Apr 22, 2013 11 min read

Every year, the Tri-County Coach of the Year Banquet honors athletes who have accomplished amazing things during their respective seasons. This year, the list is long and the achievements impressive.

More than two dozen athletes have either earned all-state honors or became state champions and will be honored at the Tri-County Coach of the Year Banquet at 5 p.m. Sunday at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Meadow Lands.

Tickets for the banquet are $35 each and can be purchased by calling Burgettstown High School athletic director Jon Vallina at 724-947-8109. Proceeds benefit Tri-County Special Olympics.

The list includes, in alphabetical order:

Morgan Berardi, Carmichaels basketball

Equal parts distributor and scorer, Berardi averaged 17.3 points, 7.7 assists, 4.4 steals and 3.5 rebounds per game. She finished her 88-game career with 1,260 points and 573 assists, ranking second and first, respectively, all-time in those categories at Carmichaels. Berardi also set the single-season record for assists this season with 177 while leading the Mikes to a 19-4 record, second place in WPIAL Section 3-A and the Class A playoffs.

Kayla Briggs, Chartiers-Houston softball

A three-time All-District selection, Briggs racked up a 25-2 record, 215 strikeouts and a 0.97 ERA over 151 innings while leading the Bucs to a second consecutive WPIAL Class A championship and the PIAA Class AA semifinals. Briggs also used her sweet swing to hit .516 (47 for 91) with 46 runs and 30 RBI.

Brett Brumbaugh, South Fayette football

Brumbaugh went from Christian’s younger brother to a star in his own right after completing 63 percent (154 of 245) of his passes for 2,823 yards and 37 touchdowns for an offense that averaged 401.3 yards per game. All this while mastering an offense that’s anything but simple. Nine picks and three sacks underscored Brumbaugh’s efficiency under center.

Zach Challingsworth, South Fayette football

Few high school wide receivers are more polished, but Challingsworth also turned heads with his athleticism. As a junior and senior, the Pitt recruit caught 106 passes for 1,894 yards and 24 touchdowns while also intercepting nine passes on defense. Challingsworth had 58 for 1,190 and 15 this past fall, helping the Lions (11-1) to the Class AA Century Conference title and the WPIAL semifinals.

Solomon Chishko, Canon-McMillan wrestling

Chishko spent the regular season healing from a fractured elbow sustained in a preseason wrestling tournament. Chishko came back for the postseason and captured a gold medal with an 8-0 decision over Chris Vassar of Cedar Cliff. Chishko, who made a verbal commitment to Virginia Tech last summer, won all 11 of his bouts.

Nick Cichon, Ringgold soccer

Ringgold made a surprising run to the Section 4-AAA title, beating Bethel Park by a game to finish 10-2, 14-4. A big part of that success was Cichon, who led the Rams with a team-high 25 goals from his forward position. Cichon also tallied 21 assists to become only the second player from Ringgold to earn all-state honors.

Abby Cummings, Peters Township tennis

No Stephanie Smith, no problem. After Smith decided against playing high school tennis, Cummings took her spot alongside Sara Komer, and the pair won a WPIAL Class AAA doubles title. Cummings also helped Peters Township win WPIAL and PIAA team titles.

Caitlyn Dengler, Burgettstown softball

When Dengler actually got the chance to hit, she made the best of that opportunity. Dengler hit .521 for a team that went 11-1, 16-3 and won the Section 2-AA title. Of Dengler’s 48 hits in 2012, 11 of them went for extra bases. She also drove in 22 runs.

Dustin Fuller, Washington track

One person wasn’t responsible for all of the Prexies’ success on the track, but Fuller came awfully close. Fuller won four gold medals at the WPIAL meet, the first time since 1992 that’s happened. He also won four medals at the PIAA meet, including one gold and one silver.

Dorian Johnson, Belle Vernon football

Pitt’s first five-star offensive line recruit since Rivals.com started its current ranking system in 2002, the 6-6, 290-pound Johnson was recognized as the best in the country by several recruiting services. Don’t expect many arguments from coaches around the WPIAL.

Marissa Kalsey, Waynesburg track

Kalsey got better at the PIAA Class AA meet every year and finally won gold as a senior with a pole vault of 12 feet, 6 inches. She later became an NCAA Division III All-American by finishing third at the national indoor championships during her freshman year at Westminster College.

Jaylin Kelly, Washington football

Everybody knows Shai McKenzie, but too few talk about the Prexies’ defensive leader. A Youngstown State recruit, the 6-2, 235-pound linebacker had 114 tackles, eight sacks, five forced fumbles, an interception and a fumble recovery. Also a key component of the Wash High basketball and baseball teams.

Sara Komer, Peters Township tennis

In singles, Komer reached the Section 5-AAA finals and the WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals, but she was at her best in doubles play. She won back-to-back PIAA and WPIAL Class AAA doubles titles with two different partners and led the Indians to their third PIAA team title in the past four years.

Veronica Latsko, Peters Township soccer

Seemingly the perennial state player of the year, Latsko scored 36 goals and contributed 11 assists while leading the Indians to a third consecutive PIAA Class AAA championship. She has 107 goals and 33 assists entering her senior year, when the Virginia recruit will try to find a way to top what has already been one of the WPIAL’s finest girls soccer careers.

