Franklin Regional announced its 2026 athletic hall of fame class.
One team, five athletes, a coach and a legacy selection will be inducted. They will be honored at a home football game Aug. 28.
The newest class is:
• 2014 wrestling team
• Courtney Biddle, Class of 1999 (soccer, softball, basketball)
• Cheryl Ellison, Class of 1979 (basketball, volleyball, cross country)
• John Malecki, Class of 2006 (football)
• Kathy Nickel, Class of 1983 (swimming)
• Kevin Shrout, Class of 1996 (football, basketball, baseball)
• Greg Botta, head football coach
• Nick Orlic, basketball (legacy)
Mickens transfers
A Division I football prospect has left the Southmoreland program. Sophomore Jackson Mickens, a disruptive outside linebacker who was named the Class 3A Interstate Conference All-Purpose Player of the Year last fall, is enrolled at Uniontown.
He was a student at Geibel, which has a co-operative for football with Southmoreland.
Mickens has Division I offers from Sacramento State, Miami (Ohio) and Akron.
Mickens had 47 tackles last season, including 171/2 for loss, and rushed for 442 yards and seven touchdowns. He led the Scotties with 11 TDs.
He will reunite with Tim Bukowski, his former coach at Southmoreland who is now the head coach at Uniontown.
Mickens said the move is related to financial circumstances and transportation issues.
City flag
The inaugural WPIAL flag football season is complete with the championship contested last week. Shaler beat Plum in the final to take the title.
But there is another championship to be settled. The District 8 (City League) title game is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Cupples Stadium on the South Side.
Semifinals will be played first at the same venue, with Allderdice facing Perry at 2 p.m., and Obama and Carrick facing off at 3:45.
There is a local connection to the finals. Obama’s coach is Melissa (Lupinacci) Dugan, a Hempfield graduate and former softball standout who played at Cal (Pa.). She also coached at Hempfield.
Stately recognition
A pair of local state championship teams were honored last week at the House of Representatives in Harrisburg.
The Greensburg Central Catholic girls basketball and Franklin Regional wrestling teams were recognized on the House floor by Kim Ward, President Pro Tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate and representative of the 39th district.
GCC won its second PIAA title and first since 1997, and Franklin Regional followed a WPIAL title with a state championship.
The Penn-Trafford hockey and Norwin girls cross country teams also were honored recently in Harrisburg for winning state titles.
Pass it on
The annual Westmoreland County Coaches Association 7-on-7 Football Championship will return to Latrobe this summer.
The passing tournament was played at Hempfield last year but will be back at Latrobe on July 16. Games will be played on the baseball and softball fields at Graham-Sobota Field and Rossi Field.
The teams and schedule have not been announced.
Aquino honored
Penn-Trafford senior Annabelle Aquino was the WPIAL selection for the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency/PIAA All-Academic Athletic Teams, which recognizes student-athletes for their success in sports and in the classroom.
Aquino and 23 others from 11 other PIAA districts will receive a $1,000 scholarship.
There were 193 nominees from across the state.
Recruiting
Three Mt. Pleasant athletes made college commitments. They are Gunnar Probst (Westminster, swimming), Payton Schaum (Seton Hill, wrestling) and Rage Ruchar (Saint Vincent, football).