Tamaqua will hold its 26th annual Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony prior to Friday’s football game against Salisbury.

Members of the 2022 class are Aaron Frantz, Dr. Margaret Benny Klimek, Tanner McHugh, Eric Lech and Joe Berezwick.

Following are bios on each of the inductees.

AARON FRANTZ

CLASS OF 1984

• Aaron graduated from Tamaqua Area High School in 1984 and participated in football for four years, basketball for three years, and track and field for three years.

• In his senior year of football, he was named first team Defense and Second Team Offense on the Schuylkill County North All Star Team.

• In basketball, he was a member of the 1982-1983 team winning the District 11 title and advancing to the PIAA State Championship game.

• In track and field his senior year, Aaron threw the shot put finishing first in the Schuylkill League and fifth in District 11.

• He attended Lehigh University and participated in football four years. His senior year he was selected offensive team captain; following school tradition, he and the defensive team captain served as the leaders for the 1987 Lehigh vs. Lafayette rivalry game, the last rivalry played at historic Taylor Stadium.

• Also, he was voted as the team’s best offensive lineman, earned the team’s Alexander Hahalis Award for outstanding interior lineman, and was named to the East Coast Athletic Conference Second Team.

• In 2016, he was inducted into the Carbon County Area Sports Hall of Fame. Additionally, in 2003 he was inducted into the Tamaqua Area Athletic Hall of Fame as a member of the 1982-1983 basketball team.

• Aaron is a Vice President at CDM Smith, Inc. where he supports project delivery and business development in the Environmental Services Group. Aaron holds a BS in Geology from Lehigh University and an MS in Engineering Geology from Drexel University. He is a registered professional engineer, a registered professional geologist, and a board certified environmental engineer.

• Aaron is married to Megan, a math teacher in the Tamaqua Area Middle School. Their son, Adam, is a process engineering supervisor at Norsk Hydro in Cressona, and their daughter in-law, Gabby, is a physical therapist at St. Luke’s in Orwigsburg. Their daughter, Chelsea, is pursuing a Master of Social Work degree at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.

DR. MARGARET BENNY KLIMEK

CLASS OF 2001

• Margaret was a standout member and captain of the track and field team. On the track, she specialized in the 300M Intermediate Hurdles and 100M High Hurdles and was a member of the 4x100m, 4x400m and shuttle hurdle relay teams.

• Dr. Benny Klimek was a two-time runner-up and two-time champion at the Schuylkill League and District 11 Championships. She was a PIAA state qualifier in the 300M IH in 2000, finishing 18th overall, and in the 100M HH in 2001, where she finished 13th in the state.

• Margaret set and still holds TAHS school records in all three hurdle events: the 100M HH (15.84s), 300M IH (47.04s), and the shuttle hurdle relay (56.36).

• Margaret went on to run both indoor and outdoor track at Moravian College. She continued her hurdling career, racing the 55M HH indoor, the 100M HH and 400M IH outdoors, and 4x400m relay, routinely scoring for the Greyhounds at invitational meets and Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championships.

• Margaret qualified for the 2005 NCAA Division III Indoor Nationals in the 55M HH, and set the school record in the 100M HH her senior year.

• She graduated from Moravian in 2005 cum laude with Honors in Biology. Margaret then accepted a job as a Biologist at the University of South Alabama in the Center for Lung Biology.

• She completed her graduate studies in 2013, earning her doctorate in the department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Miami, Florida. Upon completing her PhD, Dr. Benny Klimek began a post-doctoral fellowship at Children’s National Medical Center in the Center for Genetic Medicine in Washington, DC. Her research focused on Oligonucleotide therapies in preclinical models of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

• In 2016, Margaret ran her first Marathon at the Marine Corps Marathon, where she qualified for the Boston Marathon in her first attempt at the distance. She has qualified for and ran the Boston marathon for five consecutive years since 2018.

• She balances her marathon training with her career and is currently employed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) where she is a Pharmacology and Toxicology reviewer at the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research in the Office of Tissues and Advanced Therapies. At FDA, she evaluates preclinical pharmacology and toxicology data on regulatory submissions for cellular and gene therapy products.

• Margaret is the daughter of Joseph Sr. and Shirley Benny, of Hometown, and the sister of Karen and Joseph Benny Jr.

