2019 proved to be year of triumphs
As we say goodbye to 2019, here are the top 16 Butler County sports happenings of the year, as voted on by the Butler Eagle sports staff.
No. 1 is the WPIAL and PIAA championship runs of the undefeated Mars girls soccer team, as documented elsewhere in this section.
No. 2 — Slippery Rock University football reaches national semifinals — The Rock won a program-record 13 games and was undefeated before dropping a 58-15 decision to Minnesota State in the NCAA Division II semifinals at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
SRU quarterback Roland Rivers III capped the year by receiving the Harlon Hill Trophy as the top football player in Division II.
No. 3 — Jordan Geist — The Knoch graduate and University of Arizona junior shot-putter continues to amaze. He placed second in the shot put at the Pan Am Games with a toss of 68 feet, 7 inches. broke the NACAC Under-23 record while winning that title and placed third at the NCAA Championships.
No. 4 — Alejandro Herrera-Rondon — Midway through perhaps the most productive high school wrestling career in county history, the Seneca Valley sophomore won a WPIAL championship and his second successive state title. He ended the season with 94 career wins.No. 5 — North Catholic volleyball — The Trojanettes won their first PIAA championship behind the dominant efforts of Dominique Felix, who averaged 24 kills per match while earning the Eagle's Volleyball Player of the Year honor.No. 6 — Knoch, Freeport win WPIAL volleyball titles — The Knights claimed their third consecutive district championship despite injuries to top players Hannah Rowe and Kennedy Christy. The Yellowjackets knocked off eventual state champion North Catholic during the WPIAL playoffs.No. 7 — Ethan Morton signs with Purdue — The Golden Tornado junior point guard had quite a party in Butler Township, announcing his collegiate decision in front of numerous family members and friends after a season in which he shattered the Butler boys basketball career scoring record.
No. 8 — Laura Goettler — The Butler swimmer not only won her third straight WPIAL title in the 200-yard individual medley, she shattered the district record while doing so. She also went on to win the state championship in the 100 breaststroke.No. 9 — North Catholic girls basketball — The Trojanettes capped a memorable season by reaching the PIAA championship game after winning the WPIAL crown. Three North Catholic players — Tess Myers, Dani Short and Butler resident Kylee Lewandowski — joined the 1,000-point club.No. 10 — David Bednar — The Mars graduate and relief pitcher reached the major leagues with the San Diego Padres, being promoted from Class AA in September.No. 11 — Seneca Valley's winning trio — The Raiders hit the trifecta at the WPIAL Wrestling Championships as Alejandro Herrera-Rondon, Dylan Chappell and Antonio Amelio all won district crowns.No. 12 — Riley Wolford — At the age of 13, he won the IBO World Archery Championship in his age division at the Snowshoe Ski Resort in West Virginia. He had won two state championships and a national title earlier.
No. 13 — Michael Carmody — The Mars senior tackle, having played the position for only two years, signed a letter of intent with Notre Dame and received a bid to play in the All-American Bowl in Texas as one of the top 100 high school players in the country.No. 14 — BC3 record-setters — Butler County Community College's men's and women's basketball teams not only won Western Pa. Collegiate Conference championships, but saw their career scoring records snapped by Butler graduate Joel Stutz (men) and Karns City graduate Mackenzie Craig (women).No. 15 — Kyle Maziarz — The Cranberry Township resident and junior North Catholic diving standout captured his second successive state championship with a score of 447.55 at Bucknell University. He had placed second at the WPIAL Championships earlier.No. 16 — Special Olympian indeed — James Caldwell bowled a perfect game at Family Bowlaway, becoming the first Butler County Special Olympic athlete to do so in the 52-year history of its bowling program.
