A fresh face rejuvenated a struggling program and helped it gain respectability along the way. Five others either maintained, or improved upon, their outstanding success.
The past calendar year was full of accomplishments, and even some pleasant surprises, for sports teams from the area's local colleges.
At California University, veteran men's basketball coach Bill Brown continued the Vulcans' winning ways. Brown missed part of the 2005-06 season after having the lower part of his right leg amputated due to complications from diabetes. He returned toward the end of that season and coached at full strength this year.
Picked to finish fourth in the PSAC West, California won the division in Brown's 11th year. Led by standouts Kelvin Green and Osborne Gardner, the Vulcans advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
They reached the second round of the East Regional, where they lost to PSAC rival Millersville, to finish 24-7. At Cal, Brown's record stands at 230-91 and he passed Jim Boone as the winningest men's coach in school history.
Glenn Gutierrez was a former assistant coach for Boone at Cal. After a few stops, he landed the head men's basketball coaching position at Washington & Jefferson before the start of the 2006-07 season.
It took eight games before the Presidents notched their first win for Gutierrez. They were 1-10 after 11 games but Gutierrez never lost the team. Eventually, Washington & Jefferson surged and began winning games regularly once play began in the Presidents' Athletic Conference.
Jon Koch, the PAC Player of the Year, helped W&J finish third in the conference and the Presidents eventually reached the PAC championship game, where they lost to Grove City.
Despite its start, W&J finished 14-14.
Since Jeff Mountain became the W&J baseball coach five years ago, the Presidents have gone from a dormant program to one on the verge of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
In his fourth year at W&J, Mountain became the school's career coaching wins leader in baseball. The Presidents finished the 2006 season with an impressive 34-13 record and the No. 5 ranking in the Division III Mideast Region. It was a school record for victories and the Presidents won their first ECAC title.
Brown, Gutierrez and Mountain are the men's college finalists for Tri-County Athletic Directors Coach of the Year Banquet, which will be held 6 p.m., Saturday, April 28 at the Holiday Inn Meadow Lands.
Tickets for the banquet are priced at $30 and can be purchased by calling Burgettstown High School athletic director Jon Vallina at 724-947-8109 during the day.
Proceeds benefit Tri-County Special Olympics.
Mountain won last year as did California women's volleyball coach Melissa Myers, one of three finalists for the women's college coach. California women's basketball coach Darcie Vincent and Penn State-Fayette women's volleyball coach Courtney Williams are the others.
Myers, in her fifth year as the Vulcans' volleyball coach, guided her team to a 30-7 record, including an impressive 19-1 showing on neutral courts.
During the season, Jefferson-Morgan graduate Shanna Yourchik became the team's career blocks leader as California reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five years.
The Vulcans lost to Lock Haven in the championship of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional.
Vincent, an annual finalist for the women's award, led the Vulcans to a 21-10 record and an appearance in the PSAC championship game. Cal lost to IUP for the title but earned a trip to the Division II Tournament for a sixth consecutive year.
The Vulcans, seeded fifth in the East Regional, lost in the first round to fourth-seeded Anderson.
The Penn State-Fayette women's volleyball team enjoyed a strong season under the guidance of Williams.
PS-Fayette won its second straight Penn State University Athletic Conference championship after beating Mont Alto and Penn College, twice to finish 21-3.
The Lady Lions were ranked No.1 in the USCAA volleyball poll and sophomore Abby Holbrook, a Ringgold graduate, was named first-team All-America, along with Rachael Dunham.