The Knoch High School Sports Hall of Fame will welcome its ninth group of
honorees this December. The Hall of Fame Committee will hold its induction ceremony
for the 2024 class on Friday, December 13, prior to the Knight’s home basketball game
against Valley.
The new class features five student-athletes and one coach. This year’s
honorees include Knoch graduates Josh Shoop, Jade Thrower, Brittany Faust, Celina
Sanks, and Greg Bzorek. Former boys’ basketball coach Les Shoop will also be
included in this group.
Josh Shoop – As a 1991 graduate, Josh was one of the most dominant big men ever in
Knoch Basketball. A three-year starter and all-section player, he averaged a record
18.5 points per game, scoring 20 points or more in 30 career games. His streak of 13
consecutive 20-point games and 4 straight 30-point games has never been equaled. His
single-season point total of 558 is still an all-time record on the hardwood. Josh
surpassed the 1,000-point mark in January of 1991 becoming only the second player
ever to reach that milestone – and ended his career as Knoch’s all-time leading scorer
with 1,203 points, passing Fred Rothen’s mark which had stood for 25 years. He was a
PG-North Fabulous 5 honoree and Butler Eagle All-Star multiple times.
Josh went on to play college basketball at Indiana University of Pennsylvania
where he started for all four years and was a co-captain in 1995 and 1996, leading IUP
to a PSAC Championship in 1995, which included an NCAA D-2 Semi-Final
appearance.
Josh has been a basketball coach at various levels at Knoch and Homer-Center
High School and has served as the athletic director at Knoch, Pine Richland, and Plum
High Schools.
Greg Bzorek – Greg is a 2001 graduate of Knoch where he earned multiple letters in
three different sports. Most remembered for his excellence on the gridiron, Greg hardly
left the field during his three years of varsity football. He earned all-conference honors
as a tackle in 1999 and was a first-team all-conference honoree in 2000. He was
named to the All-Butler County Team both seasons, as well as a member of the
Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s fabulous 22. Greg also participated in Track & field where he
earned three letters, and also lettered in basketball his senior season.
Greg would go on and play college football at Edinboro University where he
earned multiple PSAC and Northeast Regional honors. He was named an All-American
in 2004-05, a finalist for the Gene Upshaw award as a starter in the Division-II Cactus
Bowl that season. He was a 3-time PSAC Champion with Edinboro and is a member of
the Edinboro Hall of Fame.
Jade Thrower – Jade is a 2008 Knoch graduate who excelled in multiple sports from
2005 through 2008. As a four-year letter winner in softball, Jade helped lead the
Knights to their first-ever section championship in 2007 and followed that up with
another championship in 2008. She was named a member of the 2008 Valley News
Dispatch and Pittsburgh Post Gazette first team all section softball team. Jade also
played basketball at Knoch for four years.
In the off-season, Jade participated with a number of local travel teams from
2006 through 2009, hitting the most home runs for her teams in 2006 with the Pittsburgh
Power, in 2008 with the Pittsburgh Patriots, and in 2009 with the Pittsburgh Pride. She
also played with the Pittsburgh Spirit in 2007.
Jade earned a partial scholarship and played softball at Edinboro University from
2009-2012 where she was a four-year starter and a four-year PSAC Scholar Athlete.
She ranks 3
rd
in home runs all-time at Edinboro having hit one in her first at bat and in
her last at bat.
Jade has been involved in coaching here at Knoch as well as in the community.
She is currently a Knoch Primary School counselor.
Brittany Faust – Brittany is a 2010 Knoch graduate who made a name for herself in a
sport where girls are just now beginning to excel. From 2006 through her high school
career, Brittany was a nationally recognized wrestler, earning the USGWA National
Championship title in 2009 and the runner-up title in 2010. She is a two-time USGWA
Pennsylvania State Champion, and another year as runner-up, as well as earning a
USGWA New York State Championship.
Brittany also played two years on the Knoch soccer team and her freshman
season on the football team.
Brittany continued her career at Missouri Valley College from 2010 to 2013, and
at King University from 2013 – 2015. She earned All-American honors at College
Nationals with a 6
th place finish in the 132-pound division in 2013 and was the Missouri
Valley College Women’s Open Champion at that level in 2012. She was the Jamestown
Open Champion as well in 2012.
Recently, she was the Champion of her division in the 2019 King Tornado Open.
Brittany is currently teaching middle school health science and practicing athletic
training in Bristol, Tennessee.
Celina Sanks – Celina is a 2014 Knoch graduate where she made her mark as an
outstanding Volleyball player. Over her four-year career as the starting outside hitter,
Celina earned four letters and was a team captain both her junior and senior seasons.
She was a first-team all-state and all-WPIAL honoree in both her junior and senior
seasons, and the Butler Eagle player of the year as a senior. She was also recognized
as first team all-section for three years, and in 2013 was named to the Junior National
USA Division All-Tournament Team.
Celina attended Division-one Eastern Kentucky University where she was a
four-year starter at outside hitter from 2014-2018, and in 2017 was named All-Ohio
Valley Conference first team. She still appears on the record books at EKU as #5 in
career attacks, #8 in total attacks in a single season, and 10th all-time in career kills.
Les Shoop – As Knoch’s Boys Basketball Coach, Les Shoop’s tenure spanned a
generation of young men who battled on the hardwood for the Knights. From 1982
through 2006, Shoop’s teams won 299 games against 246 losses. His teams qualified
for the WPIAL playoffs in 11 seasons, and the PIAA state playoffs in six of those
seasons. In 2004, the Knights would make their first – and only – appearance in the
WPIAL finals, unfortunately falling to the eventual State Champions.
During his 24 seasons, Coach Shoop was recognized multiple times by the
Butler Eagle and Valley New Dispatch as Coach of the Year.
Prior to coming to Knoch, he coached 13 years at Punxsutawney High School
where his teams won 5 District Nine championships and won 212 games.
Here at Knoch, in addition to basketball, Coach Shoop started and coached the
Cross Country team, and served for a short time as our Athletic Director.
Coach Shoop has been inducted into the Armstrong County Sports Hall of Fame,
The Butler County Sports Hall of Fame, the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Sports
Hall of Fame, and the Punxsutawney Sports Hall of Fame.
Hall of Fame
To be considered for the Knoch High School Sports Hall of Fame, an individual must
have made a significant contribution to Knoch sports through athletic excellence and/or
exemplary leadership contribution in sports activity. Applicants must have graduated at least 10
years ago to be eligible for consideration. More information on the Knoch High School Sports
Hall of Fame is available from the Athletic Office at Knoch High School.
The current Hall of Fame Committee is made up of ten members – seven voting
members and three advisory members. The voting members include retired teachers and
coaches Ken Elliott, Dave Bracco, Diane Geist, and Jerry Sefton, along with current teacher
Lisa Knappenberger and 1973 Knoch graduates Dave Bacon and committee chairman Scott
Briggs. The non-voting advisory members are former athletic directors Mike King and Kurt
Reiser, and current athletic director Josh Shoop.
# # #