Quaker Valley grad Tabitha Bemis discusses decorated high school career

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, January 5, 2021 | 8:45 PM

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In May and June, the TribLive High School Sports Network held a fan vote to determine the Best of the Century among the district’s top male and female athletes.

We also had a chance to visit with some of the participants — interviews that have yet to be seen.

So as we prepare to crank up the high school sports coverage again later this week, join us for a nostalgic look back as we visit with athletes who starred in various sports in the WPIAL from 2000-2020.

A decade ago, she quietly became one of the most decorated female athletes in WPIAL history.

Part of the reason Tabitha Bemis didn’t get the recognition she deserved is because she was a three-sport champion in some sports that don’t get the spotlight that basketball, softball, volleyball or soccer receive.

At the start of her scholastic career at Quaker Valley, she was a gold medal-winning gymnast. However, an elbow injury forced her off the mat and into the pool and onto the track.

By the end of her career, she was a champion diver, hurdler and jumper.

Rebel Yell Podcast with Don Rebel, James Dotson and Tabitha Bemis

Tabitha Bemis – Quaker Valley Class of 2010

(Track and field, gymnastics, diving)

• Won 43 medals in three sports in her high school career

• Won WPIAL gold in 2010 in long jump and 100-meter hurdles and finished second in the triple jump

• A few weeks later, Bemis concluded her scholastic career with state gold in the long jump and 100-meter hurdles and silver in the triple jump in the PIAA championships

• Finished in eighth place in the 2007 WPIAL championship as a freshman in her one and only year doing the pole vault

• Started her high school career by winning gold in the WPIAL and PIAA all-around in gymnastics. However, an elbow injury forced her to give up the sport

• As a senior, she competed for Quaker Valley in diving and finished second in the 2010 WPIAL championships and came in sixth place in the PIAA diving finals

• Bemis was on the track and field team in college at Edinboro

Tags: Quaker Valley