May 23, 2015 5 min read

Travis Thomas was a multi-sport athlete who led Washington High School to a PIAA Class AA football championship before taking his talents to Notre Dame University.

Thomas is one of 13 inductees this year into the Washington-Greene County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

Thomas joins Dan Alderson of Chartiers-Houston (baseball); Tim Bennett of Fort Cherry (football); the late Richard Devore of Trinity (softball); Michael Ferrari of Trinity (wrestling); Nikki Gasti of Carmichaels (softball); Robert Patnesky of Canon-McMillan (wrestling); the late Charles Ream of Washington & Jefferson College (football); Maria Gemma Ross (youth service); Coleman Scott of Waynesburg (wrestling); Chris Tarr of Washington (wrestling); Norris Vactor of Washington (football) and Michael Vernillo of Fort Cherry (football) in this year’s group.

Ceremonies will take place June 12 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Meadow Lands. Tickets are $45 apiece and can be purchased by calling 724-678-4320.

The following is brief bio of the first six inductees. The remainder will be presented in a future edition of the Observer-Reporter.

Thomas scored the game-winning touchdown in the 2001 PIAA championship game in Hershey. He was team captain and rushing and scoring leader in 2002 and 2003. Thomas was selected to play in the Big 33 Game and the Army All-America Bowl.

Thomas was the Observer-Reporter Offensive Player of the Year and named first team All-State in football. In track, he was a member of the Wash High WPIAL 1,600-meter relay championship team that also medaled at the state tournament.

At Notre Dame, Thomas a three-year captain and Offensive MVP in the Notre Dame Blue-Gold Game in 2006. He was a recipient of the Nick Pietrosante Award for courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and pride.

Thomas was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cleveland Browns in 2008.

Alderson compiled a 15-1 record pitching for Chartiers-Houston High School and was named the team and section MVP in 1990. He had a career .405 batting average, with 35 runs scored, two no hitters, a 1.42 career ERA and 97 strikeouts.

Alderson received a scholarship to Ashland University, where he won the George Donges Award for academic and athletic excellence in 1994. He led the team in pitching appearance three seasons and had a 3.50 ERA.

Alderson was an assistant coach on the first team in school history to qualify for Division II World Series. He coached baseball at Chartiers-Houston (2001-2009), compiling a 133-44 record and winning three section titles. The Bucs were second in the WPIAL and twice made it to the PIAA semifinals.

Chartiers-Houston went 17-0 in the 2005 regular season and qualified for the WPIAL playoffs in each of his 10 seasons. He was named the WPIAL Baseball Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2009.

He also is active in community league baseball and softball.

Bennett was a multi-sport athlete at Fort Cherry before taking a football scholarship to Wake Forest. At Fort Cherry, Bennett was first-team All-State and a first-team All-American in 1998. He was a Big 33 selection.

In wrestling, Bennett was a Southwest Region champion and PIAA Class AA bronze medalist at heavyweight in 1998. He was selected to compete in the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic.

At Wake Forest, he was a three-year starter and a team captain as a senior.

Devore was a three-year letterman and named All-Western Conference as a senior on Trinity’s football team. He was picked to play in the Big 33 Game that year.

In track, Devore was a two-year letterman and also played basketball and baseball.

At Boston University, he was a two-year starter and named Most Improved Defensive Player as a junior. He played in the 1969 Pasadena Bowl.

Devore coached Trinity baseball for eight years, winning several section titles and was an assistant football coach for six years.

Devore played for some of the area’s most successful community softball teams, including Sol Mintz’s 1969 World Runner-up team; the 1973 Sol Mintz world champions team; the 1976 Lone Pine Ten Mile Valley champions; the American Glass Ten Mile Valley National League champions and the 1982 Union Grill Ten Mile Valley champs.

Ferrari compiled a 79-7-1 record while wrestling for Trinity. He was a two-time champion of the California Christmas Tournament (1984-85), was a section champion in 1985 and 1986 and was a WPIAL champion and PIAA qualifier in 1985 and 1986.

Ferrari was named Outstanding Wrestler for the Pennsylvania All-Stars in the 1986 Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic.

He also was a Pennsylvania Junior Olympics champion at 55 pounds in the 10-under division.

In soccer, Ferrari was a two-year starter and four-year letterman. He ranks 11th on the school’s scoring list with 90 points.

Ferrari wrestled at the United States Military Academy, where he was a three-year starter at 134 pounds and had a 29-12-1 record.

A four-year starter for Carmichaels softball team, Gasti compiled a 73-7 record, including 36-0 in section games. She had eight perfect games, 15 no-hitters, 51 shutouts and an ERA of 0.23. She was the first Carmichaels’ athlete to have their jersey retired.

The Mikes won four section titles and won back-to-back WPIAL titles in 1997 and 1998. Gasti had a 24-0 record in the latter season, the last win coming against South Williamsport, 5-2, that produced a PIAA championship in 1998, the first for any Greene County team.

In 1996, she was named to numerous all-star teams. In 1997, she was named Who’s Who in Sports – High School Division. She was named All-WPIAL and All-Section and again named softball Player of the Year by numerous outlets.

In 1998, she repeated the honors of the previous two seasons and was honored with the Special Recognition Award at the Washington-Greene Coach of the Year Banquet.

Gasti accepted a full scholarship from the University of Pittsburgh in 1999 and was feted at the Dapper Dan Dinner.