UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Former Penn State standout student-athletes Derek Bochna, Jess Strom and Robert "Red" Worrell will be inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame as members of the 2012 class. The 17 players, coaches, officials, teams and contributors in the 2012 class will be enshrined on June 1 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Green Tree, Pa.
Bochna was not only a starter in the secondary for the football team, but was an outfielder for the Nittany Lion baseball team. As a freshman, he finished third in tackles with 53 while leading the team in pass deflections. Bochna is tied for fourth on Penn State’s all-time career interception chart with 12 and is in the Top 20 in career tackles (196). Bochna was a second team All-Big Ten selection in 1993. On the diamond, Bochna graduated as Penn State baseball’s all-time home run leader with 28 and is now tied for sixth in school history.
A Greensboro, Pa. native, Bochna attended Mapletown High School where he graduated first in his senior class with a perfect 4.0 GPA. He rushed for a 4,793 career yards and scored 77 touchdowns. He was a two-time Tri-County Player of the Year on the gridiron. On the baseball field, Bochna hit .514 his senior season at Mapletown. Bochna is currently the head football coach at McGuffey High School near Washington, Pa.
Strom, who is currently the head women’s basketball coach at California (Pa.) University, was a four-time All-Big Ten selection, including first team honors her senior year in 2005. She was a key component of Penn State’s back-to-back Big Ten regular-season titles in 2003 and 2004, as well as the Elite Eight run in 2004. Strom is one of four players in school history to accumulate 1,000 points and 750 assists in their career. Strom is 12th in Penn State history in career points (1,466), fourth in assists (776), third in steals (310), third in free throw percentage (.844) and fourth in three-point field goals (191).
At Steel Valley High School, Strom was a standout basketball and soccer player. She scored 2,840 career points on the hardwood and still holds the WPIAL record for career goals with 205 tallies on the pitch.
Worrell is the Heritage Award selection for this year’s WPIAL class. He was a standout athlete at Centerville and was considered one of the top football players in the country. Worrell was the starting tailback on Penn State’s 1957 freshman team because freshman at that time were not allowed to play varsity. He was killed in an accident at his home in December 1957. Worrell is remembered at each Blue-White game as an award is presented to a member of the Nittany Lion offense for exemplary conduct, loyalty, interest, attitude and improvement.
