Altoona senior Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore, who was picked as the Female Athlete of the Year, seemed to already have the outlook Schmitt, a former Altoona and Saint Francis basketball standout and current Blair County judge, hoped to convey.

“Carry your kindness and compassion through life, and it will take you far,” Nguyen-Moore told the audience of her peers when accepting her award.

Nguyen-Moore led Altoona’s girls basketball team to a District 4-6 championship and the school’s first appearance in the PIAA semifinals since 2005. She was the Altoona Mirror Girls Basketball Player of the Year and PennLive Player of the Year in addition to being an important member of the Lady Lions’ District 6 champion girls soccer team.

“It felt really good,” Nguyen-Moore said. “With it being my last year at Altoona, I wanted to make it a really special one. I think we made a really good run with that group, and it will always stay close to my heart.”

Altoona Mirror special award winners include (from left): First row-Central Cambria's Erica Brouse (Erin Dodson Volleyball Award), Cambria Heights' Brooklyn Galinis (Ron Rickens Female Sportsmanship Award) and Hollidaysburg's Crosby Denis (Herb Faris Tennis Award and Frank Kiraly Golf Award). Second row-Bishop Guilfoyle's Taurean Consiglio (Erin Johnson Inspiration Award), Central Cambria's Ethan Haycisak (Angie Gioiosa Distance Running Award), Tyrone's Kyle Scott (Ron Rickens Male Sportsmanship Award) and Hollidaysburg's Cole Delattre (Dean Rossi Leadership Award). Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

The Altoona Mirror Male Athlete of the Year was split between two athletes who both excelled on the football gridiron and the baseball field throughout their varsity careers but turned it to the next level as seniors.

Hollidaysburg’s Josh Banks, who was selected as the Altoona Mirror Football Player of the Year in the fall, and Claysburg-Kimmel’s Mason Campagna — the first Claysburg athlete to win the top Mirror award on either the male or female side — both had similar resumes.

Banks led Hollidaysburg to an undefeated regular season and led the Golden Tigers in tackles and is the top hitter for their baseball team, which will participate in the District 4-6 Class 5A playoffs today.

Campagna led the Mirror’s coverage area in passing and was among the leaders in rushing and holds both career marks at Claysburg-Kimmel. He’s also the top player on the Bulldogs baseball team and helped C-K win its quarterfinal playoff game Monday before arriving at the banquet.

Both will continue their careers at Penn State — Banks on the football field and Campagna on the baseball diamond.

“I put in a lot of work these past couple years, so it’s nice to be rewarded,” Campagna said. “I just went out and played my game and did the best I could. I’m blessed to get a couple more years to keep playing this game at Penn State.”

Banks was surprised with his selection.

“It was surreal. I wasn’t expecting it at all,” Banks said. “It’s been great my senior year. We have been blessed to have a lot of success at Hollidaysburg, and I’m blessed to be part of it. We are very close knit and have been playing together for so long. We have a few really great classes coming through.”

His play in the fall drew the attention of Penn State, who asked him to join the football roster as a preferred walk-on.

“I’m pumped,” Banks said. “I’m going up there June 10. I’m ready to get school over with and get on to my next chapter.”

Banks’ teammate on the gridiron, Hollidaysburg senior Cole DeLattre, was selected as the winner of the Dean Rossi Leadership Award.

DeLattre served as a leader not only on the football team for an undefeated regular season and district title, but in 814 Bible Study and numerous community service events throughout his high school career.

Fellow Hollidaysburg student Crosby Denis won the Herb Faris Award as the region’s top tennis player for the third year in a row and once again was presented the award by her mother Amanda, who is Faris’ daughter.

For the first time in her stellar varsity career, Denis also won the Frank Kiraly Award as the top golfer in the area.

Remarkably, Denis balances the two seasons at the same time, and did just that when she finished fifth in the state at the PIAA Class 3A golf tournament at Penn State and traveled 45 minutes to the Summit Tennis & Athletic Club directly after to win the deciding match in Hollidaysburg’s PIAA match against North Allegheny.

Central Cambria’s Ethan Haycisak, who had never won an individual running DIstrict 6 title prior to this season, won the Angie Gioiosa Award as the region’s premier distance runner after winning the District 6 2A cross country championship and both the 3200- and 1600-meter runs at last week’s District 6 championship.

Haycisak was presented by his coach, Randy Wilson, and the two shared an emotional hug on stage.

Fellow Central Cambria student Erica Brouse took home the Erin Dodson Award as the area’s top volleyball player — the first Lady Red Devil to win the award since Liz Bopp in 2020.

Brouse led Central Cambria to the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference championship and led her team in kills.

Cambria Heights all-time girls soccer leading scorer Brooklyn Galinis and Tyrone wrestler Kyle Scott — who leads the Golden Eagles with the most wins in program history — won the Ron Rickens Sportsmanship Awards for their class in both wins and losses over their careers in addition to their contributions to their communities.

Bishop Guilfoyle Academy’s Taurean Consiglio entered his senior season with a good shot at winning Altoona Mirror Male Athlete of the Year after leading BG to a state title in football and an excellent basketball season as a junior — but injuries nearly kept him from even taking the field or a court this year.

Consiglio tore his tricep in the offseason, returned during football season and tore it again in his first game back.

“When I got checked the first time, the doctor immediately told me I wasn’t going to play at all this year,” Consiglio said. “He just shut me down immediately.”

Despite that conversation, Consiglio never stopped working.

“It was my second visit after the surgery, my doctor was very impressed with the level I was recovering,” Consiglio said. “He gave me a time period where I had to do 10 push-ups as a test to be able to play. I got there really quick, and he let me play.”

Given another chance, Consiglio led the Marauders to a District 6 Class 3A basketball championship and led them to the PIAA semifinals before being recognized on the all-state team.

Monday he was recognized again as the Erin Johnson Award winner — the athlete who overcame the most adversity to contribute athletically.

“We had not won a district title in my four years,” Consiglio said. “I got my 1,000 points, and we almost got to the state championship along with those other two accomplishments. It was something I’ll always remember.”