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The year in sports

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Bishop Guilfoyle's Leah Homan is recognized by the Giant Center public address announcer that her hit her 1,000th career point during the state championship game which the Lady Marauders won in early 2021.

By John Hartsock

jhartsock@altoonamirror.com

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted, and in some cases, halted altogether, the area scholastic and NCAA sports calendars in 2020.

Overall, things were better and a sense of normalcy began to return to sporting events throughout the country in 2021, but a resurgence in COVID cases in the middle and later months of the year due to the onset of variants of the virus, coupled with the fact that a large segment of the country’s population has chosen not to get vaccinated despite the availability of shots, contributed to a ratcheting up of COVID positive tests and a disruption of sporting events — particularly on the national and collegiate levels — again.

COVID affected scheduling for area scholastic sports into the fall of 2020, and continued to do so into the early months of 2021, as the starts of seasons were delayed and several regular-season events fell victim to cancellation and/or rescheduling.

Vaccines began to roll out at the end of the 2020 calendar year, and were available in full force in 2021, but, due to a variety of factors, the country remains sharply divided about receiving any of the vaccines.

As COVID cases declined in the first half of the year and restrictions were relaxed, fans were permitted into Major League Baseball stadiums on a limited percentage basis for the start of the 2021 season, and stadiums across the nation, including Pittsburgh’s PNC Park, were eventually permitted to admit a full capacity of fans by midseason.

Minor league baseball, which was wiped out across the country in 2020 by the pandemic, came back with a May start in 2021, and the Altoona Curve eventually were permitted a full capacity of fans last summer at Peoples Natural Gas Field.

The NCAA basketball and wrestling tournaments, along with the PIAA and NCAA spring sports seasons, returned in 2021, and the major college football and high school football seasons achieved a sense of normalcy as well. In early June, Penn State announced that it would allow the full capacity of over 106,572 fans into Beaver Stadium for each of the Nittany Lions’ home football games in 2021.

COVID still made its mark on the fall athletic season in this area late this year, as several high school football teams and the Penn State men’s basketball team had games postponed or canceled due to COVID-related issues.

The NFL, NBA, NHL and the major college bowl schedule were also significantly affected in December.

As the 2021 calendar year came to a close, the ominous specter of COVID-19 still looms as a catastrophic threat across the entire planet.

With that being said, 2021 offered its share of monumental high school, college, and professional sports news items concerning teams and programs in the Mirror’s coverage area.

Ending much speculation about his future that overshadowed Penn State’s 2021 football season, Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin accepted a 10-year, $75 million contract extension on November 23 that runs through the 2031 season.

Later in the month of November, however, the Nittany Lions lost their defensive coordinator, Altoona native Brent Pry, who accepted the head coaching job at Virginia Tech.

The end of a long and successful era for the Pittsburgh Steelers appears to be at hand, as ESPN and other outlets reported that future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who will turn 40 in 2022, will likely retire after the conclusion of the current season, putting the wraps on a brilliant 18-year NFL career.

Led by Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback Kenny Pickett, the University of Pittsburgh Panthers football team won its first Atlantic Coast Conference championship December 4, defeating Wake Forest, 45-21 in the ACC title game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.

Pickett threw for 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns while leading the Panthers to an 11-2 record and 13thplace in the NCAA football rankings entering Thursday’s Peach Bowl game against 11th-ranked Michigan State at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Pickett — who is expected to be a high pick in the 2022 NFL draft — opted out of the Peach Bowl game, which the Panthers lost, 31-21.

The 2021 calendar year was a special one for Bishop Catholic High School sports teams, as both the Marauders’ football team and the Lady Marauders’ basketball team won PIAA state championships.

BG made its fifth appearance in the PIAA Class 1A football championship game in the last eight seasons under head coach Justin Wheeler, and captured its fourth title during that stretch, by clipping District 9 champion Redbank Valley, 21-14 in the title game on December 9 at Hersheypark Stadium.

