Girls and women’s basketball, along with football, will take center stage when the Blair County Sports Hall of Fame’s 2026 induction class is recognized on Saturday, April 11, at the Blair County Convention Center.
The 2026 induction class will include Kristi (Little) Kaack, Lori (McConnell) Elgin and Cathy (Cronin) Beam for their playing, coaching and officiating accomplishments in girls and women’s basketball, and two Altoona Area High School girls basketball state championship teams that won PIAA gold medals in 1995 and 1996 will also be recognized.
Former long-time area high school football coach Dave Baker will also be inducted, as will former Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School (now Bishop Guilfoyle Academy) and Tulane University football standout George Geishauser.
“Girls basketball has been one of the most successful sports in Blair County over the past few decades, and this year’s class reflects that with two individual inductees in Kristi (Little) Kaack and Lori (McConnell) Elgin, as well as the team award honoring back-to-back Altoona Lady Lions state champions of 1995 and 1996,’’ Blair County Sports Hall of Fame President Neil Rudel said.
“We’re also pleased to welcome the first official into the Hall of Fame in Cathy (Cronin) Beam, who has worked five NCAA Women’s Tournaments and six PIAA finals, and has the most decorated career of our officials,’’ Rudel added. “George Geishauser was an outstanding football player at Tulane, and in coaching high school football for 58 straight years – including 44 as a head coach, the longest stretch in Blair County history – Dave Baker had great success at Williamsburg and Central and touched countless lives.’’
Kaack has excelled as both a player and a coach, enjoying an outstanding scholastic playing career at Altoona High School, where she scored a Lady Lions basketball program career record 1,177 points, before moving on to Duquesne University, where she became one of that college women’s programs all-time leading scorers.
She has also made her mark as a coach, leading the Bishop Guilfoyle Academy girls basketball program to three state championships in her seven seasons with the Lady Marauders.
“The game of basketball has had a massive impact on the person that I have become and has taken me on some of the most meaningful journeys of my life,’’ Kaack said. “My love for the game was encouraged by my family – especially by my parents, who taught me that if I worked hard, I could achieve any goal.
“Being inducted into the Blair County Sports Hall of Fame is incredibly special, because this community has always meant so much to me,’’ Kaack said. “I am thankful for the support that I’ve received as both a player and a coach, and I am especially grateful to my family, coaches, former teammates and players.’’
Lori (McConnell) Elgin was a girls basketball standout at BG who paved the way for area college girls basketball players as the first to achieve Division I college scholarship.
After playing collegiate basketball at the University of New Mexico, she went on to become an assistant coach for the women’s college program at the University of Texas El Paso, before coaching both high school boys and girls basketball – including a high school girls state championship team in Alabama.
Cronin Beam officiated women’s college basketball for 34 years at the Division I, II and III levels, working in major conferences such as the Big Ten, Big East, and Atlantic 10.
“I am very humbled and honored to be included among the inductees into the 2026 Blair County Sports Hall of Fame,’’ Cronin Beam said. “To have the Hall of Fame committee recognize my accomplishments and efforts and bestow upon me this great honor means the world to me, and I am honored to represent all those officials who work hard at their profession of officiating sports at any level.’’
Baker was the dean of area high school football coaches, coaching for 58 straight years, including 44 as a head coach at Williamsburg and Central combined.
He retired from coaching at the age of 79 following the 2023 season with a career record of 245-211-11, after leading Central to seven District 6 championships and four appearances in the PIAA semifinals. He was a 2025 inductee into the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Geishauser was a four-year letterman and two-year starter at defensive back at Tulane, helping the Green Wave get to a pair of bowl games before signing with the Oakland Raiders as a free agent and playing in three exhibition games before being released prior to the start of the 1982 regular season.
He joins his brother, Thom, a former West Virginia football standout and a 2016 inductee, in the Hall.
“Being inducted into the Blair County Sports Hall of Fame is certainly a great privilege and being a member of this exclusive group is a terrific honor,’’ Geishauser said. “I’ve had plenty of role models from this area that motivated me in my athletic pursuits, and I will always be thankful for and treasure my selection.’’
The 2026 banquet will be the 21st banquet since the first one was held in 1987, and will bring the total number of inductees to 110 and teams to 13. Pittsburgh sports media personality Bob Pompeani will return as the event’s emcee, and the guest speaker will be announced at a later date.
