Gregory, 2001-02 cagers inducted into Weatherly Hall of Fame

On February 11 in Weatherly, 2001 graduate and 1,000-point scorer Austin Gregory and the 2001-02 championship boys’ basketball team were inducted into the Weatherly Sports Hall of Fame during ceremonies at the Weatherly Area Middle School gym. A look at the inductees’ accomplishments follows: Austin Gregory Gregory earned seven varsity letters in athletics while playing for the Wrecker basketball and baseball teams.

On the basketball court, he finished his ninth-grade season leading the Wrecker freshman team in scoring, averaging 23 points per game, including a careerhigh 42-point performance. Moving up to the varsity team as a sophomore, the 6-foot-6 Gregory helped lead the Wreckers to consecutive district playoff appearances in his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons.

A team captain his senior year, he finished the season as one of the area’s top scorers, posting a doubledouble average of 16 points and 12 rebounds per game.

Gregory was also a local standout on the AAU basketball circuit. During his junior and senior years, he was invited to play for the Northeast Pennsylvania powerhouse Pace Setter Athletic Club basketball team in Scranton, which matched up against national high school powers throughout the country. As the starting power forward for the Pace Setter ball club, he posted AAU career averages of 16 points and 11 rebounds per contest.

Gregory garnered a number of awards for his performance on the court. He was named to the Schuylkill League All-Star first team by the Hardwood Club Coaches Association, Standard-Speaker All-Area first team, Times-News All-Star team, and United States Navy 2000-2001 High School Basketball AllAmerican team.

As a senior athlete, Gregory also earned the Ronald C. Kelshaw Memorial Award as outstanding WAHS senior athlete, was honored by the Times-Leader as ‘Best and Brightest’ in athletics and nominated for the 7th Annual National Wendy’s High School Heisman award.

A four-year letter winner and senior team captain for the Wrecker baseball team, he started at first base and was the clean-up hitter, known throughout the Schuylkill League for his powerful bat and rundriving ability. He sits in the top tier of Wrecker all-time home run and batting average leaders.

Gregory was also a team captain and standout player for Weatherly’s Babe Ruth baseball program during high school.

An honors student throughout his studentathlete career, Austin graduated in the top 10 in his class and participated in the dual-enrollment program with Penn State University as a senior. He was a member of the National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society, President’s Education award recipient, and recognized by many local and regional organizations for outstanding academic and athletic achievement as a student at Weatherly.

Upon graduating high school, he continued his academic and athletic careers as a three-year starter for the Penn StateHazleton men’s basketball team and graduated as an Academic All-American with a degree in business management and marketing.

Austin resides in Weatherly with his wife, Nicole, and daughter, Jocelyn.

2001-02 Wreckers

The 2001-02 Weatherly

Area boys’ basketball team captured the District 11 Class A championship, the program’s first district title since the 1985-86 season and the program’s final district crown as well.

Coached by Bob Lutzick, the Wreckers posted a 21-7 record led by seniors Bob

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Nenstiel (23.4 ppg), Stephen Clabia (9.5) and Kenny Minnick (9.5), and junior Ryan Nenstiel (16.4).

This high-scoring team averaged a league-high 67 points per game, and as a team made 183 3-point shots, which still ranks fifth all-time in the state of Pennsylvania. They scored more than 80 points in five different games during the season.

The Wreckers started the season 9-1, rolled to the season-opening Schuylkill Haven Tip-Off Tournament title, and were ranked sixth in the state in Class A.

After cooling off a bit, the Wreckers took a 13-6 record to Marian, a team they hadn’t beaten in 11 years. In front of a packed house at Marian, the Wreckers beat the Colts 56-36 behind the scoring of Ryan Nenstiel (16), Minnick (13), Bob Nenstiel (12), and Clabia (8), the latter who held 1,000-point scorer Eddie McLaughlin to six points.

Greeted by a police and fire engine escort and by hundreds of screaming fans on a parade through the streets of Weatherly, the Wreckers took that momentum and went on to win their final five regularseason games, with Bob Nenstiel going over 1,000 career points in the process.

Seeded third for the District 11 Class A Tournament, the Wreckers faced a familiar foe in the opening round: Marian. Played in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Jim Thorpe High School gymnasium, the game had a championship feel, with several lead changes

See HALL OF FAME, page 16