Whitehall to add six to its Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday night

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/

FROM KEITH GROLLER

The Central Catholic-Whitehall boys basketball game is a big one on Friday night.

Adding to it is the fact that Whitehall is holding its Hall of Fame ceremony. Among the six new inductees are former Whitehall girls basketball coach Phil Armstrong and one of the school's all-time greats in girls hoops, Mary Lisicky.

Here are the particulars from a Whitehall release:

The Athletic Hall of Fame Committee in the Whitehall-Coplay School District is proud to announce its Athletic Hall of Fame for the Class of 2014.  Four individuals will be honored at the Induction Ceremony, which will take place on Friday, January 24, 2014 at Whitehall High School.  The ceremony will be prior to the Varsity Boys’ Basketball game between Central Catholic and Whitehall, at approximately 6:45 p.m.  The varsity game versus Central Catholic will begin at approximately 7:30 p.m.  The Hall of Fame Class of 2014 includes:

            PHIL ARMSTRONG                         BEN CHRIN                           GARY GREB

            DICK KOZE                                      MARY LISICKY                   TOM TAPLER

Phil Armstrong, made his mark in the coaching profession.  As the Head Girls Basketball Coach at Whitehall, Coach Armstrong led the program to 4 East Penn Conference Championships and 4 District XI Championships.  He coached 2 Whitehall teams to PIAA Eastern Finals.  He has over 300 career basketball coaching victories.  Additionally, he coached a District XI Doubles Girls Tennis Championship Team in 1999.  Armstrong had coaching stints at Whitehall twice, Emmaus, Parkland, and Northern Lehigh.  He was inducted in the LV Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.

Ben Chrin, Class of 1974, has had a distinguished career in the sports of Football and Baseball.  While at Whitehall, was a member of 3 championship baseball teams and arguably the greatest Whitehall football team in history.  He was a two-time 1^st Team LVL Wide Receiver and 1^st Team Defensive Back.  On the baseball diamond, Chrin was an undefeated 13-0 during his junior and senior seasons.  He was the winning pitcher in the 1974 District XI Championship game.  He was selected on the 39^th Round by the Minnesota Twins but chose to attend Lafayette College.

Gary Greb, Class of 1979, was an outstanding Football and Baseball player while at WHS.  As a football player, Greb was a two-year starting quarterback and selected to play in the LARC All-Star Game.  In baseball, Greb was a 1^st Team EPC 3^rd Baseman and a member of the 1979 EPC Champs.  He was selected as the Male Athlete of the Year in 1979.  Greb continued his athletic career at Muhlenberg, where he was a 4 year starter in baseball, captain in 1983 and a member of two championship teams.  He was also 1980 ECAC Rookie of the Year in Football and a 3 year starter at Quarterback for the Mules.

Dick Koze, Class of 1955, was an accomplished two sport athlete, competing in Football and Track and Field.  He was a 3 year letterwinner and member of the 1^st LVL Championship team at Whitehall.  He rushed for over 1000 yards and played in the 1^st All-Star Football Game.  In Track, Koze ran a 10.3 100 yard dash.  He continued his athletic career at Penn, where he lettered for 3 years and played on both sides of the ball, running back and defensive back.  He was named Athlete of the Month and Back of the Week during his career at Penn.   

Mary Lisicky, Class of 2001, made her mark on the basketball court.  As a player at Whitehall, Lisicky was a member of the 2001 Street and Smith and USA Today All-America team, Honorable Mention.  Lisicky was a 2-time Morning Call and 3-time Mountain Valley Conference 1^st teamer.  She is Whitehall’s All-Time leading scorer on the girls’ side.   Mary continued her basketball career at Georgetown University where she was a 4 year starter and 2 time Team MVP.  She left Georgetown as the All-Time leader in 3 Point FGs and FT%.  Lisicky was inducted into the LV Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.

Tom Tapler, Class of 1965, played 4 sports during his HS athletic career.  Tapler spent 2 years at Coplay HS then 2 years at Whitehall.  He totaled 1150 points for his career.  In 1965, he was 1^st Team LVL and Honorable Mention All-State after averaging 23 points a game.  In football, he was 1^st Team LVL Left End in 1963.  Tapler batted .463 as a senior in baseball and was offered a try-out by the Pittsburg Pirates.  He continued his athletic career at Kutztown University.