Junior quarterback Karson Kiesewetter – who was named the PIAA Class 1A Football Player of the Year by both the Pa. Football Writers and the Pennsylvania Football News – enjoyed a spectacular season for BG, accounting for nearly 3,200 total offensive yards and having a hand in 35 touchdowns.

Wheeler shared Class 1A Coach of the Year honors with Redbank’s Blane Gold in recognition given by both the Pa. Football Writers and the Pennsylvania Football News.

The Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic Lady Marauders — of the area’s girls’ scholastic basketball teams that was so cruelly affected by the state’s spring 2020 COVID shutdowns – rebounded with a vengeance last March.

After having a very promising season dashed in the PIAA Class 1A state quarterfinals in March 2020, the Lady Marauders regrouped and captured the state’s Class 1A title last March 26 with a 62-47 championship victory over Downingtown at Hershey’s Giant Center.

Senior starters Teresa Haigh, Sophia Warner, Daniela Scipioni and Aurielle Brunner, along with junior Leah Homan, led the way for BG to win its seventh PIAA girls basketball championship in the history of the Lady Marauders’ program.

The Tyrone Area High School baseball team also made up for lost time from the pandemic in 2020 in a big way in 2021, winning the school’s first-ever PIAA baseball championship.

Led by its outstanding pitching combination of senior Rodney Shultz and junior Aiden Coleman, Tyrone put together a 22-4 season and defeated Oley Valley of District 3 by a 5-0 score in the PIAA Class 3A state championship game at Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on June 17.

Two area longstanding area high school football programs — Williamsburg and Bishop Carroll — disbanded their programs prior to the start of the 2021 season because of a consistent lack of numbers. Players from the Williamsburg program joined the Juniata Valley program as part of a co-op arrangement, while players from the Bishop Carroll program went the same route in joining the Bishop McCort program.

In other lead stories, the Penn State men’s basketball program hired a new head coach in former Purdue associate head coach Micah Shrewsberry, while the Nittany Lions’ talented wrestling program crowned four individual NCAA champs in Roman Bravo-Young, Nick Lee, Carter Starocci, and Aaron Brooks.

The Tyrone Area High School wrestling program made a blockbuster hire in the offseason when Quentin Wright, a former four-time NCAA All-American and two-time champion at Penn State, was named the Golden Eagles’ new head coach.

Glendale Area High School’s Brock McMillen, now a member of the University of Pittsburgh wrestling program, won his third PIAA Class 2A championship last March, and was later named the Altoona Mirror’s 2020-21 Male Athlete of the Year.

Former Penn State wrestler David Taylor won a gold medal at the Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo, Japan, while Altoona Area High School senior Brooke Long captured a gold medal in the PIAA Class 3A girls long jump event in the state meet at Shippensburg University in May.

Former Bellwood-Antis High School basketball star Alli Campbell announced her decision to transfer from Notre Dame to Penn State in 2021. She is a member of the Nittany Lions’ women’s basketball team this season.

Legendary Penn State women’s volleyball coach Russ Rose, 68, announced his retirement in December, wrapping up a spectacular 43-year career in which he led the program to seven NCAA championships and 109 straight victories from 2007-10.

A closer look at the top sports stories of the year:

Franklin extended at Penn State

With head coaching openings emerging this season at high-profile football programs LSU, USC, and Florida, there was season-long speculation as to whether Franklin would remain at Penn State or go elsewhere.

Although he still has the option to leave via a $12 million buyout next April, and lower buyouts in subsequent years, the extension that was announced November 23 is likely to keep Franklin in Happy Valley for quite awhile.

“Penn State’s future is bright and I’m honored to continue to serve as (its) football coach,” Franklin said after accepting the new 10-year extension.

Franklin, who had previously accepted a six-year extension with the Nittany Lions in 2020, has a 67-33 record in his eight seasons at Penn State. He led the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten Conference championship in 2016, and three 10-win seasons in 2016, 2017 and 2019.

