New York Giants’ Ahmad Bradshaw (44) gets help from guard Chris Snee (76) against Dallas Cowboys’ Anthony Spencer (93) on a run in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012, in Arlington, Texas. The Giants defeated the Cowboys 29-24. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
FILE – Former New York Giants’ Chris Snee talks during the Giants’ Ring of Honor ceremony at halftime of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2015, in East Rutherford, N.J. Two-time Super Bowl winner Chris Snee is returning to the New York Giants as a senior scout in the personnel department. General manager Joe Schoen announced the hiring on Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, FIle)
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New York Giants’ Ahmad Bradshaw (44) gets help from guard Chris Snee (76) against Dallas Cowboys’ Anthony Spencer (93) on a run in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012, in Arlington, Texas. The Giants defeated the Cowboys 29-24. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Field hockey standout Kelsey (Kolejejchick) Usefara, a Larksville native who attended Wyoming Seminary and the University of North Carolina en route to playing for the U.S. Olympic team, the late Ben Johnson, of Plymouth, once regarded as the world’s fastest human, and former Montrose High School football player Chris Snee who went on to win Super Bowls with the New York Giants will be inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame on Sept. 26.
The induction ceremony will be held at Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia. The 13-member class also includes former NFL star Darrelle Revis, former Phillies player and coach Larry Bowa and other athletic stars from the Keystone State.
“I am incredibly honored that my name is listed among all the other greats who are in this class. It is extremely humbling,” Usefara said. “I can’t thank my family and my teammates and coaches enough for how they were able to push me to reach my goals.”
Usefara was a four-year starting midfielder, helping Sem win two PIAA state championships and three District 2 titles. A multi-time All-American, Usefara as a senior was named the National High School Coaches Association’s Field Hockey Senior Athlete of the Year.
She continued her field hockey career at North Carolina and became the program’s first four-time, first-team All-American. As a freshman, she helped North Carolina win the NCAA Division I national championship. The Tar Heels, who went 88-9 in Usefara’s career, returned to the national title game the next three seasons. She graduated among the top-five in career goals, assists and points at North Carolina.
Usefara was a decorated international field hockey player, highlighted by earning a gold medal at the Junior Pan American Games in Mexico City. She also helped the U.S. finish fourth in the 2014 Rabobank Hockey World Cup in the Netherlands and represented Team USA at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the U.S. placed fifth.
A former assistant coach at Harvard and Syracuse, Usefara is head field hockey coach at Bucknell University. She was inducted into the Luzerne County Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
Johnson’s high school track and field career at Plymouth included a stellar junior season in 1932, when he won three PIAA state championships in the long jump, 100-yard dash and 220-yard dash. His time of 21.4 seconds in the 220 stood as a record for decades.
Johnson matriculated to the Ivy League and earned the nickname “The Columbia Comet” with performances like when he won three Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America national titles in the 1937 event. Even before that, in 1935, he tied the 60-meter dash world record — 6.6 seconds — at the AAU indoor race at Madison Square Garden, beating second-place Jesse Owens.
An injury kept Johnson from competing in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.
Johnson, who died in 1992, became known as the “World’s Fastest Human” in 1938, running the 60-meter dash in what’s been disputed as either 5.9 or 6.0 seconds at the Millrose Games.
“This individual was not a person who would be braggadocious or anything like that about his achievements,” said Johnson’s stepson, Schaun Henry. “He was the most grounded person I’ve known. Much of that probably came from his upbringing, which was meager, at best.”
Johnson, who served with distinction in the U.S. Army during World War II, was inducted into the inaugural classes for the Luzerne County Sports and Columbia University Athletics Halls of Fame in 1985 and 2006, respectively.
Snee was a two-time all-state selection as an offensive lineman at Montrose. He went on to Boston College, where he was a three-year starter at guard and helped the Eagles win 25 games, including three bowl victories.
After graduating in 2004, Snee was drafted 34th overall by the New York Giants. He played 10 seasons in the NFL and was a four-time Pro Bowl selection, three-time All-Pro and two-time Super Bowl champion (2007, 2011).
In 2019, he was inducted into the Boston College and Northeastern Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
He is currently a scout for the New York Giants.