Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

1. Ian Happ

This Mt. Lebanon High School graduate had a homecoming to remember June 16-18 when he played at PNC Park. Happ played second base and outfield for Chicago as the Cubs took two out of three in the series. In his first-ever game at the North Shore park, Happ tagged two hits, one from both sides of the plate as the Cubs defeated the Bucs, 9-5. In all, Happ produced four hits, including a home run on Fathers’ Day. Happ, who owned a .449 career batting average at Mt. Lebanon and earned Almanac MVP honors in 2012, was the Cubs’ No. 1 choice in the 2015 MLB amateur draft after three seasons at the University of Cincinnati, where he batted .338 with 25 homer runs and 107 RBI. In his first official MLB at bat, he homered on May 13 against the St. Louis Cardinals, a 5-3 loss. With 13 round trippers in his first 50 games, he tied a Cubs record. For the year, he batted .253 with 24 homers and 68 RBI.

In other related professional sports, Seton LaSalle graduate Scott Orndoff as well as Duquesne and Chartiers Valley products, Christian Kuntz and Wayne Capers were signed as free agents; Orndoff and Capers with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kuntz with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. None, however, made their respective squads.

Leah Smith

US Speedskating

3. John-Henry Krueger

This Peters Township native earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team that will participate in the 2018 Winter Games to be held Feb. 9-25 in Pyeongchang, South Korea. By sweeping the men’s individual distances during the short track speed skating team trials held Dec. 15-17 in Kearns, Utah. Krueger won the 500-, 1,000 and 1,500-meter events. He also captured the most overall points in his respective classification by winning all but two A finals. “It’s a dream come true – the first couple of seconds I couldn’t believe it, but as soon as I was hugging my mom and saw her crying, I knew I wasn’t going to wake up and it would be a dream,” said the 22-year-old skater, who missed his opportunity to make the Olympic team four years ago when he was stricken with swine flu. “It’s definitely a lot of weight off my shoulders to know that I am on the team now, but there’s a lot of work to be done.” While PyeongChang will mark Krueger’s first Olympics, he is no stranger to the international stage. He has earned a whopping 17 medals over the past five seasons, including eight individual medals and nine in the 5,000-meter relay.

In related U.S. winter sports, Harrison Burgess, a senior at USC, was selected to the 2017-18 National Development Sled Hockey Team. At 15, he is the youngest member of the squad, which competes in various national and international events and trains with the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team.

Nick Wolk

5. Danielle Konopelski

This Bethel Park product finished second in the nation in the javelin by securing the silver medal during the NCAA Division II track and field championships held at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. The All-American thrower from Queens University of Charlotte, N.C. heaved a personal best 48.07 meters for the silver. She was the South Atlantic Conference champion and Southeastern Regional winner. Her throw was the fourth longest in Division II and 60th longest in the country.

6. Brett Young and Connor Schmidt

This pair qualified for the U.S. Amateur Championship held in Aug. 14-20 in California on courses at the Riviera and Bel Air country clubs. They tied for first place, shooting 7-under-par 137 scores during the July 18 qualifier held at the Grove City Country Club. Connor Schmidt is a Peters Township graduate, who is currently playing at Drexel while Brett Young is a Bethel Park and California University of Pennsylvania graduate.

Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

John Grogan