Tickets for the induction are priced at $100 and orders are now being taken and tickets will be mailed by March 20. Checks should be made out to the Blair County Sports Hall of Fame and mailed to P.O. Box 162, Altoona, Pa. 16603. Questions can be directed to Kathy Millward at (814) 312-4753 or [email protected].
A closer look at the Class of 2026:
DAVE BAKER: Winningest coach in Williamsburg and Central history, winning 126 games at Williamsburg and 119 games at Central, where his teams won seven District 6 titles and advanced to the PIAA semifinals four times from 2015-22. His 1984 Williamsburg team went undefeated and his 1989-90 teams went 20-3-1 combined. His last four teams at Central went 46-6. Coached high school football 58 straight years (44 as a head coach), with 31 years at Williamsburg and 13 at Central. Career record of 245-211-11. Inducted into the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in May 2025 after being awarded the Lifetime Contribution to Football Award by the National Football Foundation’s central Pennsylvania chapter in 2017.
CATHY (CRONIN) BEAM: Officiated women’s college basketball for 34 years at the Division I, II and III levels, including the Big Ten, Big East, Atlantic 10, Ivy League and Northeast Conference. Officiated in the NCAA Tournament five times as well as in six PIAA championship games. Also officiated in the Division II and Division III Final Four, and served as the Big Ten evaluator of officials and an NCAA Tournament evaluator of officials. Selected as National Federation of Interscholastic Athletic Association (NFIOA) Official of the Year in 1997. First official to be inducted into the Blair County Sports Hall of Fame.
GEORGE GEISHAUSER: Three-year letterman and two-year starter as a defensive back at Tulane. Helped get the Green Wave to a pair of bowl games – the 1979 Liberty Bowl against Penn State and the 1980 Hall of Fame Bowl against Arkansas. Signed with the Oakland Raiders and played in three exhibition games in 1982 but was released prior to the start of the regular season. Product of Bishop Guilfoyle High School. Older brother Thom is a 2016 Blair Hall of Fame inductee.
KRISTI (LITTLE) KAACK: Three-year starter at Duquesne (2006-09) who earned first team Atlantic 10 honors as a senior and was just the second A-10 player ever to twice be named the league’s defensive player of the year. Led the A-10 in steals twice. Scored 1,266 points at Duquesne (10th all-time) and had career highs of 30 points and eight steals vs. Temple as a senior. Inducted into the Duquesne Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016. All-state selection who set the Altoona Lady Lions all-time scoring record (1,177 points). Is now coaching at Bishop Guilfoyle Academy, where her teams have won three state titles. Was named the Pennsylvania Sports Writers Class 1A girls All-State Coach of the Year for the third time in 2025. Her BG teams won Class 1A titles in 2021, 2024 and 2025.
LORI (MCCONNELL) ELGIN: In 1980, she became the first Blair County woman to receive a Division I basketball scholarship when she accepted an offer to play at the University of New Mexico, and was thus viewed as a trailblazer for local girls basketball. All-state selection at BG in 1979-80. Entered coaching and became an assistant coach at the University of Texas-El Paso before coaching both high school girls and boys basketball, and winning a state girls basketball championship as a coach in Hoover, Ala.
TEAM INDUCTEES: The 1995 and 1996 Altoona High School girls basketball teams, which won consecutive PIAA championships and posted a combined record of 51-9 under head coach Art Taneyhill – 25-5 in 1995 and 26-4 in 1996. In 1995, five seniors earned Division I scholarships. Julie Sommer (William & Mary), Jessica Montrella (Davidson), Krista Thomas (Duquesne), Jill Bartley (George Madison), and Michelle Lenhart (Marshall), along with junior starter Courtney Kaup (George Mason) and Jill Humbertson (Robert Morris). Of those seven, Sommer (1,269 points) and Montrella (1,069) scored 1,000 points in college, and Kaup set George Mason’s career assist record. Sommer led Altoona in scoring three straight seasons, and finished with a high school career total of 1,017 points. The 1994-95 Lady Lions won 21 of their last 22 games and averaged 65 points per game. Altoona beat Allentown Central Catholic to win the 1995 title and Northampton to win the 1996 championship.
