Brian Minto, Grove City football, Lernerville Speedway, Matt Clement - plenty of names, teams and organizations made local sports news in 2004.

By vote of the Butler Eagle sports staff, here are the top 15 area sports happenings of the year:

1. YMCA swim coach John "Pump" McLaughlin dies at age 64.

2. Butler's Brian Minto scores knockout of Vinnie Maddalone on national television, improving to 18-0 as a professional heavyweight.Minto also signed with Lou Duva's boxing organization. Duva has trained 19 world champions during his career.

3. Grove City's football team reaches the PIAA Class AA championship game before losing to Lansdale Catholic. The Eagles reeled off 11 consecutive wins after an 0-2 start.Included in Grove City's 11-game win streak was a 33-7 win over Harbor Creek, which defeated the Eagles in Week 1 of the regular season, and a come-from-behind win over Tyrone in the Western Final.

4. Butler's Meghan Schnur competes for the U.S. Under-19 women's soccer team at the FIFA Women's World Cup in Thailand, continuing her ascent in the sport.

5. Butler's Matt Clement signs a three-year, $25.5 million contract with the World Series champion Boston Red Sox.

6. Knoch's boys, and Freeport's and Mars' girls basketball teams all reach WPIAL championship games. The Knights got there despite losing 12 games during the regular season and barely qualifying for the playoffs.

7. Seneca Valley graduate Zach Jackson, a pitcher at Texas A&M, is selected 32nd overall in baseball's amateur draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.

8. The Martin family sells Lernerville Speedway to DIRT Motorsports, ending the family ownership that existed since the track's debut 35 years ago.

9. Butler swimmer Josh Barthlow won the WPIAL title in the 100-yard backstroke, then captured the 100-yard butterfly title at the state meet.

10. Freeport track and field standout Lacey Cochran won the PIAA Class AA girls 400-meter state title at Shippensburg University.

11. Butler's Annie Lowry scored three goals for the Steel City Sparks in a Women's Premier Soccer League game against Rhode Island. She became the first high school-age player to do so in a number of years.

12. Family Bowlaway and Sherwood Lanes played host to the Pennsylvania State Bowling Association's men's tournament for the first time since 1994.

13. Despite his school having no swim team, Freeport's Brendan McGregor won Class AA WPIAL titles in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke.

14. Seneca Valley's girls volleyball team reached the PIAA Class AAA semifinals for the first time in school history.

15. The Butler YMCA swim team's age 9 and 10 200-yard freestyle relay team of Brianna Keelan, Jordan McElhaney, Nicolette Krause and Morgan Morrison swam the fastest time in the country in their event at 1 minute and 54.13 seconds.

Zelie Lanes closes after 35 years... Butler cheerleaders take best-ever third at nationals.... Flooding wreaks havoc with area football, forcing four Monday night games... Slippery Rock High School wrestlers Jeff Becker and Trevor Gallo place third and sixth, respectively, at state meet. ... 21-student Calvary Academy wins Christian national volleyball title.... Knoch girls basketball makes WPIAL playoffs for first time in 18 years.... John Aubrey Sr. qualifies for third consecutive U.S. Senior Open.... Slippery Rock University retires the late Jim McElhaney's uniform number.... Freeport ends Greensburg Central Catholic's 49-game WPIAL basketball winning streak.... Former SRU women's basketball coaches Darcie Vincent and Heather Kearney win Division II national championship at California (Pa.) University.... Butler's David Belowich named Division III Swimming Coach of the Year at Carnegie Mellon.... Mars' Mike Sybert places second at international Tae Kwon Do competition. … Pullman Park receives state grant for renovations.... Youth goes on strike against Mars Little League.... Butler hockey teams wins program-record 17 games.