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St. Clairsville inducting four into Hall of Fame

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — A trio of athletes will take their place in the St. Clairsville High School Athletic Hall of Fame tonight during the Red Devils football game.

The hall of fame will induct its 13th class at halftime of the game against rival Union Local.

Slated for induction are Dr. John Hughes, Dominic Prezzia and Gina Twardoski-Reitter. This trio brings the total of honorees to 48.

Here’s a capsule look at Class of 2017 honorees:

DR. JOHN HUGHES, Class of 1960 — This Red Devil legend wears the distinction of being the first male in school history to win an individual state championship.

Hughes turned the trick as a senior when he won the Class AA half mile in a blistering time of 1:59, which was an Ohio Valley record at the time. During that same spring, Hughes set three meet records in the half mile and also competed at the state meet as part of the mile relay team.

Along with his track and field exploits, Hughes was a four-year letterman in cross country. He helped lead St. Clairsville to its first state meet berth as a team. While the squad finished 20th out of 26 schools, Hughes represented the Devils quite well, placing 33rd out of 205 competitors. During his senior season, the Red Devils returned to the state meet. He placed 17th.

After his prep career, Hughes accepted a scholarship to run track and cross country at Ohio State University. He competed in both sports for two seasons, but gave up sports to concentrate on academics.

Hughes spent more than 40 years on the faculty at the OSU School of Medicine.

Hughes and his wife, Laura Jo, are the parents of four children and have 13 grandchildren.

DOMINIC PREZZIA, Class of 2011 — This four-year wrestling standout is arguably the best grappler in the history of the Red Devils’ program.

Prezzia racked up 166 career victories during his career, which included four trips to the OHSAA Division III State Tournament. As a senior, Prezzia reached the 152-pound state championship match.

He fell in sudden victory, 9-5, to finish as a state runnerup. Prezzia post a 46-1 record as a senior.

His career high for wins in a season came during his junior season when he finished with a 47-2 mark.

En route to three state tournament berths and a like number of all-state finishes, Prezzia claimed three sectional and district titles. At the OVAC, Prezzia got the elusive title as a senior. Previously, he had finished second twice and third as a frosh.

Prezzia originally signed with West Virginia University, where he competed for a season, but transferred to Ohio State to finish his career.

He was a two-year regular for the Buckeyes and was part of their national championship team in 2015.

Dom is the son of Paul and Jill Prezzia.

GINA TWARDOSKI-REITTER, Class of 2000 — This former basketball standout was a nightly double-double for Coach Mickey Blatnik’s team.

Though she made her biggest impact on the hardwood, Twardoski-Reitter earned nine letters during her career, also shining in volleyball, track and softball.

Twardoski-Reitter finished her prep hoops career with 1,212 points and 1,025 rebounds, which is still a St. C. record for both genders. She was a three-time team MVP.

Along with that accolade, she was named All-Eastern District, All-District 12, All-OVAC and Special Mention All-Ohio multiple times. She also All-Valley and was selected to play in the District 12 and OVAC All-Star Games.

As a senior, Twardoski-Reitter averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds in helping to lead the team to a district championship and eventual berth in the Elite 8 where the Red Devils fell to Jackson.

Twardoski-Reitter enrolled at Ohio University Eastern and played two seasons for the Panthers helping the squad win a Ohio Regional Campus State Championship as the leading scorer and rebounder.

She eventually finished her degree in biological sciences at West Liberty University and has since earned a master’s of education from there, too.

Twardoski-Reitter, who currenlty teaches in the Hancock County School system, won multiple conference championships as the swimming coach at Brooke.

Gina and her husband, B.J., have four children, J.J., Brynlynn, Reed and Gage. Gina is the daughter of Sam and Diane Twardoski.

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