Legacy complete
ALTOONA — Vincentian Academy senior Brenna Wise spent a lot of time alone in the gym before school shooting baskets.
The 5:30 a.m. workouts were designed to add more hardware to the Cranberry Township resident’s already overloaded trophy case.
“It didn’t matter if I sweated in the morning or afternoon, all the work was so I could finish with a gold medal around my neck,” Wise said. “I would practice from 5:30 to 6:30 and then shower at the school.”
Wise was chosen as the Sports Writers Pennsylvania High School Girls Basketball All-State Team Player of the Year in Class A Thursday for the second straight year after helping the Royals repeat as PIAA Class A champs and win an unprecedented fourth consecutive WPIAL crown.
She was one of three Butler County athletes chosen for the all-state teams.
Mars’ 6-foot-5 junior forward John Castello and Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic’s 6-1 sophomore center Sam Breen were named to the Class AAA Boys and Class A Girls second-teams, respectively.
Wise, a University of Pittsburgh signee, averaged 20.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a senior.
She finished her career with 2,331 points and 1,080 rebounds.
“I knew she was going to be a great player when I saw her as a freshman,” Vincentian coach Ron Moncrief said. “She’s always had a very strong work ethic and a desire to be great.”
Castello, who averaged 17.8 points and 14 rebounds per game, is the first all-state player during Planets head coach Rob Carmody’s 17-year tenure at the school.
Mars set a program records for wins and reached the PIAA quarterfinals for the first time.
“I’ve said this a number of times, but he is so much better of a person than he is as a basketball player,” Carmody said. “That’s what’s really exciting, when a kid like John works his tail off within the team concept. It’s not like he scored 50 points a game, he does it within the team concept.”
Carmody said there’s a possibility Castello is the school’s first all-state boys player.
“I heard the news and was so excited,” Castello said. “I worked really hard this season and obviously, it’s great to be recognized as an individual. But my teammates deserve a lot of credit. They were the ones getting me the ball and setting me up.”
Breen averaged 22.8 points per game and helped the Trojanettes reach the PIAA quarterfinals.
“She was fast out of the gate as a freshman last season for us, scoring between 15 and 18 points per game,” North Catholic coach Molly Rottmann said. “But she really expanded her game this year, leading us in three-point shooting percentage. I’m happy to see her get recognized like this.”
Breen reached the 1,000-point milestone in North Catholic’s quarterfinal loss to Blairsville.
That makes Breen, who also averaged 15 rebounds per game, look forward to working toward next season.
“To earn all-state as a sophomore is something I never even pictured doing, so I really do feel blessed and honored,” Breen said. “It definitely pushes me to work harder for next year so hopefully I can make all-state second team again, or even make first team.”
