Girls Athlete of the Year Finalists

Following the completion of every scholastic sports year, the Observer-Reporter honors a boys and girls athlete of the year. It is voted on by members of the sports staff.

Generally, the distinction is given to a multi-sport athlete, though a single-sport athlete can be selected, as evidenced by the past two Girls Athlete of the Year honorees.

Previous O-R Girls Athlete of the Year were Shelli Spamer, Peters Township (2011), Taylor Schram, Canon-McMillan (2010), Amanda Kennedy, Bentworth (2009), Jenna Phillips, Washington (2008), Paige McMenamin, Peters Township (2007), Brianna Liebold, Chartiers-Houston (2006), Ashley Young, Canon-McMillan (2005), Samantha Slagle, Beth-Center (2004), Stephanie Kuhn, Ringgold (2003), Jessica Perry, Peters Township (2002), Shellie Cotton, Charleroi (2001) and Kristen Lancas, Ringgold (2000).

The following five players were considered for this year's distinction:
Beka Bellhy, Fort Cherry
Bellhy was the O-R Girls Basketball Player of the Year and an All-State selection. She also played volleyball and participated in track.

Jessica Dorazio, Bentworth
Dorazio was a three-sport standout. She earned All-State honors in volleyball, was the area's leading scorer in girls basketball and one of the premier defensive players in softball.

Shannon Flament, Charleroi
Flament earned All-WPIAL honors in soccer, was a four-year starter and the leading scorer for the basketball team and a PIAA qualifier in track.

Veronica Latsko, Peters Township
Already one of the more highly decorated girls soccer players in Washington County history, Latsko - a sophomore - scored 45 goals for PT, including the lone goal in the PIAA Class AAA championship match.

Jessie Merckle, Fort Cherry
For all Fort Cherry's basketball talent, the Rangers played their best when Merckle was on, which was most of the time. A two-time All-District selection in basketball, the Wake Forest track recruit was a PIAA and WPIAL gold medalist in the javelin.

List of reportable offenses under Act 24

All current employees of a public or private schools, intermediate unit or area vocation-technical school in Pennsylvania were required to complete an arrest/conviction report and certification form under Act 24 of 2011. The deadline to submit the form was Dec. 27.

The list of reportable offenses
1. An offense under one or more of the following provision of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes:

• relating to criminal homicide
• relating to aggravated assault
• relating to stalking
• relating to kidnapping
• relating to unlawful restraint
• relating to luring a child into a motor vehicle or structure
• relating to rape
• relating to statutory sexual assault
• relating to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse
• relating to sexual assault
• relating to institutional sexual assault
• relating to aggravated indecent assault
• relating to indecent assault
• relating to indecent exposure
• relating to sexual intercourse with animal
• relating to incest
• relating to concealing death of child
• relating to endangering welfare of children
• relating to dealing in infant children
• relating to prostitution and related offenses
• relating to obscene and other sexual materials and performances
• relating to corruption of minors
• relating to sexual abuse of children
• relating to unlawful contact with minor
• relating to solicitation of minors to traffic drugs
• relating to sexual exploitation of children

2. An offense designated as a felony under the act of April 14, 1972 known as "The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act."

3. An offense similar in nature to those crimes listed in clauses (1) and (2) under the laws or former laws of:

• the United States; or
• one of its territories or possessions; or
• another state; or
• the District of Columbia; or
• the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; or
• a foreign nation; or
• under a former law of this Commonwealth.
  

Spridik no longer Bentworth volleyball coach

Greg Spridik is the most successful high school girls volleyball coach in Washington County history.

Besides producing a string of victories and All-State players, Spridik is the only coach from the area to take his team to the PIAA playoffs on multiple occasions.

Success wasn't enough for Spridik to return to the Bearcats in 2012.

He was fired last Friday during a meeting with administrations. It was an action that members of the Bentworth School District Board of Education did not know.

The reason? According to Spridik, he was told he was in violation of Act 24 of the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Spridik was arrested in a foreign country 31 years ago. Until Act 24 was established, he previously passed all clearances needed to coach high school athletics and officiate PIAA basketball games.

Spridik believes the real reason behind his removal stems from his public displeasure over a motion at Bentworth to remove middle school athletics.

It's one interesting story, and one that will likely take a few turns before reaching a conclusion.

Read more about it in Thursday's Observer-Reporter.

Top 10 Teams of 2009-10

Blogger's note: Due to space constrictions in Sunday's edition of the Observer-Reporter, only the top five teams made the newspaper.


