The Carbon County Hall of Sports Hall of Fame committee will hold its 2024 induction dinner and program on Sunday, May 26, at the Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Company hall.

The ceremony will honor 21 inductees from six Carbon County communities and Coaldale who were selected for the honor by committees representing each of the towns.

The doors will open at 12:30 p.m. and the banquet will commence at 1:45.

The honorees include:

Coaldale – Bernie Krasnisky, Joseph J. Hedash and Charles Sproule.

Jim Thorpe – Phil Redline, Craig Zurn, Joe Eichorn and Jim Strubinger.

Lansford – Dan Wynn, Lacy Gonzalez Horan and Caz Kosciolek Sr.

Lehighton – Mike Tkach, Duane Heydt and Jennifer Lobasso.

Nesquehoning – Joe Tout, Esther (Hoffer) Dycziewycz and Dr. Scott Marek.

Palmerton - Lori Ann Weaver and Steve Endres.

Summit Hill – Trevor Lawrence III, Jill Zwiesdak and Trish O’Gurek.

Tickets to the event ($40 for adults and $25 for children) are available from the following: Dan McGinley, 570-325-3550, Vince Spisak, 570-645-4542, Jake Boyer, 610-751-6634, Trevor Lawrence, 570-645-4722, Bill Gardiner, 570-669-6564, Bob Gelatko, 570-645-7565, and Evan Evans, 570-645-7716.

The Times News will begin running the biographies of the inductees by town) on Saturdays. The inductees representing Lansford are as follows:

Cazzie Kosciolek

Cazzie Kosciolek graduated in 1966 from Panther Valley High School after attending one year at Lansford High School. He was a four-year letter winner in football, basketball and baseball for the Panthers.

Cazzie then attended Massanutten Military Academy, where he played three sports and received the “Outstanding Pitcher Award” in baseball.

As a freshman at Lansford High, Cazzie was a member of the 1963 gridiron team that defeated Coaldale 6-0 in the final Thanksgiving Day game of the rivalry before the Panther Valley jointure came into existence.

A graduate of Kutztown University, he was a two-year offensive line letterman for the Golden Bears.

Well-known in his youth as a member of the Lansford Little League, Cazzie once struck out 15 batters in a game and belted out his 16th home run in his final season game for the Aces.

He was a longtime educator, spending 30 years as a third grade teacher and middle school guidance counselor in the Panther Valley School District. He was also a driver’s education classroom instructor for Lehigh Carbon Community College.

Cazzie’s football coaching career included Panther Valley, Hamburg, Jim Thorpe and Palmerton. He was also a basketball referee and baseball umpire. His entire life revolved around teaching and coaching children and young adults.

Married to the former Diane Cerisini, they have three sons, Cazzie, a previous Hall of Fame inductee and current Southeast Conference replay official who resides in Massachusetts, Greg, special education supervisor in the Panther Valley School District, and Matt, a teacher in the Palmerton Area School District.

A 2001 American Cancer Society Courage Award recipient, Cazzie passed away after a six-month battle with cancer.

Daniel Wynn

Little League Baseball has been a huge part of Daniel Wynn’s life for the past 66 years, starting as a player in the Spring of 1958 and continuing to this day as a longtime officer and volunteer among those who have helped to preserve the Lansford Little League program in their community.

When the league launched its first campaign for boys 8-12 years of age back in 1958 at the Lansford High School Stadium, Dan enrolled in the program and played for three years with the Phillies, Cardinals and Dodgers teams.

In 1961, he was promoted to the Cubs in the Major Leagues and the Little League and Teener League teams were relocated to land adjacent to the Delauretis gas station while a project was completed at the high school stadium.

In 1962, baseball returned to the stadium and Dan graduated to the Teener League program.

From 1963-65, he played on those teams in the evenings and coached minor league baseball after school left out for the summer.

In the late 1960s, the Lansford Little League purchased the former Abbott A.A. building on Water Street as a meeting place and center for fundraising.

In 1966, as a member of the Marian High School baseball team, Dan was promoted to assistant manager of the Cubs’ team in the Lansford Little League Major League.

That year, he graduated from Marian and was promoted to the position of manager of the Jets in the Major League program.

Dan went on to attend and graduate from East Stroudsburg State College in 1971, during which time, in addition to coaching, he coordinated the Minor League program.

For the second time in the league’s history, they were evicted from the Panther Valley High School Stadium for a maintenance project. With the help of league personnel and volunteers, a temporary field was constructed adjacent to the Ridge Terrace Project in Coaldale, prompting league treasurer Stanley Grejda to seek a more permanent site for the Lansford Little League.

