All-Around Athlete awards were given to Paula Heimbach and Chase Fleming.

The annual Blue and Gold athletic banquet brought the past and the present together Tuesday as former standouts Larry Hoff, Becky Frank and Mark Smith Jr. were enshrined in the Upper Perkiomen Hall of Fame before the current crop of athletes were honored for their careers and achievements.

Hoff, a 1958 graduate, was a three-sport star at Upper Perk, but most of his legacy came from baseball. A high school, American Legion, and Tri-County standout, Hoff had tryouts with the Phillies, St. Louis, and Cleveland organizations before becoming a coach at the junior Legion and senior Legion levels. He still serves as a commissioner in the Bux-Mont Legion league.

And Hoff is a member of another Hall of Fame, the Pottstown Bowling Association. He has a perfect game to his credit and has bowled in state tournaments for 29 years.

Hoff worked for Knoll for 35 years, during which time he received a patent for designing a locking system for desk cabinets.

Becky Frank went to Indiana University of Pennsylvania on a field hockey scholarship after graduating from high school in 2000. She started for four years, and during her career, IUP made its first ever Division II national playoff appearance and first number one national ranking. In 2003, Becky finished eighth in the country in assists for D-II schools.

Becky returned to this area to earn a doctoral degree in physical therapy from Widener, and she now works as pediatric physical therapist in the Miami area.

Mark Smith, class of 2002, was part of the outstanding Upper Perk wrestling teams of the past decade and his signature headlock garnered a national reputation and fired up the fan base for his every appearance. In high school, Smith set a state record for pins in a career (124) and the District 1 record for wins (161).

Coach Tom Hontz, who introduced Smith, called him “one of a kind.”

At East Stroudsburg, Smith continued his pin fest with an ESU school record of 61. He finished his college career with 99 wins.

Smith gives back to the UP wrestling program as an assistant coach and as the head coach of the Braves.

As for this generation of athletes, the Outstanding Athlete Awards were given to Audrey Malloy, Liam Smith and Tim Mayza.

Malloy capped an illustrious career in cross country and track as a state qualifier in both sports. She medaled in the state cross country championships. She holds several course records in cross country.

Liam Smith led a resurgent swim program to outstanding performances in the regular season, districts and states. Smith qualified for states in 50 free and with the 200 free relay team which took a seventh place medal at states. Smith also played water polo.

Tim Mayza capped his basketball and baseball careers as a captain and will be heading to Millersville on a baseball scholarship. He threw a no-hitter as a sophomore and was an All PAC-10 First Teamer as a pitcher this season.

The other coveted awards, the All-Around Athletes, were given to Paula Heimbach and Chase Fleming.

Heimbach was a standout for the hockey team and 2nd Team All-PAC-10 player despite having her season cut short by injury. She will play hockey at Duke. In the spring, Paula played lacrosse.

Fleming was a key player for both the football and baseball teams. On the gridiron, Fleming was First Team, All PAC-10 on offense and defense. He will play college football at Shippensburg. In baseball, Fleming set a record for saves as a junior, and this year he was First Team, All PAC-10 as an outfielder.

Some of the most poignant moments of the banquet come with the awards established in honor of former members of the UP family who are deceased.

This year, Matt Kirkpatrick earned the Terry Fetterman Memorial Award, Paula Heimbach the Debbie Hodge Memorial Award, Tyler Grim the Joe Ricapito Memorial Award, Steven Grover the Kyheim Tripp Memorial Award, Audrey Malloy the Lori Moll Memorial Award, Felicia Sloyer and Derek Nestler the Samantha Snyder Memorial Water Polo Award, Laura Brust and Byron Tannous the Ralph W. Engle Memorial Award, and Andrew Orlick the Keith Klepac Memorial Award.

The Sports Boosters presented Outstanding Achievement awards to Malloy, Fleming, Mayza, and Liam Smith.

Other award winners included Esomchim Akponunu (Gross School Bus Award), Tim Mayza (Champion Award), Josie Elias and Liam Smith (United States Army Scholar Award), Paula Heimbach and Ben Brannick (U.S. Marines Distinguished Athlete Award), Lauren Meachem, Jennie Pierson, and Ciro Chiaro (Valley Soccer Awards).

The banquet was sponsored by the Green Lane/Marlborough Lions Club, the Upper Perkiomen Valley Lions Club, the Green Lane/Marlborough Lioness Club, and the Upper Perkiomen Sports Booster Club.

Athletic Director Steve Perl-stein was the Master of Ceremonies.