Locals to be inducted into Luzerne County HOF
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The Luzerne County/John Louis Popple Sports Hall of Fame has been accustomed to looking for new inductees in the area. The 2014 class is no different.
Stephanie Jallen, Ron Musto and Gordon Williams will all be inducted into the Luzerne County/John Louis Popple Sports Hall of Fame at its annual induction Cceremonial on Sunday, Aug. 17 at Genetti’s Hotel and Conference Center. It just shows you the kind of athletic and coaching talent in the Greater Pittston area.
Ron Musto
As a student/athlete at Wyoming Area, Musto participated in basketball and baseball. In 1982, he has named first-team All-Scholastic in baseball, led the league in runs scored and finished sixth in the conference in batting average.
Musto was a three-year starter with the Greater Pittston American Legion, winning the 1983 Wyoming Valley Conference Regional championship and participating in the State tournament. At East Stroudsburg University, he was a three-year starter in baseball, finished second in Pennsylvania for Division II programs and participated in the 1985 NCAA Division II Regional Tournament.
Musto has coached high school baseball at Pleasant Valley, Dallas and Wyoming Area where he was head coach for 14 seasons. In 1998, Wyoming Area won the Wyoming Valley Conference AAA Championship, its first baseball championship in the school’s history, advancing to the District II semifinals. In 2002 and 2003, the Warriors were the Wyoming Valley Conference AA Champions.
He also coached high school basketball for seven years at Pittston Area and Wyoming Area. Musto has been manager and general manager of Greater Pittston American Legion baseball for 25 seasons. Just a few of his numerous accomplishments at Wyoming Area include the establishment of the Melberger Award, presented to the role-model student athlete, founder of the Ashby Award, presented to the Most Valuable Player of the Wyoming Area-Pittston Area game; and organization of the “Diamond Club” Parents Association.
He was also instrumental in the recruitment of numerous college baseball players by producing skills recruiting DVD/video tapes and communicating with college coaches for the past 23 years. Very active in his community, Musto currently resides in the Exeter area and is the father of two sons, Evan and Kyle.
He is the Program Director/Principal of the Luzerne Intermediate Unit #18 in Kingston.
Stephanie Jallen
Jallen has overcome being born with a rare birth defect, Congenital Hemidysplasia Ichthyosis Limb Defect (CHILD syndrome) which caused the left side of her body to be underdeveloped.
When she was 9 years old, she was invited to the Camelback Adaptive Ski Camp in Tannersville, and was instantly hooked on the sport. Jallen honed her love of skiing and became US National Champion in Waterville Valley, NH 2012 in Slalom.
In the 2013 Australian World Cup, she won gold in Slalom, silver in Giant Slalom and bronze in Slalom. US National Champion, Park City, Utah, 2014 Giant Slalom. She was named to the US National Team to compete in the 2014 Paralympics Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
She was the second youngest member of the US National team. Jallen won two bronze medals in the Super G with a time of 1:30.14 and Super Combined with a time of 2:23.13.
During the 2014 Best of US Awards show, Jallen was awarded Best Female Performance and Best Moment of the Games. She was honored with a parade in her honor upon her return home from the Games and was named the Sunday Dispatch’s 2013 Greater Pittston Person of the Year.
Following her graduation from Wyoming Area High School, Jallen will attend King’s College. She resides in Harding with her family.
Gordon Williams
Williams was a three-sport athlete at West Pittston High School from 1952-1955. He was a two-year starting end on West Pittston’s 1955 championship football team. He also kicked off and kicked extra points for the high-scoring Rams.
He was captain and he scored over 1,200 points in three seasons on the school’s basketball team. He was a Valley League All-Star for two years and was named the Most Valuable Player in the Wyoming Valley Dream Tournament in 1956. He played on the West Pittston Indians team that won the high school division championship in the Rogers Tournament and was named to the All-Star team.
He was also named to the All-Star team in the open division of the tournament the following year.
He was a three-year competitor in track and field, won six medals and set a District 2 record in the mile run his junior year. He also anchored West Pittston’s two-mile relay team in the Jordan Relays that established a new record. He accepted a scholarship to Syracuse University where he played basketball and was on the track and field team.
Williams served in the U.S. Army from 1958-1960. While stationed in Germany, he was named to the Army All-Star team. This team, made up of post college stars, spent 10 months touring Europe playing exhibition games against National and Olympic teams from various countries. They won 30 out of 32 games.
Williams graduated from Bloomsburg State University. He taught and was assistant basketball coach at Scranton Central High School from 1962-1966. He coached Pop Warner football teams for many years.
Williams married his wife Barbara, a former West Pittston cheerleader and they have five sons, four grandsons, and a granddaughter. Williams is president of EDI Resources and currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Tickets area available for the induction ceremony by calling Carol Hurley at 570-824-7133 or from an inductee. Tickets are $30 for adults 13 and older, $15 for children 3 to 12 and free for 2 years of age and younger. There will be a cash bar from 4 to 5 p.m. and dinner will be served at 5 p.m.
