2010-11 Girls Athlete of the Year Finalists

The reign of Taylor Schram, who started as a freshman on the Penn State girls soccer team, as the Observer-Reporter's Girls Athlete of the Year is about to conclude.

The sports staff will select the 2010-11 Girls AOY from the following four finalists.

Nicole Hilton, South Fayette
An Ohio State track recruit, Hilton was a former four-sport athlete who discovered, as a junior, that she can run. As a senior, Hilton won WPIAL Class AA cross country champion and placed sixth at state meet. In track, she was a WPIAL Class AA champion in 1,600 and 3,200 runs, and a PIAA champion in 3,200 run.

Jessie Merckle, Fort Cherry
A ballgirl for the Rangers football team, who may end up being the kicker in 2011, Merckle made a name for herself in basketball and track. A scrappy, tough point guard on the best girls basketball team in FC history, Merckle played for WPIAL championship and the team reached PIAA quarters. She was first-team all-district in hoops, averaged 11.1 points in addition to being a top-flight defensive guard. A WPIAL Class AA javelin champion for second consecutive season, Merckle placed second at the state meet.

Shelli Spamer, Peters Township
Like last year’s AOY Taylor Schram, Spamer is a highly accomplished soccer player. She received a full scholarship to play at NC State and has been part of the national player pool in her age group for several years. Spamer scored 28 goals despite being a playmaker for WPIAL and PIAA champions. She dominated the pace of the PIAA championship game.

Tanya Timko, Chartiers-Houston
Timko is believed to be the first tennis player in WPIAL history to qualify for PIAA tennis championships in all four categories – boys singles, boys doubles, girls singles and girls doubles. As a senior, IUP-bound Timko played boys singles. She finished third in WPIAL singles, losing in the semifinals to the eventual WPIAL and PIAA champion. Timko lost in first round of state tournament.

Timko ousted in first round

The amazing high school tennis career of Chartiers-Houston senior Tanya Timko came to a conclusion Friday in the first round of the PIAA Class AA Boys' Singles Tennis Championship at the Hershey Racquet Club.

Timko lost to Doug Caplan of Harrisburg Academy, 6-0, 6-2. Caplan remains in the tournament and will play in the semifinals.

With a third-place finish at the WPIAL singles championship, Timko earned her spot at the state tournament. Timko, who will play tennis at IUP, previously won WPIAL titles in girls singles, girls double and boys doubles with her older sister Karli - a member of Marshall University's tennis team.

Timko became the first player to play in all four PIAA tournaments at the Class AA level. The Timko sisters won PIAA gold when Tanya was a freshman and, last year, she finished second in the girls individual tournament. Two years ago, the sisters qualified for the boys doubles championships after winning the WPIAL.

Follow me on Twitter @TheMikeKovak

Timko loses in section final

Chartiers-Houston senior Tanya Timko can become the first tennis player in WPIAL history to complete the grand slam next week if she can win the WPIAL Class AA boys singles championship.

It's not going to be easy.

Mt. Pleasant's David Cenkner defeated Timko 6-3, 6-1 in the finals of the Section 1-AA Tournament Friday at Greensburg Racquet Club.

Timko (pictured on the right with her older sister Karli) already won WPIAL championships in girls singles, girls doubles and boys doubles. Her most recent WPIAL championship came in the fall of the 2009-10 school year when she won girls singles. In doubles, Timko teamed with Karli to become the first girls doubles team to play in the PIAA boys doubles championship. The duo were the first females to win a WPIAL boys doubles championship.

Several girls have won WPIAL boys singles titles, including former California High School standout Sarah Shashura, who is now at Brownsville.