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19 athletes to be honored
One way to determine athletic success within the borders of the tri-county area is by the number of student-athletes whose achievements garner Special Recognition from the Tri-County Athletic Directors Association.
There have never been more than the 19 who will be honored this year.
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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.
The following student-athletes will be honored:
n Jawaan Alston, Albert Gallatin. Alston, a University of Buffalo recruit, guided the Albert Gallatin boys basketball team to a surprise appearance in the WPIAL Class AAAA championship game.
The 6-8 Alston averaged 20.3 points during his senior year and was named to the Associated Press Class AAAA all-state third team for a second straight year.
n Josh Arnold, Monessen. The Greyhounds jumped to Class AA this year and Arnold ensured the season was a success. The 6-3 guard/forward topped the 50-point plateau twice and led the WPIAL with a 30.7 scoring average.
Arnold, a senior, was selected to the Associated Press Class AA all-state second team.
n Mackenzie Creehan, Peters Township. As long as the Peters Township girls soccer team fields players the caliber of Creehan, the Indians should remain a WPIAL power.
Creehan scored 27 goals as Peters Township qualified for the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs and she was named to the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association all-state team.
n Christian Goetz, Burgettstown. Goetz, the Observer-Reporter's 2006 Boys Basketball Player of the Year, received one last scholastic honor before getting a start on his collegiate golf career at Allegheny.
In late August, Goetz was named the National High School Golf Coaches Association Boys Player of the Year. Goetz won the WPIAL championship as a senior and was a co-medalist at the PIAA championship.
n Breehana Jacobs, Laurel Highlands. Jacobs succeeded Rochester graduate and United State Olympian Lauryn Williams as the WPIAL's dominant sprinter.
Jacobs, a senior, successfully defended her PIAA Class AAA 100-meter title at the 2006 meet when she ran a blistering 11.47. Jacobs also won the 200 meters in a time of 23.85 seconds. She has won three PIAA gold medals.
n Jared Jodon, Laurel Highlands. Jodon set his sights on establishing a new PIAA Class AAA pole vault record during his senior year at Laurel Highlands. Setting a goal is one thing, achieving it in an event as difficult as the pole vault is another.
At the 2006 PIAA Track and Field Championships, Jodon cleared 16-feet-2, eclipsing the mark set by Erie McDowell's Laban Narsh in 1997 by one inch.
n Brianna Liebold, Chartiers-Houston. Liebold, the Observer-Reporter's 2006 Girls Athlete of the Year, capped her senior year at Chartiers-Houston by winning two events at the state track meet.
Liebold won the Class AA long jump and triple jump, the second straight year she swept those events. As a result, Liebold became one of 10 girls from the WPIAL to have won four or more gold medals at the state meet.
n Tim McCutcheon, California University. McCutcheon, a center on the Vulcans' football team, earned mention on several All-America team during his junior year including two of the most prestigious in Division II.
McCutcheon, a Quaker Valley High School graduate, was named to the American Football Coaches Association Division II first team and he was the first Cal player to be a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award, which goes to the top lineman in Division II. McCutcheon was also named to the Associated Press Little All-America second-team offense.
n Dan Mozes, West Virginia University. During Dan Mozes' four years playing football at West Virginia, he helped the Mountaineers win the Sugar Bowl and Gator Bowl.
As a senior, the Washington High School graduate became one of the most decorated players in Mountaineers' history. Mozes was named Associated Press All-America first-team center. He also won the Rimington Award, given to the top center in college football. With that distinction, Mozes became the first WVU player to win a major postseason award.
n Kaitlyn Orstein, Washington & Jefferson College. Orstein continued her reign as one of Division III's dominant swimmers at the 2007 National Swimming Championships in Houston. This year, Orstein claimed two golds and one bronze.
Orstein, winner of five national championships, established a Division III record in winning the 200 individual medley in 2:03.13. She also won the 200 breaststroke and finished third in the 400 individual medley.
n Shane Pruitt, Peters Township. Pruitt provided scoring punch for a balanced Peters Township, which advanced to WPIAL Class AAA title game for the second straight year. And he helped the Indians reach the PIAA quarterfinals a second consecutive time.
Along the way, Pruitt, a junior who is drawing considerable Division I interest, scored a team-high 21 goals to go with 15 assists and he was named to the PSCA all-state team.
n Alison Riske, Peters Township. Riske's sophomore season was her first with the Peters Township girls tennis team. It was also one of the best in school history, rivaled only by her older sister Sarah Riske.
Alison Riske won WPIAL and PIAA individual championships during the fall and her play carried the Indians to the PIAA Class AAA championship. Riske joined her sister as the only tennis players from Washington County to win a state championship.
n Coleman Scott, Oklahoma State University. Scott, a former Observer-Reporter Boys Athlete of the Year, continued his ascension toward the elite of collegiate wrestling.
Thanks to a strong showing at the Division I championships, Scott, a Waynesburg High School graduate and three-time PIAA wrestling champion, reached the 133-pound championship match, where he lost to Penn's Matt Valenti.
n Megan Stuvek, Carmichaels. Stuvek owns every record worth owning for the Carmichaels girls basketball team. She's also the school's all-time leading scorer - boys or girls - and a three-time selection to the Observer-Reporter's All-District First Team.
As a senior, Stuvek was named to the Associated Press Class A all-state second team.
n Andrew Sweat, Trinity. Finding a football player whose stock rose quicker than Trinity's Andrew Sweat during the 2006 season would be a difficult task.
Sweat evolved from an all-conference player to one of the nation's most covered college recruits during his junior year and he was rewarded by being named to the Associated Press Class AAA All-State First Team as a linebacker.
n Chris Teter, Washington & Jefferson College. Teter capped a successful collegiate career by being named to the Associated Press Little All-America second-team offense as a tackle.
One of 17 Division III players to earn a spot on the AP team in 2006, Teter was also named to the AFCA Division III All-American Team and he played for the United States in the annual Aztec Bowl in Aguascalientes, Mexico.
n Chelsea Traurig, Peters Township. A four-year starter on the Peters Township girls soccer team, Traurig ranked as one of Pennsylvania's top midfielders. Traurig can defend the opponents' top scorer as easily as she can set up a Peters Township forward.
She scored seven goals and assisted on 21 others during her senior year and the St. Francis (Pa.) recruit earned her first selection to the PSCA all-state team.
n Donte Valentino, California. Valentino missed part of California High School's football season with a concussion. When he was healthy, the Trojans were tough to beat.
Valentino quarterback California to the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals for a second straight year and earned a reputation as one of the area's most electric players. He also earned a spot on the Associated Press Class A All-State First Team as a defensive back.
n Jeff Weiss, Slippery Rock University. Weiss, a former PIAA cross country and track champions as well as an Observer-Reporter Boys Athlete of the Year, continued to impress during his sophomore year at Slippery Rock.
Weiss, a McGuffey graduate, earned NCAA Division II All-America honors a second straight year after finishing 15th at the cross country championships in Pensacola, Fla.
