St. Joseph Basketball Team, WPIAL Runner-Ups

What do winners eat for breakfast? What do Alle-Kiski high school athletes who excel eat before they go to school? I'm not sure that I know the specifics, but maybe by the end of this article, I may be able to give you some ideas. But in the meantime this month, here in this column, I'm serving up a heapin' helpin' serving of winners, a smorgasbord overview of area athletes who this winter have broken school records or set outstanding career high-water marks. In fact, we'll just call this lil' buffet a Breakfast of Champions! In no particular order, here's what's on the menu:

St. Joe's Josh Robinson, Chris Conroy, and John Kuruc

* Coffee Brewing: I love a nice fresh cup of coffee in the morning, and as this goes to press, the St. Joseph Spartans boys' basketball team is brewing up a fresh big pot of… wins. The 21-5 team, coached by Kelly Robinson, is now in the grind of the state playoffs after grabbing titles as WPIAL Runner-Up Champs and section co-champs. Stimulating the Spartans with a fresh shot is senior Josh Robinson who perked his way to the top of St. Joe's all-time scorers by pouring in more than 1650 career points. And the Spartan senior Chris Conroy has kept the refills coming as he finishes his career with well over 1000 cups, er, points.

Saltsburg's Janelle Reed and Joe Reed, basketball players and also cousins.

* Orange You Cold: Ya gotta have a cold glass of OJ when you're at a breakfast bar. But you don't have to go swimming in cold weather, like these athletes do. AK high school swimmers are being squeezed right now as they compete in the WPIALs and states. Those likely to see the appealing fruits of success include Kiski Area senior Seth Hazlett and Freeport senior Brendan McGregor. Hazlett dove past several Cavalier high-water marks by pulverizing the old records for the 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke, and 200 freestyle. Freeport's McGregor won the WPIAL championships last year in the 100 backstroke and 200 freestyle as well landing 5th and 8th in the same events at last year's states and led the Yellow Jackets' assorted collection of swimmers to a 12th place team finish in the WPIALs and 27th place in the states. And the Lady Jackets finished 15th in the WPIALs. That's all very good, considering Freeport didn't officially have a swim team last year! This year is the first official year Freeport athletes have competed as a team. The times they have been setting, of course, automatically become the official school record. But their times are competitive. The Freeport swimmers are likely to squeeze some success from the WPIALs and the states, and they include: McGregor in the 50 freestyle with a 23.72, 100 free with 51.66, 200 free 1:49.43, 500 free 4:38.80, 100 backstroke 55.51, 100 butterfly 57.50, 200 individiual medley (im) 2:08.22; senior Kristen Bambalski, 100 fly in 1:06.47; freshman Gail Erickson, 200 im 2:24.50, 100 back 1:08.01; freshman Andrea McQueen, 100 free 55.87, 500 free 5:42.37, 100 breast 1:12.43; junior Joel Erickson (who made states last year) 100 breast 1:03.81; Lyndsay Jordan.

Valley High School's Logan Downes

* Never Sausage Talent: Sausage and biscuits will fill you up at breakfast, and these two athletes have been filling stands and their career records for four years now. Saltsburg's Janelle Reed led the Lady Trojans basketball team to a best ever 22-2 record and to their first-ever Heritage Conference title. Reed scored over 1700 points in her 4-year career to take her place as the Lady Trojans' all-time leading scorer. Janelle tells you about it, and what she likes to eat for breakfast at: http://www.allekiskitoday.com/webcasts/1291 Senior Logan Downes of Valley High School makes up the other half of this link to great talent. Logan flattened opponents last year on his way to Third Place in the state Championships, and will probably ground down a whole mess of wrestlers on his way through the Championships this year. Valley Coach Steve Ansani says Downes has over 135 career wins at the time this written, and is closing in on the AK region's record of 144 wins. He may have even flattened it by the time you read this.

