In June 2025, the Jerry Wolman Northern Anthracite Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame presented Donnie Bricker with a trophy clock for more than 50 years of service to the organization. Donnie Bricker is sitting in the middle; all others are board members of the Jerry Wolman chapter. Front from left: Jim Gross, Don Bricker and Andy Ulicny. Back from left: Joe Halko, Bernard Bruni, Kitty Bricker, wife of Don, Sam Matta and Bobby Moyer. The organization recently announced its Hall of Fame Class of 2026.(Submitted Photo) 

The Jerry Wolman Northern Anthracite Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame will hold its annual banquet Saturday, April 25.

Nine former athletes and one achievement award nominee will be inducted at Mountain Valley Golf Course.

The honorees in the Class of 2026:

Dr. Stephen John Debuski

Mahanoy Area

Dr. Debuski spent four years at Mahanoy Area High School, Class of 1972. He was a football and track team member, achieving the Pottsville Republican All-County Middle Guard Award, All-Anthracite Offensive Tackle, Harrisburg Patriot Award, Evening Herald First-Team All-County End, senior year team captain and he twice qualified for districts in track. He followed with four years as a Bloomsburg University football team member, achieving all-conference recognition, voted “most valuable offensive player” and senior year team captain.

Earning a B.S. degree and graduate credentials from Bloomsburg University, he began his professional career as a biology teacher at Bishop Hafey for one year, then as a Mahanoy Area faculty member for six years. He served as an assistant football coach at Cardinal Brennan for one year and the defensive coordinator at Mahanoy Area for six years.

Then he was accepted and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine with honors, continuing with admission to an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgical Residency at Temple University. He began a distinguished career serving the Schuylkill County community in a surgery practice where he specialized in oral surgery for 27 years. He continues athletic accomplishments, earning in Kempo Karate a first-degree black belt at age 48 and a second-degree black belt at age 65.

Each day, he is a devoted runner around his Lake Wynonah home, an active Mahanoy Area Football Alumni member and has been married for 44 years to Marianne (Murphy). They have two daughters, Jaime Sheatler and Stephanie Friedman, and four grandchildren.

Carter Green

North Schuylkill

Green made her debut at North Schuylkill as a freshman, and before graduating with the Class of 2014, she displayed her athleticism as a standout track and field performer and a standout volleyball player for the Spartans. Green earned postseason honors twice as a volleyball player, but she excelled in track and field, where she used her gift in the throws, both shot put and discus.

Green was a four-time District 11 gold medalist in the discus and added a gold medal in the shot put. To this day, Green holds the North Schuylkill girls’ record in the discus. At the PIAA Championships, Green finished fifth and second during her career tossing the discus. Green’s scholastic career as a discus thrower earned her honors by the New Balance National All-America Team.

Green caught the attention of college coaches, earning a scholarship to the University of Virginia, where she had an impressive four-year career. During her four years in the highly competitive Atlantic Coast Conference, she earned academic honors all four years, qualified for the ACC Championships all four years and was an East Regional Qualifier twice.

She works in technology sales and as a part-time throwing coach at Catholic University. Green resides in Washington, D.C.

Sean Kramer

North Schuylkill

Kramer’s high school career at North Schuylkill began as a four-year letterwinner in three sports: football, basketball and track and field. During his senior season on the football team, he was voted captain of the squad and helped lead the Spartans to a District 11 championship before losing to state powerhouse Berwick. Kramer was named first team by the Schuylkill County Coaches twice, 1986 and 1987, and earned All-Anthracite first team twice as well. Kramer was named to the AP All-State third team and nominated for the prestigious Pennsylvania Big 33 Football Team.

Kramer became a star on the hardwood, earning letters all four seasons, and was named to the Schuylkill League all-star team in his senior year. In addition, on the track and field team, Kramer became a 12-time varsity letterwinner for North Schuylkill. He was a four-year District 11 qualifier in three events: discus; shot put and high jump.

Kramer signed on at Shippensburg University and became the starting tight end at Ship for three seasons, earning letters for his standout play.

The North Schuylkill Halftime Club inducted Kramer to its Hall of Fame.

Kramer is retired, living in Ringtown with his wife, Jen, and children Kelsie, Madison and Sean.

Bo Neary

Cardinal Brennan

Neary made an impact from the day he entered the hallowed halls of Cardinal Brennan, where he immediately starred on the football and basketball teams all four seasons.