• Margaret is married to Bradley Klimek. After many military moves they have settled in Arlington, Virginia and have two children, Niko (11) and Alexandra (9).

TANNER MCHUGH

CLASS OF 2017

• Tanner is a 2017 Tamaqua graduate, where he wrestled all four years and was a member of the track and field team for one year.

• In wrestling, Tanner is currently the TAHS All-time winningest wrestler with 144 career wins and a two-time PIAA state medal winner.

• In 2013-14 wrestling season, he had 30 wins, including a fourth-place finish at leagues and fifth at districts.

• In 2014-15, Tanner had 36 wins including a second at leagues and fourth at districts.

• In 2015-16, he had 39 career wins, which is good for fifth all-time for wins in a season. He had a third-place finish at leagues, fourth at districts, sixth at regionals and an eighth-place medal at the PIAA State Championships.

• In 2016-17, he also had 39 wins including a second at leagues, the District 11 champion, a third-place finish at regionals, and a sixth-place medal at the PIAA State Championships.

• In track and field, he was a member of the District 11 runner up 4x800M relay team.

• Tanner attended Baldwin Wallace University, where he wrestled for five years, becoming a three-time regional place winner. He graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Marketing and Finance along with an MBA in Business Administration/Management.

• Tanner currently resides in Columbus, Ohio where he works for the sports apparel company, RUDIS as the account manager. He primarily works with wrestling coaches all over the country. He also runs a YoutTube channel covering all aspects of wrestling that has grown to over 3,000 subscribers and videos with over 10,000 views.

• He is the son of Karen and Rodney McHugh of New Ringgold.

ERIC LECH

SWIMMING/DIVING COACH (2000-2011)

• Eric is a 1996 TAHS graduate, and was a four-year varsity letter winner in Cross Country and swimming, and a three-year letter winner in tennis.

• Eric previously was a TAHS school record holder in the 100 Free and 400 Free Relay. He was also a PIAA state qualifier in the 100 Breast (1994), 100 Free (1996), and 400 Free Relay (1996).

• He went on to be a four-year swimmer at Dickinson College specializing in the IM, Fly and Breast stroke. He also was a record holder in the 200 medley relay.

• Eric was the TAHS head swimming and diving coach from 2000-2011.

• He led both the boys and girls teams to over 100 wins in his tenure. His overall boys record was 105-49, and his girls record was 100-58-1.

• He led the boys team to its first District 11 Championship in 2001 and its first Schuylkill League Championships in 2008 along with another championship in 2010. He also led the girls team to the Schuylkill League Championship in 2011.

• Eric coached seven individual District 11 Champions and 23 PIAA state qualifiers, including two state medalists.

• Eric is currently the Director of Curriculum & Instruction/Educational Technologies for Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit 21 and lives in Bethlehem with his wife, Allison, and son, Logan.

JOE BEREZWICK

GIRLS BASKETBALL COACH

(1997-2015)

• Joe was the Tamaqua Head Girls Basketball coach from 1997-2015. He is the winningest girls basketball coach in school history with a record of 277-182 (.603).

• Under his guidance, Joe led the Raiders to five PIAA State tournament appearances; 14 District 11 tournament appearances – including five championship games and three championship titles; three Schuylkill League tournament appearances with two titles and three Schuylkill League Division 1 championships.

• He has coached nine girls who are currently on the Tamaqua Top 25 scoring chart.

• In 1997, Joe started the Tamaqua Girls Biddy Basketball League.

*In 2005, he started the Tamaqua Girls High School Summer League.

• Joe was also an assistant boys basketball coach at Tamaqua from 1992-96. He was part of the boys program that had two PIAA tournament appearances, three District 11 tournament appearances, and two Schuylkill League tournament appearances, including one title.

• He received Coach of the Year Awards from the Schuylkill County Athletic Directors Association, The Times News, Pottsville Republican/Herald and The Reading Eagle.

• Joe resides in Tamaqua with his wife, Karen. They have three children Shaina, Megan and Joe, and one grandchild, Carly.

• He remains in coaching as the Head Girls basketball coach for Lehighton High School. He is employed by Reynolds Consumer Products as a Resin Scheduler/Inventory Control Manager.