1. South Fayette Boys Basketball
South Fayette failed to win its section or the WPIAL Class AA title, but that couldn’t keep a talented group led by all-state forward Mike Lamberti and all-state point guard Pat Zedreck from winning the ultimate prize – a PIAA championship.
With critical contributions from Mike Burroughs, Tyler Henry, Josh Patterson and Christian Brumbaugh, South Fayette dispatched a who’s-who en route to beating heavily favored Strawberry Mansion, 49-47, in the final to finish 24-5.
Henry scored the winning points on a putback with 25 seconds remaining.
Washington, North Catholic and Mercyhurst Prep each lost to the Lions by double digits in the state playoffs. Lamberti was the Observer-Reporter’s Player of the Year and Rich Bonnaure the state’s Class AA Coach of the Year. The Lions were named the O-R Headliner.


2. Chartiers-Houston Softball
Chartiers-Houston didn’t clinch the Section 1-A title until its final game, and the Bucs were nearly ousted in the WPIAL quarterfinals by Brentwood in extra innings.
The near-upset didn’t rattle the Bucs. It merely built character for and a recurring postseason theme that nearly drove head coach Tricia Alderson batty.
Chartiers-Houston played four consecutive extra-innings games in the postseason, with the lone loss against Vincentian Academy for the WPIAL title.
Led by sluggers Kayla Briggs and Colby Miller, the Bucs (22-2) advanced to the state semifinals where Player of the Year Kiersten Conwell took over. Conwell allowed one run over the final two games, including a 4-1 victory over Montgomery for the team’s first state championship in six appearances.


3. Peters Township Girls Tennis
Peters Township won more hardware over a three-week period than most teams do over three decades.
In its most successful season, Peters Township received strong play from No. 2 singles player Caroline Nixon and the Indians won their first district title since 1996 with a 3-2 victory over Upper St. Clair in the finals.
Compared to the WPIAL tournament, the PIAA playoffs were easier and Peters Township claimed the school’s second state championship – the Indians won in 2006 with current pro player Alison Riske – by beating Upper St. Clair again. Brandt Bowman coached both state championship teams.
To cap the gold-medal run, Nixon and Julie Stroyne – one of the most decorated high school tennis players to come from Washington County – won the PIAA Class AAA doubles championship.


4. Canon-McMillan Hockey
Canon-McMillan encountered modest expectations as it headed into the PIHL Class AAA Penguins Cup playoffs. Seeded eighth, the Big Macs weren’t given much of a chance to advance past the first round.
Expectations within the locker room were considerably higher and, as the Big Macs proved, more realistic.
Coached by Yuri Krivokhija, a 1988 draft choice of the Montreal Canadiens, and with little representation on the all-star team, Canon-McMillan (18-8-1) beat top-seed Shaler en route to knocking off Seneca Valley for its first Penguins Cup title.
The Big Macs’ run ended in the Pennsylvania Cup, a heartbreaking double-overtime loss to Cardinal O’Hara. But players Mario Dalesandro, Brett Oldaker, Brandon Smolarek and Alexander Baskakov turned C-M hockey into something special.



5. Canon-McMillan Wrestling
Wrestling powerhouse Canon-McMillan returned to its oft-occupied position atop the WPIAL when it defeated Kiski Area in the Class AAA team tournament to cap a dramatic run.
It marked the Big Macs first team championship – and first for head coach Chris Mary – since 1995 but its sixth overall.
Mike Hull, who hadn’t wrestled in 11 days after suffering a shoulder separation in a high school all-star football game, beat his heavier opponent 3-2 in the final match against Kiski to deliver the 32-27 victory. Earlier in the tournament, C-M beat Penn-Trafford by one point, thanks to Zach Thomas’ win at 160.
Connor Schram (103), Nick Catalano (135) and Sam Lombardo (140) each won silver at the WPIAL championships. Schram won PIAA gold to cap his freshman season.

6. Canon-McMillan Boys Track
Deep and talented, Canon-McMillan had only one WPIAL gold medalist in Nick Gibson, which makes the Big Macs’ accomplishment more impressive. At the WPIAL Class AAA team championship, key performances came from Michael Burchesky, Alex Adams, Hull and a host of others as Canon-McMillan won its second team title in three years.

7. Peters Township Field Hockey
Winners of consecutive WPIAL Division I girls lacrosse titles from 2007-09, Peters Township became a first-time power in field hockey when Jules Femiani scored in the first overtime to lift the Indians past Fox Chapel, 1-0, in the WPIAL final. Under first-year coach Kristin Slemmer, Peters Township finished 13-2.

8. South Fayette Football
South Fayette’s high-powered offense, engineered by Brumbaugh and fortified by all-state linemen Steve McElhinny, rolled over competition in the Century Conference. The Lions (10-1) went 9-0 during the regular season – their first undefeated mark since 1936 – and were the top seed in the Class AA playoffs. They lost to Aliquippa in the quarterfinals.

