A-K Valley greats relive memories at annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony

By: Michael Love
Saturday, May 20, 2023 | 10:37 PM

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Kerry McKinney Mills is in quite the celebratory mood.

In addition to Saturday’s induction into the Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame, the 2001 Deer Lakes graduate who earned 11 letters in soccer, basketball and track and field, turns 40 on Sunday and will mark the milestone occasion with many friends and family.

“Showing up here today, my husband surprised me with all of my girlfriends from Toronto,” said McKinney Mills, a WPIAL champion in the 400-meter dash and 800 in her junior and senior seasons.

“There are 12 of them here, and I only knew that two would be here. It is so special to have them here and so many others who I get to share this honor with. It is great to always be home. This is overwhelming and so exciting.”

McKinney Mills shares her place in the Class of 2023 with a who’s who of area athletic greats: Erin Exler Bish (Springdale/Geneva, softball), Joseph Galli (Valley/North Carolina, wrestling), Mark Lamendola (Leechburg/Allegheny, football), Stefan Lundberg (Kiski Area/Duquesne/Riverhounds soccer), Tom Phillips (Freeport, volleyball coaching), Thomas Saulle (Freeport, basketball coaching), Thomas Slosky (Highlands/Duquesne, cross country and track and field), Emily Alcorn Taylor (Riverview, basketball), and R. Terry Thompson (Kittanning/Clarion, basketball and Knoch coaching).

The group was enshrined during the 52nd induction in the presence of hundreds at the Pittsburgh Shrine Center in Cheswick.

“I am honored to be a part of such a great group,” McKinney Mills said. “I looked at the names to see if I recognized anyone. I recognized a few. I recognized Tom Slosky because he was a fellow runner. I never thought I would be standing here with these amazing people.”

This year’s class, representing nine sports — soccer, basketball, track and field, football, softball, wrestling, volleyball, basketball, cross country — brings the total number celebrated to 392.

Of the previous 382 inducted, more than a dozen were present to welcome the Class of 2023 into the hall-of-fame family.

It was an unusual sight Saturday as Phillips wasn’t wearing his lucky gold hat that has been with him for so many victories with the Freeport girls volleyball team.

But the hat was by his side during dinner, and he brought it with him to the podium as he gave his speech.

“I don’t go anywhere without my lucky hat,” Phillips said.

Phillips thanked his wife, Jamie, for all of her dedication and support to the Freeport volleyball program and also noted his early 15-year passion for car racing locally and beyond.

He helped guide the Yellowjackets to the program’s seventh WPIAL title and second state championship in November. His teams have won 18 consecutive section titles.

“There’s just so many memories to look back on and so many to thank,” Phillips said. “It’s a very humbling experience for me to be able to be a part of another state-championship team and then be recognized in this way.”

Saturday’s induction was Phillips’ second in two weeks as he also was enshrined into the Armstrong Sports Hall of Fame on April 30.

Emily Alcorn Taylor still is Riverview’s all-time leading basketball scorer, both boys and girls, at 1,724 points. She was named the VND Girls Basketball Player of the Year as a senior.

She said it’s hard to believe it has been 20 years since her time representing the Raiders.

“I was blown away when I was reminded of that. It feels like it was yesterday,” Alcorn Taylor said.

Alcorn Taylor said when looking back on her time at Riverview, memories flooded back similar to the retrospective feelings from each of the other nine inductees.

“I can envision specific plays and specific games,” she said. “I have a keen memory of all my time playing for Riverview. It was such a big part of my life.”

Lamendola enjoyed his time in the sun with the Leechburg football team, and he earned 11 overall letters in three sports.

He said he feels a great deal of pride for the most recent success of Blue Devils football. The 2021 and 2022 Leechburg football teams went a combined 16-7 with playoff trips for the first time in three decades.

Mark joins two older brothers, Ronald in 2004 and Randy in 2010, as an A-K Valley Sports Hall of Famer.

Many of the inductees, through their speeches, credited family, friends, teammates, coaches, athletes teachers, coaching colleagues and school administrators fo the support and assistance along their varied journeys in athletics.

They also remembered that no matter how far they have traveled in sports and in life, the opportunity to return home and be home to celebrate the moments that mean so much to them is truly what is special.

The celebration and recognitions Saturday were not limited to the inductees in the Class of 2023.

Hall of fame committee member George Guido, who retired from his journalistic duties Dec. 31, was honored during the ceremony for his 50 years of service in covering athletes and teams in the A-K Valley.

Guido said he was shocked to receive the recognition award and was grateful for the opportunity to have such a long career in covering area sports.

Trib Total Media again sponsored student awards presented to a select group of standouts from the 2022-23 school year.

Recognized were Apollo-Ridge’s Nick Curci, the VND offensive football player of the year; Freeport’s Jackson Reiser, the VND defensive football player of the year; Deer Lakes’ Ryan Hanes, the VND boys soccer player of the year; Plum’s Kaitlyn Killiner, the VND girls soccer player of the year; Burrell’s Cooper Hornack, PIAA Class 2A wrestling champion at 127 pounds; Kiski Area’s Parker Sterlitz, PIAA Class 2A swimming champion in 500 freestyle; Deer Lakes’ Bryce Robson, VND boys basketball player of the year; and St. Joseph’s Julie Spinelli, VND girls basketball player of the year.

Also celebrated were Cager Classic MVPs Jimmy Kunst from Highlands (West boys), Butler’s Ryan Porch (East boys), Hampton’s Claire Rodgers (West girls) and Mars’ Olivia Donnelly (East girls).

The Allegheny County Labor Council Courage Award was presented to Andrew Gratzmiller, a Burrell special needs student who has been a part of the Bucs football program.

Gratzmiller scored his first career touchdown during a home game against Yough on Sept. 23, and he received the game ball.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.