Five individual athletes and two teams were recently inducted into the Central Bucks West Hall of Fame as the Class of 2022 during a ceremony at the Doylestown Country Club.
Those inducted include Steve Justice (1972, basketball, baseball); Jeff Trauger (1980, football); Lauri McCandless Halderson (1991, field hockey, soccer); Mike Gimbol (1995, football); and Sarah Steinbach (2003, field hockey, lacrosse).
Two football teams, the 1971 and 1972 Bux-Mont League champions, entered the hall. Both teams went 10-0.
Justice, a guard, scored over 700 points in two years. He was all-league twice and a team captain his senior year. In baseball, he batted over .300 as a right fielder on the 1970 Bux-Mont championship team. He went on to play at Minnesota and St. Joseph’s, and coached the West team in the 1990s.
Trauger, an offensive guard, was selected to the Big 33 East-West Classic and captain in the 1979 Bucks County All-Star game. He was twice an all-league first team choice.
McCandless Halderson was an all-league first team selection three years in a row in soccer. She was team captain and MVP her junior and senior years, and scored 40 career goals with 27 assists. She went on to play at La Salle. In hockey, she was team captain and MVP her senior year, and was two-time all-league selection.
Gimbol was a three-year starter on the offensive line. During his time, the Bucks were 33-4, winning three league titles, one Eastern Pennsylania title and finishing as the runner-up in the state championship game. A team captain, he was a first-team all-state selection, played in the Big 33 all-star game, and was a Super Prep All-American. He earned a full scholarship to North Carolina.
Steinbach was a four-year letter winner in lacrosse and a three-time all-league selection. She was team MVP and captain her junior and senior years. Her senior year, she broke the school record in career interceptions with 57 and draw controls (155) and was a US Lacrosse All-American. She played at James Madison, playing in the NCAA tournament twice.
The inductees were also introduced at halftime of the Oct. 14 football game at CB West’s War Memorial Field, where they watched the Bucks defeat Pennridge, 27-8.
Rod Stone was the emcee and introduced the athletes. Stone is a former CB West principal, athletic director and coach as well as a former PIAA committee member.
Team co-captain Mike Upton represented the 1971 football team and co-captains Pat Carey and John Edwards spoke for the 1972 squad.
The Hall of Fame also gave $1,000 scholarships to seniors Jill Hohmann and Michael Long. Hohmann, a senior on the tennis team, will enter Bryn Mawr College in the fall while Long, a starter last year on the lacrosse team, hopes to play college lacrosse at Immaculata.
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