I went to school with a girl who often missed school to sing…talk about not knowing someone!! Wynonna Judd became famous a few years after we graduated! Over the years she has been at the top of her field and among the best in country music. She even rode my bus, and I was unaware of her talent. It’s like that here in our schools’ athletic programs, which are filled with young men and women grittily determined to be the best in their sport.

They walk among us. Sometimes, like me, you might not even know who they really are. To get to where they are, they often have a quiet, intense, well-trained, single-minded focus. Many times they have to practice all by themselves, or represent their school as an independent. It can keep them from standing out until the whistle blows. Their rigorous training schedule keeps them from being a part of regular social functions. They miss school, work and sometimes a lot of fun in order to sweat and punish their bodies.

Because of this, (like me with Wynonna) their friends at school don’t even know how great, how extraordinarily UN-average they are. But today you get to meet some of these student athletes. You would be surprised at how many winners there are in our region. In fact, I believe any student who sticks it out on a team all season or in a play or club all year is a winner, even if they never play!!! Hey…they could be hanging out on street corners or getting into trouble. But no, they have chosen a better way. And so Alle-Kiski Today is pleased to be able to introduce you to some of these Champions In Our Midst.

*Apollo-Ridge Vikings* Lacee Moran, a 9th grade gymnast who competes independently—without an official school team— did well in 4 events, including 1st in the Beam and 3rd in the Bars, she took 1st place All-Around in the state-level PA Classic Championships and 2nd place All-Around at the WPIALs in February. She is also part of Valley Points YMCA, Kiski Valley Branch, Competitive Edge Gymnastics Team and is coached by Renee Ruggieri.

*Apollo-Ridge Vikings* Clay Altemose, without a team around him, represents Apollo-Ridge in swim meets; the sophomore finished 5th in the WPIALs in the 100yd backstroke. He also punts for the football team, runs track and was 14th out of 113 in November’s Apollo Fight For Life 5k Run. Photo courtesy of Mark Bowman

*Burrell Bucs* Kim Mohar, a senior honor student and gymnast, competed independently to represent Burrell in several WPIAL meets and Invitationals, qualifying for the WPIAL championships before an ankle injury forced her to miss WPIALs. Even with her WPIAL career over, she continues to train for gymnastics.

*Burrell Bucs Wrestlers* Shane Welsh, Jordan Shields and Devon Maloney captured 4th place in the State Class AA Team Championships, and at the State Class AA Individual Championships, Jordan Shields (130lbs) won a State Title, Shane Welsh (135lb) finished with a 7th Place medal and Devon Maloney (140lb) took a 6th place finish to medal.

*Cheswick Christian Academy Chargers* Steve Holeczy broke new ground this year as the school’s all-time basketball scorer record, finishing with nearly 1700pts and shattering the 3 yr-old record of 1627. He also had January hot streak, shooting 16 3-pointers over 3 games and helped lead the Chargers to back to their 6th straight Conference Championship game. Shown here holding his co-MVP trophy, the 5’10” senior is standing next to Cheswick Coach Todd Rosio, who this season won his 200th career game as a varsity coach. Photo courtesy of Josh Holeczy

*Ford City Lady Sabers* Alyssa Young, a senior girls’ basketball player, became the 6th Lady Saber in school history to break the 1000pt barrier. Photo courtesy of Bob Kline

*Ford City Lady Sabers* Kierra Guzzo, a 9th grade gymnast competing independently for Ford City High School, took 5th place in All-Around at the state-level PA Classic Individual Championships, Silver Division,and 3rd place All-Around in the WPIALs in February. The 4 events used to determine her finish included a 1st place WPIAL on the Beam, and 3rd place medals on the Floor at WPIALs and the PA Classic.

*Fox Chapel Foxes* Coach Ben Connor’s boys’ basketball team raced to an amazing turnaround this season as they seized the section title, went to the WPIAL semis, and then advanced to States, finishing with a 20-8 season. Two years ago the Foxes were 6-18. Photo courtesy Town & Country Photography in Aspinwall

Franklin Regional Panthers Samantha Pickens, a freshman diver on the Panthers Swim & Dive team, took home a first-place Class AAA Gold Medal at the states; it one-upped her 2nd place WPIAL Silver Medal. Ryan Koter, a sophomore diver, grabbed 1st place Gold at WPIALs and finished 11th at states. Gina LaPaglia, a cheerleader at Franklin Reginal, was selected to be one of the 33 Pennsylvania cheerleaders at the Big 33 football game in June. The game, held annually, features the top 33 football players vs. Ohio’s top 33.