Neary became a legendary athlete at the small Catholic high school in Fountain Springs. During his senior season, he caught 132 passes, tallying 1,600 yards and 14 touchdowns. A top-flight defensive back, Neary had 27 career interceptions and ran back three for touchdowns. He was named All-County Coaches first team and Reading Eagle All-Anthracite offense and defense. Neary earned a full scholarship to Towson University in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), but had his career cut short due to injury.

During his basketball career for the Chargers, Neary scored 1,295 points as a point guard for coach Dave Fennelly’s team. He helped lead the Chargers to a District 11 championship in 1980. Neary featured versatility on the hardwood, not just as a scorer, but by setting the all-time assist record at Cardinal Brennan.

Neary resides in Ocala, Florida, with his wife, Diane, and daughters Kristen and Kaitlyn.

Bob Racis

J.W. Cooper, Shenandoah

Racis is a noted name in the annals of high school sports at J.W. Cooper High School, Shenandoah. Racis’s career found him earning a starting quarterback job for the Blue Devils in his junior season. Playing for late coach Frank Ulicny, Racis used his extraordinary instincts to avoid oncoming defenders attempting a sack and was called “Racis Rollout” by the sports scribes. His peers elected him a captain during his senior season.

Racis, who is a nephew of the late, great Pottsville Maroons NFL star Frank “Champ” Racis, was voted to the Schuylkill County North Dream Team in December 1964, and he helped engineer the heavily underdog team to a stunning 7-6 win over the South. He added the all-important extra point after teammate and Shenandoah Catholic star Frank Macus scored the tying touchdown in a driving rainstorm at Pottsville’s Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Racis was named MVP of the football team at a dinner where one-time Philadelphia Eagles owner, the late Jerry Wolman, was on hand with stars Pete Retzlaff and Jim Ringo. Racis also was named honorable mention All-State by news services AP and UPI when all of the Pennsylvania high schools were bunched.

But it was on the basketball team where Racis became a household name, helping to lead the Blue Devils to a District 11 championship in 1965. He cracked the starting lineup for late coach Charles Ratomskin in his sophomore season as a point guard, averaging 16.5 points per game. The Blue Devils were a vaunted scoring machine, scoring more than 100 points a game several times. Racis led the team to its first-ever district championship victory over Fountain Hill (Saucon Valley) at the Harrisburg Farm Show Arena before 10,000 fans in a doubleheader before Mahanoy Area won the nightcap led by All-State center Stan Wlodarczyk, who would go on to play at La Salle.

The Blue Devils came within a whisker of playing for the Class B title, losing to eventual state champion Darby Colwyn. He later was the head coach for the Shenandoah Midgets for five seasons.

Racis retired in 2016 from Ateeco (Mrs. T’s Pierogies) as purchasing manager. He resides with his wife, Joan (Bonner), in Shenandoah and is the proud father of daughter Renee’ Popalis and husband Matt of Bloomsburg and son Brian Racis and wife Tricia and granddaughter Olivia of Huntington, New York.

Nick Rogers 

North Schuylkill

Rogers is another standout athlete who hails from North Schuylkill. Before graduating in 1999, Rogers took center stage on the gridiron, earning a starting berth at tight end. By the time Rogers’ senior year rolled around, he was being recruited by some of the finest academic universities. He accepted a scholarship to Colgate.

Rogers was a do-it-all two-way starter for the Spartans as he helped lead North Schuylkill to a District 11 football championship under coach Rick Geist. Rogers earned postseason honors from several media outlets and made the Schuylkill County Coaches’ Association first team both offense and defense. He played for the North All-Star team in 2022.

Rogers, a sibling to Bo Rogers and son of Bill Rogers, is the fourth member of his family to be inducted into the Jerry Wolman Hall of Fame. Nick’s grandfather, Bill Sr., was inducted in the 1970s. Nick Rogers was also inducted into the North Schuylkill Halftime Football Club.

Rogers’ collegiate career spanned four years at Colgate, where he played fullback and tight end, He was part of Patriot League championship teams in 1999 and 2002.

Rogers graduated from Colgate with a degree in Environmental Science and works for Redtail Renewables, LLC as the Area Environmental Manager, based in Owensboro, Kentucky.

Rachel Weidensaul-Rowley

Cardinal Brennan

When one talks about greatness, Weidensaul-Rowley is at the top of the charts in high school and college sports. She was a true multi-sport star at Cardinal Brennan High School in the early 2000s. From the time she set foot on the tiny campus in Fountain Springs, she emerged and grew under the tutelage of her high school mentors, Jerry Freiler and Pat Joyce.

The Chargers’ basketball team had a phenomenal run of back-to-back District 11 Class A titles, unseating Marian, which was dominating high school girls’ hoops at the time, especially in the Schuylkill League.

