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On Friday, June 21, 2019, the Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame will honor area senior scholar athletes during its 26th annual induction banquet at The Georgetown Centre located at 526 East Bruceton Road Pleasant Hills, PA at 5:30 p.m.

Baseball broadcaster, and Monongahela’s own Al Helfer, will posthumously receive the Ford C. Frick award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Honoring the Mon Valley’s best and brightest in sports and in the classroom has been an integral part of the Sports Hall of Fame since 1995.

Area students are selected by Mon Valley athletic directors and high school principals and are recognized at the banquet for their academic and athletic accomplishments. The Sports Hall of Fame Committee awards a certificate of merit reflecting personal dedication to achieving the highest standards of excellence as a scholar and in sportsmanship.

This prestigious event bonds generations of area athletes by bringing together the past generation of Hall of Fame recipients with the present generation of athletes. This is ceremoniously represented in the seating arrangement in which the scholar athletes sit on a tier below the Hall of Fame inductees, challenging the students to achieve a goal that Hall of Fame personalities have accomplished. The first student scholar athlete to reach Hall of Fame status was Gina Naccarato. She was recognized as a student school athlete in 1996 and inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005. At this year’s banquet another past scholar athlete from 2004 Charel Allen will be enshrined.

The 2019 student scholar athlete recipients are:

• Belle Vernon Area High School: Jacob Sepesky and Lindsay Steeber
• Bentworth High School: Colin Heinrich and Leah Lindley
• Brownsville Area High School: Evan Olesko and Sarah Lemesh
• California Area High School: Jelani Stafford and Dajah Gudel
• Charleroi Area High School: Cole Hunter Perry and Anna Kuenzel
• Elizabeth Forward High School: Joram Stith and Nancy Beinlich
• Monessen High School: Tyler Swann and Soleil Simpson
• Ringgold High School: Eli Schoedel and Anna Vogt
• Yough High School: Dustin Shoaf and Rebecca Ghion

In addition, Mon Valley high school athletes who won individual WPIAL championships will receive Hall of Fame Achievement awards:

Wrestling

• Bentworth/Charleroi’s John Vargo (30-8) two-time Class AA 195 lbs. category.
• Elizabeth Forward’s Ryan Michaels (43-2) Class AA 113 lbs. category.

Swimming

• Belle Vernon Area’s two-time Robby Spekis Class AA 200-yard medley (1:57:41) and 100-yard breaststroke (56.99) a BVA and WPIAL meet record, and PIAA gold 100-yard breaststroke (56.63).
• Belle Vernon Area’s two-time Ian Shahan 100-yard butterfly (49.66) and PIAA100-yard freestyle (45.48) a new meet record along with 100-yard butterfly (48.83).
• Elizabeth Forward’s Kaelyn McClain 500-yard freestyle (5:10.01).
• Ringgold’s Anna Vogt two-time Class AA diving (score of 436.05) and PIAA diving gold (421.10).

Track and Field

• Elizabeth Forward’s Brianna Spirnak two-time Class AAA track and field javelin (141.3).
• Monessen’s Darnel Howell Class AA track and field high jump (leap of 6-3).
• Brownsville’s Gionna Quarzo two-time Class AA track and field 3,200 (10:34.35).
• California’s Jelani Stafford Class AA track and field shot put (51ft. 4 and one quarter inch).

In addition to honoring the area’s finest scholar athletes and WPIAL champions, the Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame will induct seven new members who include Charel Allen, Ron Bertovich, Rod Fedorchak, Marlon McIntyre, Lew Rawls, Lenny Smith and the late Patsy DeBerardinis.

The recipient of this year’s Hall of Fame Appreciation award is Tom Jenkins longtime secretary of the Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors and record keeper of valley sports information.

A special salute will be given to Monongahela’s Al Helfer winning this year’s baseball Hall of Fame Ford C. Frick award posthumously which will be awarded in Cooperstown July 20. The Frick award is presented annually to a broadcaster for “major contributions to baseball.”

This year’s Master of Ceremonies will be the former Voice of the Pittsburgh Pirates Lanny Frattare now a member of the Waynesburg University faculty.

For ticket/sponsorship availability email: stephenrussell1106@comcast.net or phone 724-258-3823    

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