The Carbon County Hall of Sports Hall of Fame committee will hold its 2025 induction dinner and program on Sunday, May 25, at the Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Company hall.

The ceremony will honor 17 inductees from five Carbon County communities and Coaldale and Tamaqua who were selected for the honor by committees representing each of the towns. The doors will open at 12:30 p.m. and the banquet will commence at 1:45.

The inductees include:

Coaldale: Dennis Gildea and Sami Vavra.

Jim Thorpe: Corey Cinicola, Justin Young and Chris “Chopper” Figura.

Lansford: Bob Thomas and Charles “Sparky” Williams; special recognition: Brenda Banks.

Lehighton: Roger Neff, Jean Buskirk and Thomas A. Schaeffer.

Nesquehoning: Frank J. Damian, Bobby Agosti and Elizabeth “Lisa” (Evans) Johnson.

Summit Hill: Casey Lawrence and Richard D. Smith Jr.

Tamaqua: Michael W. Hromyak Jr. and Jon Bonner.

Tickets to the event are available from the following: Dan McGinley, 570-325- 3550, Vince Spisak, 570-645-4542, Jake Boyer, 610-751-6634, Trevor Lawrence, 570-645-4722, Bill Gardiner, 570-669- 6564, Bob Gelatko, 570-645-7565, and Evan Evans, 570-645-7716.

The Times News has been running the biographies of the inductees by town on Saturdays. The inductees representing Nesquehoning are as follows:

Bobby Agosti

Bobby Agosti graduated in 1988 from Marian Catholic High School where he was a four-sport athlete, competing in baseball, basketball and football.

On the basketball court, he scored 548 points in two seasons, ranking him 38th in Marian history.

On the track, he was a district medalist in the 100-meter run.

Undoubtedly, football is where Bobby’s athleticism and passion thrived. He was part of the Colts’ 1985 District 11 and 1986 Eastern Football Conference championship teams, and was a member of Colt teams that had the longest winning streak in Marian history, winning 25 games in a row during those campaigns.

As a sophomore, Bobby carried the ball 45 times for 433 yards and three touchdowns, and caught four passes for 149 yards and a pair of six-pointers.

During his junior year, he rushed 168 times for 1,256 yards and 12 TDs in just seven games, as he was sidelined due to a mid-season injury.

In his senior season, Bobby rushed 158 times for 905 yards and 12 touchdowns and caught 12 passes for 235 yards and three TDs.

His career statistics include 371 carries for 2,594 yards and 25 rushing touchdowns, as well as 19 receptions for 411 yards and five receiving scores for overall totals of 3,005 yards and 30 touchdowns.

Bobby was named a WNEP Sports Star of the Week, All Anthracite First Team, All County First Team and All Area First Team, and was nominated for the Big 33 game.

He received a football scholarship to Villanova University, where he played defensive back for one season before suffering a career-ending injury.

Bobby shared his passion for football by moving on to be a part of the Marian football staff for 10 years.

He lives in Lake Hauto with his children: Anthony (29), Nico (28) and Dante (22), and has been the owner of Skip’s Dairy Bar and Grill, Hometown, for the last eight years.

Frank Damian

A 1987 graduate of Marian Catholic High School, Frank Damian helped the Colts attain two championships as a three-year letterman and two-year starter on the lines of scrimmage.

He was a member of the Colts’ 1985 District 11 championship squad that went 11-1 and then continued his important roles, where he was also a co-captain, on the 1986 team that went 13-0, winning the Eastern Football Conference crown. The undefeated season remains Marian’s only unblemished campaign.

Frank earned All County, All Area and Reading Eagle All Anthracite honors in his senior campaign, when he was also named to the Big 33 Game checklist.

Upon graduating from Marian, he went on to Lycoming College to continue his academic and athletic careers. He played for four years at Lycoming, where he was a two-year letter winner and starter on the team’s 1990 squad that dropped the Division 3 national championship game, but won the MAC championship and NCAA Southeast Region championships.

The year prior, Frank and his Lycoming teammates also won the MAC title before losing in the second round of the NCAA Division 3 playoffs. The teams he played on had a four-year varsity record of 34-9.

After graduating from Lycoming with a bachelor of arts degree with a History major, Frank moved to he Philadelphia area where he had football coaching stints at William Tennant High School, Warminster, North Catholic High School, Philadelphia, Jenkintown High School and Delran High School in New Jersey.

He moved back to the area in the mid-1990s and was a volunteer assistant at Marian before coaching at Panther Valley High School for the next nine years, including five years as an assistant coach and four years as the head coach, where his teams compiled a record of 20-21. In his third year at Panther Valley, his team made it to the District 11 playoffs, losing in the second round in a three-overtime thriller to eventual district champion North Schuylkill. Frank’s teams produced three All State players and two WNEP Dream Team players.

He was also the head track and field coach at Panther Valley, where he helped coach three state qualifiers, including one state medal winner.

Frank has been an educator in the Panther Valley School District for the past 14 years and is currently working for the Carbon-Lehigh Intermediate Unit 21 as a special education teacher.

He has two children who currently attend Marian Catholic High School - Lukas, a senior, and Sophia, a freshmen.

Elizabeth (Evans) Johnson

Elizabeth “Lisa” (Evans) Johnson, a 1983 graduate of Panther Valley High School, played three sports during her high school career - swimming, volleyball and track and field.

She started her career as a member of the swim team at Panther Valley during the 1979-80 season, specializing in the backstroke and competed both as an individual and as a part of relay teams. Her performance helped set the stage for her future success in other sports.

The next Fall, Lisa joined the Panthers’ volleyball team, known as PVGVB. During her three years on the varsity squad piloted by Coach Anita Misantone, she played a role in its historic success, helping her teams to secure the first of three Schuylkill League and District 11 championships (1981-83), and advancing to the school’s first PIAA state playoffs in the sport.

In addition to her achievements in swimming and volleyball, Lisa was a dedicated member of the Panthers’ track and field teams. Competing in all four years of high school, she focused primarily in the jumping events, competing in the high jump, long jump and triple jump. In her senior year, when the team needed a javelin thrower, Lisa stepped in, quickly learned the event and qualified for the Schuylkill League championships.

Following graduation, Lisa attended King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, where she played for the Lady Monarchs’ volleyball team (1983-86). A key player and captain of the team, she earned a spot on the NCAA Mid-Atlantic All Star First Team. During her time at King’s, she also earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and marketing, balancing her academic and athletic commitments with remarkable success.

Lisa is a daughter of the late Dr. John and Patricia Evans of Nesquehoning. She is married to Brian L. Johnson, a 1979 graduate of Panther Valley, and resides in West Penn Township. They have two adult children, son Colin and daughter Chandler.