The fall sports season was tremendous (for the most part) and some of our most notable student athletes got to attend the WPIAL Sportsman Summit November 8.

Just one month ago a randomly selected group from different sports consisting of juniors Tyler Biss, Nick Krzeczowski, Zoe Ringer, Quinn O’Leary, and Sydney Chontos attended the summit at the Heinz History Center (good thing it’s not Acrisure History Center) to listen to presentations from multiple speakers.

The WPIAL wanted students from all around the area to understand the value of sportsmanship and who better to pick than prospering juniors. Juniors have had enough experience to appreciate what the speakers said but also bring what they’ve learned back to their teams.

With our athletic director alongside, the group stayed from around 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. listening to the speakers. Nearly 50 other schools also attended meaning that 300 student athletes were present.

Gene Steratore—former NFL official who now acts as a rules analyst for CBS Sports—spoke at the event and said that “What you will get from giving back with what you have already learned will be some of the most rewarding things you will ever do in your life.”

By the end of the event, our students felt more invigorated more than ever. Now, the Winter and Spring seasons will hopefully show everybody that they know what it means to show true sportsmanship.

“The speakers were very clear and sent a good message to the athletes. They made us feel like we have a duty to carry out as we enter our last year of [high school] athletics,” said Chontos.

Nobody else was just quite as excited for the event too when athletic director Mr. Kevin Krzeczowski said that “After the summit was over, we had to get the students lunch, so we went to Olive Garden. So yeah, it was pretty good.”