2013 Hall of Fame Bios

Pennridge Inductees

Jeff Lockett—Jeff graduated in 1978 and, prior to participating in football and track at Bucknell University, left a slew of accomplishments in Ramsville. He earned three letters in both track and football and was captain of the football squad in ’77 when they won the Bux-Mont title. The Ram track teams of ’77 and ’78 also won the league championship, and Jeff won eight individual and team races. Many of those first place finishes remained Pennridge records for decades. He competed at states in each of his last three years. Jeff started at quarterback three straight years, earning All Bux-Mont recognition each year and was captain his senior year. ‘The Rocket’ was a starter at wide receiver for Bucknell his freshman year, earning a varsity letter. Likewise he lettered in track, set a school sprint record and received a varsity letter, accepting ECC and IC4A honors. After one year at Bucknell, Jeff transferred to Penn State where he earned two letters in track. Post-collegiately, he became active in rugby. Over the past 30 years, Jeff has played a high-level club game throughout the United States and has played against touring teams from Argentina, Ireland, Australia and South Africa.  He recently received full coaching credentials from the IRB and USA Rugby, the official governing bodies for rugby in the U.S.

Robert (Bob) Shoudt – Bob graduated from Pennridge in 1958.  His high school sports were cross country (Bux-Mont Champs), basketball and baseball.  He is a charter member of the Pennridge Varsity Athletic Club.  After graduation from East Stroudsburg State College, he began a teaching and coaching career in which he became nationally recognized in the sport of track and field.  In 1984, while coaching at Villanova University, he was named the NCAA Division I Track and Field Coach of the Year.  His Villanova women’s team in 1984 set a world record in the distance medley relay in the Penn Relay Championship of America race and set an American collegiate record in the 4 X 800 meter relay.  In both 1982 and ’84 Villanova finished 3rd in the NCAA Track and Field Championship Meet.  Six times Bob was named Big East Coach of the Year in cross country and track and field.  Wherever he has coached, success has followed him -in high school at Chichester, Norristown, Springfield (Montco) and in college at Ursinus and Villanova.  He has coached an Olympian, 7 Olympic trial qualifiers, one world record holder, 6 national champions, 44 All Americans, 4 PIAA high school state championship teams and numerous other accomplishments in a career that has spanned 7 different decades and still continues.  Bob was inducted into the Pennridge HS “Wall of Fame” and the PA High School Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2010.  In 2006 the Athletic Achievement Award for post college athletic accomplishment was awarded to him by the East Stroudsburg Alumni Association.  Other inductions include the Montco Coaches HOF, Delaware County Athletes HOF as a coach and the PA HOF Montgomery County Chapter.   He was the founder of the Pinehickon Baseball Association in Pipersvile, which just celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Ben Weidemoyer -   Ben graduated from Pennridge in 1958.  He was a stellar performer on both the cross country and track teams.  Ben’s sophomore year was the first year of cross country at Pennridge.  He lettered in cross country for all three years.  As a junior and senior, Ben won every race he ran, setting records in six of them as a junior and more as a senior.  In the Bux Mont League and in the William Tennent Invitational, both Ben and the team won championships during his senior year.  Ben’s long distance running was a great asset to the track team as well.  In the spring of his senior year, the track team went undefeated winning the Bux Mont Championship.  This included an early season win over North Penn who had not lost a league meet in three years.  Ben won the mile and 880 in the Bux- Mont League Meet setting a new league record in the 880 and never losing either race.   He followed this up with wins in both events at the District 1 meet.  He finished 2nd in the mile and fifth in the 880 at the State Meet.  His final high school race was in the mile at the Meet of Champions, which included the top runners from Eastern PA and South Jersey.  Having been in last place through much of the race, his final kick out of the last corner allowed him to pass the entire field to win the race. 

Jack Wuerstle – Jack graduated from Pennridge in 1980 where he excelled on the gridiron.  He was a two way starter in both his Junior and Senior years.  In his senior year he was a first team All Bux-Mont selection on defense as a linebacker and an honorable mention all league guard on offense.  At Widener University he was a four year starter at linebacker and a member of the undefeated 1981 Division III National Championship Team.  He was the captain of the team in ’83 and ’84 and the team MVP in 1983.  In 1984 he was an Associated Press All American for Division III.  He was also the winner of Widener’s Chervanik Award as the football player who best embodied excellence in academics and athletics.  He has coached football at the junior high, senior high and collegiate levels. Jack has coached at the Division III level at Swarthmore.   He is the defensive coordinator at Tower Hill School in Wilmington, Delaware.

