Planets' hockey crown is No. 2 on sports hit parade
Brian Minto wasn't the only one making sports headlines this year.
By vote of the Butler Eagle sports staff, here is the remainder of the top 15 Butler County area sports happenings of 2009:
•
No. 2 — Mars hockey wins the Class A Penguins Cup. The Planets put together an incredible season, including the changing of head coaches from Tim Coleman to Steve Meyers during the year and earning a 6-5 decision over Deer Lakes with only six skaters.•
No. 3 — Butler BlueSox and Slippery Rock Sliders arrive. The Prospect League, a summer collegiate baseball circuit, made its debut with two franchises in Butler County. The BlueSox played at Pullman Park and averaged more than 1,000 fans per home game down the stretch.•
No. 4 — Cole Baxter wins WPIAL wrestling title. Baxter became Butler's first wrestler to claim a WPIAL crown and went on to place fifth in the state meet. He was the first Tornado to do that as well.•
No. 5 — Seneca Valley boys basketball breaks loose. Under the guidance of two-time Eagle Boys Basketball Coach of the Year Vic Giannotta, the Raiders won the program's first section title, first state playoff game and reached the WPIAL semifinals for the first time.
• <B> No. 6 — Matt Clement retires from baseball, becomes Butler boys basketball coach. </B>Unable to return to the major leagues more than two years after shoulder surgery, the right-handed pitcher retired with 87 major-league victories and was named Butler boys basket coach less than three months later He now has the Golden Tornado off to a 2-0 section start.• <B>No. 7 — Jeff McAnallen fired as Butler football coach.</B> After three seasons, two of them winless ones, the Butler graduate and former Tornado gridder's head coaching career came to an end.• <B>No. 8 (tie) — Brittany Faust wins national women's wrestling title.</B> A member of the Knoch wrestling team whose high school career has been hampered by injuries, Faust continued to place well in national women's tournaments, eventually winning the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association title.• <B>No. 8 (tie) — Nathan Smith wins U.S. Mid-Amateur Golf Championship.</B> A member of St. Jude Golf Club in Chicora, Smith became a two-time champion of this prestigious event, which gave him a berth in the 2010 Masters.• <B>No. 10 — Slippery Rock University men's basketball turnaround.</B> Under the guidance of first-year coach Kevin Reynolds, who brought in numerous transfers, The Rock won 21 games and reached the PSAC semifinals after years of losing. Point guard Kyle Camper led Division II in assists and Denell Stephens was PSAC West Player of the Year.• <B>No. 11 — Grove City High's Caleb Kolb wins PIAA wrestling title.</B> The son of former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Jon Kolb, Caleb put together a 39-0 season that culminated with the PIAA Class AA title at 171 pounds and a scholarship to the University of Nebraska.
• <B>No. 12 — George "Red" Slater dies. </B>A youth coach in numerous sports for decades, Slater was president of a number of leagues as well and guided Center Township to multiple Butler Area Midget Football League titles.• <B>No. 13 (tie) — Mars boys soccer wins and wins.</B> The Planets put together a memorable year, winning the WPIAL championship and having some team members contribute to a national club soccer title.• <B>No. 13 (tie) — Hank Keller dies.</B> The death of longtime Butler High golf coach and girls basketball official scorer left a gaping hole in Golden Tornado athletics.• <B>No. 15 — Logan Renwick dominant in track.</B> The Butler junior won the 110-meter hurdles and triple jump at the WPIAL meet while finishing second in the long jump and 300-meter hurdles.• <B>Best of the Rest — </B>Butler girls basketball standout Olivia Bresnahan signs with Florida State. ... Karns City's football team repeats as District 9 Class AA champion despite graduating 23 seniors. ... Former Moniteau offensive lineman Brice Schwab commits to USC. ... Butler's Brian Ellenberger is named World of Outlaws Sprint Rookie of the Year. ... Butler's Meghan Schnur plays for Women's Professional Soccer championship with Sky Blue FC.• <B>Also considered — </B>Slippery Rock's Karly Rhoads scores 1,000th girls basketball point as a junior. ... Slippery Rock swimmer Andrew Opalewski qualifies for District 10 meet in 11 events. ... Butler girls softball team wins first WPIAL playoff game in 14 years. ... Eric McCue scores school-record 50 goals for Karns City boys soccer. ... Slippery Rock boys soccer team becomes first school outside of Erie County to win District 10 title ... No. 2 seed Butler girls basketball team upset by Gateway in first round. ... Moniteau ends Karns City boys track team's 87-meet KSAC winning streak. ... Karns City girls softball team wins first District 9 title. ... Seneca Valley graduate Peet Poillon drafted 20th overall in Major League Lacrosse draft. ... SRU's Matt Adams leads NCAA Division II with .495 batting average. ... Meridian completes perfect regular season in Butler County American Legion Baseball League. ... Ed Lynch Jr. wins 100th Sprint car feature at Lernerville. ... Miracle League field debuts in Cranberry Township. ... Penn Valley wins first A-K Valley Swim League title in 43 years. ... Butler graduate Scott Milanovich is the offensive coordinator for Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes.
