The Knoch Athletic Hall of Fame's new class features six student-athletes and the 1968-69 boys' basketball team. This year’s honorees include Knoch graduates Cheryl Polena Grossi, Don Griffin, Russell Kroneberg, Aaron Faulx, Zoe Ashton (Hughes) Morales, and Natalie Beilstein.
Cheryl Polena Grossi – Cheryl is a 1979 Knoch graduate who excelled in volleyball and track. Earning three letters in volleyball, Cheryl was the captain of the Knights her senior year and a member of two section championship teams in 1976 and 1977. As a member of the first year of competitive girls' track at Knoch, she set three track records as a freshman on her way to earning 4 varsity letters. She was a member of the 1976 mile-relay team, the first female track athletes to go to WPIAL section qualifiers, where they placed third and qualified for regionals. She still ranks high on the Knight’s all-time girl’s track records sitting 4th in the 100M dash, and 7th for the 100m relay team. She has coached numerous sports over the years and is a PIAA Volleyball official. Cheryl retired from the Pennsylvania State Police as a corporal in 2015 after 25 years of dedicated service to the citizens of the Commonwealth.
Don Griffin – A 1980 Knoch graduate, Don was the Knight’s starting quarterback for one of the most successful runs in school history – including the 1978 championship season, and the 1979 WPIAL runner-up season. His record as the starter was an impressive 22-2-1, as he completed 136 passes for 1,947 yards and 15 touchdowns. Don was named a Post Gazette All-Star in both his junior and senior seasons, and PG North Offensive Player of the Year in 1979. As a three-year starter and letter winner in basketball, Don finished his career with 680 career points and was a tri-captain his senior year. He was named a PG North 1st Team All-Star his senior season. Don has coached and officiated teams and leagues too numerous to count. Don served in the United States Navy for 10 years and is now a Chick-Fil-A franchisee.
Russell Kroneberg – Russ is a 1982 Knoch graduate and made his mark with the Knights as a football player – playing in two WPIAL championship games - and as a member of the track and field team. Just a sophomore on the 1979 Championship Football Team, Russ excelled the next two seasons as a running back earning all-conference honors in 1980 and 1981. He was the Greater Allegheny Conference Offensive MVP in 1980. On a different type of field, Russ went to the State Championships in 1980, 1981 and 1982 with javelin in hand, finishing 4th in the state in 1982. In college, he lettered throwing the javelin one year at Western Michigan University, and three years at West Virginia University where he still holds the school record with a throw of 220 feet. In the community, Russ has served as a youth football coach and for two years as an assistant varsity football coach for the Knights.
Aaron Faulx – a 1998 graduate of Knoch, Aaron is still the Knights' all-time leading scorer in boys' basketball. He was one of the first players to ever start every game as a freshman and would finish his career at Knoch playing in 95 varsity games – still 2nd on the all-time list. He would score his 1,000th in February of his junior season and go on to post a career total of 1,475 points, including netting a school-record 458 free-throws. Aaron earned numerous honors over his four-year Knoch career including First Team honors with the Butler Eagle and Valley News Dispatch his junior and senior years and was named to the Post Gazette AAA Fabulous Five and PG North Fab Five also in 1997. Aaron would play college basketball at Allegheny College where he was a member of Gator’s 1999 NCAA team before an injury ended his basketball career. Aaron would finish his education at Clemson University. In addition to his award-winning career as a teacher in the Fairfax County Public Schools, Aaron is a council member of the town of Riverdale Park in Maryland.
Zoe Ashton Morales (Hughes) – Zoe is a 2008 graduate of Knoch High School where she was an outstanding 4-year athlete on the Knights volleyball and softball teams. As a member of the 2007 volleyball team, Zoe was named to the First Team AA All-Stars and the PA Volleyball Coaches Association All-State Class AA team. Her 2007 team was also the section co-champions. In softball, the Knights were section champs in 2007 and 2008, earning Zoe recognition on the PG North All-Star Team. As a student at Point Park University, Zoe continued playing softball and volleyball into her senior season before an injury sidelined her for the remainder of her college career. In 2009 she earned an All-Allegheny Mountain Conference honorable mention in softball. In 2011 and 2012 she earned NAIA Scholar-Athlete awards in softball. Zoe also got some television time working as a foul-line ball girl for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2010-2013.
Natalie Beilstein – The youngest member of the Knoch Sports Hall of Fame, Natalie is a member of the 2009 class. Interestingly she didn’t compete in a WPIAL Championship until she was a senior at Knoch. That year all she did was win three championship events and the All-Round Championship in the Diamond Division at the WPIAL Championships. Already with a four-year scholarship to the University of Michigan, she took her talents to the mats and would be a two-time NCAA All-American. She would earn honors as Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2012, six-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards, and add to those honors All-Big Ten honors all four years - First team in 2011 and 2014, and Second Team in 2010 and 2013. Natalie is currently working at Tampa General Hospital in their Cancer Care Center as the Lead LPN for medical oncology specializing in breast cancer.
1968-69 Boys' Basketball Team – Still the only boys' basketball team to complete the regular season undefeated in school history, the three-time WPIAL Class 16-B Champions would go on to the WPIAL semi-final at the Civic Area, where they would lose their only game of the season. In what was a remarkable three seasons under head coach Ray Ondako, the Knights would compile a record of 58-13, including the 23-1 season in 1968-69. During that season senior Fred Rothen would become the first player in school history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark, a level that would stand for the next 25 years. That season would be historic as it recorded the lowest scoring game in school history – Knoch beating Slippery Rock 25-10, and one of the most lopsided games in school history when the Knights trounced Millvale 84-16. After finishing the season with an impressive win over rival Mars 71-37, the Knights downed Shannock Valley 62-40 at the Pitt Fieldhouse in the first round of the WPIAL Playoffs before falling to Frazier at the Civic Area 47-41. Teams Captains in 1968-69 were Hall of Fame members Fred Rothen (d), Jim Painter (d), and Tom Ritchey. The other starters on the team included Joe Crush and John Griffin, with Carter Tackett, Neal Clark and Chris Haller appearing in at least half of the games. Others on the roster included Paul Rockar, Larry Sleeper, Thom Hilliard, Rege Lewis, Tom Long (d), Dave Howard (d), Terry Cypher and Ted Haas.
Hall of Fame
To be considered for the Knoch High School Sports Hall of Fame, an individual must have made a significant contribution to Knoch sports through athletic excellence and/or exemplary leadership contribution in sports activity. Applicants must be at least 30 years of age for consideration. More information on the Knoch High School Sports Hall of Fame is available from the Athletic Office at Knoch High School.
The current Hall of Fame Committee is made up of nine members – seven voting members and two advisory members. The voting members include retired teachers and coaches Ken Elliott, Dave Bracco, Diane Geist, and Jerry Sefton, along with current teacher Lisa Knappenberger and 1973 Knoch graduates Dave Bacon and committee chairman Scott Briggs. The non-voting advisory members are former Athletic Director Mike King and current Athletic Director Kurt Reiser.