Nastasi and Hoenstine Hold Pa. Athletic Records

Morrisons Cove, a largely rural, agricultural and sparsely populated 144 square mile area nestled inside Appalachian foot hills in western Pennsylvania, might be thought the unlikely place to produce elite high school athletic record holders.

But AJ Nastasi, a 1998 graduate of Northern Bedford High School, and Jeff Hoenstine, soon to be a 2023 graduate of Central High School, have etched their names into the Pennsylvania state athletic records books with extraordinary performances at area sport venues.

Here are some of the game statistics and personal insights into these two local athletes.

A.J. Nastasi

A native of Woodbury and the younger son of Joe and Rena Nastasi, AJ scored 3,833 basketball points over a four year 1994-98 period at NBHS. His total topped the 3,608 of previous record holder and future NBA pro and congressman, Tom McMillan of Mansfield High, that were scored between 1966-70.

Interestingly, McMillan was 6-9 and 240 pounds and AJ was 6-0 and 175.

Nastasi also excelled on the football field and accepted a scholarship in that sport from West Virginia University. He decided against trying to compete in both sports at WVU by noting that it would taken too much of his time away from the overall college experience.

AJ lives in Morgantown, West Virginia, where he is an inventory control analyst for WVU Medicine Children's Hospital.

Along with wife Nicole, a favorite family activity is cheering three children (Korinne, 11; K.J, 9; and Rilynn, 4) in their academic and athletic endeavors.

And yes, he follows the local TV commentary of his brother Joe on Penn State football.

Jeff Hoenstine

Jeff comes from an athletically gifted family that dates back to the 1940s. He is the son of A.J and Jane Hoenstine of Martinsburg. His 57 touchdown passes during the 2021 season surpassed the previous state record of 54 by Aaron Tobias of Penns Valley High in 2019.

And last Saturday Jeff claimed his state career (2019-22) touchdown passing record when he hooked up with Dalton Metzger for his 138th score. That topped the previous record of 137 set by Matt Bodamer between 2009-12 for Port Allegany High School.

Jeff has received numerous college inquiries about his interest in a baseball scholarship, but football is a primary consideration. He is restricted to just four official visits to inquiring schools. Unofficial visits on game days have been accepted to Penn State, Kent State, Pitt, IUP, Naval Academy, Army West Point, Penn, Bucknell, Virginia Tech and Akron. Jeff has a firm scholarship offer from St. Francis.

Where will he go? Stay tuned.

Update on Erika Smith

Thanks to the effort of a Herald reader, I was able to track down former Central High place kicker, sprinter and beauty pageant winner Erika Smith in a suburb of Allentown. She has been teaching and coaching high school and college track for over 20 years, boasting several state champions. She has a family of three girls, who she reports are building on the athletic legacy of her father Harold Smith.

Erika is on deck to be considered for the Millersville University Athletic Hall of Fame. Her record for the 55m sprint is still a school record after 22 years and she is in the top five in other categories.