Cochrane was part of Geibel’s run
The Geibel Catholic girls basketball team enjoyed an unprecedented run of success capturing four straight WPIAL Class AA titles from 1993 through 1996.
One of the linchpins of that special group of girls was 5-foot-10 Tara Cochrane.
鈥淲e always knew that was a unique moment in time for us,鈥� Cochrane recalled. 鈥淚 think when you鈥檙e real young you don鈥檛 realize how precious life is, and that you really need to live in the moment, and for some reason I feel like we did, we always knew that. We always knew that we had a unique opportunity.
鈥淲e had a group that goes back to the days at St. John鈥檚 middle school under Coach Ann Capozzi, that group included Robin Guerriere and Alison Watts and a year ahead of us was Erin Rupp. If you go back to our eighth grade year at St. John鈥檚 we won the state tournament and so I think we saw the run of success coming because we knew that we had something special and we were a very talented group of young girls. We really wanted it, we worked extremely hard, it wasn鈥檛 something we did during the season. We all played AAU ball for Chris Cluss in the off season. We worked hard during the off season with conditioning and we all had a dream to play college sports.鈥�
Cochran and here teammates compiled a record of 106-9 in their four years (this includes state playoffs). They won WPIAL championships in 1993, 94, 95 and 1996, and had undefeated seasons until falling in the PIAA playoffs in 1994 and 1995.
Geibel was coached by George Bortz and Cochrane has fond memories of her former mentor.
鈥淚 had a very good relationship with Coach Bortz,鈥� Cochrane said. 鈥淗e was really, really tough on all of us and he was especially tough on me. I think it鈥檚 because he knew the potential that I had. Coming in my freshman year I don鈥檛 think I was at the same level as Guerriere and Watts and I think he knew that I could get there. He really, really was on me constantly. I remember girls from other teams would ask me if he was my father because he yelled at me so much. But that pushed me even more. If you are going to ride me and get on me like that I need to prove you wrong. I appreciate that, made not at the time, but as I grew and matured.鈥�
Cochran usually came up with good games on the biggest stage. She notched points in all of Geibel鈥檚 WPIAL Championship games. 1993: Geibel Catholic 54, Serra Catholic 34 (Cochrane, 1 point off bench), 1994: Geibel Catholic 57, Greensburg Central Catholic 49 (Cochrane, 10 points), 1995: Geibel Catholic 65, Greensburg Central Catholic 54 (Cochrane, 14 points, 8 rebounds), 1996: Geibel Catholic 57, Greensburg Central Catholic 54 (Cochrane, 10 points).
鈥淚t was special to have back-to-back undefeated seasons,鈥� Cochrane explained. 鈥淧lay in the PIAA tournament was so disappointing. How can you be undefeated, have four WPIAL titles and never make it to the state finals? It was very disappointing and I think our senior year we were so motivated to do that and it didn鈥檛 happen. It鈥檚 kind of like the chink in your armor. That was the thing to keep us humble because we had experienced so much success except for that final piece.鈥�
鈥淚t was very special the two undefeated seasons, everything about it was special. I think with the WPIAL championships it is more local than the PIAA playoffs. Looking back I remember every single WPIAL playoff, the bus ride and everything around it. It was special.鈥�
Cochrane scored 1,000 points at Geibel, she got her 1,000th point in a playoff win over Avonworth. Her senior season she led the team in scoring (13.1 points per game) and rebounding (9.2 rebounds per game).
鈥淚 really didn鈥檛 care about stats,鈥� Cochrane offered. 鈥淟ooking back, everybody averaged 13 or 14 points, it was a very balanced team. Nobody was out there for themselves.鈥�
Cochrane was also a tremendous volleyball player at Geibel. She was an outside hitter on Rick Watkins coached teams that were 8-8 her freshman season, 12-6 her junior year, 22-4 her junior year and third in the WPIAL and 18-2 her senior campaign and fourth in the WPIAL.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have volleyball back then in middle school,鈥� Cochrane explained. 鈥淥ur freshman year was the first time we touched a volleyball, but volleyball was so much fun because there wasn鈥檛 really any pressure there. We were athletic and goal driven, we developed into a good volleyball team.鈥�
When Cochrane graduated from Geibel she decided to accept a basketball scholarship to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
鈥淚 went to Saint Vincent, I was a toothpick and I was tiny,鈥� Cochrane said. 鈥淚 gave it my all underneath and I was really happy with where I went to college.鈥�
She had an outstanding career at Saint Vincent. The team posted records of 21-10 in 1996-97, 26-5 in 1997-98, 20-9 in 1998-99 and 26-7 in 1999-2000. Cochrane was a two-time All-American and ranks number 15 on the Saint Vincent scoring list with 1,271 career points.
鈥淚t was a very good team,鈥� Cochrane said. 鈥淚 enjoyed playing for Coach Kristen Zawacki who passed away in 2010. She was just fantastic and I loved playing for her. I played one year of volleyball there, but gave it up after I injured my back.鈥�
After graduating from Saint Vincent, Cochrane taught in the Uniontown Area School District and was an assistant basketball coach and first coach of the girls volleyball team. She taught in Fairfax, Virginia for two years. She was an elementary school principal at Beth-Center. She is now an assistant principal at Propel Charter School in Homestead.
Cochrane is married and resides in Pittsburgh. Athletics help shape her life.
鈥淚t really has defined who I鈥檝e become as a woman, the experiences that I had through sports and I鈥檓 very grateful for those experiences. As an educator now I always encourage my kids to get involved with sports because I know the difference that it can make.鈥�
George Von Benko鈥檚 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Monday editions of the 缅北禁地. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.