Apollo-Ridge's Lauren Reilly

* Jam Session: Can't leave out jam! For this breakfast of champions, I offer to you three distinct flavors: Lady Raiders Blackberry Bucket, Lady Spartans Strawberry Slam, and Lady Vikings Grape Swish. Homegrown at Riverview High School under the watchful eye of Jam Master and Coach Paul Sylba, the girls' basketball team has put together a 21-3 record--very likely a school record--and a section co-championship, as well as a trip to the states. Key ingredients include 18 wins in a row, Amber Clites and Veronica Kust, who recently became the fourth player in Lady Raider history to score over 1000 points in her career. Straight from Coach Larry Barkowski's Jam Factory at St. Joseph High School comes a third section co-championship and a school best-ever 19-5 regular-season record. This years' girls' basketball squad are the first Lady Spartans edition to finish production with a 20-win season. Sophomore Betta Levri has rolled out over 500 points in her career already, Junior Kate Norris has mixed into the batch over 850 points in her career, and Junior Kelsey Hardaway has stuck in over 900 points in hers. Looks like 1000-pt.-plus careers are gelling for these three players, enough to make some very sticky situations for their competitors. From the hallowed vineyards of Apollo-Ridge High School, the girls' basketball players of Coach Ray Bartha's Jam Machine squeezed out an amazing 21-2 regular-season record. Senior Lauren Reilly led point production for the Lady Vikings, pouring in nearly 1400 points in her career, and taking second place in the school's all-time scoring (click on this link: http://www.allekiskitoday.com/webcasts/1295 to see Lauren and find out what she eats for breakfast).

Burrell Buc Wrestlers, WPIAL Runner-Ups and PIAA Third Place Finishers

* True Grit: Just a touch of Southern home-cookin'... but believe me, it takes determination to eat grits, and determination and grit are what make up the Burrell Buc wrestling team. Master chef and head coach Chris Como and the Bucs served up a 16-2 season, most likely a school record for the most number of wins in a season. Their toughness took them on a journey to the WPIAL finals where they fell to Mt. Pleasant. Despite the loss, the second place WPIAL finish was enough to hoist them into the states, only to lose in the first round. But the grittiness of wrestlers like Jason Makara, Chris Taueetia, Gino Lanzino, Clayton Homa, Devon Mahoney, Ron Barr, Damian Majocha and Josh Shields drove the Bucs to fight their way back through endless consolation rounds to challenge for Third Place. It meant in the Consolation Finals they had to stare down the old foe who knocked them out of the WPIAL championship: Mt. Pleasant. This time the Bucs returned the favor, took no prisoners, and took Third Place in the Commonwealth of PA. Burrell also added to their season by advancing 11 of 12 wrestlers to the Southwest Regionals in hopes of advancing to the States, including Makara who nailed down his third WPIAL title. Special congratulations to the 2004-2005 Burrell Buc Wrestlers, and Chris Como, the Section 1-AA Coach of the Year.

Burrell Coach Chris Como receiving Section WPIAL 1-AA Coach of the Year award.

* Cereal-Killers: I know a former Kiski Area wrestler who loved cereal so much, he would knock off a whole box of cereal at once. I don't how many Cavalier wrestlers polish off boxes of cereal in one sitting, but the team sure polished off a lot of opponents this season. Only losing one match during the regular season, the Cavs finished the year with a 26-3 record and Fourth Place in Pennsylvania; it's the 12th consecutive season they have captured the section title. Zach McKendree grabbed his third section title. Tyler Oravec passed 100 career wins in the state tourney (click on this link: http://www.allekiskitoday.com/webcasts/1297 to see a video interview with Tyler), and in the sectional individual championships, broke the team single season record of 41 wins. Senior A.J. Milanak (who's not far behind Oravec and could pass up his win record) has amassed so many career wins with Kiski that he is at this time very close to breaking the school career record (click on this link: http://www.allekiskitoday.com/webcasts/1287 to see a video interview with A.J.). 11 Kiski wrestlers are now in the WPIALs and could advance further into the post-season. The Cavs' wins this year have also pushed 13-year Assistant Coach Chris Heater over the amazing 200-win mark! And to top it all off, Cav head Coach Chuck Tursky received the Section 4-AAA Coach of the Year award and is being admitted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame, as well as the WPIAL Hall of Fame. Congratulations, guys. I don't know how much cereal you eat, but you sure think outside the box...

