Scene of sports gems
The "aughts" are over. The decade from 2000-09 produced many great achievements on the Butler County sports scene.
Amazing high school and college athletes dazzled us with their abilities, often in mutiple sports.
Coaches led teams to section, district and state titles, and major events dotted the county's landscape.
After sifting through all the decade had to offer, the Butler Eagle sports staff compiled a list of the best of the bunch:
If you blinked, you might have missed Brad Mueller.Whether it was on the vulcanized rubber of a track or the grass or synthetic turf of a football field, Mueller strode across them with uncommon speed.The 2003 Mars graduate left records — and competitors — in his considerable wake.As a member of the Planets track team, Mueller won back-to-back PIAA titles in the 100-meter dash, as well as a state championship in the 200.Following his win in the 200 — his last high school race — Mueller summed up his performance in one succinct sentence."This is what I came here to do."Mueller did nothing at half-speed.He was a three-time WPIAL champion in the 100 and a two-time victor in the 200.Mueller finished his football career at Mars with 3,460 yards and 37 touchdowns, leading the Planets to the WPIAL title game in 2002.During his senior season, Mueller gained 2,126 yards, including more than 1,000 yards during a three-game span late in the season, and scored 25 touchdowns.He was just getting warmed up.After spending his undergraduate career mainly as a special teams player on the Boston College football team, Mueller enrolled in graduate school at Slippery Rock University.On a whim, he joined the indoor track and field team there and set the school record in the 60-meter dash in his first meet.He went on to win a Division II national championship in the event and capped it off with a third-place finish in the 100 in the Division II National Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Those around Slippery Rock borough still talk of the one named Jence.She was as uncommon as her first name.They speak of Jence Rhoads' 42-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist game against General McLane during her senior season on the Rockets girls basketball team — a performance that sent fans to the floor to snap cell phone pictures of the scoreboard.They also speak of her bending boot on the soccer field that found the top of the net in a 1-0, double-overtime win over South Park in the PIAA playoffs.In Slippery Rock, Rhoads is like Kobe, LeBron and Shaq: she's known only by her first name."Obviously, everyone in the community knows the name Jence Rhoads," said Slippery Rock High girls basketball coach Adrienne Orris. "Just that presence has brought a lot to this town. Girls look at her and parents tell them, 'This is who you want to be like.'"Although most of the attention Rhoads received was because of her stellar basketball career, she was equally dominant in soccer.The 2007 Slippery Rock graduate left the school with more than 100 goals and former Rockets girls soccer coach Blair Gantz said she could have played at the Division I level in college.But Rhoads' heart belonged to basketball. She netted 2,170 points — making her the all-time scoring leader in Butler County — led a youthful team to the PIAA semifinals as a senior and now is at Vanderbilt University, where she is one of the more consistent point guards in Division I women's basketball.
Rarely can a coach have an impact on two sports at two different schools — but Dave Sylvester did just that.As the girls soccer coach at Seneca Valley, Sylvester led the Raiders to four section titles (2001, '04, '08 and '09) and two WPIAL crowns (2007 and '09), compiling a 130-39-19 record during the decade.Except for two seasons in the middle of it, he accomplished a rare double-dip.As the Mars girls basketball coach, he won two section titles (2006 and '07) and took the Planets to the state playoffs in both seasons while notching a 46-11 overall record and a 26-2 mark in the section.<BR></BR>
When the 1999-2000 girls basketball season began, Karns City was considered a favorite to win the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference.But a state title? Few thought it was possible.Except for the players.The Gremlins won their season opener, then lost to Oakland Catholic before rolling off 30 consecutive wins, culminating with a 53-39 victory over Bishop Hoban in the PIAA Class AA championship game."It was the best thing that ever happened to me," said Courtnay Rattigan, a 6-foot-3 senior center on that team. "We all worked so hard for so long, and it was great to see our work pay off."Rattigan teamed with starting guards Kerry Guthrie, Alicia Anderson, Karissa Kusick and Rhonda Vlassich, as well as super sixth-man Kellie Kepple, to storm through the competition on the way to the state title.The Gremlins were balanced and deadly from the free throw line.Rattigan averaged 15 points and six rebounds, and won the Butler Eagle Girls Basketball Player of the Year award.Kusick scored 13 points per game, while Anderson netted seven. Guthrie, Vlassich and Kepple also were consistent scorers.In crunch time, no one was better than the Gremlins.In the PIAA semifinals, Karns City made 30-of-31 free throws to edge Southern Huntingdon.
Brian Minto began his professional boxing career late in life.When the Butler native took the ring for the first time as a pro in November 2002, he was 27 — a dinosaur in terms of rookie pugilists.The heavyweight boxer made up for lost time.Less than two years later, Minto stepped into the ring against Vinny Maddalone, a bruiser who was much bigger and with more experience than Minto, on a fight televised by ESPN2.Trailing on all three score cards entering the 10th and final round, Minto needed a miracle to keep his rising career on track.He got one in the form of a left hook that sent Maddalone to the canvas. Maddalone attempted to stand, but slumped to his knees before referee Allan Huggins stopped the bout.The win put Minto on the map. ESPN named the Minto-Maddalone bout the best heavyweight fight of the year.Suddenly, Minto was thrust into boxing consciousness.By the time the two entered the ring again for a rematch 15 months later, Minto was clearly the better fighter, bludgeoning Maddalone into a bloody mess for four rounds before the bout was stopped."That's how much better Brian is now than he was then," said Minto's trainer, Brian Yankello."My white shorts were red-stained with his blood after the fight," Minto said. "I need a new pair of boxing shoes because the ones I wore Saturday are saturated with blood."Sports editor John Enrietto and staff writers Derek Pyda and Sam Tallarico contributed to this report.
2000 Karns City girls basketball team wins state title.2001 Butler boys 3,200-meter relay team posts second-fastest time in the country.2002 East Brady's Jim Kelly inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.2003 Slippery Rock High football team reaches PIAA Class AA semifinal.2004 The funeral of longtime YMCA swim coach Pump McLaughlin.2005 Brian Minto and Vince Maddalone heavyweight boxing rematch.2006 Butler Township Little League wins state title.2007 Seneca Valley baseball team wins state title.2008 Minto fights at Pullman Park.2009 Minto embroiled in controversy after head-butt with Donnell Holmes.
