Before Maddie Holmberg-Nickal and Bridget Guy-Williams were track and field teammates at Hempfield, they developed a friendship that has stood the tests of time.
Both continued standout careers after high school.
Guy-Williams, a PIAA pole vault champion who set multiple school records in the event, continued to excel en route to a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Holmberg Nickal, a four-time PIAA champion and nine-time WPIAL titlist, set multiple WPIAL records with the Spartans before a standout career at Penn State.
The moments and memories came full circle for both Friday evening at the DoubleTree Hotel in Greentree as they shared enshrinement honors with the Class of 2026 of the WPIAL Hall of Fame.
“We wish we saw each other more, but we do see each other at big-event things,” Holmberg-Nickal said. “When we both were still competing, it was more of a long-distance friendship, but we 100 percent stayed in touch. This feels so right because Bridget and I have done every milestone together since we were in diapers. I wouldn’t see it any other way. She is such a big part of my story and my career. It’s an honor to share this with her, and it’s an amazing feeling to be here with such a fantastic induction class. This has brought back so many special memories for me. Those memories brought back pride for the team I was on, my school, and the area I represented.”
This year’s class is the 19th to earn induction since the first class was celebrated in 2007.
Guy-Williams and Holmberg-Nickal join a distinguished group of athletic greats in the newest class.
Joining the former Hempfield teammates as athlete inductees were Kurt Angle (Mt. Lebanon, wrestling), Tricia Alderson (Chartiers-Houston, softball), Phil Mary (Chartiers-Houston, wrestling), Derek Moye (Rochester, football) and Jordan Whitehead (Central Valley, football).
Joe Salvino (Monessen and Belle Vernon, basketball) and Tim McConnell (Chartiers Valley and Bishop Canevin, basketball) are this year’s coaching inductees.
Salvino retired in 2025 after four decades of mentorship on and off the basketball court. He won multiple WPIAL titles at Monessen and a WPIAL title at Belle Vernon in his final season (2024-25).
“Every team that I’ve coached had somebody or something special about them that year,” Salvino said as he looked back on his 41-year basketball coaching career.
Tim McConnell is the third from the McConnell family to be enshrined, joining sister Suzie and son T.J. as WPIAL Hall of Famers.
Ann Madaraz, Chief Curator and Historian with the Sen. John Heinz History Center and Director of the Franco Harris Sports Museum, was honored and celebrated for fostering a partnership with the WPIAL and for her efforts in helping put the rich history of the WPIAL on display throughout the museum.
Also enshrined was posthumous heritage inductee Jim Conklin (Waynesburg, wrestling).
Conklin was the first wrestler to win four PIAA state championships (1940-43), finishing 70-0-1 in high school matches. His daughter, Christy Fleming, and son, William Conklin, accepted the hall of fame induction in his honor and memory.
Ethan Keener (South Fayette, basketball) and Warren Timko (Upper St. Clair, football) were the WPIAL’s two courage award recipients, and Charles Evans Hunnell was honored for his service as an official for 53 years, first in football before adding lacrosse to his resume.
“With being in the (NFL) for several years now, no matter what team I’m with, many of the players and coaches know about Western Pennsylvania football and sports in general,” said Whitehead, a Super Bowl champion with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2020 season.
“They know about the WPIAL. It is a pride thing. It is such an honor to be from here. It all started back in those days of high school. Those are the days you learn fundamentals, valuable lessons and form the foundation for what you do and accomplish the rest of your life.”
Whitehead said it was special to connect with Tim McConnell as he played basketball with and against his son, Matt, for several years growing up. Moye, a neighbor down the street in Rochester, also was someone Whitehead looked up to. As a big fan of wrestling and WWE, Whitehead said it was an honor to share the evening with Angle.
“When I saw him on the list, I couldn’t wait to meet him,” Whitehead said.
The 1981 Mt. Lebanon soccer team, with 17 of its team members and coach John Wilcher in attendance, and the 2004 Hopewell girls volleyball team, led by coach Terry Borkovic, were well represented as the WPIAL’s two team inductees.
Christa Harmotto was named the 2004 Pennsylvania Gatorade Girls Volleyball Player of the Year and was selected a PrepVolleyball.com All-American.
Angle, a star wrestler at many levels including the Olympics and in the WWE and beyond for more than 30 years, said family was at the heart of his wrestling genesis.
“I had four older brothers who all were wrestlers,” said Angle, who attended high school at Mt. Lebanon. “I hated wrestling. I despised it. I wasn’t any good at it. But my brothers kept pushing me to do it, and I grew to love the sport. It was very difficult at first. When you are getting your butt handed to you all the time, you aren’t enjoying it very much. Eventually, I was able to turn the corner in middle school and become a much better wrestler.”
Alderson, a former softball star at Chartiers-Houston and now a record-setting coach at her alma mater, received her hall of fame honor in the midst of preparing her Bucs for Monday’s PIAA Class 2A semifinal against District 1 champion Bristol at Mifflin County High School.
“This hall of fame honors the best of the best,” said Chris Shovlin, the hall of fame banquet’s master of ceremonies. “It salutes the greatest accomplishments in high school athletics in Western Pennsylvania. (Outside of) winning a WPIAL title, this is the highest honor our league bestows. Tonight we celebrate teamwork, camaraderie and community. We celebrate victories and accomplishments, and we celebrate greatness.”
A detailed biography of each team and individual inductee can be found here.
“It is such an honor to induct these great athletes, teams, coaches, students and dedicated contributors,” said Vince Sortino, the WPIAL’s executive director.
“It is an overwhelming experience to watch the athletes and coaches during the year and to welcome them back into our hall of fame.”