Washington-Greene Hall announces Scholar-Athlete award honorees
The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame Washington-Greene County Chapter has announce its Scholar-Athlete award honorees for 2022.
Each year, the Chapter presents scholar-athletes in Washington and Greene counties with monetary awards and a certificate of accomplishment during its annual banquet. This year’s award recipients are Emma Blickenderfer of Fort Cherry High School, Madeline Newark of Burgettstown High School and Taylor Dusenberry of Mapletown High School.
The winner and runners-up will be announced at the 2022 banquet, which will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 26 at the Hilton Garden Inn, Southpointe.
The process of determining the scholar-athletes consists of the Chapter contacting all 19 school districts in the two counties. Officials from the districts then can submit their selections and all requested information. Those whose information is forwarded by the established deadline become part of that year’s Scholar-Athlete class.
This year, 13 of the 19 eligible school districts participated in our program.
The Chapter’s Scholar-Athlete Class of 2022 includes (listed alphabetically after the three finalists):
Emma Blickenderfer, Fort Cherry -
- A three-year letter-winner in track and field, basketball, cross country and two-year letter-winner in soccer, Blickenderfer was part of Fort Cherry’s WPIAL champion 3,200-meter relay team in 2019 and sixth-place WPIAL 1,600-relay team last spring. A multi-sport team captain with a 4.285 cumulative grade-point average, She plans on attending Seton Hill University and will study to be Physician’s Assistant. In her 300-word essay responding to “How will the lessons I learned from my participation in high school athletics help to impact my future?” Blickenderfer wrote: “Sports has honed my leadership and leadership skills and taught me how to lead through words and example. My athletic career has helped prepare me for my future by providing valuable lessons in goal setting and achieving, leadership, work ethic, and time management that I will continue to use throughout my life.”
Taylor Dusenberry, Mapletown -
- A standout all-county selection in basketball, volleyball and softball, Dusenberry has a 4.58 cumulative GPA. The basketball shooting guard averaged 21.3 points per game her senior season with a career-high 37-point game. Her academic achievements have earned her a merit scholarship to Bethany (WV) College, where she will major in Biology while playing basketball. In her 300-word essay responding to “How will the lessons I learned from my participation in high school athletics help to impact my future?” Dusenberry wrote: “From each experience in every sport I have played, I have learned the importance of dedication, hard work, and discipline. My experience in sports has allowed me to see that if I want to be good at anything in life, I need to give my best effort all the time.”
Madeline Newark, Burgettstown -
- A four-sport standout, Newark has earned three letters each in cross country, volleyball, basketball, and track and field. Heading into this spring, she achieved All-WPIAL honors in the high jump in 2020 and 2021 and finished 19th and 11th respectively, at the PIAA state meet. Newark also earned second-team all-section honors in volleyball. A highest honors student with a 4.581 cumulative GPA. Newark was selected as Burgettstown’s Athlete of the Month last September. She will attend Edinboro University and major in Mathematics. In her 300-word essay responding to “How will the lessons I learned from my participation in high school athletics help to impact my future?” Newark wrote “I could explain how athletics have taught me teamwork or commitment, but this only scratches the surface. Athletics have taught me that in all aspects of life, it is impossible to win every battle. In my higher education and in my career, I know, thanks to athletics, that if I am not challenging myself, then I am not growing.”
The following are the nominees from other schools in the two-county area:
Makenzie Aloe, Bentworth -
- She is three-year letter-winner in soccer, basketball and softball. Aloe helped the Bearcats’ soccer team win a section championship in 2019 and were section runners-up the following season. On the basketball court this past season, Aloe, an honors student with a 3.75 GPA, was second on the team in steals and the third leading scorer.
Clara Barr, McGuffey -
- A four-time PIAA state qualifier in track and field who also competes in softball. Last spring, she finished sixth at the PIAA Class 2A meet in the 100-meter hurdles for McGuffey’s first state medal in 11 years. At the 2021 WPIAL championships she won the 100 hurdles, came in second-place in the long jump for a second consecutive year and fifth in the 200 dash. Barr is a high honors student with a 3.74 cumulative grade-point average.
Shelby Barrie, Washington -
- A three-year letter-winner middle-hitter in volleyball, Barrie is a two-time all-section selection who also competed one season in softball. A high honors student with a 3.89 cumulative GPA, Shelby will continue her academic and volleyball careers at California University of Pennsylvania this fall.
Christopher Barrish, Carmichaels -
- A three-year letter-winner in basketball who also earned two letters each in golf and baseball. The basketball team’s point guard, Barrish scored more than 1,000 career points and was a two-time Greene County Player of the Year selection as well as earning first-team All WPIAL and all-section honors. He has a 4.098 cumulative GPA.
