Slippery Rock High senior basketball star Jence Rhoads was named the Pennsylvania Class AAA Player of the Year by The Associated Press.

Rhoads, who averaged 22.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 4.7 steals in taking a team with no other senior starters to the PIAA quarterfinals. A Vanderbilt recruit, Rhoads ended her career with 2,170 points.

Union senior guard Tiffany Corle and coach Josh Meeker were named District 9 Girls Basketball Player and Coach of the Year, respectively, by D9Sports.com.Corle also was named to The Associated Press Class A girls all-state first team.Corle averaged 17.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.7 steals per game for the Golden Damsels. She averaged 20.3 ppg. in the District 9 playoffs.Meeker won his fourth straight district coach of the year award, guiding Union to a 27-4 record and its third consecutive District 9 Class A championship.Other area players honored on the girls side were Karns City's Haley Callihan (second team all-district) and Allyson Kepple (third team all-district). Union's Gary Cooper made third team all-district boys.

The FCA Gems All-Star Cheerleaders' Rubies squad won a national championship and high point award in their division at the recent Cheer Power Nationals held in Columbus, Ohio.

Aubrey's Dubbs Dred, a 44-year-old family owned and operated golf course just north of Butler, was rated by Golf Digest as one of the Best Places to Playin North America for 2006-07.