Meet the Mars Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2026 set for induction this football season
The Mars Area High School Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 includes one team, two coaches and seven athletes, including three from the graduating Class of 2016.
The inductees will be honored on the field at halftime of Mars’ home football game Sept. 25 against Trinity. An induction banquet will be held the following night at Mars Middle School, beginning at 5 p.m.
To purchase tickets to the banquet, which are $30, call the Mars athletic office at 724- 625-9380.
The following are the inductees and their accomplishments:
In the days before the 3-point line was added in high school basketball, he scored over 900 points in his varsity career. Abramovic became a double-digit scoring threat during his sophomore season and averaged 18 points per game as a junior, combining with teammate Bill Cress to give the Planets a formidable duo.
Also consistently scored in double figures in YMCA-league play.
A standout catcher on the softball team, she batted over .460 in 2006 to help the Planets win the WPIAL championship. Still ranks second in program history in career home runs, fourth in slugging percentage, fifth in hits, sixth in RBIs and seventh in batting average.
She went on to star in college at Denison University (Ohio), where she holds the program record for hits in a single season (72) and the longest hitting streak at 22 games. Berkopec was named all-conference three times and all-region twice while helping the Big Red to three conference titles.
Graduated as Mars boys basketball’s all-time leader with 1,436 points and 1,119 rebounds, averaging a double-double for three consecutive years and was named all-state twice. He helped the Planets reach the Class 3A state final in 2016. In football, he was a Greater Allegheny Conference first-team all-star as a defensive lineman and tight end.
Castello went on to a stellar basketball career at Shippensburg University, where he started for four years while tallying over 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Was ranked No. 16 on the Butler Eagle's Top 25 Male Athlete list 2000-25.
Scored a then-school record 140 goals for the Planets' girls lacrosse team, adding 42 assists, 216 ground balls, 149 draw controls and 99 caused turnovers. She earned Team MVP honors as a sophomore and junior and was named All-WPIAL in 2015.
Doyle was named first-team all-conference in college while playing as a midfielder at Central Michigan University.
A standout in soccer, he scored 10 goals and added seven assists to help the Planets win a WPIAL Section 2-2A title with a perfect 12-0 record during his senior season. That year, he was named Team MVP, Section Player of the Year, All-WPIAL and All-State.
Ferguson played in college at Penn State-Behrend, helping the team win an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference crown as a freshman.
He was the head coach of Mars’ boys and girls cross country teams 1993-2000, tallying a record of 153-43. The 1994 Planets girls squad won the WPIAL Class 2A team championship, with all seven runners placing in the top 30. On Matlick’s watch, 55 individual Mars cross country runners and six teams (three girls, three boys) qualified for the state championship meet in eight seasons.
As a distance coach for the boys and girls track teams (1992-2011), he helped Mars win nine section titles and the boys team win the WPIAL 2A team crown in 2007.
A star in basketball and baseball, he earned all-section honors in both sports. He earned two varsity letters in the former while leading the team in scoring and rebounding as a senior, and he was awarded three letters in baseball, leading the team in batting average twice and RBIs once while playing catcher and third base. He and Mike Knox were the only two freshmen to make the varsity baseball roster in 1974.
Peaco credited then-freshman basketball coach Dave Skurcenski and varsity coach Chuck Clark for their encouragement and guidance. He believes the times he failed in athletics helped shape him more than his successes. He has coached cross country, basketball and track and field at various levels at Seneca Valley for a total of 122 seasons.
The Mars graduate will be inducted as a lifetime contributor. Between the junior high, freshman, junior varsity and varsity levels, he has compiled 67 seasons of coaching football, basketball and baseball in the school district. Serving as offensive coordinator/running backs coach for the varsity football team 2004-21, the Planets consistently fielded a powerful rushing attack that included Butler Eagle Scoring Trophy winners Paul Ferrese, Bill Bair, Josh Schultheis, Isaiah Johnson, Garrett Reinke and Teddy Ruffner.
Pfeiffer was an assistant coach on Mars' boys basketball teams that won WPIAL titles in 2018 and 2019 and reached the state championship game in 2016 and 2018.
He was a dominant tackle for Mars' football team, earning second team All-State honors while blocking for a 1,000-yard rusher three straight seasons. His effort in the shot put of 58 feet, 4.5 inches during his senior year is the fourth-best heave in Butler County history. That same year, he placed sixth in the state in the event.
Tallied 30 consecutive starts on the offensive line at Duquesne University.
The Planets won all 11 of their dual meets before capturing the WPIAL Class B championship, the first team district crown in school history. The title-winning performance included six school records — district champions John Schessler (mile run); Ed Totin (440-yard run); Ed Best (220-yard dash); the mile relay of Bob Harbison, Schessler, Totin and Best; and Barry Fisher (triple jump). Also setting a school record that day was Craig Penney (180-yard low hurdles).
Led by head coach Clem Papik, the Planets finished the season by winning a state title in the mile relay. Team member Denny Clark received the coveted Eyth/Williams Award, given each year to a Mars senior male athlete who best exemplifies service, character and scholarship.
