Washington County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023

The three members of the Washington County Sports Hall of Fame who were inducted in the hall's 35th class in 2023:

Suzanne 'Suzy' Abeles

According to the Washington County Sports Hall of Fame: “Abeles is a graduate of North Hagerstown High School's Class of 1981. She was a three-sport athlete competing in cross country, basketball and softball. As a four-year varsity runner, she was the Maryland District 1 champion in 1979. On the basketball court, North won the Maryland state championship in 1981 and she received all-county first-team honors and averaged 10 points per game for the season. The softball field was where she felt at home. She helped lead the Hubs to the playoffs all four years and received all-county first-team honors in 1980 and 1981. Suzy also was a recipient of the 1981 North High Principal's Award, which goes to the student with the highest GPA and most varsity letters.

"Suzy went on to study at Shippensburg State College, where she was a member of the softball team. Her freshman year, the team advanced to the Division III College World Series and finished as the national runner-up. It was there that Suzy earned first-team all-tournament honors in center field. She also finished the season with the 16th highest batting average in the nation in Division II. She transferred to Slippery Rock University and continued her education and softball career, and in 1986 she graduated with a degree in health and physical education. In 2019, she retired from the Washington County Public Schools after 33 years teaching elementary physical education."

Josh Conway

According to the Washington County Sports Hall of Fame: “Conway was a three-sport athlete at Smithsburg High School, playing football, basketball and baseball. He earned various all-county, conference and state team honors in each sport, and was The Herald-Mail's All-Area Football Offensive Player of the Year in 2008 and All-Area Baseball Pitcher of the Year in 2009. In 2009, he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 42nd round of the MLB draft, making him the first Smithsburg player to be drafted by an MLB team.

"Conway went on to receive a Division I baseball scholarship to Coastal Carolina University as a two-way player. While at Coastal, he pitched on the 2011 Cape Cod All-Star Team, earned recognition as the Big South Conference's 2012 top professional prospect, and served as a 2012 team tri-captain.

"In 2012, Conway was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the fourth round of the MLB draft (134th overall). He pitched from 2012-17 in the Cubs' minor league organization, and in 2015 was ranked as the Cubs' No. 30 organizational prospect.

"After ending his playing career in 2017, Conway returned to Coastal Carolina to serve as the baseball student assistant pitching coach, then was hired by the Baltimore Orioles as their Double-A player development coach in 2019. He spent four years holding pitching-coach roles at multiple levels of the Orioles' minor league organization, during which time the Orioles were ranked as the No. 1 minor league system by MLB in 2022."

Martin 'Marty' Lumm

According to the Washington County Sports Hall of Fame: “In 1989-90, while serving as president of Maugansville Little League, the national organization, Little League Baseball, Inc., introduced a new Challenger Division for special-needs children with medical disabilities that ordinarily wouldn't have the opportunity to play regular baseball. Since Marty and his wife, Vicki, had a son, Kevin, who was blind, Maugansville Little League became the natural home for the new Challenger program.

"Lumm eventually served as director and coach of Challenger Little League for 31 years until he retired at the end of the 2022 season. During his tenure, no child or family was ever charged a registration or participation fee, nor paid for uniforms or equipment, pizza parties, or year-end banquets and awards ceremonies with trophies. Annual games played with the Hagerstown Suns were also free thanks to fundraisers and program sponsors.

"During his personal time, Lumm umpired 35 years for District 1 Little League Baseball and ran several JFK 50 Mile races, a Marine Corps Marathon, and several Steamtown Marathons. He enjoys golfing and has coordinated the 'Kevin's Fund' golf tournament for 20 years. The fund has raised more than $250,000 to assist special-needs children in Washington County and support the Batten Disease Support & Research Association."

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Washington County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023