JOHNSTOWN —
The final week of the regular season saw three more basketball players ascend to the exclusive 1,000-point club, all seniors.
Forest Hills’ Tanner Thomas topped 1,000 points on Wednesday while Portage’s Sean Cronauer and Shade’s Chelsey Pongrac both reached the milestone on Thursday.
All three players head into the district playoffs, which begin today, with their respective squads.
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Long time coming: Three female basketball officials were presented with a unique opportunity on Thursday at Purchase Line High School.
Terri Piatak of Meyersdale, Sue Kovensky of Hollidaysburg and Vicki Markiewicz of Johnstown made history at when the trio officiated the Saltsburg-Purchase Line boys’ game, a 49-38 victory for the Red Dragons. It is believed to be the first time in Pennsylvania that the situation of three female officials overseeing a boys basketball game has occurred, according to Dr. Robert Lombardi with the PIAA.
“It was really a nice opportunity for me,” Markiewicz said.
“We got to ride up to the game together and all got our playoff assignments. Both of them have state playoff experience, so for me to step out on the court with them was really a great experience.”
Initially Markiewicz was reluctant to get on board.
“I turned them down the first time they asked me because at the time, I had a JV game,” Markiewicz said. “I finally broke to the peer pressure, and I’m really glad that I did.”
The concept of the three female officials at a boys game was the brainchild of Purchase Line Athletic Director Jim Klyap, who worked five years until it came to fruition on Thursday.
“Jim Klyap was great, he had everything laid out for us when we got there,” Markiewicz said.
“We got a great reception from the fans, from the players and from the coaches. I never thought something like this would happen.”
Scheduling conflicts and limited availability prevented history from happening until Thursday night, when the three came together at the Red Dragons gymnasium.
“The opportunity to come together is nice because a lot of people say there aren’t that many female officials,” Markiewicz said. “To even get three females on a female game, let alone a boys’ game, it’s an honor.
“It’s an opportunity of a lifetime.”
Markiewicz is hoping that the opportunity that they received will continue to open doors for the future.
“I hope it gives any girl who has played basketball the idea of becoming an official,” Markiewicz said.
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WestPAC history: The Berlin Brothersvalley girls have made the most appearances in WestPAC championship games.
The Mountaineers have made eight appearances in the title game, winning the first two years and coming in as the runner-up five straight seasons, including Saturday night’s 11th annual game which saw Berlin fall to first-timer Windber.
Berlin was also a co-champ section leader with Rockwood in 2003-04, when the Rockets got to play for the crown.
The Conemaugh Valley girls are 3 for 3, winning the title in each of their championship appearances while Conemaugh Township and North Star have each won twice.
Despite their loss to Shade on Saturday night, North Star has the most boys’ titles and are 4 of 5. The Panthers are 2 for 4 in the title game while Windber has two wins in both its championship games. Shanksville-Stonycreek is 2 for 3 in the title game and Conemaugh Township has one crown.
Cory Isenberg is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat
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Discussion
CORY ISENBERG | Three more milestone moments
- Cory Isenberg
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CORY ISENBERG | Postseason action heating up
With conference track and field championships decided, district championships in 5 and
6 are set for this week.
On Tuesday, the District 6-AA meet is scheduled for Altoona’s Mansion Park while the District 5 Class AA meet will be held on Wednesday at Northern Bedford County High School. -
CORY ISENBERG| A long night at Mansion Park
The final 1600 relay races had run, trophies had been awarded and the stands were nearly empty except for a few remaining reporters Friday night at Altoona’s Mansion Park.
The 63rd annual West-Central Coaches Track and Field Invitational was complete for the most part except for one last event. -
CORY ISENBERG| Area competitors do well at Shippensburg
The 86th annual Jack Roddick Shippensburg University High School Track and Field Invitational was held on Saturday and several area participants had quality performances at the event.
In Class AA, Forest Hills senior Sam Deitle won the high jump competition with a leap of 5 feet while Bedford senior Carrie Baker was third in the pole vault (10-6) and sixth in the 800.
Bisons’ teammate Kaitlyn Lippencott was fifth in the triple jump and Bedford’s 400 relay and 1600 relay were both eighth. -
CORY ISENBERG| First-round games had their drama
Six teams from the area advanced to the Round of 16, the sweet 16 if you will, in the PIAA basketball playoffs.
The first round featured some dramatic moments for many teams over the weekend, but especially for the Shade boys and the Conemaugh Valley girls. -
CORY ISENBERG| Lasky part of Daytona victory
Johnstown native Justin Lasky removed a major item from his personal bucket list this past Saturday.
The Bishop McCort graduate was part of the winning team in the DRIVE4COPD 300-lap NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the Daytona International Speedway. -
Cory Isenberg | Crunch time for area hoop teams
The regular season winds down this week with conference championships for the Laurel Highlands and WestPAC set for Saturday and district playoffs to follow.
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Cory Isenberg | At area high schools, the 3-pointers were flying
Three-point field goals were certainly flying last Monday.
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Cory Isenberg | Area has plenty of all-stars
All-star teams in any sport always seem to provide plenty of fodder for discussion among the masses (especially when you can do so anonymously on any kind of message board).
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CORY ISENBERG| Experience is payoff in tournaments
The reasons for high school basketball teams to play in holiday tournaments are as varied as the teams themselves.
But sometimes, more important lessons can be learned in a loss than by winning. -
CORY ISENBERG | Underdogs shine in District 6 basketball playoffs
It was tough to be a top seed in the District 6 basketball playoffs last week while in the District 5 playoffs, the teams fell right into line with their seedings.
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