9. Jefferson-Morgan Girls Volleyball
With nine seniors, Jefferson-Morgan delivered on the potential they first displayed as sophomores. Led by all-state player Mabel Culp along with Morgan Olson and Marissa Cameron, the Rockets (18-3) finished third in WPIAL Class A and became the first volleyball team from Greene County to play in the state tournament.

10. Peters Township Girls Soccer
It’s difficult to imagine any team suffering a tougher loss than Peters Township did to Seneca Valley in the WPIAL Class AAA championship. The Indians fell in extra penalty kicks. Sadly, the Indians (19-3-2) were emotionally devastated again in PIAA quarterfinals when Erie McDowell scored the game winner with 21.4 seconds remaining.

APB, Where are they Now?

During her days at Carmichaels High School, Abby McMinn was one busy student-athlete.

A 2001 Carmichaels graduate, McMinn played volleyball, basketball and softball in addition to cheerleading. During the 2000-01 basketball season, she became the first girls player in Carmichaels history to have 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career. Megan Stuvek joined that exclusive list a few years later.

She finished her varsity career with 14 letters, the most in school history. Her best sport was softball and McMinn started as a freshman on Carmichaels' 1999 PIAA Class AA championship team. She went on to play at Division II California University, where she started at catcher.

This week, The Varsity Letters issues an All Points Bulletin for McMinn.

Last week's APB for former Fort Cherry standout Josh Kemp was answered. Kemp is currently an assistant boys basketball coach at Fort Cherry.

Anyone knowing McMinn's whereabouts is urged to contact The Varsity Letters.

Championship stretch

The WPIAL championship season has begun and things get busy beginning this week.

Girls tennis already crowned singles and doubles champions, among them being Chartiers-Houston junior Tanya Timko (Class AA singles). Timko previously won WPIAL titles in girls and boys doubles with her sister Karli.

Timko's win continued a championship trend in a sport with little tradition locally until recent years.

California's Sarah Shashura and former Peters Township standout Alison Riske won WPIAL singles titles in recent years. The Timko sisters won doubles titles as the district and PIAA level. Julie Stroyne, also of Peters Township, won a PIAA Class AAA doubles title with Emily Palko and will attempt for another with partner Caroline Nixon when the state tournaments begin Friday, Nov. 6.

Between Burgettstown, South Fayette and Peters Township, boys golf is well-established and all three of those teams – along with five others – play in Wednesday's WPIAL Division I and II semifinals at various locations.

Peters Township, the 2008 WPIAL Division I champion and PIAA runner-up, is undefeated. So is Bentworth, which is playing in the Division II semifinals, along with Jefferson-Morgan, Waynesburg, California and Chartiers-Houston.

The WPIAL team golf championships will be contested Monday, Oct. 19 at Cedarbrook Gold.

The WPIAL girls team tennis playoffs also begin that week, as do the boys and girls soccer playoffs. WPIAL volleyball playoffs start the last week of October and the cross country championships will be run Thursday, Oct. 29.

Ten to watch

Football dominates conversation on The Varsity Letters during the fall but, non-revenue sports often generate headlines for success and individual talent.

Here's 10 student-athletes (in alphabetical order) from non-revenue sports to keep an eye of during the 2009 fall sports season:

1. Kayla Keddal, Peters Township
Cross Country
As a junior, Keddal placed seventh at the WPIAL championships and sixth at states.

2. Trent McPherson, Peters Township
Golf
A freshman transfer from West Virginia, McPherson has been the Indians' top golfer in recent matches.

3. Emily Rohanna, Waynesburg
Golf
Rohanna replaces older sister Rachel on the Waynesburg boys team. Already has a couple of second-place finishes on her team.

4. Taylor Schram, Canon-McMillan
Soccer
One of the top goal scorers in the country, Schram (pictured) committed to Penn State as a junior. Part of the U-17 national team pool.

5. Sarah Shashura, California
Tennis
California doesn't field a girls tennis team. That didn't stop Shashura from winning a WPIAL Class AA title last year.

6. Shelli Spamer, Peters Township
Soccer
Along with Schram, Spamer could go down as one of the great girls soccer players from Washington County. Also part of U-17 national talent pool.

7. Rachel Spridik, Bentworth
Volleyball
Only a sophomore, Spridik earned All-WPIAL honors last year. In her first match this year, she posted a triple-double.

8. Julie Stroyne, Peters Township
Tennis
In her scholastic career, Stroyne (pictured) has won a PIAA team championship and was part of a state championship doubles team.

9. Nate Troscinski, Peters Township
Soccer
Troscinski scored the Indians' goal in last year's state championship match. Already owns PIAA and WPIAL gold medals.

10. Matt Venanzi, Peters Township
Soccer
As a freshman, Venanzi occasionally started but often provided an offensive spark off the bench. Could be a big-time goal scorer.