Five local scholar-athletes receive WPIAL James Collins Award
West Greene catcher London Whipkey awaits a throw to home plate. Whipkey was one of five local athletes who were chosen as recipients of the 32nd WPIAL/James Collins Scholar-Athlete Award. (Photo by Mark Marietta)
Carmichaels鈥� Sophia Zalar dribbles up court during a game against Bentworth this past season. Zalar was one of five local athletes who were chosen as recipients of the 32nd WPIAL/James Collins Scholar-Athlete Award. (Photos by Rob Burchianti)
Mapletown鈥檚 Ella Menear serves the final service point in a WPIAL playoff victory over Eden Christian at Peters Township High School鈥檚 AHN Arena. Menear was one of five local athletes who were chosen as recipients of the 32nd WPIAL/James Collins Scholar-Athlete Award.
The WPIAL sifted through a program-record 162 high school senior nominees and whittled that down to 10 boys and 10 girls who were chosen as recipients of the 32nd WPIAL/James Collins Scholar-Athlete Award recently.
Out of that 20, five are local athletes, including four from Greene County.
Two boys selected were Waynesburg Central鈥檚 Mac Church and Bentworth鈥檚 Landon Urcho. Three girls picked were West Greene鈥檚 London Whipkey, Carmichaels鈥� Sophia Zalar and Mapletown鈥檚 Ella Menear.
The candidate pool was split between 81 boys and 81 girls from 92 different schools and 88.3 percent participated in multiple sports, including Whipkey (softball and volleyball), Menear (swimming and volleyball), Zalar (basketball, softball and volleyball) and Urcho (basketball, soccer, baseball, golf and football).
The WPIAL reported also that 53.4 percent of the nominees were ranked inside the top 10 of their class and 17.7 percent were ranked first in their class.
West Greene athletic director and softball coach Bill Simms was not only pleased to see Whipkey on the list but the three other Greene County athletes as well.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just nice for younger kids to see that, hey, you can do it from Greene County,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really a feather in their hats to inspire and hope to get kids to aspire to be the next wave.鈥�
Whipkey is the only one of the five who likely won鈥檛 play sports in college.
鈥淟ondon is a great kid who鈥檚 on track to be our valedictorian,鈥� Simms pointed out. 鈥淪he鈥檚 been accepted to Mount Union and I don鈥檛 think as of right now she鈥檚 going to play softball there because she鈥檚 taking Bio-Medical Engineering so she鈥檚 going to likely focus on her studies. She鈥檚 a well-rounded kid. She鈥檚 got everything in order. She鈥檚 knows what she wants in life and she鈥檚 driven.
鈥淚 think she鈥檚 a well-deserving recipient. She鈥檚 been a first-team all-state player her sophomore and junior year in softball. She played in the state final her sophomore year, has won a WPIAL title and was a runner-up last year. London has been a big part of the volleyball team that cracked the ice and got us to the playoffs for the first time in school history a couple years ago and they鈥檝e made it a few years in a row now.鈥�
Whipkey is an outstanding two-way player in softball, according to Simms.
鈥淪he鈥檚 been our starting catcher even since she鈥檚 been a sophomore,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 actually very versatile. Last game she played a couple innings at shortstop. But she鈥檚 such a great catcher. She has a rocket arm but probably her best defensive attribute is her outstanding ability to block the ball.
