WPIAL awards $1,000 scholarships to 20 scholar-athletes, cancels luncheon

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, April 15, 2021 | 2:28 AM

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The WPIAL/James Collins Scholar-Athlete Program luncheon was canceled again this spring because of the pandemic, but the $1,000 scholarships will be awarded as planned.

The WPIAL announced 10 boys and 10 girls scholarship recipients Wednesday during the league’s annual meeting with school administrators. This is the second year in a row the luncheon was canceled.

“In an abundance of caution for the student-athletes who may still be participating in spring sports playoffs, we will not gather for the usual scholar-athlete luncheon,” WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman said. “However, we will be sending an email to the winners’ athletic directors asking for a little information for public recognition on our website and on Twitter.”

The girls winners were Brooke Bauer of Knoch, Danielle Bryant of Pine-Richland, Isabella Gera of Hempfield, Julia Hauck of Penn-Trafford, Jacquelyn Jardini of Sewickley Academy, Nadia Lape of Mohawk, Tegan Poerio of The Ellis School, Melissa Riggins of Shady Side Academy, Sophia Shi of Upper St. Clair and Jenna Vogen of Canon-McMillan.

Winning the boys awards were Colin Barrett of Mt. Lebanon, Jake Bode of Peters Township, Gideon Deasy of Riverview, Dalton Dobyns of Moon, Evan Lewis of Elizabeth Forward, Connor McMahon of Canon-McMillan, Jake Pugh of Thomas Jefferson, Charley Rossi of South Fayette, Teddy Ruffner of Mars and Matt Turzai of North Allegheny.

Each recipient receives $1,000. Every WPIAL school can nominate one athlete of each gender.

The winners are traditionally honored at a luncheon in May at the DoubleTree in Green Tree.

The WPIAL scholar-athlete program began in 1992. It was renamed in honor of longtime WPIAL administrator Jim Collins after his death in 2016.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Canon-McMillan, Elizabeth Forward, Ellis School, Hempfield, Knoch, Mars, Mohawk, Moon, Mt. lebanon, North Allegheny, Penn-Trafford, Peters Township, Pine-Richland, Riverview, Sewickley Academy, Shady Side Academy, South Fayette, Thomas Jefferson, Upper St. Clair