After serving the past six seasons as Penn State’s defensive coordinator and presiding over one of major college football’s top defensive units during that time, Pry became Virginia Tech’s head coach Nov. 30. Pry began his coaching career as a defensive graduate assistant under legendary head coach Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech in the mid-1990s.

In mid-December, Penn State hired former Miami Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz as its new defensive coordinator.

Another significant development that occurred in December was redshirt senior quarterback Sean Clifford’s announcement that he will return to the Nittany Lions for his final season in 2022.

There had been much speculation about whether Clifford — who has thrown for 2,912 yards and 20 touchdowns this season — would return next year, but his announcement gives the Nittany Lions a veteran presence at quarterback, where the Nittany Lions will have several young players — including prized incoming freshman Drew Allar, a five-star recruit from Ohio — waiting in the wings.

This year’s Penn State team was ranked fourth in the country with a 5-0 record in early October, but finished the regular season unranked with a 7-5 record after losing five of its last seven games.

The Nittany Lions will face 22nd ranked Arkansas (8-4) today in the Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.

Roethlisberger likely to retire

For the first time since 2004, the Steelers will likely have a new quarterback directing the offense.

Reports broke early in December that Roethlisberger – a Miami of Ohio product who led the Steelers to three Super Bowl appearances and two Super Bowl championships in his 18 seasons with the team – is planning to retire following the 2021 season.

Taken by the Steelers with the 11thoverall pick in the 2004 NFL draft, Roethlisberger has thrown for nearly 64,000 yards and over 400 touchdowns in an illustrious career that has included five Pro Bowl selections.

His retirement was widely speculated upon following the 2020 season, and if it does indeed come to pass following this season, it will leave the Steelers with a sizeable void to fill at the most crucial position on the football field.

While mobility became an issue for Roethlisberger later in his career, he still gives the Steelers by far their best option at a quarterback position where the backup players are largely unproven.

If Roethlisberger is done, the Steelers will have to make a headline pickup at the quarterback spot either in this spring’s NFL draft, or in an offseason trade.

BG wins football title

The beat goes on for the Bishop Guilfoyle Marauders football program and its head coach, Wheeler.

Led by Kiesewetter and junior running back Cooper Rother, the Marauders won anotherPIAA Class 1A championship.

Kiesewetter’s 43-yard pass to Rother set up Rother’s 14-yard touchdown run with 3:21 left in the title game, breaking a 14-14 tie and lifting BG (11-4) to the 21-14 victory over Redbank Valley for the gold medal.

Kiesewetter and Rother both stepped-up big-time in a season in which the Marauders finished their rugged regular-season schedule with a 6-4 record before catching fire in the District 6 and PIAA playoffs.

BG survived the adversity presented by several regular-season injuries, including a season-ending injury sustained by senior standout Haiden Garner early in the campaign, and rode the dual-threat talent and leadership of Kiesewetter, who threw for 1,942 yards and 13 touchdowns, while rushing for 1,133 yards and 22 scores.

Rother rushed for 1,005 yards and 22 touchdowns, while leading the team in receptions (48) for 661 yards and three more scores.

Redbank — which erased 7-0 and 14-7 deficits to tie the championship game — finished the season with a 13-2 record.

Central High School’s football team also enjoyed an outstanding season, posting a 14-1 record and falling one win short of the PIAA Class 3A state championship game, losing to eventual state champ Central Valley, 35-21, on the road in the semifinal round.

Junior quarterback Jeff Hoenstine — who was named the PIAA Class 3A Football Player of the Year by both the Pa. Football Writers and Pennsylvania Football News, and shared the Mirror’s 2021 Football Player of the Year award with teammate and senior running back Parker Gregg — threw for over 3,600 yards and set a Pennsylvania state high school record for touchdown passes in a single season with 57.

