Raiders select Gibbons, Yorio
Aaron Yorio is Waynesburg Central's fall sports male selection in the Centennial Chevrolet Scholar/Athlete Spotlight program.
Abby Gibbons is Waynesburg Central's fall sports female selection in the Centennial Chevrolet Scholar/Athlete Spotlight program.
WAYNESBURG — Abby Gibbons and Aaron Yorio are tremendous athletes.
They happen to be pretty good students, too.
Actually, they are great students, and for their success on the field of play and in the classroom, Waynesburg Central has named Gibbons and Yorio as its fall sports representatives in the Centennial Chevrolet Scholar/Athlete program.
Gibbons, 17, the daughter of Robert and Renee of Waynesburg, has a 4.0 GPA and is a member of the volleyball team. She verbally committed to play for West Virginia University in college as a junior. The Lady Raiders are undefeated this season in section play.
Gibbons hopes Waynesburg can follow last season’s success and repeat as section champions, but have a nice run in the playoffs.
“We made it to the first round of playoffs last year, and it was a good game, but we lost against Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic,” Gibbons said. “We hope to finish out the section undefeated and do well in the playoffs.”
Gibbons only started playing volleyball in seventh grade, and her first coach was her high school head coach, Dan Higinbotham.
“I was not good when I first started,” Gibbons said. “I was athletic but I wasn’t coordinated in volleyball skills. My high school coach has been with me since I started to play and he is very helpful. He is not much of a yeller. He takes action when needed and is more of a teacher.”
Gibbons didn’t know quite what to think when college coaches started to scout her, but knows she can rely on someone in the family if she has questions regarding playing in college, as her sister, Hannah, went through the recruiting process and plays college softball for Penn.
“My sister went through the process for softball, so I knew something about it,” Gibbons said. “I started playing travel volleyball in eighth grade for a team in Pittsburgh called Renaissance. I went over to my current club, Pitt Elite, and that’s when I started the whole recruiting process.
“The Maryland coach reached out to one of my coaches about being acquired, and that’s when I realized that I’m not that at my sport and that I could play in college. I started going online to a bunch of different schools answering the questionnaires that they had on the different websites and emailing the coaches. I just play most tournaments and block everything out, but when you know the coaches are coming to watch you it makes you think. Once the game starts, you don’t really have time to think about it.”
Gibbons’ father has also provided a great influence on her.
“My dad has always pushed me since I was little to be the best I can be in everything I do,” Gibbons said.
Both Gibbons and Yorio, who has a 3.5 GPA while playing on the golf team, admitted that it is tough to juggle both sports and academics, but realize that most athletes don’t get the chance to play at the highest level.
“I think it makes it harder playing sports,” Yorio said. “It is still important to get all your work done, because I do miss a lot of school. It is good here because all the teachers understand and help give you extra time to get your work done.”
Yorio, 17, is the son of Joe and Cindy of Mount Morris. He has been on the golf team since his freshman year and made it to the state tournament last season.
Yorio competes in the PIAA Western Regional at Tom’s Run Golf Course on Monday for a chance to head back to the PIAA tournament. Waynesburg is also involved in the team playoffs that kick off this morning at 9 a.m. The Raiders are in the Class AA semifinals at River Forest C.C. The top three teams advance to the the finals on Thursday at Cedarbrook Golf Course.
“We’ve had a really good team this year,” Yorio said. “I am hoping we can do well and plan on going as far as we can. Obviously, I would like to make it back to states individually.”
Yorio’s most memorable sports moment is hitting a hole-in-one at last year’s WPIAL finals.
“That’s the only hole-in-one I’ve ever had,” Yorio said. “It was important for me. It was No. 15 at Allegheny Country Club up in Sewickley. The hole was probably about 130-135 yards. I hit a nine-iron on that hole, and the hole was towards the front of the green, and my ball landed on the back and then spun back into the hole. I didn’t do any kind of celebration. I was kind of overwhelmed at that point.”
Yorio plays for coach Jeff Coss and lists his father as his greatest influence as an athlete.
“My dad has definitely been more of a coach for me,” Yorio said. “Everything I’ve learned about golf, he has taught me, and that’s since I was a little kid.”
In addition to golf, Yorio is also a member of the basketball team.
He is undecided on where he will attend college but plans on studying business so he can fulfill his dream of owning a golf course.
“I am still really up in the air on my college choice,” Yorio said. “I have talked to a few schools and a few golf coaches. I am going to wait and see what happens at the end of the season before I start narrowing it down.”