*Freeport Yellow Jackets* The Freeport Yellow Jackets hockey club skated their way to the Western PA Class A PIHL championship, winning the Penguins Cup. The Jackets then advanced their way into the state PIHL finals before falling and finishing as State Runner-Up. Freeport features some of the best players in the PIHL, including number-one ranked Beau Zack and number-3 ranked Patrick Spangler, Rounding out the Jackets’ squad is Cody Barker, David Bonitsky, Shane Gallagher, Jeremy Gent, Jeremy Hepler, Zachary Hepler, Nate King, Zachary King, Braden McQueen, Wyatt McQueen, John Reichenbaugh and Timothy Zahumensky. They are coached and managed by Head Coach David Hepler, Donald Zack, Melvin Reichenbaugh, and Eileen Barker. Photo courtesy of Matt Polk.

*Highlands Golden Rams* The Highlands boys’ basketball team, coached by Rich Falter, set an incredible school record this season when they won 19 games in a row and finished 21-3 overall. Photo courtesy of Raymond’s Photography in Tarentum. (Last month’s Highlands Swim Team photo was also courtesy of Raymond’s Photography in Tarentum)

*Kiski Area Cavaliers* Josh Ruane, a junior diver on the Kiski Area Swim & Dive team, finished 7th at the WPIALs and then broke the school diving record he set. Photo courtesy of Photography by Amanda Wilson.

*Kittanning Wildcats* Jill Emberg, a 6’1” senior basketball player, in January became the 2nd girl to score over 1000pts in school history and went on to establish a new school record. She also holds the Wildcats’ record in the High Jump, Triple Jump, Long Jump and Javelin, as she goes into the thick of her final track season. Jill, with a 4.0 GPA, has a full athletic scholarship to play basketball at Seton Hill University next fall. Photo courtesy of Larry Johns Photography in Kittanning.

*Leechburg Blue Devils* Leechburg had such an incredible Cinderella finish to their season, they deserve mention again. The 15-10 team constructed a come-from-behind miracle win at Duquesne University’s Palumbo Center vs. a 24-2 California team AND WON THE CLASS A WPIAL TITLE!! Seniors Nick Matviko and Steve Predebon, both 1000pt players, were two of the players providing leadership to AP State A Coach of the Year Coach Damian Davies. Photo courtesy of Stobeners’s Studios in Tarentum.

*Penn Hills* Taja Wilson has played piano the past 8 years and has a 3.8 GPA. But when the senior goes to Michigan State next fall, she’ll be playing a different tune. She signed a full scholarship to play basketball. The McDonald's All American Nominee was recruited by over 200 Div. 1 schools is ranked the 16th best power forward in the country by All-Star Girls Report, 23rd in the country by Hoopgurlz Report and number 1 in the state by PA Prep Report.

*Plum Lady Mustangs* Congratulations to the Plum girls’ bowling team, who won the State Title just before this issue went to press!

*Saltsburg Trojans* Congratulations to the Saltsburg boys basketball team, coached by Jeff Clawson, made it into the final four of their District Championships, then advanced to States but fell in second round.

*Springdale Lady Dynamos* Tiffani Kaczor, a cheerleader at Springdale, will be cheering at the Big 33 cheerleading Classic as one of 33 cheerleaders chosen to represent Pennsylvania for the 50th Anniversary of the game. Thirty-three of PA’s top football players will square off against Ohio in June. The Big 33 also includes a buddy program putting cheerleaders and football players together with special needs children.

*St. Joseph Spartans* St. Joe’s may not have its’ own swim team, but every year they have a few hearty souls, who on their own (with help from mom and dad of course) work out, practice and go to swim meets. This year is no different, with 3 swimmers going in the water. Alison Pavilonis, Jacob Hetu and Mallory Pavilonis all tackled the swim season over the winter. Shown here, Alison took 15th at WPIALs in 50yrd freestyle. Photo courtesy of Stobeners’s Studios in Tarentum.

*St. Joseph Spartans* St. Joe’s may not have its’ own swim team, but every year they have a few hearty souls, who on their own (with help from mom and dad of course) work out, practice and go to swim meets. This year is no different, with 3 swimmers going in the water. Alison Pavilonis, and Mallory Pavilonis all tackled the swim season over the winter. Jacob Hetu is shown here. Photo courtesy of Stobeners’s Studios in Tarentum.

*St. Joseph Spartans* St. Joe’s may not have its’ own swim team, but every year they have a few hearty souls, who on their own (with help from mom and dad of course) work out, practice and go to swim meets. This year is no different, with 3 swimmers going in the water. Alison Pavilonis, and all tackled the swim season over the winter. Mallory Pavilonis is pictured above. Photo courtesy of Stobeners’s Studios in Tarentum.

*Valley High School Vikings* Toney Clemons, a senior football player, was selected to play in the Big 33 Classic, which features 33 of PA’s top football players. The squad will match up against 33 of Ohio’s best in June. Organizers expect 50 million viewers of this year’s televised halftime.

*Kiski Area Cavalier* Wrestlers medaled at the State Individual Wrestling Championships. Zach Cecchetti (112lbs) took 5th Place, Tony Clark (135lbs, shown above, left) finished 6th, and Jon Moore (above middle) also took 6th place at 189lbs.