BG girls win PIAA gold

The Bishop Guilfoyle Lady Marauders rode a total team effort to their PIAA Class 1A state championship victory over Jenkintown.

Four players scored in double figures for the Lady Marauders, who scored the last nine points of the first quarter while putting together an 18-2 run that extended well into the second quarter, wiping out an early 10-6 deficit and helping BG take command of the game with a 24-12 lead.

Haigh led BG (which finished the season with a 17-4 record) with 16 points, while junior Homan — who surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career with a second-quarter layup — added 14 points, and seniors Scipioni and Warner added 11 points apiece.

The BG girls, who led 29-21 at halftime and 49-33 after three quarters, carted home the seventh state championship trophy in program history — five at the Class 1A level and two at the Class 2A level.

It was BG’s first state championship under the direction of third-year head coach Kristi Kaack, who succeeded Mark Moschella following the 2017-18 season after Moschella had coached the Lady Marauders program to over 600 victories and four state championships.

BG won Class 2A state championships in 1984 and 1991 under the direction of John Frederick, and Class 1A state titles in 1993, 2007, 2009 and 2010 under Moschella.

Kaack was eventually named the Pennsylvania Class 1A sports writers’ girls basketball Coach of the Year, while Haigh was named the PA Class 1A sports writers’ girls basketball Player of the Year, and the Altoona Mirror’s 2020-21 Female Athlete of the Year.

Jenkintown (18-2) was led by standout senior Carly Mulvaney’s game-high 21 points.

Two area boys basketball teams, the Bishop Guilfoyle Marauders and Portage Mustangs, qualified for the PIAA semifinals at the Class 3A and Class 2A levels, respectively, but lost there, falling one win short of a trip to Hershey.

PSU names Shrewsberry basketball coach

The Penn State men’s basketball program is operating this season with its third head coach in as many years.

The Nittany Lions named Shrewsberry as their new head coach on March 15, replacing Jim Ferry, who had served as the team’s interim head coach for the 2020-21 season.

Shrewsberry had spent the previous two seasons as Purdue’s associate head coach with Matt Painter, leading the Boilermakers to an NCAA Tournament berth in 2021.

Prior to that, Shrewsberry had spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the National Basketball Association’s Boston Celtics.

Ferry was promoted to interim head coach after serving as an assistant coach under Pat Chambers, who stepped down in the fall of 2020 after an internal investigation revealed that Chambers had used inappropriate language with a player.

In Ferry’s only season as Penn State’s head coach last year, the Nittany Lions compiled an 11-14 overall record and were eliminated in the second round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament.

Shrewsberry faced some immediate adversity upon his appointment as Penn State’s new coach.

Four of the team’s starters — including top scorer Myreon Jones, top rebounder John Harrar, and front-liners Izaiah Brockington and Jamari Wheeler — had initially entered the transfer portal last March following Shrewsberrry’s appointment.

Jones transferred to the University of Florida, Wheeler moved on to Ohio State, and Brockington wound up at Iowa State. Harrar later removed himself from the portal and decided to return to the Penn State team for the current season.

Williamsburg, BC disband programs

Williamsburg had fielded a varsity football program for the past 95 years, but low numbers that the small-school Blue Pirates have battled for decades eventually caught up with them this year, and the school announced that it was disbanding its football program and joining forces with neighboring Juniata Valley in a co-op arrangement.

Williamsburg had won its first District 6 playoff game in 30 years in 2020, but the Blue Pirates lost 10 graduating seniors from that team and had only 17 players — including many varsity untested freshmen and sophomores — available to dress for the 2021 campaign.

Williamsburg school officials made the emotional decision to disband the football program and join the co-op arrangement that was graciously provided by Juniata Valley, a long-time rival of Williamsburg in all sports.

The combined team reached the District 6 Class 1A championship game in November, losing there to Bishop Guilfoyle.