Liana Leja, South Fayette soccer

Leja was a four-year starter for the Lions and this past fall deposited 34 goals, giving her 112 goals and 34 assists during her prolific career. She also earned all-state honors for a second consecutive season.

Lacey Levers, Chartiers-Houston volleyball

Levers returned from a knee injury that wiped out the bulk of her junior year and came back to have a record-breaking senior season, setting program bests in career digs, aces and kills. The Duquesne recruit averaged 5.3 kills and 3.2 digs per set for Chartiers-Houston, which went 13-3 and earned the first playoff win in program history.

Abby McCartney, Canon-McMillan softball

Abby, high school softball. High school softball, Abby. These two got off to a great start last spring, as McCartney hit .596 during the regular season. She finished with team-highs in batting average (.507), slugging percentage (.934) and doubles (12), as Canon-McMillan won the first WPIAL Class AAAA title in school history.

Shai McKenzie, Washington football

Had a pretty good year. Not bad, right? Try 2,689 yards, 41 touchdowns and re-igniting a city’s love affair with its football team. His touchdowns averaged 37.4 yards, his carries 11.6. He now has 30 NCAA Division I scholarship offers and has become a national football recruit.

Jessie Merckle, Fort Cherry track

Merckle went out with a bang at Fort Cherry, winning WPIAL and PIAA Class AA gold in the javelin, setting the WPIAL record in the process. That success translated to Wake Forest, too, as she set the school record in her first-ever collegiate competition this spring.

Colby Miller, Chartiers-Houston softball

Good luck trying to steal on Miller. Few tried, fewer succeeded. The Bucs’ unquestioned leader also hit .468 with five homers, 42 RBI and 33 runs while leading the Bucs to two WPIAL Class A titles and a PIAA championship in 2010.

Chavas Rawlins, Monessen football

Pick your poison with Rawlins; he can do just about everything to hurt an opposing football team while at the same time helping his own. This past season the West Virginia recruit completed 71 of 165 passes for 1,382 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also ran 101 times for 613 yards and 12 more scores.

Olivia Roberson, Peters Township soccer

While many talk about Veronica Latsko, Roberson is every bit as talented and, like Latsko, was a stellar leader for the Indians this past fall. The Duquesne recruit scored 37 goals this season and finished with 81 for her career, as the Peters Township girls soccer team claimed its third consecutive PIAA Class AAA title.

Connor Schram, Canon-McMillan wrestling

Schram got back to the top of the awards stand for the Big Macs by winning his second title in the PIAA Wrestling Championships in Hershey. Schram won the 126-pound weight class with a 5-3 decision over Michael Kemerer of Franklin Regional in the finals.

Schram, who will attend Stanford next fall, was a four-time PIAA finalist and finished with a 45-3 record as a senior and 159-11 in his career.

Shiloh Simonson, Peters Township volleyball

A 5-9 outside hitter, Simonson was a Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association All-State pick after the Point Park recruit averaged 3.4 kills and 3.1 digs per set, helping Peters Township (16-3) reach the WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals for the first time in program history.

Jessica Slagus, Belle Vernon basketball

A power forward, Slagus finished her career with 1,133 points, ranking third all-time at the school, and 865 rebounds. The Seton Hill recruit averaged 19.6 points and 14 rebounds this season while carrying the Leopards to the WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals.

Garrett Vulcano, Chartiers-Houston football

As a team captain during his senior season, Vulcano, the Black Hills Conference Defensive MVP, led the Bucs with 130 tackles, averaging more than 14 per game. He also had 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a safety. Vulcano, who was named first team all-state in football, had 18 receptions for 296 yards and four touchdowns as a slot receiver.

Mariah Ward, Monessen basketball

Ward finished her career not only with a second consecutive all-state selection but also with 1,476 career points after averaging 18.4 points per game this past season for a young Greyhounds team. She contributed 5.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game while shooting 44 percent from two-point range.

Sammie Weiss, McGuffey basketball

What a career … and it’s only half over. Weiss averaged 26.7 points per game this season – more than any other boy or girl in the Observer-Reporter’s coverage area – and eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau before the end of her sophomore year. Oh, and she led her team to its first section title since 1990 and first-ever appearance in the PIAA playoffs.

Cody Wiercioch, Canon-McMillan wrestling

Wiercioch capped a magnificent scholastic career by winning his third gold medal in the PIAA Wrestling Championships in Hershey. Wiercioch captured the 170-pound weight class in Class AAA with a 7-2 decision over Joey Gartland of Penncrest.

Wiercioch was a vital part to Canon-McMillan winning four state team titles and was named the Observer-Reporter’s Outstanding Wrestler.

Josh Wise, Washington basketball

Wise finished a stellar career in style, averaging 21.9 points per game to finish with 1,300 for his career, third-most all-time at Wash High. He diversified his game, proving he’s not just a smooth shooter but someone who can drive to the basket, and also contributed 5.3 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 2.0 assists per game.