Local Sports

Final Wheeling Central Athletic Hall Of Fame Honorees Announced

WHEELING - The final members of the Wheeling Central Catholic Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2026 are set.

The latest selections are the 1979 state championship football team, Nicole Yahn and Tom Gilson as the contributor. They join previously announced honorees: Dan Gordon, Aaron Schneid, Chris Martin, Zac Stahl, Mo Mull and Alex Peluchette.

All of the freshly minted Hall of Famers will be feted during the Maroon Knights’ annual Hall of Fame Brunch on Saturday, Sept. 12, sponsored by Dan Stephens State Farm Insurance at the CCHS Great Hall.

Only a limited number of tickets are available for this event and are $25 per person. They can be purchased by contacting the school at 304-233-1660 or stopping at school between the hours of 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. during the month of August. Tickets may also be purchased by calling Wheeling Central head football coach Mike Young at 304-312-9125 or Athletic Director Seth Staskey at 740-310-0848.

All previous Hall of Fame inductees are invited. They need to make reservations in advance.

The brunch begins at 10 a.m. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. It will be catered by Generations. The Wheeling Central Football Moms and cheerleaders will be assisting during the brunch.

On Friday, Sept. 11 the Wheeling Central football team will be hosting West Lafayette Ridgewood at Wheeling University. All new inductees will also be recognized at halftime.

The Wheeling Central Hall of Fame came into existence in 2016. All honorees must be first nominated. Forms are available on the school’s website.

Here's a capsule look at the honorees:

TOM GILSON (Class of 1975) - This Maroon Knight supporter enjoyed a different perspective of CCHS athletics during most of his adult life.

Gilson looked through the lens of a camera, serving as the Central Catholic school photographer for more than 30 years.

Gilson, who just announced his retirement from photography following the 2025-26 school year, graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh with an associate's degree in photography. He started Gilson Photography in 1984 and in 1992 he merged with Cress

Studio of Photography. However, it was in 1990 when he began as the CCHS school photographer. All told, he snapped photos of CCHS students for 35 years.

Gilson took school portraits of all students, team and individual photos of athletics and dances. He provided his images for use in the yearbook, sports programs and other school needs. He also covered senior night events, the Homecoming football game, providing voluntary services.

One of the highlights of his tenure was when he worked with the CCHS students on the yearbook staff, providing instruction and use of a dark room, developing film and printing images from negatives.

A life-time resident of Wheeling, Gilson attended Blessed Trinity Grade School, played in the CCHS Marching Band.

Tom and his wife, Stacy have been married for 47 years. The couple has four children and is expecting its 12th grandchild in September. All four of Tom and Stacy's children attended CCHS.

NICOLE YAHN (Class of 2000) – Wheeling Central won four successive state softball champions from 1997-2000.

Yahn was a major reason why.

She was a player for that quartet of Maroon crowns, and she was simply dominating in the circle during her junior and senior seasons (2009-10).

As a junior, Yahn scripted a stellar 21-2 record in the circle. In 81 innings of work she fanned 55 batters, yielding just 35 hits while compiling a 2.33 ERA.

The pitching dandy took it to an even higher level as a senior.

Yahn was a brilliant 24-4. In 106 innings of circle duty, she fanned 114 batters, allowing only 40 hits while checking in with a miniscule 1.32 ERA.

Not surprisingly, Yahn was accorded first-team All-State, All-OVAC, and All-Valley honors as a junior and senior. In addition to winning four straight state championships during her Wheeling Central career, the Maroon Knights were OVAC champions all four years as well.

Yahn was also a standout in the classroom. She was an National Honor Society member as a sophomore, junior and senior and was in the Foreign Language Honorary the same three years.

Yahn was also a four-year soccer performer at Central.

1979 CCHS FOOTBALL TEAM - Many point to this team as the group of Maroon Knights who laid the foundation and jumpstarted the success that is still being experienced today with the CCHS football program.

Knights teams prior to this had successful campaigns, but none had climbed to the top of the West Virginia SSAC mountain to win the state championship. However, that changed when the Knights took down Buffalo Wayne, 39-21, at Charleston's Laidley Field.

The late Jim Thomas, who was the head coach, guided the Maroon Knights to an impressive 12-1 record with the only blemish coming at the hands of Brooke, 16-12. The Knights opened the season by winning four straight games, including a 10-0 win over Wheeling Park.

The team was littered with veterans and upperclassmen, so there was a feeling in the preseason that a special campaign could be on the horizon, however, it was a come-from-behind 21-20 win at John Marshall that really jumpstarted the Maroon Knights. The resiliency showed through as they battled back from a 20-0 deficit at halftime.

The Knights went on to post wins against Linsly and Wellsville to cap the regular season and clinch the OVAC Class AAA title. It also earned the Knights a top two seed in the playoffs, meaning two playoff games at Wheeling Island Stadium.

Challenged immediately in the postseason, the Knights rallied for a 25-21 win against Poca to advance to the state semifinals where they cruised past Big Creek, 31-0.

The team included: Tim Young, Mark West, Rick Payne, Sam Swann, Greg Kloeppner, Mark Schuetz, Rick Kelly, Tom Thomas, Eric Osterman, Jim Wodusky, John Triveri, Kirk Collins, Bob Schneid, Duane Mayles, George Schweitzer, Mark George, Mike Rose, Greg Hamm, Dave Evans, Pat Fiorelli, Rick Peluchette, Matt Hamm, Roy Bauer, Tony Fiorelli, Craig Gruber, Scott Watkins, Chris Naum, Paul Pomaranski, Kip Miller, Rick Bentz, Pat Weldman, Bruce Kirby, Brian Beaver, Pat Leinweber, Dennis Seamon, Roger High, Mike Becker, Doug Wojcik, Tom Rigas, Jeff Stanton, Ron Bence, Al Sonnefeld, Jeff Contraguerro, Barry Killeen, Mike Kelly, Brian Sorge, Lee Bischof, Paul Breiding, Chris Camilletti, Mike Leonard, Casey McCallister, Dave McDaniel, Karl Schneider, John Fitzsimmons, Dave Morgan and Doug Costain.

The coaching staff included: Chuck Hoose, Jim Stein, Terry Edwards, Greg Coleman, Greg Sacco, Chuck Joseph and Gene Fahey was the athletic trainer,