Bishop Carroll faced the same predicament of low numbers in opting to enter the football co-op with diocesan rival Bishop McCort.

The mergings will likely signal the beginning of a trend in which several small schools across the state with diminishing athletic rosters will eventually disband their programs and join forces with other schools to give their athletes an opportunity to continue to compete.

Campbell transfers to Penn State

Campbell, who became Blair County’s all-time leading basketball scorer during a fabulous four-year high school career at Bellwood-Antis, announced in March that she would be transferring from Notre Dame to Penn State to further her basketball career under Lady Lions coach Carolyn Krieger.

Campbell, who led Bellwood to two consecutive PIAA state championships during her high school career, had signed with Notre Dame in November 2019 while the program was under the direction of legendary coach Muffet McGraw, who had directed Notre Dame to the NCAA women’s basketball championship game in April of 2019.

However, McGraw — who had recruited Campbell and had come to Bellwood to watch her play as a high school athlete — retired as Notre Dame’s coach prior to Campbell’s first collegiate season, and Niele Ivey took over as ND’s coach.

After playing 28 minutes in each of her first two games as a freshman at Notre Dame, Campbell played only sparingly the rest of the season, logging a total of just 16 minutes over the next 18 games, which prompted her decision to transfer to Penn State.

Campbell finished her freshman season at Notre Dame with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks.

Campbell, who finished her high school career at Bellwood with 3,109 points, will have four seasons of eligibility remaining at Penn State.

Campbell began this season sidelined with an undisclosed injury, but she has been working tirelessly in rehab and hopes to be able to return to play soon.

Prior to signing with Notre Dame, Campbell had received more than 35 Division I scholarship offers — including offers from Penn State, South Carolina, Stanford, Duke, Pitt, Boston College, Michigan, and Michigan State.

McMillen wins third PIAA title

Glendale’s McMillen won his third consecutive PIAA Class 2A state wrestling championship last March 12 at Hershey’s Giant Center, capturing the 138-pound title with a 1-0 victory over Burrell’s Ian Oswalt.

McMillen — who finished his senior season with a 22-0 record and his four-year career with a 142-8 mark — made a second-period escape stand up in the state championship match against Oswalt, who McMillen had also defeated, 5-1 in overtime to win the 132-pound title in 2020 as a junior.

McMillen, who will compete collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh, won the 126-pound PIAA championship as a sophomore in 2019 and finished second in the state at 113 pounds as a junior.

Tyrone wins PIAA baseball title

The Tyrone baseball team, coached by Kevin Soellner, entered uncharted waters for the program while capturing its first-ever PIAA baseball championship in 2021.

Prior to last season, Tyrone hadn’t reached the PIAA state playoffs since 1993, and the Golden Eagles had never won a state playoff game.

That all changed last year, as Tyrone won the PIAA Class 3A baseball title, rallying with a passion in the state playoffs after being mercy-ruled by Central in the District 6 championship game.

Tyrone rode the three-hit shutout pitching of lefty Coleman, a Penn State commit, to the 5-0 victory over Oley Valley in the title game. Coleman struck out 10 batters and walked only one for Tyrone, which got a pair of RBIs from standout senior third baseman Brandon Lucas.

Tyrone ripped through the state playoffs, avenging its 11-1 District 6 championship game playoff loss to Central by defeating the Scarlet Dragons, 4-2 in a PIAA semifinal matchup before a crowd of 2,433 fans at Altoona’s Peoples Natural Gas Field.

Shultz, a right-hander, pitched 6ª innings in the big win over Central, allowing just two hits, and Coleman got the save by recording the final out of the game.

PSU crowns four mat champs

Under the direction of head coach Cael Sanderson, the Penn State University wrestling program has won eight NCAA team championships in the past 10 years.

Although Penn State, with 113.5 team points, finished second to Iowa (129) in the 2021 NCAA Tournament last March at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, it was still a very special tournament for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State had four wrestlers reach the finals, and all four won championships. National titlists for the Nittany Lions included junior Bravo-Young (133 pounds), senior Lee (141), redshirt freshman Starocci (174) and sophomore Brooks (184).