Quakertown Inductees

James Bevan – Jim was a 1969 graduate of Quakertown where he excelled on the hard wood and the diamond.  He lettered in both sports during each of his last three years of high school.  As a junior, he received All Bux-Mont honorable mention in basketball and 2nd team honors in baseball.  As a senior, Jim was first team All League in both basketball and baseball.  He was also the MVP of both the basketball and baseball teams as a senior.  Additionally he was also the Bux-Mont Basketball Player of the Week as chosen by radio station WNPV.  From 1969-1973, Jim lettered in both basketball and baseball at Moravian College.  Championships seemed to follow Jim wherever he played including Tri County Baseball with Quakertown in ’70, ’73 and ’75 and with Perkasie in ’72,  Perky League Baseball with Souderton in ’76, Upper Bucks Basketball League in ’74 and ’75, and Pennridge Adult Basketball League in ’75 and ’76. .He won the Tri County outstanding pitcher award in ’72 and ’79 and won the league batting title in 1978.  In ’77 and ’78 he was the MVP in the League All Star Game.  He was inducted into the League Hall of Fame in 1990 with a lifetime batting average of .340 and 52 pitching victories.   From 1973-2008, Jim taught in the Quakertown School District where he coached boys’ varsity basketball as an assistant for 2 years and girls’ basketball.  He coached 11 years of baseball at the JV, Freshman and Middle School levels.   He also coached Quakertown Legion Baseball for 4 years and Quakertown AAU basketball for 2 years.  For the past 3 years he has been a certified PIAA umpire.

Robert “Coach” Coleman – Coach Coleman played his high school sports in Western Schuylkill County at Hegins Township (now Tri Valley) high school where he was an outstanding baseball player.  He was a varsity letter winner in his Junior and Senior years and a starter on the Valley View Legion team for those two years.  All of those teams won league and district championships.  After high school he played varsity baseball at Kutztown University and was a leading hitter during his Junior and Senior years.  He is best known in this area as a basketball and baseball coach at the junior high and high school level.  He coached both for over thirty years and dramatically contributed to the development of fundamentals to so many future QHS players.  His teams won a combined total of 12 championships including six in a row in baseball in the Bux-Mont Junior high league.

Mary Gerhart Dietz – Mary graduated from Quakertown High School in 1928.  The only girls’ sports offered at that time were basketball and track and Mary was a star in both.  She lettered in both sports for four years each.  In track she was a medal winner in almost every running event.  She was a team mate of Quakertown legend Marian Afflerbach who received many assists from Mary as she set the then school record for points scored.  There were no All League Teams in those days, but Mary would certainly have received recognition.  Later in life she was an avid golfer.  She has the distinction of being the mother of two HOF inductees (Harriet Young and Harry Dietz) the mother-in- law of an inductee (Don Young), the wife an inductee (Paul Dietz) and the grandmother of an inductee (Doug Young). 

Ruth Ann Stump Kiesel – Ruth Ann graduated in 1971 and was a three sport athlete including field hockey, basketball and softball.  She earned 7 varsity letters including 3 in hockey and 2 each in basketball and softball.  She was also the co-captain of all three teams as a senior.  She was the top scorer on the field hockey team in both her junior and senior years.  In basketball she was also the leading scorer on the team in both her junior and senior years playing the position of shooting guard.  In softball, she was a pitcher and an outfielder. Ruth Ann was chosen as the Female All-Around Athlete at the end of her senior year.  There were no All League teams in girls’ sports at that time.  After high school, Ruth Ann attended Bucks County Community College for two years where she was the co-captain of the field hockey and basketball teams.  She was the hockey team MVP and leading scorer with 44 goals.  She was a guard on the basketball team that won the Community College League Championship for Eastern PA.  She was an outfielder on the softball team and won the 1973 Scholar Athlete Award.  She later attended East Stroudsburg State College where she played on the field hockey team for 2 years leading the team to post season play and being chosen 2nd Team All East in 1975.

Back to Top