIAL’s al-time leading girls basketball scorer with 3,364 points and is one of only nine players in Pennsylvania girls hoop history to ever reach 3,000.

Those four are only now gaining WPIAL enshrinement.

Christy is only the second Butler County area athlete to reach the Hall. Butler girls soccer player Meghan Schnur was inducted in 2013.

Others from around here certainly deserve consideration — Art Bernardi, Terry Hanratty, the Saul brothers, Seneca Valley wrestling coach Ken Lockey, Jim Simons, etc.

They may eventually get there, but who knows?

Stan Musial, one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, had to wait until the third year of the Hall’s existence to gain induction. North Hills football legend and Penn State star linebacker LaVar Arrington had to wait until the fifth year.

Blackhawk basketball star and current University of Arizona coach Sean Miller, along with Pine-Richland product and Pirates second baseman Neil Walker didn’t make it until the sixth year.

How good was the inaugural class of 2007? Arnold Palmer, Dick Hoak, Suzie McConnell and Bill Fralic were among them.

The second class wasn’t bad, either. That included Dick Groat, Swin Cash and Norm Van Lier. Legendary North Catholic boys basketball coach Don Graham — who won a state record 801 games in 51 years — also went in that second year.

The WPIAL Hall of Fame Committee considered 150 applications before determining the 2015 induction class.

This Hall of Fame’s history — and the number of legendary names on the outside, still waiting to get in — demonstrates the incredibly deep athletic heritage that is PIAA District 7.

Jeff Christy should be proud, indeed.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle