Apr 21, 2025 7 min read

The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame Washington-Greene County Chapter is has announced its five Scholar-Athlete award recipients and honorees for 2025.

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 Ella Richey of Chartiers-Houston High School (1st – $4,000), Luke Amon of Beth Center High School (2nd – $3,000), Andrew Palm of Trinity High School (3rd – $2,000), Abby Tucker of Canon-McMillan High School (4th – $1,750), and Kathryn Blickenderfer of Fort Cherry High School (5th – $1,500).

The award recipients will be recognized at the 2025 banquet, which will be held at Sunday, June 8 (4 p.m.) 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 to the Chapter, specifically to the Scholar-Athlete Chairwoman, Tricia Alderson.

Those whose information is forwarded by the established deadline become part of that year’s Scholar-Athlete class. This year, 11 of the 19 eligible school districts participated in the program.

The Chapter’s Scholar-Athlete Class of 2025 includes (listed alphabetically after the five award recipients):

Ella Adison Richey, Chartiers-Houston – Richey is a three-year letterwinner in softball, basketball and soccer. The three-time all-state and all-section WPIAL champion catcher was selected as the 2024 Pennsylvania High School Softball Coaches Association Class A Player of the Year. She is also a three-time all-section soccer player and helped the basketball team win a section title with WPIAL and PIAA tourney appearances. A 4.394 cumulative GPA student, Richey will continue her academic and softball careers at King (Bristol, TN) University. She is the daughter of James and Carol Richey of Houston. 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?” Ella wrote “One of the most important of countless valuable lessons through athletics that will have a lasting impact on my future is the power of a team. I always had a team to lift me up, support me, hold me accountable, and lead me forward through difficult days. In life I know I will face hardships but sports has taught me to surround myself with a strong support system that will help take me down the right path.”

Luke Amon, Beth-Center – Amon is a four-year letterwinner in baseball, soccer and golf, a three-year letterwinner in basketball and two-year letterman in football. Luke, the 2025 class president, is a three-year PJAS participant with several first-place awards. An all-section infielder on the baseball team and all-section goalkeeper in soccer, he was also named the Herald-Standard Goalkeeper of the Year. Amon earned all-academic nasketball team honors and has a 4.319

GPA. He ranks first in his class. Amon will continue his academic and baseball careers with designs on a career in finance at Washington & Jefferson College. He is the son of Robert and Shannon Amon of Richeyville.

Andrew Lee Palm, Trinity – Palm is a three-year letterwinner in football and soccer, and a letterman in volleyball. He was a three-time all-conference kicker/punter for the football team and never missed an extra point. In soccer, where he was team captain, he was a two-time all-section and all-WPIAL player last fall while being selected to represent Trinity in the Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association All-Star Game. Palm has a 4.4 GPA and will continue his soccer and academic careers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is the son of Nathan Palm and Jennifer Penak of Washington.

Abby Lynn Tucker, Canon-McMillan – Tucker is a four-year letterwinner in volleyball and track and field. A two-time all-state and all-WPIAL middle blocker, she helped the volleyball team win three straight section titles with a WPIAL semifinal appearance this past fall after reaching the finals in 2023. In track and field, Tucker won the 2024 WPIAL Class 3A javelin championship. A standout student with a 4.17 cumulative GPA, Tucker will continue her academic and volleyball careers at West Virginia University, where she will study exercise physiology. She plans to be an athletic trainer. She is the daughter of Ivan and Lisa Tucker of Canonsburg.

Kathryn Elizabeth Blickenderfer, Fort Cherry – Blickenderfer is a three-year letterwinner in cross country, track and field, soccer and basketball, who has helped her teams win section championships. An all-section soccer player, she helped the Rangers track and field team finish second at the 2024 WPIAL Class 2A Team Championships while the basketball team competed in the WPIAL and PIAA postseason 2025 tourneys. A 4.26 cumulative GPA student, Blickenderfer will continue her academic and soccer careers at Seton Hill University, where her sister, Emma, is a senior women’s soccer player. She is the daughter of Joe and Tonya Blickenderfer of McDonald.

The following are the nominees from other schools in the two-county area. Each of these members of the Scholar-Athlete 2025 Class receive $100 and a certificate:

Matthew Joseph Burkholder, Charleroi – Burkholder is a three-year letterwinner in soccer and was the Cougars’ team captain last fall. He earned all-section honors after helping the Cougars compile a 15-2 record in 2024 and reach the WPIAL playoffs. A 4.0 student, Burkholder will continue his academic and soccer careers at Washington & Jefferson College. He is the son of Dan and Jody Burkholder of Charleroi.

Lucas Matthew Burt, Bentworth — Burt is a four-year letterwinner in football baseball and basketball. He was a three-time all-conference selection for the football team and also earned all-section honors in baseball and basketball. He was tabbed a Top Receiver, Top Defensive Back and Top Outfielder for 2025 by PrepsRivals.com and ranked among the state’s best with 545 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns last fall. Burt has a 3.44 GPA and plans on playing football or baseball in college with an interest in athletic training and physical therapy. He is the son of Matthew and Amy Burt of Eighty-Four.

Payton Ann Gilbert, West Greene – Gilbert is a four-year letterwinner in softball, a two-year letterwinner in basketball and cheerleading, and a one-year letter-winner in rifle. An all-state, all-section pitcher and standout infielder on West Greene’s perennial power softball team, she entered her senior year with 23 career wins, and 247 strikeouts in 220.1 innings along with a .396 batting average. Gilbert, a three-time GCADA honoree with a 4.1 GPA, will continue her softball and academic careers at PennWest California. She is the daughter of Robert and Jennifer Gilbert of New Freeport.

Ali Lynn Jacobs, Carmichaels — Jacobs is a four-year letterwinner in softball and basketball. A two-time all-state and all-section first baseman who is one of top power hitters in the WPIAL and PIAA, Jacobs helped Carmichaels reach the 2024 PIAA Class A state championship game and WPIAL semifinals. She has a 4.17 GPA and will continue her academic and softball careers at Salem University with designs on being a physical therapist. She is the daughter of Jeff and Melanie Jacobs.

Bo Nicholas McCartney, Washington — McCartney is a three-year letterwinner in track and field, football, and rifle. He helped all three teams qualify for postseason competition and as a freshman recorded the 18th best 200-meter time in school history. A standout student, the team-oriented McCartney will continue his track and field and academic careers at Washington & Jefferson College. He is the son of Mary Jane Vasko and Scott McCartney of Washington.

Alexander Jace VanSickle, Waynesburg Central – VanSickle is a three-year letter-winner in baseball and basketball. During his 2024 junior year, VanSickle, a standout infielder, earned first-team all-state honors from the Pennsylvania State Baseball Coaches Association. He was also selected as the MVP of the 2024 Todd Kalivoda Holiday Baseball Showcase in Toronto, Ohio. A three-time all-section infielder who has earned Greene County Player of the Week accolades in baseball and basketball, Alex is a 3.8 GPA student who will continue his academic and baseball careers at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He is the son of Scott and Corey VanSickle of Waynesburg.

For more information about the June 8 banquet, contact Linda Messich, treasurer, at 724-998-1150 or messich.linda@segsd.org , Tammy Mandich, banquet coordinator, at 724-255-9078 or wvufootball@comcast.net or Dan Alderson, president, 724-825-9059 or dan.alderson@chartiers-houstonsd.com