Four alumni, one sports team inducted into PM Athletic Wall of Honor

Four individuals and one athletic team were inducted into the Penn Manor Athletic Wall of Honor during ceremonies in the high school January 18, 2019.

This year’s inductees include:  Chas Alecxih (football), Greg Bervinchak (wrestling), Britney Clugston (field hockey), Aaron Dread (basketball) and the 2008 field hockey team.

Chas Alecxih (Class of 2007)

Chas Alecxih was a two-sport athlete, throwing for the track and field team for three years and playing football for four. He earned two varsity letters in football and three in track and field.

Chas led the Comets football team as a captain in 2006 and was a two-way starter at tight end and defensive end. In 2005 and 2006, he was named 1st Team All Lancaster-Lebanon League and was Section 1 Lineman of the Year in 2006. He also was named to The Associated Press Class AAAA All-State 3rd Team and was selected to play in the Tri-County All-Star game.

Chas went on to play at the University of Pittsburgh, where he was a four-year letterman, two-year starter and graduated with a degree in communications. In his redshirt junior year, Chas started all 13 games at defensive tackle, had 57 tackles, nine TFLs and 7.5 sacks and had a career-high eight tackles in three different games. As a result of his performance, Chas was named an All-Conference Defensive Tackle in 2010.

Following his collegiate career, Chas was signed by the Miami Dolphins in May 2012. He spent four years in the NFL with the Dolphins, Chiefs, Chargers, and Carolina Panthers. On February 7, 2016, Chas played in the Super Bowl with the Carolina Panthers and ended his NFL career on the highest note possible.

Chas now works in commercial and residential real estate and lives in Lancaster with his girlfriend, Lauren, and one-year-old daughter, Alaina.

Greg Bervinchak (Class of 1987)

Greg Bervinchak was a three-sport athlete (wrestling, soccer and baseball) at Penn Manor and earned four varsity letters in wrestling and three in soccer.

Greg was a four-time L-L League Wrestling All-Star and a Sectional Champion in 1984, 1985 and 1986 and a Sectional Runner-Up in 1987. In 1984, as a freshman, he qualified for districts. Greg would go on to qualify for districts all four years he wrestled at Penn Manor and is a member of the elite “100 Victories” Club.

Greg placed fifth in the district tournament as a sophomore, second as a junior and fourth as a senior. He also qualified for the state tournament in his junior year. Greg was a perfect 35-0 in his final two seasons with the Comets in dual meets and had an overall dual meet record of 66-2 – the highest winning percentage in Penn Manor wrestling history.

Greg also is the Comet’s all-time team points leader, with 315. Scoring an average of 4.6 points per match, he holds the record for all-time points per match.

After graduating from Penn Manor, Greg attended Lock Haven University and was a member of the wrestling team for four years and later coached wrestling at Hempfield High School for 24 years.

He is in his 15th year as a health and physical education teacher at Hempfield.

Britney (Long) Clugston (Class of 2004)

Britney was a four-sport athlete at Penn Manor. She ran track for a year, played one year of soccer, three years of basketball and was a field hockey standout for four years, earning seven varsity letters.

Britney was a four-time field hockey L-L League All-Star and a 1st Team All-State Selection in 2002 and 2003 as a junior and senior. She also earned MVP honors in her junior and senior seasons and was team captain in her senior year, helping lead the Comets to a sectional championship and the district tournament in 2002.

Britney earned a gold medal in the National Futures Tournament and a silver at the Junior Olympics in 2002. As an indoor field hockey player, she won gold at the Indoor Nationals in 2003 and 2004. In addition, Britney was named a National Futures Elite Honoree from 2002-2004 and was nominated for the High School Heisman Award.

She earned a full scholarship to Penn State to continue her field hockey career. During her junior year, Britney had a nearly 74 percent shot-on-goal rate. After her senior year, she was named to the 2nd Team NFHCA All-Mideast Region. She also earned spots on the Academic All-Big Ten Team and the NFHCA National Academic Squad.

In her senior season, Britney led the team in points (30) and goals (14), placing her sixth in points and third in goals for the Big Ten in 2007, the same year she was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team and competed for a National Championship.