Kiski Area Cav Wrestlers, WPIAL Runner-Ups and PIAA Fourth Place Finishers

* Eating Their Wheaties: These guys must start their day off right with a bowl of this stuff. Wrestlers at Fox Chapel, Highlands and Plum all distinguished themselves this season, and who knows? You may just see one of their faces one day on a box of cereal… Fox Chapel Foxes' wrestler Brandon Skonieczny, coached by Ron Franks, passed the 100 career-win mark in January and is extending it in post-season tourneys. The Highlands Golden Rams wrestlers, coached by Jeff Pollick, collectively took their team where no Ram has gone before, zipping past the 2004 record of 14 wins. The squad carved a new school team wins record (18-8) and landed in the WPIAL playoffs for the first time. Rams' wrestler Nathan Tomporoski also won a Regional Championship. Plum Mustangs' wrestler Sean Clair has nearly 150 career wins, and got his 100th pin in the sectionals. His coach, Chuck Froehlich, this year became the winningest Plum wrestling coach in school history with a 91-46 record.

Kiski Area's Tyler Oravec after a WPIAL win

* Good Gravy: Biscuits and gravy on the breakfast bar is a significant plus for me, and Pittsburgh East Christian School and Evangel Heights Christian Academy basketball squads both had significant pluses in their seasons this winter. Junior Maura Lesko set new records for the Pittsburgh East Lady Warriors, coached by Steve Good, when she became the school's all-time leading scorer, all-time assist leader and single-season assist leader. Meanwhile the Evangel Heights Eagles boys' basketball team, coached by Dick Swaney, broke new ground this year by posting their first winning season ever with a 10-8 record. The Eagles, now in their fourth season, were led by leading scorers Caleb Falbo and Lee Johnson.

Kiski Area's A. J. Milanak

* Pennsylvania Omelette: I love the omelettes where you throw everything you have into it. These basketball players threw everything they had into their game and finished their careers and seasons with strong play. Highlands' Chelsey Grabigel, coached by Joe Lucchino, finished with nearly 1100 career points as she wrapped up her time with the Lady Golden Rams (see Chelsey and hear what she eats for breakfast in the video at: http://www.allekiskitoday.com/webcasts/1289 .) Saltsburg's Joey Reed, coached by Jeff Clawson, tossed in close to 1300 points for the Trojans. (Joe talks about it in the video at: http://www.allekiskitoday.com/webcasts/1293 .) And Valley's Casey Sawhook dropped enough shots in the bucket to give her the second highest scorer among girls in our area—only one tenth of one point away from the number one slot, according to her coach, John Cope.

Coach Chuck Tursky, Scott Joseph, Trainer Donna Rife and Coach Chris Heater discuss details during a Kiski match.

And what do all these athletes eat for breakfast? Well in some of the above underlined links, you can see some of the athletes tell you themselves. But I can tell you what they eat for breakfast, everyday--metaphorically, anyway.

Plum's Sean Clair

Each of them, to get where they are, eats determination, hard work, diligence, practice and more for breakfast, everyday. It is the daily supplement they _never_ miss. Many of them are up before daylight, working and practicing at their sport. The drive to be the best, to be excellent... that is their breakfast, lunch and dinner, 24-7.

Highland's Chelsey Grabigle

There you have it, a breakfast of champions. These young men and women are among the AK region's best athletes and have established new standards for excellence. Good work. May you continue in your success.