Weidensaul-Rowley poured in 1,205 points and earned honors from media outlets such as the Shenandoah Evening Herald, Shamokin News, Hazleton Standard-Speaker and the Reading Eagle. Those championship seasons began in the 2002 and 2003 seasons.

In the spring, Weidensaul-Rowley wheeled and dealed in the circle for the Chargers softball team. She had more that 400 career strikeouts, 19 career shutouts and was Cardinal Brennan’s Schuylkill County Female Scholar-Athlete. Weidensaul-Rowley once again was named to various all-star teams for her softball prowess.

The best was yet to come for this superb athlete as she was recruited to play not one, but two, sports at Kutztown University in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. From 2004-08, she helped to lead the Golden Bears’ basketball and softball teams, a rare two-sport collegiate athlete in these modern times.

Weidensaul-Rowley helped to lead Kutztown to the Final Four in two straight seasons, 2005 and 2006. She amassed 931 career points and 386 rebounds. To top it all off, she was honored by Kutztown on its 50th anniversary as one of the top basketball players. In softball, her sensational skills carried over to pitch for the Bears, where she racked up 225 strikeouts and a 2.56 ERA, thus earning her yet another accolade, All-PSAC honors.

Weidensaul-Rowley works for JP Morgan Chase, living in the Reading area with her husband, Peter, and children Connor and Lucas Rowley.

Joe Yeck

Shenandoah Catholic

Yeck is a rare story coming out of one of the smallest Catholic high schools, Shenandoah Catholic, in 1964. He starred early in three sports before deciding to make basketball his main go-to. The Mighty Atoms competed in the PCIAA state tournament, long before the Catholic school systems joined the PIAA.

Yeck could light it up as a quick, elusive guard with great hands and tremendous peripheral vision to pass the ball. Starting as a freshman, Yeck eventually became the top guard in the region. Without the 3-point shot, Yeck scored 1,090 points during his scholastic career, averaging 23.9 points per game to become the Mighty Atoms’ all-time leading scorer, before the school merged into what would become Cardinal Brennan in the fall of 1968.

The Yeck-led Mighty Atoms in his senior season reached the Class C PCIAA Eastern Semifinals. As a sophomore, Yeck was honored by the Shenandoah Lions Club as its outstanding player in 1962. One of his highlight games found the guard scoring 44 points against Immaculate Heart.

Yeck took a different path to basketball stardom after high school. He entered the Army during the Vietnam War, participating on the All-Army team. When he was discharged, Yeck pursued his education on the GI Bill at Temple University, which was coached by the late Harry Litwack. He was offered a walk-on tryout by the legendary mentor, and made the team, but incurred a knee injury that curtailed his ambitions. However, his coach allowed him to be a part of the team, though not as a player.

After Temple, Yeck became a teacher in the York/Gettysburg area, coaching both basketball and tennis, along with baseball and cross country. At York, under his coaching, his girls’ doubles teams won a state championship and three District 3 championships. The boys also won a district doubles championship and one league title. Overall, Yeck-coached teams won 463 sporting events.

Yeck also served as an assistant basketball coach at Gettysburg College, helping the Greyhounds win three conference championships and make three NCAA appearances. In addition, he was a Past Commander at the Gettysburg American Legion.

Yeck lives with his wife, Cathy, and has three children, Kristen, Jennifer and Joe; and five grandchildren, Raina, Madelyn, Laila, Evelyn and Kamran.

Tom Zulkowski 

Cardinal Brennan

Zulkowski became a noted three-sport star at Cardinal Brennan during his four sports seasons in Fountain Springs, beginning in 1997 before graduating in 2000.

As a football star, Zulkowski, a native of Frackville, excelled on both sides of the ball as a receiver and defensive back. The sturdy Zulkowski earned numerous recognitions on the gridiron. This multi-purpose athlete topped the charts, emerging as a potential standout, not just in football but in basketball and baseball.

During the 1997 and 1998 seasons on the hardwood, Zulkowski was named to the All-Schuylkill County Basketball Division IV team and played for the North All-Stars. It was in baseball that Zulkowski shined, too, for the Chargers.

Zulkowski matured as a football player in the collegiate ranks at Lycoming College. In 2000, he was named the Most Improved Offensive Player and did so in back-to-back seasons 2000-01. He earned first-team honors as positional player in the Mid-Penn Conference after hauling in 40 receptions for more than 500 yards receiving on a run-oriented football team. For his efforts, Zulkowski was named to a first-team Mid-Penn Conference tight end.