Readers will have to wait to read the newspaper to find that out, but there was some lively debate last weekend in the sports department and, after about 20 minutes of discussion, a consensus was reached.
The Observer-Reporter Sports Headliner, awarded annually to the top local newsmaker, will be selected from the following finalists and presented at the Tri-County Athletic Directors Coach of the year Banquet, which takes place May 1 at the DoubleTree Hilton Meadow Lands.
(In alphabetical order)
1. Canon-McMillan wrestling The Big Macs won Powerade (an impressive accomplishment) and the WPIAL Class AAA team title. They failed to produce a PIAA individual champion but with a handful of second- and third-place finishes, the Big Macs won the state team championship.
2. Chartiers-Houston softball The Bucs came this close to elimination in the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals and didn't win a district title. None of that mattered in the PIAA playoffs, where C-H advanced to the state championship for the sixth time. Unlike the previous five appearances, the Bucs not only plated a run, they beat Montgomery, 4-1.
3. Josh Koscheck headlines PPV Nothing drives a Pay-Per-View like a great heel, and Waynesburg native Koscheck was willing to be that heel for UFC 124 in a main event match against Georges St-Pierre. The much hyped fight had a lead-in with both opponents working TV's "The Ultimate Fighter", but Koscheck lost by unanimous decision and suffered a broken orbital bone.
4. Peters Township girls soccer Before the 2010 season, PT girls soccer wore the title of "Best program never to win a WPIAL or PIAA championship." That changed when the Indians rolled through the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs then knocked off nationally ranked Archbishop Wood, 1-0, in the state championship match.
5. South Fayette football After years of playoff struggles, South Fayette won its first WPIAL championship since 1964 by beating Aliquippa in the Class AA final. South Fayette, the area's first football champion since wash High in 2001, went on to lose to Philadelphia West Catholic in the state championship, finishing with a 15-1 record.
Naturally, the saga between Ed Dalton and the Trinity Area School Board and the strange operating methods of Peters Township with its coaching staff dominated headlines at times throughout the year. While these stories were heavily covered and topics of discussion throughout the local sports community, the O-R sports staff did not feel they were appropriate when considering the headliner.
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