WPIAL officials announced the annual James Collins scholarship winners at their board of directors meeting Wednesday.
Twenty student-athletes were recognized for their work in athletics and the classroom.
The girls athletes honored were: North Allegheny’s Claire Bacu, Canon-McMillan’s Natalie Carr, Quaker Valley’s Emma Currier, Oakland Catholic’s Josie Fontana, South Fayette’s Juliette Leroux, Southmoreland’s Megan Mehall, Elizabeth Forward’s Mya Morgan, Plum’s Brooke Price, California’s Morgan Ross and Chartiers-Houston’s Lauren Rush.
“I feel honored to be named one of the winners of the James Collins award, showing all of my hard work through the high school years paid off,” said Leroux, a South Fayette senior basketball and volleyball player. “The scholarship money will help me with starting off my college journey with some support.”
Boys award winners were: Avonworth’s Carson Bellinger, South Side’s Andrew Corfield, Mohawk’s Bobby Fadden, North Catholic’s Joey Felitsky, Bentworth’s Ben Hays, Peters Township’s Alex Klein, Charleroi’s Dylan Klinger, Hempfield’s Jonathan Stetchock, Chartiers-Houston’s Aaron Walsh and West Greene’s Colin Whyte.
“I think its huge because it shows that you can be successful in class and out of class, and it really sets you up for the real world,” said Fadden, a Mohawk senior football, basketball and baseball player. “Whatever you do, school success comes first because a very low percentage of athletes get to play at the next level, yet alone at the pro level.”
Since 1992, the league has given $739,000 in scholarships to its award recipients, and celebrates the 35th consecutive year of the award program in 2026.
There were 126 applications this year.
“Habits are what is consistent, so if you stay consistent for four years of high school, you are already a step ahead of the game and have the right mindset going into college and graduating to be best fit for a job the rest if your life,” Fadden said.
The Scholar-Athlete Award was renamed in honor of longtime WPIAL administrator Jim Collins after his death in 2016.
From 1992 to 1996, one male and one female winner were selected. That number grew to four (two male, two female) winners in 1997 and 1998, and 16 (eight male, eight female) runners-up also receiving scholarships from 1999 to 2014.
Starting in 2015, 10 male and 10 female winners were selected as winners, with 2017 being the lone exception as 21 winners (10 male, 11 female) were selected.
“I love to win and it’s rewarding to see the hard work pay off in a win,” said Felitsky, a North Catholic quarterback. “Winning proves you have what it takes and it make you hungry to win again. This will help me to prepare financially and continue to focus on athletics and academics.”
In June of 2022, the league held the inaugural WPIAL Scholarship Fund golf outing at Cedarbrook Golf Course, with $40,000 raised for the WPIAL Scholarship Fund through the event, sponsorships, silent auction and donations.
A scholarship golf outing will take place in June 2027, with details to be announced in the fall.
“I definitely recommend applying for this scholarship if you’ve had a lot of success and accomplishments as a student-athlete because you never know if you’ll win,” Leroux said.
“I would absolutely recommend applying,” added Felitsky. “It is an amazing opportunity.”
In addition, the PHEAA and PIAA announced their two scholarship winners from each of their 12 districts for 2026.
The WPIAL winners were Annabella Aquino of Penn-Trafford and Ryan Spitznagel of South Park.