This year’s nominees for the Judge Michael J. Stewart 70th annual Westmoreland County Scholar-Athlete banquet is a mixture of PIAA and WPIAL champions and outstanding individuals on and off the field.
The banquet will be April 21 at Ferrante’s Lakeview in Greensburg.
The nominees, two each from the 18 high schools within the county, were released and voted on by 17 county athletic directors or representatives. Greensburg Central Catholic was not represented.
After listening to the presentation of all the nominees, the group (17 school representatives) voted on the 12 finalists (six girls and six boys) and then voted on the two Excellence Award winners.
The finalists and winners will be announced at the banquet.
JoJo Salvino will receive the Michael and John Ferrante Memorial Award for his work promoting sports and student-athletes.
Salvino coached boys basketball at his alma mater, Monessen, and at neighboring Belle Vernon.
A 1970 graduate of Monessen, Salvino was one of the most successful coaches in WPIAL history over his 41-year career.
He led his teams to seven WPIAL and two PIAA titles. Six WPIAL crowns and the PIAA titles came at Monessen.
He finished his career with a 745-313 record, ranking second all-time in WPIAL history for career wins, and he never missed the playoffs during his tenure as a head coach.
Salvino earned Associated Press Pennsylvania Small High School Coach of the Year honors in 1989, received numerous Coach of the Year awards throughout his career and was inducted into the Mon Valley Hall of Fame in 2017 and the Pittsburgh Basketball Club “Coaches” Hall of Fame in 2025. He retired following the 2025 season after more than four decades of excellence.
The guest speaker is Upper St. Clair coach Mike Junko.
Last year’s winners were Mt. Pleasant’s Lily King and Joseph Gardner.
The sponsors are Independence Health System, Drs. Geoff and Greg Bisignani and Ferrante’s Lakeview.
The nominees are:
Belle Vernon: Elijah Brown (wrestling) and Gabby Dusi (tennis).
Burrell: D.J. Cosentino (football, basketball and tennis) and Mikayla Coury (soccer and basketball).
Derry: Brennan Borbonus (soccer, volleyball and baseball) and Francesca DePalma (softball).
Franklin Regional: Cruise Lamanna (soccer, volleyball and track) and Maria Piraino (volleyball, track, and diving).
Greensburg Central Catholic: Samir Crosby (football, basketball and track) and Erica Gribble (basketball).
Greensburg Salem: Alex Swatchick (soccer, football and tennis) and Alle Scarpa (softball and volleyball).
Hempfield: Dom Detruf (football and basketball) and Lauren Howard (softball and volleyball).
Jeannette: Kymon’e Brown (football and basketball) and Gracie Stein (softball).
Kiski Area: Aven Shipley (football, basketball and track) and Gianna Devito (track, flag football, volleyball and basketball).
Latrobe: Andy Tatsch (football and basketball) and Annalyse Bauer (soccer).
Ligonier Valley: Jacob Petalino (football, basketball and baseball) and Adelynn Witcoski (golf and softball).
Monessen: Torrence Taylor (football, basketball, track and baseball) and Lillie Mackey (softball).
Mt. Pleasant: Dane Firmstone (baseball and football) and Olivia Kovach (gymnastics).
Norwin: Tristyn Taveras (football and baseball) and Annie Czajkowski (cross country and track).
Penn-Trafford: Tyler Boss (football and basketball) and Torrie DeStefano (basketball, lacrosse and baseball/softball).
Southmoreland: Ty Whoric (football and basketball) and Allison Stinnett (swimming).
Valley: Baxter Diehm (golf, bowling and tennis) and Summer Machen (soccer, wrestling and softball).
Yough: Nathaniel Bell (baseball and golf) and Carly Fitzgibbons (soccer, track, cross country, lacrosse and basketball).