With winter sports season upon us, I thought it would be interesting to reflect on our local efforts. Obviously, wrestling is king in the county, but there have been bright spots on the hardwood as well for our local boys.
Most local fans above the age of 50 remember the glory days of Rudy Marisa’s Waynesburg College basketball teams of the 70s and 80s. Marisa turned a moribund program into a national power. His teams played before standing room only crowds at the fieldhouse that would eventually be renamed in his honor in 1999. They made 15 consecutive playoff appearances, winning the NAIA District 18 title in 1981 and from 1984-1989. The classic R&B song Kansas City Here I Come was heard annually on WANB as the team headed off to the National Tournament. In the 80s, fans would line up around the gym two hours before the game. That decade, the team had the second highest winning percentage (82%) of any program in the NAIA. They were 131-21 from 1983-88 and at one point won 70 of 71 home games. The high point was the nationally televised appearance in the NAIA semi-finals against Grand Canyon University
On the high school level, there were periodic flashes of success in the first half of the 20th century in Carmichaels and Waynesburg with a handful of section championships and a couple of playoff runs (one each) to the WPIAL semi-finals held at Pitt Stadium. In 1955, Jim Walters of Cumberland Township High School set the WPIAL Single Game Scoring Record with 60 Points against West Beth. In 1960, Waynesburg’s Gary Milliken was on the NCAA National Champion Ohio State roster. That team had four future Hall of Famers: Fred Taylor, Bobby Knight, John Havlicek, and Jerry Lucas
The 1962 West Greene Pioneers went 16-3 and had Dave Baily and Rick Sonneborn named to the All-WPIAL Team. Sonneborn also received PIAA Honorable Mention. He went on to lead the state in scoring the following year with 693 points (34.7 PPG). Sonneborn also scored 56 in a game against Father Kolb Memorial High and earned First Team All-State honors that year.
In 1969, Mapletown’s John Billitz was named Fourth-Team All-State and All-American (UPI) after leading the county in scoring. The team won the section title, losing only one game all season. Other key players on the team were Buddy Quertinmont and Bob Clites. Their trip to Waynesburg resulted in 250 people standing in the 800-seat gym. A non-wrestling sellout of that nature was unheard of during that time. Clites won the 1970 county scoring title averaging 26.7 PPG and was named All-WPIAL and UPI Little All-State (Fourth Team). He became the first player in the county to reach the 1,000-point plateau (1,342). Remember, this was before freshman eligibility and the three-point line.
Two years later, the Maples won the WPIAL boys’ basketball title. At that time, the WPIAL allowed schools to play in a Class C certification. They beat Sparta in the first round of the PIAA tournament before losing to eventual state runner-up Karns City. That same year, Carmichaels also made the PIAA “C” Playoffs and defeated Shanksville-Stoneycreek 72-66 before losing to Cambridge Springs in the second round.
Jefferson-Morgan’s Dennis Garrett became the second county player in the County’s 1,000-Point Club. He scored 1,356 career points from 1972 to 1975. Two years later, Waynesburg’s Craig Conklin would be the third and final member in that club before the three-point line changed the game.
In 1984, J.L Lechner became the highest scoring player in Carmichaels’ and Greene County history with 1,778 points. Both records stand today.
The 1988 Waynesburg team was the school’s most successful in over a half century. They went 16-5 and qualified for the PIAA state tournament. They beat Blackhawk in the first round before losing to Hampton in round two. They went on to beat Brookville in the first round of the PIAA tournament before losing to Aliquippa. The team was led by the third member of the Raider’s 1,000-Point Club, Kerry Marisa.
The 1991 West Greene team finished 19-7. That team also notched the Pioneer’s first ever playoff victory. Mike Cipoletti finished his career that season with 1,230 points. Chris Cook and Dave Goodwin joined Cipoletti on the All-District Team. Two years later, the Pioneers recorded their fourth straight winning season. The highlight of the season was a thrilling double-overtime victory over traditional power Monessen in front of a sellout crowd. Dave Goodwin graduated that year as the Pioneers’ all-time scoring (1,753) and rebounding (986) leader. He was also named to the All-State Team and was a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fab Five selection.
In 1993, Carmichaels finished 17-9 and Chad Lechner was named the Observer-Reporter Boys Player of the Year. In 1996, the Mikes made it to the WPIAL Final Four and the PIAA Elite Eight. They were led by Justin Voithofer, who was named the WPIAL Class A Player of the Year. He averaged 29 PPG and was named to the AP All-State Small School Team. In addition, he made the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fab Five. He finished his career as the second leading scorer in program history with 1,666 points. That year, Carmichaels became a ghost town on game nights as fans traveled faithfully with the team. After falling to Rochester in the WPIAL semi-finals, the Mikes rebounded nicely in the state tournament. They defeated Sharpsville and Northern Bedford on their way to the PIAA Western Regionals. The run finally ended against Couldersport, but the season will remain incredibly special in Carmichaels’ sports history.
Jefferson-Morgan’s Calvin Wilson (1,684) and Tommy Curtis (1,008) both joined the 1,000 Point Club in 2000. Tyrone Wilson joined them the following year with 1,056 points. The team also had success during those years, winning section titles in both 2000 and 2001. The 2000 team reached the semi-finals and qualified for the PIAA Tournament. After defeating Forbes Road 65-47 in the opening round, they fell to eventual state champion Kennedy Christian.
More recently, Darton McIntire became the all-time points leader at Waynesburg in 2018 with 1,541. Finally, in 2019 Coach Don Williams retired after 44 years at Carmichaels, becoming one of only 19 coaches in WPIAL history with over 500 career wins.