Bravo-Young, Lee and Starocci won overtime decisions in their title matches, while Brooks edged North Carolina State’s Trent Hidlay — a graduate of Mifflin County High School in District 6 — by a 3-2 decision.

The four champions were the most for a team in the tournament that didn’t win the team title. It was the third time under Sanderson that the Nittany Lions crowned four individual NCAA champions.

Two University of Pittsburgh wrestlers, Jake Wentzel (165 pounds) and Nino Bonaccorsi (197) accomplished NCAA runners-up finishes.

Pitt’s 11th-place finish in the team standings was its best since 1970, when the Panthers placed eighth in the NCAA Wrestling Tournament team race.

Pitt also boasted two NCAA All-Americans (eighth place or better) for the first time since 2013.

Three other former area high school wrestlers who qualified for the 2021 NCAA Tournament — Max Murin (University of Iowa, Central Cambria High School), Justin McCoy (University of Virginia, Chestnut Ridge), and Jacob Oliver (Edinboro University, Huntingdon) — competed but did not place.

Altoona’s Long wins PIAA long jump

Altoona’s Long became a gold medalist in the PIAA Class 3A state track and field meet at Shippensburg University May 29, winning the girls long jump with an effort of 18 feet, 1.25 inches on her final jump of the day.

The effort placed Long ahead of runner-up Lindsey Husick of Bishop McDevitt, who registered a jump of 18 feet, one inch.

The Central Cambria 3200-meter boys relay team of seniors Corey Roberts, Tyler Gibson, Toby Cree and Adam Lechleitner also won the gold medal in its PIAA Class 2A competition May 27, carding a finishing time of 7:59.70.

Outside of the Mirror’s core coverage area, Chestnut Ridge senior Logan Pfister was a champion in the PIAA Class 2A high jump with an effort of six feet, seven inches, and Bedford senior Elijah Cook won the state championship in the Class 2A javelin with a throw of 192 feet, five inches.

PSU grad Taylor wins Olympic gold

Taylor excelled as a Penn State University wrestler, winning two NCAA tournament gold medals and finishing second twice.

Taylor extended his excellence by winning an Olympic gold medal at 190 pounds (86 kilograms) in the Summer Games last August 5 in Tokyo, Japan.

Taylor won Olympic gold by edging two-time world champion Hassan Yazdani Charati, 4-3 in the title match.

Taylor trailed Charati, 3-2 before hitting a last-second takedown to score the victory.

Taylor posted a 4-0 record in last summer’s Olympics, winning his three previous matches leading up to the championship bout by scores of 11-0, 12-2, 10-0.

Klotz, Brumbaugh win national bass title

Hunter Klotz, a 2021 graduate of Central High School, and Jerry Brumbaugh, Jr., who will graduate from Central in 2022, captured first place in the United States High School Fishing National Championships July 2 on Lake Hartwell in Anderson, S.C.

The Central duo rallied from behind on the third day of the three-day event by catching three bass on the final day that weighed a total of nine pounds, nine ounces.

Klotz and Brumbaugh caught nine fish that weighed a total of 28 pounds, 13 ounces in the event.

Klotz – who has earned a Division I baseball scholarship to Kent State University, won $10,000 in additional scholarship money for being part of the national bass championship team.

Brumbaugh, Jr. is currently weighing his options and could accept either the $10,000 prize, or a scholarship to one of three different colleges around the country which offer competitive intercollegiate fishing programs.

Shackley reaches Olympic Trials

Leah Shackley, who was a freshman at Bedford Area High School last year, and is also a member of the Blair Regional YMCA TigerSharks swimming program, qualified for the United States Olympic Team Time Trials in Omaha, Neb. In June.