Dante Compagni, Ringgold -
- A four-year letter-winner in both football and wrestling. The two-way football player was first-team all-conference in 2021 at offensive tackle after earning second-team all-conference honors as a junior. Compagni was also a WPIAL Qualifier in wrestling after finishing third at the sectional tournament. A 3.9 student, he will continue his academic and athletic careers at Westminster College.
Christopher Davis, Jr., Canon-McMillan -
- A four-year letter-winner in football and track and field, Davis was the football team’s Rookie of the Year as a freshman and was a standout receiver, return specialist who also played defense. A 110-hurdle state medalist, he holds school records in the 300-meter and 60-meter hurdles (indoor) as well as being part of two school-record holding relay teams. Davis has a 3.55 cumulative GPA.
Jasmine Demaske, Jefferson-Morgan -
- A three-year letter-winner in softball, Demaske earned multiple all-section and all-county honors and in 2019 was the only freshman named to the Greene County Messenger Top Nine Performers after batting .521 with a .775 slugging percentage. J-M softball finished fourth in the WPIAL that season. Demaske has a 4.12 cumulative GPA.
Colby Kuhns, Bethlehem Center -
- Despite losing his entire sophomore year due to an injury, Kuhns is a two-time letter-winner in football, basketball, and baseball. A first-team all-conference quarterback, he also earned All-Academic Century Conference honors three times and was listed as a PA Prep Rivals Top Quarterback for 22 and a 2021 PA Football News All-Academic Team selection. A point guard with a 3.72 cumulative GPA, Kuhns earned honorable-mention all-section basketball honors in 2021.
Kiley Meek, West Greene -
- A four-year letter-winner in softball, basketball and cross country, Meek is an All-State pitcher and standout hitter on the two-time WPIAL champion and state runner-up softball team and has helped the basketball team reach three WPIAL finals and win four section championships. An honors student who is president of the FFA and volunteers for several aspects of horsemanship, Meek plans to major in elementary education and compete in softball in college.
William Wagner, Charleroi -
- A three-time letter-winner in both golf and basketball, Wagner became the eighth 1,000 career-point scorer in Charleroi boys basketball history this past season. This included a 43-point effort in a victory over Waynesburg which tied for the single-game scoring school record. Wagner is a high-honors student who takes AP classes with a 4.4 cumulative GPA.
In addition, the Washington-Greene County Chapter of the Pennsylvania State Hall of Fame and Ballpark Scholarship Inc, (BSI) have partnered with the mutual goal of providing opportunity and success for student-athletes in Washington and Greene counties who display a sincere commitment to academics and athletics.
BSI was founded in 2001 and is a non-profit volunteer organization. Although the original mission included the building of profession sports venue (home of the Washington Wild Things), to promote economic development and enhance the quality of life through sports entertainment, that mission also includes providing college scholarships. BSI rewards and promotes area athletes who show leadership traits and a desire to help their schools and community, by volunteering their time to help others. The BSI mission is education and leadership through sports.
Two of the five scholarship recipients of BSI (Washington or Greene County residents) will be honored at the Washington-Greene Co. Chapter banquet.
The BSI Scholarship recipients are:
Anna Durbin -
- She has a 4.169 cumulative GPA at West Greene High School. A multisport athlete, she was a four-year starter in volleyball and West Greene’s perennial power softball and girls’ basketball teams. She also scored two offensive points for the West Greene football team as a ninth-grader. Off the fields and courts, Anna is a member of AP Calculus Club, vice-president of the National Honor Society, the school band and choir. Among her numerous community activities are peer mentoring, volunteering at the Greene County Humane Society, the Corner Cupboard Foodbank and Ryerson Baptist Church. Anna has already been accepted by several colleges to continue her academic and athletic careers.
Eben McIntyre – He was very active during his scholastic days at Charleroi High School. One of the most prolific scorers in WPIAL soccer history, Eben is now enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh after scoring a remarkable 167 career goals, including 70 this past fall. The Homecoming King who was also selected to Peer Jury, McIntyre was a founding member of M.I.R.R.OR, the school’s diversity and inclusion club. Included among his many awards ae being the Lion’s Club Cub of the Month and receiving the Young, Gifted and Black Leadership Award from the Mon Valley NAACP. He is a member of Student Council, band, and the Mon Valley Academy of Arts Jazz Band. Community oriented, Eben also coaches youth soccer and participates in many charitable causes such as Stuff-A-Bus and the Little Great Race.