鈥淪he鈥檚 great hitter, just a doubles machine. The ball leaves her bat with a different sound, a different bat speed than most other kids.鈥�
Following are capsules supplied by the WPIAL on all five area recipients:
Michael 鈥淢ac鈥� Church (Waynesburg Central) 鈥� 4.00 GPA 鈥� Four-year letterwinner in wrestling 鈥� Served as team captain for the wrestling team as a junior and senior 鈥� Won three WPIAL and two PIAA championships individually and helped lead Waynesburg Central to three WPIAL championships and the 2021 PIAA crown 鈥� Claimed a silver medal as a senior and bronze as a freshman at the PIAA Championships 鈥� Earned the No. 4 national ranking at the 145 weight class as a senior 鈥� Captured the Ironman title as a senior and Powerade gold as a freshman 鈥� Member of National Honor Society and Future Business Leaders of America 鈥� Assists as youth wrestling clinics and Special Olympics 鈥� Plans to pursue a degree in food science & technology and wrestle at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)
Ella Menear (Mapletown) 鈥� 4.59 GPA 鈥� Four-year letterwinner in volleyball and swimming & diving 鈥� Captain of the volleyball team as a senior 鈥� Won six WPIAL and three PIAA gold medals in the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke 鈥� Captured All-State honors in swimming & diving three times 鈥� Named All-WPIAL in volleyball three times and All-Section all four seasons 鈥� First state champion in 34 years at Mapletown 鈥� Finished in top 20 at USA Swimming Junior Nationals 鈥� Member of National Honor Society, Student Council, Future Business Leaders of America, Interact Club, Students Against Destructive Decisions, Maples For Christ, and Future Teachers of America 鈥� Earned the College Board National Rural & Small Town Award, 1st Federal of Greene County Community Service Award, and two USA Swimming SAA Scholastic All-American nods 鈥� Plans to pursue a degree in sports medicine and compete in swimming & diving at the University of Alabama
London Whipkey (West Greene) 鈥� 4.20 GPA 鈥� Four-year letterwinner in softball and volleyball and won a letter as a freshman in rifle 鈥� Served as captain for the softball team as a junior and senior and the volleyball team as a junior 鈥� Helped guide West Greene to the WPIAL softball championship as a sophomore 鈥� Named All-State in softball as a sophomore and junior 鈥� Garnered All-WPIAL honors in volleyball as a senior 鈥� Served as Class President for four years 鈥� Won American Excellence Award, American Citizenship Award, Lions Club Outstanding Student, and The Challenge Program Award in STEM and Academic Excellence 鈥� Member of National Honor Society, Academic League, Student Government, Calculus Club, Science Club, Engineering Club, and Peer Mentoring Club 鈥� Organized donation collections for WVU Children鈥檚 Hospital and free cooking classes with Corner Cupboard Food Bank 鈥� Plans to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering at the University of Mount Union
Landon Urcho (Bentworth) 鈥� 4.22 GPA 鈥� Lettered in five different sports over varsity career, winning four in baseball, basketball, and soccer, two in golf, and one in football 鈥� Captained the baseball and basketball teams for three years, and the soccer and football teams as a senior 鈥� Helped guide Bentworth to a soccer section title as a junior 鈥� Three-time All-WPIAL in soccer 鈥� Collected eight All-Section honors between baseball, basketball, and soccer 鈥� Ranks first in Bentworth history in single-season goalkeeper wins and shutouts in soccer, and top five in career points in basketball 鈥� Won the National Recognition Program Award: Rural & Small Towns Award as a junior 鈥� Member of National Honor Society, Gifted Program, Student Council, and Varsity Club 鈥� Volunteered his time to United Way Worldwide, Boy Scouts of America, and St. Katherine Drexel Parish as an usher/lector 鈥� Plans to pursue a degree in computer science
Sophia Zalar (Carmichaels) 鈥� 4.20 GPA 鈥� Four-year letterwinner in basketball and softball, and a two-year letterwinner in volleyball 鈥� Captained the basketball team for three years and the softball team as a senior 鈥� Two-time All-State selection in softball and two-time All-Section pick in basketball 鈥� Scored over 1,000 career points in basketball and led volleyball team in blocks twice 鈥� Member of National Honor Society, Envirothon, Youth Governor鈥檚 Council for Wildlife, Standing Committee, Junior Achievement, Students Against Destructive Decisions, Debate Team, Student Council, Marching Band, and Concert Band 鈥� Finished top 10 twice in State Envirothon and won County Envirothon as a sophomore and junior 鈥� Volunteered her time to trout stocking, job shadowing at Point Marion Vet Clinic, Earth Day planting, building bird boxes, and the food bank 鈥� Plans to pursue a degree in veterinarian medicine at Penn State University.