ADAMS TWP — High school girls sports have come a long way in the last 40 years, and Julie Weller Dunsworth has seen both ends of the spectrum.

She played girls basketball, volleyball and ran track before graduating from Mars High in 1970.

"That was pre-Title IX and things were a whole lot different back then," said Dunsworth. "When my older sister, Ann, was playing basketball, they had the three-dribbles-and-pass rule for girls. They didn't think our bodies could handle running too fast or too long.

"By the time I played varsity basketball, they had just lifted that rule, but it shows how far girls sports have come."

As a senior, Dunsworth was named captain of the girls basketball squad and the girls track and field squad, which was in its first season of existence.

In 1970, she was voted Mars High's Most Athletic Female after being named the basketball team's best player and representing the school in an all-star game.

For her efforts, Dunsworth was one of nine inductees to enter the Mars High Sports Hall of Fame at a ceremony held at Mars Middle School Friday.

Also inducted were Joe McKinney, Kelsie Hess Bernot, Mike Knox, Rachel Brooks Tilko, Jaime Lynn, Ryan Salazar, Tim Clark and Nancy Molnar Raymond.

Dunsworth, who now lives in Florida, remembers community support for girls teams was hard to find during her years in high school.

"The school was good with giving out letters, pins and awards, but we didn't get much support from the community at all," she said. "Back then, glory for girls was in being a majorette or cheerleader. To play a sport, you really had to love the game because there weren't many fans at the games."

Dunsworth and her husband Skip have a 32-year old daughter, Holly, who was involved in numerous sports while growing up in Orlando, Fla.

"We never missed a game and it was fantastic," said Dunsworth. "The stands were always filled at her games."

Though just nine new members now are part of the Hall of Fame, every one of them had someone or something help them reach their athletic achievements.

That's certainly the case with Tilko.

A 1980 graduate who ran cross country and track for the Planets, Tilko still holds the school record in the 3,200-meter run (11 minutes, 9.2 seconds) and was a member of the 1976 girls cross country squad that remains the only team in school history to win a state title.

She also helped the Planets win three straight WPIAL track and field titles (1978-80), three straight WPIAL cross country titles (1976-78) and earned two straight WPIAL individual cross country titles (1977-78).

"My twin sister, Rebecca, was on those teams with me and she helped me a lot," said Tilko. "She was always put in the shadows, but she had a lot of accomplishments herself. She and my brother, David, were my biggest supporters."

McKinney thought he had his future figured out in high school.

"I was actually planning on joining the Marines after graduating," said the 1997 graduate, who played football and starred in field events in the spring. "But then Coach (Scott) Heinauer mentioned that I had a shot to play football in college.

"My mom said, 'You're going to college and playing football,'" he said, laughing.

McKinney won a WPIAL and PIAA title in the discus as a junior, but he was a highly touted linebacker, playing in the Big 33 game in July 1997 and ended up playing in two bowl games for Penn State.

But his memories often take him back to wearing the Blue and Gold.

"Playing at Three Rivers Stadium (for the WPIAL title) in 1996, that would have to be the highlight of my high school career," he said.