The daughter of Ken and Heidi Long, Britney lives in Albany, Ga., with her husband, Penn Manor alum Caleb Clugston, and children, Lennon, 4, and Cash, 2. She works part-time as a fitness instructor.

Aaron Dread (Class of 1990)

Aaron Dread was a four-year starter and four-year varsity letter winner on the Penn Manor boys’ basketball team. He also earned a varsity letter in soccer.

In basketball, Aaron is the all-time career scoring leader for the Comets, with an impressive 1,743 points. In his 1989-1990 season, Aaron was named an L-L League All-Star and 2nd Team All-State. Overall, Aaron was a two time All-Section member and was named the Suburban Cable Player of the Game four times.

During his four years on the team, the Comets made three L-L League Playoff appearances and earned the team’s first district playoff win in 18 years. The Comets also earned three straight District 3 berths and a PIAA Playoff berth in 1990.

In 1989, Aaron was invited to the McDonald’s All-Star Invitational Camp in North Carolina and was an All-Star Team Selection. He played in the Keystone Games three times and was a bronze, silver, and gold medalist in 1987, 1988, and 1999.

Aaron attended Millersville University and helped the Marauders basketball team earn four straight playoff appearances, capture one PSAC Championship and reach two NCAA Regional Tournament Rounds. In the 1993-1994 season, Aaron held an impressive 45.4 three-point field goal percentage, with 49 made three-pointers.

Aaron currently lives in Burtonville, MD, with his wife of 19 years, Dr. Kisha Murry-Dread. They have three children – Miles, Malcom and Mason. Aaron works in the medical sales field for Romark Inc.

2008 Field Hockey Team

The 2008 field hockey team won the PIAA Class AAA State Field Hockey Championship, dominating Hershey High School by a score of 5-0, one year after losing in the state finals by a 2-1 margin.

Penn Manor started out the 2008 State Tournament by blanking Lackawanna Trail 3-0, then gained revenge on defending champ Emmaus with a 2-1 victory in overtime before earning a 4-2 win over Central Dauphin. In the final, the Comets scored on all five of their shots on goal, setting a PIAA record for the most goals scored and largest margin of victory in the State Final game. Senior goalie Kathi Weidman stopped all three shots she faced.

The 5-0 victory was Penn Manor’s first ever PIAA State Championship in field hockey.

Team members included Alexandra Adams, Cathryn Altdoerffer, Jennifer Bradley, Katie Breneman, Maggie Brommer, Helen Doolittle, Taylor Eichelberger, Mariah Farbo, Megan Harris, Kelly Harsh, Nicole Henderson, Madelyn Hess, Carenna Neely, Laura Revelt, Nancy Stehman, Renee Suter, Haley Weaver, Kathi Weidman, and Jill Witmer.

Player highlights – Jill Witmer (1st Team All-American, All-Mid East Region, 1st Team All-State, L-L League Player of the Year, L-L League All-Star, 1st Team L-L League Section 1); Jenn Bradley (1st Team All-American, All-Mid East Region, 1st Team All-State, L-L League All-Star, 1st Team L-L League Section 1); Maggie Brommer (2nd Team All-State, L-L League All-Star, 1st Team L-L League Section 1, PHSFHCA All-Academic Honors).

Kathi Weidman (1st Team L-L League Section 1, PHSFHCA All-Academic Honors); Cathryn Altdoerffer (2nd Team L-L League Section 1, PHSFHCA All-Academic Honors); Renee Suter (L-L League Section 1 Honorable Mention); Alexandra Adams (PHSFHCA All-Academic Honors); Mariah Farbo (PHSFHCA All-Academic Honors)

The coaching staff included head coach, Matt Soto; assistant coaches, Denise Gobrecht and Lisa McCoy; junior high coaches, Britney (Long) Clugston, Liz (Chismar) Kelly and Brandy (Yocum) Basile; scorekeeper, Diana Alston; and trainer, Dave Ohl.

Following the ceremony, the basketball jersey of Wally Walker, the Penn Manor standout who played eight seasons in the NBA, was retired during the boys’ varsity basketball game against Warwick.