Shackley, just 14, finished fourth out of eight swimmers in her preliminary-round heat at the CHI Health Center pool on June 4 with a time of 1:03.70, which placed her 24thout of 47 swimmers. The top 16 swimmers advanced to the finals that evening, but Shackley gained much valuable experience for a try at a future Olympic berth.

Shackley qualified for Omaha with a strong showing in the USA Swimming Eastern Zone Speedo Super Sectionals in Richmond, Va. May 15.

Shackley finished with a time of 1:02.51 in the preliminary heat of the Super Sectionals. The qualifying time for the Olympic Team Time Trials was 1:02.69.

Shackley also won two placewinner’s medals in the PIAA Class 2A state meet held March 19 at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg, finishing second in the 100 backstroke and sixth in the 100 freestyle.

In memory

Former long-time Pittsburgh Pirates usher Phil Coyne, 102, who became a legend during his long career at Forbes Field, Three Rivers Stadium, and PNC Park … Joe Gallagher, 97, former head football and wrestling coach, and long-time physical education instructor, at Hollidaysburg Area High School … Former University of Pittsburgh football coach Carl DePasqua, 93; Former Pittsburgh Pirates player and manager Bill Virdon, 90; Former long-time PIAA football and baseball official George Iuzzolino, 88; Al Shoenberger, 85, former long-time equipment manager for sports programs in the Tyrone Area School District … John Hunter Orr, 81, father of former Altoona Area High School and Princeton University wrestling standout Johnny Orr, who is a Blair County Sports Hall of Fame inductee; Former long-time Altoona Area School District teacher Dick Shaffer, 80, who also served many years as an employee with the Altoona Curve as an usher and ticket taker … Jean Lane, 79, former long-time Altoona Area School District teacher and wife of former long-time Mirror sports editor Jim Lane … Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Grant Jackson, 79, who played a key role on the Pirates’ last World Championship team in 1979 … Former Saint Francis University men’s basketball player Sandy Williams, 79; John Grohol, 76, a former long-time member of the Penn State football television production crew, who also did similar free-lance sports work for many of the country’s major television networks … Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitching coach Ray Miller, 75, who also managed the Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins … Former Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Rennie Stennett, 72, a member of both the Pirates’ 1971 and 1979 World Championship teams … Altoona Blair County Development Corporation executive vice president Pat Miller, 69, who was formerly an outstanding catcher on championship teams in the Altoona Greater City Baseball League … Blair County Sports Hall of Fame treasurer and prominent local businessman Rex Kaup, 68; Long-time Johnstown Tribune-Democrat sports writer Cory Isenberg, 64; Former Hollidaysburg High School wrestling standout Dan Fetzer, 63; Former Pittsburgh Steeler lineman and television and radio reporter Tunch Ilkin, 63; Tussey Mountain High School assistant football coach Jeffrey “Tank” Ritchey, 58; Former Penn State and NFL running back Steve Smith, 57; Northern Bedford assistant football coach Rob Reed, 56; Former Pittsburgh Steelers fullback Tim Lester, 52; Renee Riccio McCutchan, 50, who was named to the Blair County Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 as the Hall’s first inductee in the sport of swimming. McCutchan was an Altoona native and is the sister of Altoona High School athletic director Phil Riccio … Former Bellwood-Antis High School athlete Ron Blazier, 50, a 2008 Blair County Hall of Fame inductee who pitched two years with the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1990s … Former Pittsburgh Pirates first base coach Kimera Bartee, 49; Former Tyrone High School wrestler Kris Yaniello, 44, the son of former long-time Tyrone athletic coach Tony Yaniello … Former Central High School volleyball player and coach Yvonne Lorrean Gahagan, 42; Former Central High School multiple-sport athlete Shane Kennedy, 39; Former Glendale High School football and basketball player Thomas Beeny, 22; Former Tyrone High School golfer Jack Murtagh, 22; Moshannon Valley High School wrestler Jacob Ball, 17.

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