In the 20 years of the Altoona Mirror’s annual Athlete of the Year banquet, several speakers have graced the area’s top athletes with words of wisdom.

They have ranged from the area’s top coaches to Blair County Hall of Famers to athletes who were not that far removed from high school themselves.

Sometimes those speeches, like the one Monday from Bellwood-Antis graduate Alli Campbell — Blair County’s all-time leading scorer in high school basketball, and Hollidaysburg graduate Vlad Hilling a couple years ago, have really stood out.

Campbell urged those in attendance — the top athletes across the area, including this year’s Altoona Mirror Male Athlete of the year Eli Muthler of Central and Female Athlete of the Year Bella Vent of Hollidaysburg — to look beyond what they have accomplished on the field, court or pool.

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski / The 2024-25 Altoona Mirror Athletes of the Week and special award winners all gathered Monday evening at The Casino at Lakemont Park for the Altoona Mirror’s 20th annual Athlete of the Year banquet.

“For years, I had only identified myself as Alli Campbell, the basketball player,” Campbell said. “I felt like I defined my self worth by how I was playing on the court. That all changed when I tore my ACL for the first time and had basketball taken away. Who was I off the court? I didn’t know right away. I never had any other hobbies or interests, because I devoted so much of my time to basketball.”

Many of the athletes honored Monday, like Altoona’s Melana Eyer, who was presented the female Ron Rickens Sportsmanship Award, have already dealt with those types of moments.

Eyer was involved in a life-threatening accident prior to her senior year in basketball this season but battled back to play the entire season and lead Altoona to a Mid-Penn and District 6 championship.

Eyer said in her acceptance speech that during her recovery, she spoke with a nurse that coached softball and told to his players about being thankful for the laps they had to run in practice, because many of his patients would love the ability to be able to run laps, and it opened her eyes to appreciate parts of basketball she used to look at as a grind.

Campbell shared the same message.

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski / Altoona Mirror special award winners include (from left): First row—Juniata Valley's Ella Crum (Angie Gioiosa Distance Running Award), Altoona's Melana Eyer (Ron Rickens Female Sportsmanship Award), Hollidaysburg's Crosby Denis (Herb Faris Tennis Award) and Tyrone's Kylee Nelson (Erin Dodson Volleyball Award). . Second row—Bishop Guilfoyle's Hamilton Gates and Chase Kissell (Dean Rossi Leadership Award), Hollidaysburg's Isaac Miller (Frank Kiraly Golf Award), Hollidaysburg's Brayden Berkheimer (Erin Johnson Inspiration Award) and Penn Cambria's Gavin Harrold (Ron Rickens Male Sportsmanship Award).

“To start, I learned that there is so much more to life than the game of basketball, which was eye opening,” Campbell said. “I learned that it was OK to accept help from others. Before, I wanted to be very independent and do everything by myself. People want to help you — so let them help. I also learned the importance of surrounding yourself with good people and those who want to see you win just as much as you want to win. Being around good people and enjoying good moments with them is genuinely what life is about.”

Both Muthler and Vent helped their teams win multiple championships during their years at their respective schools, and both helped their basketball team reach heights this year that they had not achieved in three decades.

But Campbell stressed the moments those seasons ended in losses also are important.

“I learned that success doesn’t just come from winning games,” Campbell said. “It comes from getting knocked down and continuing to get back up and fight, over and over again. I learned how to be resilient through adversity while also giving back to those who gave so much to me. I learned humility, because being great one season doesn’t mean anything the next. I learned more about myself in moments of failure than I did in moments of success.”

Vent starred for Hollidaysburg in both soccer and basketball, but she wasn’t expecting to be picked as the top athlete on Monday.

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski / Altoona Mirror Athletes of the Year are Central's Eli Muthler (football, basketball and track and field) and Bella Vent (soccer, basketball and track and field).

“It feels great,” Vent said. “I definitely wasn’t expecting it. I thought they told you beforehand, so it was nerve wracking going up there after just finding out. But it feels great and shows how much I have been able to accomplish.”

Vent said she will always remember this year’s basketball season.

“Making it to the Elite 8 was a great feeling,” Vent said. “We hadn’t won to get there in 30-some years. Then, we hung with the eventual state champion. It was an amazing high school experience, and this is a great way to end it.”

Muthler was selected as the Altoona Mirror Male Basketball Player of the Year by a large margin, was a very good quarterback for the Scarlet Dragons in football and competed in track and field.

“This means a lot,” Muthler said. “It’s a great honor and shows the work I have put in throughout my whole life. It’s great to see that work has led to this.”

Muthler follows recent Central winners Hunter Smith (2024) and Jeff Hoenstine (2022).

“It shows the type of program that we have,” Muthler said. “We look up to the guys ahead of us, and hopefully Central has a couple more guys coming up that will win this. Competing with friends and family every single day is what I’ll remember. No single moment sticks out, but I just enjoyed every single day.”

Other winners included Bishop Guilfoyle Academy seniors Chase Kissell and Hamilton Gates splitting the Dean Rossi Leadership Award after guiding the Marauders to the PIAA football championship, the school’s fifth state title win, Hollidaysburg’s Crosby Denis winning her second straight Herb Faris Award given to the area’s top tennis player and Hollidaysburg’s Isaac Miller taking home the Frank Kiraly Award for the area’s top golfer.

Penn Cambria senior Gavin Harrold was the male recipient of the Ron Rickens Sportsmanship Award.

Tyrone’s Kylee Nelson, who will also throw the javelin at the PIAA meet this weekend after winning the District 6 championship, won the Erin Dodson Award for the area’s top volleyball player, and Brayden Berkheimer, a Hollidaysburg senior, was presented the Erin Johnson Award, which goes to an inspirational athlete overcoming adversity.

The Angie Gioiosa Award for top distance runner went to Juniata Valley senior Ella McCrum, who gave up cross country as a junior and struggled for most of the track and field season before recommitting herself to the sport over the summer.

She finished seventh in the state in the PIAA cross country championships and won District 6 titles in both the 800-meter run and the 1600-meter run and earned a scholarship to Bucknell to continue a career she once thought about leaving behind.

“It’s a really great feeling,” McCrum said. “If you would have asked me about this a year ago today, I would have never expected this to happen. I’m beyond grateful for every experience that has led to this. I’m grateful for every up and down and that I get to do this for four more years.”

During her speech, Campbell stressed a message beyond all others.

“If you can’t clap for others,” Campbell said, “it will never be your turn.”

Monday night, it was the athletes in the room’s turn, as it has been the last 20 years.

“Enjoy these moments now, because they do not last forever,” Campbell said. “Don’t wish time away, because it goes by fast enough already. Thank you parents, spend more time with them and tell them more often how grateful you are for them.”