Over the next few years, the league was able to acquire a lease from the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company for a tract of land adjacent to the field that had been constructed in 1961. The league also relocated its headquarters to the East End A.A. with the help of longtime members Paul P. Staruch and Elmer Scheese.

After years of labor and construction, the new field opened in 1976. For the Lansford Little League, that year was a year of firsts, as girls were permitted to play, the Coaldale Little League merged with Lansford, and Dan began umpiring after retiring as manager of the Jets.

In 1983, Dan succeeded John E. Stanko, a founding father of the league, as the league’s secretary. Shortly after that, he joined with league’s Building, Grounds and Concession Manager Staruch, Charles Depuy, Len Sniscak, and others, in operating the refreshment stand when they were not umpiring.

Wynn credits league president Melinda Turrano (whose father was a longtime president of the league), and vice president and fields and grounds manager Tobias Krajcirik for their efforts in preserving Little League Baseball in Lansford.

Lacey Gonzalez-Horan

She attained success by placing in over 100 sporting events, however, it was during her time at Panther Valley High School that Lacey Gonzalez Horan left her mark on area sports.

At PVHS, she excelled in basketball, cross country and track and field.

On the court from 1997-2000, she went on to score 1,548 career points for the Lady Panthers. In her sophomore year, she averaged 12.4 ppg, reaching double figures in 18 of the 21 games in which she played and helping PV to a 19-9 record, a District 11 runner-up finish and a state tourney qualifier.

The following year, Lacey and her teammates advanced to the PIAA Eastern finals when she led the team in scoring with a 16.5 ppg average. The Lady Panthers won the District 11 championship that season and she was named to the first teams in Times News and Schuylkill League selections. She was also an Eyewatch News 13 Female Athlete of the Week and received the Blue Ridge Channel 13 Team Achievement Award.

Lacy went on to be a Second Team All State selection in her senior year, when she tallied 587 points, including surpassing the 1,000-point plateau. She averaged 21.3 ppg; had a career-high 32 points vs Cardinal Brennan; and scored 20 or more points in 18 of the Lady Panthers’ 28 games.

That year, she was named Morning Call Player of the Year, was a First team selection in the Schuylkill League and Times News balloting and again won the Eyewatch News 13 Female Athlete of the Week honors.

Lacey was equally impressive as a track and field participant at PV. As a sophomore in 1997, she was the Schuylkill League All-League champion in the 800-meter run, placed third in the 3200-meter run in the all league meet, placed second and third, respectively, in the 1600 and 800 District 11 runs and advanced to the PIAA state championships, finishing 10th overall in the 1600 meter run.

The following season, she placed fourth in the state meet in the 800-meter run after second and third places, respectively, in the 1600-meter and 800-meter runs in the District 11 meet, and third place finishes in the 1600-meter and 400-meter runs in the Schuylkill League’s All League meet.

As a senior in 1999, Lacey finished in third place in both the Schuylkill League All League Meet and the District 11 competition, both in the 800-meter run.

She set individual records of 1:03.2 in the 400-meter run and 2:20.6 in the 800-meter run, both in 1998, and 5:19 in the 1600-meter run in 1997. Her relay team records include 4:24.5 in the 1600-meter and 10:18.3 in the 3200-meter, when the team won the event in the 1998 Pottsville Relays.

Lacey was the Times News Fall Cross Country Athlete of the Year in 1997, when she was the Schuylkill League All League champion, finishing the 3.1-mile course at Tuscarora in 19:28. That year, she placed third in the District 11 meet, qualified for the PIAA run and helped the Lady Panthers win the SCIAL championship.

A year prior, she set six course and two school records in cross country, qualifying for the state meet, finishing fifth in the District 11 and Schuylkill League meets and being named Morning Call Athlete of the Week. She also qualified for the state meet as a senior.

From 2003-2006, Lacey has competed in mountain biking in the Mid-Atlantic Super Series. She placed second overall in the Classic Trek Series-Pro, and won the 2003 National championship of the NORBA NCS Snowshow Mountain Appalachian Uprising Expert Women (19-24) and Mid-Atlantic Super Series championship among women 34 and under.

She graduated in 2004 from Alvernia College with a BA degree in accounting and management; 2006 with a master’s degree in business administration with emphasis in entrepreuneurship, and holds a certificate in higher education teaching.