Belle Vernon’s Brown, Hempfield’s Howard win Excellence Awards

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, April 21, 2026 | 10:38 PM

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As Judge Michael J. Stewart II addressed the audience at the 70th Annual Westmoreland County Scholar-Athlete banquet Tuesday at Ferrante’s Lakeview, he said “I thought last year’s class was talented.

“This group was equally as impressive. Some of you competed in five sports. Amazing.”

This year’s Excellence Award winners were Belle Vernon wrestler Elijah Brown and Hempfield softball player Lauren Howard.

Both are outstanding students and athletes.

Brown was a two-time PIAA Class 3A champion and three-time WPIAL (Class 3A and 2A) champion. He finished as Belle Vernon’s wins leader and will continue his career at Penn State.

“I did not know this banquet even existed until a few weeks ago,” Brown said. “It is definitely cool experience to receive such an honor.

“I was a little bit surprised. At home, the family holds academics to a high standard. My parents pushed me so much. Now I cannot wait to get to Penn State.”

Howard is a three-sport athlete, competing in volleyball, indoor track and field and softball.

She owns numerous softball team records and will compete in softball at Virginia.

“I was shocked when I heard my name,” Howard said. “I was surrounded here by so many talented athletes and scholars. It was special to hear my name.”

Howard was dressed in her softball uniform because she came directly to the banquet from her game. She helped Hempfield defeat rival Seneca Valley, 4-3.

“My parents always made it important,” Howard said about balancing athletics and academics. “I was raised to make sure academics took priority over sports. Always, my sister (Maggie) was into academics, and I took after her.”

Each of the 18 high schools from the county nominated a boy and a girl for the award, and the athletic director from those schools who attended the luncheon listened to the presentation of the athletes’ achievements, academic and athletic performances and then voted on the top 12. Because of a tie, 13 were nominated for the big award.

The other finalists were Greensburg Central Catholic’s Erica Gribble, Jeannette’s Kymon’e Brown, Latrobe’s Andy Tatsch and Annalyse Bauer, Kiski Area’s Gianna DeVito, Norwin’s Annie Czajkowski and Tristyn Tavares, Franklin Regional’s Cruise Lamanna, Hempfield’s Dom Detruf, Penn-Trafford’s Torrie DeStefano and Southmoreland’s Allison Stinnett.

Joe Salvino was the recipient of the Michael and John Ferrante Memorial Award, given to an individual for his work promoting sports and student athletes.

Salvino is a 1970 graduate of Monessen. He was one of the most successful basketball coaches in the WPIAL, leading Monessen for 34 years and Belle Vernon for seven.

He guided Monessen to WPIAL Class A titles in 1995, 2001, 2002, 2015 and 2017 and a WPIAL Class 2A championship in 2011. He won a WPIAL Class 4A championship at Belle Vernon in 2025. Salvino also led Monessen to back-to-back PIAA championships in 1988 and 1989.

He finished his career with a 745-313 record, ranking second all-time in WPIAL history for career wins, and never missed the playoffs during his tenure as a head coach.

The sponsors of the awards banquet were Independence Health System, Drs. Geoff and Greg Bisignani and Ferrante’s Lakeview.

Mt. Pleasant’s Lily King and Joseph Gardner, both multiple PIAA and WPIAL Class 2A swimming champions and state record holders, were the 2025 winners.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.