‘Impressive’ list of 2024 Westmoreland County Scholar/Athlete nominees announced

By: Paul Schofield
Wednesday, March 13, 2024 | 5:29 PM

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“What an impressive group.”

That’s how Judge Michael Stewart, who replaced John J. Driscoll in 2023 as sponsoring judge for the annual Westmoreland County Scholar/Athlete banquet, described the 2024 group of nominees for the Excellence Award.

Athletic directors or representatives from 15 of 18 county high schools met this week and listened to the impressive academic and athletic accolades of the 36 nominees and voted on the 12 finalists for the award and then the two winners (one male and one female).

This year’s group consisted of PIAA and WPIAL individual champions and individuals who were on championship teams. They also are excellent students, many No. 1 in their class.

It also was announced that KDKA sportscaster Josh Taylor will be the guest speaker, and Hempfield assistant athletic director Tommy Evans will be honored with the Michael and John Ferrante Award, which is given to an individual who helped promote high school athletics.

This year’s banquet is April 30 at Ferrante’s Lakeview in Hempfield.

The sponsors are Excela Health, Drs. Geoff and Greg Bisignani and Ferrante’s Lakeview.

Here are the 2024 candidates:

Belle Vernon: Adam LaCarte (football, baseball and basketball) and Sienna Steeber (track and field, gymnastics and cross country).

Burrell: Grace Nesko (track and field, soccer and cross country) and Cooper Hornack (wrestling, football and track and field).

Derry: Roman Fridley (baseball and basketball) and Rachelle Marinchek (basketball).

Franklin Regional: Holden Thomas (swimming) and Aris Lamanna (soccer).

Greensburg Central Catholic: Tyree Turner (basketball, football and baseball) and Izabela Aigner (golf and lacrosse).

Greensburg Salem: Nicholas X. Heinnickel (baseball, basketball and soccer) and Kaitlyn Mankins (basketball, volleyball and track and field).

Hempfield: Payton Murray (outdoor track and field and indoor track and field) and Sarah Podkul (basketball, softball and volleyball).

Jeannette: Jordan Taylor (soccer) and Payton Molter (football).

Kiski Area: Eliza J. Miller (track and field, swimming and cross country) and Carter Leviski (baseball).

Latrobe: Louis Amatucci (hockey and baseball) and Elle Snyder (volleyball and basketball).

Ligonier Valley: Declan McMullen (golf) and Mikayla Smitley (swimming).

Monessen: Matthew Sawa (soccer, basketball and baseball) and Sidney Campbell (soccer, basketball and softball).

Mt. Pleasant: Eli Duvall (soccer and tennis) and Addison Lynn Reese (softball and tennis).

Norwin: Luke Denny (football, basketball and track and field) and Bailey Snowberger (softball and basketball).

Penn-Trafford: Patton Graziano (swimming and golf) and Mackenzie Keenan (softball and field hockey).

Southmoreland: Adam Thomas Halinka (track and field, cross country) and Madison Brown (softball).

Valley: Wesley Schrock (baseball) and Nina Vigilante (soccer, tennis and volleyball).

Yough: Zander Avery Aird (soccer, basketball and baseball) and Jada Ford (track and field, cross country and lacrosse).

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.