Bethel Park, Mt. Lebanon take home top honors at Almanac banquet
The Almanac celebrated its 26th annual Premier Performers Sports Banquet and crowned its top male and female athletes for the year.
In addition, the 15th winner of the prestigious Waldie/Shaeffer Scholarship Award was announced during the event, which took place May 22 at the Crowne Plaza Suites Pittsburgh South, Bethel Park.
Nearly 200 guests applauded as Jake Dixon from Bethel Park and Claire Dougherty from Mt. Lebanon were named The Almanac’s top athletes for 2016. Also, Joe Campion of Bethel Park took home the Waldie/Shaeffer honor.
An All-American and Player of the Year in volleyball, Dixon beat out a field that included other three-sport athletes such as Mt. Lebanon’s Eddie Jenkins, Seton-La Salle’s Nico Popa and Canon-McMillan’s Jordan Smith, as well as two-sport standouts Joey Kazalas of Keystone Oaks, Andrew Wheeler of Upper St. Clair, Liam Sweeney of Seton-La Salle and Levi Metheny of Bethel Park.
The field of finalists also included two-time state wrestling champion Mike Carr of South Fayette and Mt. Lebanon swimmer Brian Ramsey, who qualified for the Olympic Trials to be held in June in Omaha.
Dixon distinguished himself in part by gaining an invitation to train on the Olympic Circuit this summer. He also earned a scholarship to Lewis University, an NCAA men’s volleyball powerhouse.
USA Volleyball Magazine ranked him among the Top 50 players in the country. Thanks to a 4.2 grade point average, Dixon also was a WPIAL Scholar/Athlete award winner,
Additionally, Dixon excelled in basketball and football.
On the gridiron, he earned all-conference and all-Almanac honors as a tight end, for grabbing 32 passes for 533 yards. He also doubled as a linebacker on defense and was a team captain. In hoops, he captained the Hawks to the district and state playoffs by averaging 16 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots per game.
Dixon plans to pursue a career in information security. He hopes to become an FBI agent.
Meanwhile, Dougherty trumped a field that included two state champions in Emma Hasco of Upper St. Clair and Julia Menosky of Bishop Canevin, two-sport standouts Madison Kerr of Peters Township, Mikayla Fetchet of South Fayette, Olivia Caragein of Seton-La Salle, Laura Pryor of Mt. Lebanon and Cheyenne Trest of Canon-McMillan, as well as Samantha Amos, an All-American who is bound for Duke University to play volleyball, and Kelsey Tischler, who will kick for the Grove City College football team.
Dougherty distinguished herself athletically, academically and socially. She set several school and WPIAL records in track. She won her second straight championship in the 800-meter run during the district finals last week at Baldwin. She competed in the national indoor championships this winter and is a state champion in indoor track. She has been a four-time PIAA qualifier in cross country and helped Mt. Lebanon to Top 3 finishes in the WPIAL the past four years.
In the classroom, Dougherty maintained a 5.0 GPA and earned admittance to Dartmouth College, where she plans to pursue a career in medicine. She recently was inducted into Lebo’s prestigious Cum Laude Society. She served as vice president of her class and belonged to the National Honor Society. She was also president of Best Buddies and involved in Link Leaders, groups that work with special needs children and incoming high school students.
Campion was among the contenders for the Waldie/Shaeffer Scholarship Award, given to an athlete intend on pursuing a career in the military. Eight athletes received a $200 stipend as finalists. In addition to Campion, they were Dustin Chickis of Chartiers Valley; Jared Colbert of Bethel Park; Joseph Farnan of Seton-La Salle; Adam Heil and Braedon Wong of Upper St. Clair; Joseph Towell of Mt. Lebanon; and Sebastian Yocca of Peters Township.
Campion will attend Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, where he will pursue the Army Ranger Challenge Program.
While at Bethel Park, Campion participated in many programs. He played soccer for four years, competed in Ultimat Frisbee and on the chess team. He completed 18 AP honors or accelerated classes and maintained a 4.17 GPA. President of the National Honor Society, he was active in student government and the forensics and German clubs. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout and performs with the school’s prestigious Top 21 musical group.
In addition to the finalists for Athlete of the Year, The Almanac recognized 21 additional athletes for their achievements on and off the playing field. Among the MVPs were: Chris Gladden and Charlotte Madson for tennis; Connor Schmidt and Mia Kness for golf; Nick Wolk and Danielle Hinish for cross country; Brandon Thorsen, Erin Cunningham and Bailey McDonald for volleyball; Nick Sodini for soccer; Eddie Flohr and Emily Anderson for basketball; Nevan Long for rifle; Kevin Liu and Angie Gyurina for swimming; Trevor Mahoney and Maria Capozzi for diving; Brian Ward for lacrosse; Thomas Krivak for hockey; Linda Rush for softball; and Brendan Boettger for crew.
The Rev. Joe DiDonato from the Meadows Race Track Ministry emceed the event. The Friends of Waldie, which donated $1,500 to The Almanac’s Waldie/Shaeffer Scholarship Award, were in attendance: Frank DelPercio, Tom Etzel, Terry Crump and Steve McGinnis. Jane Wrenshall, sister of Ken Waldie, and her husband, Bill, were also among the special guests at the banquet.
Each athlete was presented with signed certificates from state Sen. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Jefferson Hills, and Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Monongahela.