Top notch: Telegdy, Gonglik lead H-S All-Area Softball Team
The words “freshman phenom” are heard every once in awhile in softball
Even that phrase doesn’t seem quite strong enough to capture what Bentworth’s Sydney Gonglik did this past season.
The Lady Bearcats sensational freshman was the WPIAL regular-season leader in batting average (.733) and runs scored (43) and pitching strikeouts (226) in helping her team win the Section 3-2A title and advance to the WPIAL championship game and reach the PIAA tournament. She went 17-3 with a 1.03 ERA.
While Gonglik is just beginning her softball career, Elizabeth Forward’s Shelby Telegdy wrapped hers up with another outstanding year that saw her help the Lady Warriors win the Section 2-4A title, the WPIAL Class 4A championship and advance to the PIAA final where it fell to Blue Mountain.
Telegdy was 23-2 with a 0.54 ERA and 199 strikeouts and hit .568 with seven home runs and 36 RBIs.
Telegdy and Gonglik are the Herald-Standard Big School (Class 3A-5A) and Small School (Class 1A-2A) Players of the Year.
Harry Rutherford, who guided Elizabeth Forward to its second district title and its second appearance in a state championship game, both during his reign, is the Big School Coach of the Year.
Carmichaels, under the direction of Dave Briggs, battled in one of the toughest Class A softball sections in the state but still managed to tie WPIAL champion Chartiers-Houston for the Section 2-A crown. The Lady Mikes fell to the Lady Bucs in the district semifinals but defeated them in the PIAA semifinals to reach the state championship game. Like EF, Carmichaels took over the PIAA runner-up trophy.
Briggs is the Small School Coach of the Year.
Telegdy and Elizabeth Forward’s Julia Resnik, the area’s second-leading hitter in the regular season with a .577 average who also had seven home runs, 25 RBIs and 33 runs, head up the Big School First Team, which also includes the Lady Warriors’ Addyson Nigut, Southmoreland’s Makayla Etling and Amarah McCutcheon, Mount Pleasant’s Danica Trainer, Belle Vernon’s Gracie Sokol and Katie Sokol, Uniontown’s Ava Livingood and Connellsville’s Kirra Davis.
Gonglik and Carmichaels’ Carys McConnell, who was the area’s regular-season leader in RBIs with 32 and delivered the walk-off hit that propelled her team to the state final, and Bailey Barnyak, who went 18-3 with 167 strikeouts while scoring 24 runs, lead the way for the Small School First Team, which also includes the Lady Mikes’ Kaitlyn Waggett and Ali Jacobs, Frazier’s Addison Hiles and Grace Vaughn, West Greene’s Payton Gilbert and Marissa Tharp and Bentworth’s Zoie McDonald.
Five teams won section titles this past season. In addition to EF, Bentworth and Carmichaels, Frazier (Section 3-1A), which recorded an undefeated regular season under coach Don Hartman, and Connellsville (Section 4-5A), under coach John Burd, also finished first in their sections with the Lady Falcons tying Trinity.
The complete Herald-Standard All-Area Softball Team is listed below:
Big School (3A-5A) Player of the Year
Shelby Telegdy, Elizabeth Forward
Small School (1A-2A) Player of the Year
Sydney Gonglik, Bentworth
Big School Coach of the Year
Harry Rutherford, Elizabeth Forward
Small School Coach of the Year
Dave Briggs, Carmichaels
Big School First Team
Shelby Telegdy, Elizabeth Forward
Julia Resnik, Elizabeth Forward
Makayla Etling, Southmoreland
Amarah McCutcheon, Southmoreland
Danica Trainer, Mount Pleasant
Gracie Sokol, Belle Vernon
Kirra Davis, Connellsville
Ava Livingood, Uniontown
Addyson Nigut, Elizabeth Forward
Katie Sokol, Belle Vernon
Small School First Team
Sydney Gonglik, Bentworth
Carys McConnell, Carmichaels
Bailey Barnyak, Carmichaels
Payton Gilbert, West Greene
Addison Hiles, Frazier
Kaitlyn Waggett, Carmichaels
Zoie McDonald, Bentworth
Grace Vaughn, Frazier
Ali Jacobs, Carmichaels
Marissa Tharp, West Greene
Big School Second Team
Carlee Soukup, Hannah Evans, Julia Johnson, Elizabeth Forward; Tagan Basinger, Iris Burd, Connellsville; Emmaleigh Noah, Graci Rodeheaver, Lauren White, Uniontown; Harly Dirda, Laurel Highlands; Leah Myers, Avery Walls, Albert Gallatin; Adoria Waldier, Makayla Spoonhoward, Kylee Fisher, Yough; Maddie Brown, Southmoreland; Addison Reese, Emma Scanlon, Mount Pleasant; Ava Clark, Alexa Pellick, Brownsville; Gina Tedrow, Dani Stockdale, Ellie Maker, Waynesburg Central.
Small School Second Team
Emi Bednar, Jayanna Ciferno, Gracen Hartman, Frazier; Emmaline Beazell, West Greene; Megan Voithofer, Carmichaels; Riley Jones, Emma Stefancik, Sofia Celaschi, Charleroi; Sofia Gaussa, Bentworth; Kendall Welsh, Beth-Center; Emilee Bazzoli, Kayla Larkin, Jefferson-Morgan; Makenna Lotspeich, Alexis Perry, Mapletown; Joey Hurst, Monessen.
Honorable Mention
Molly Greenawalt, Cali Leichliter, Jaylee Moorehead, Connellsville; Nellie Budinsky, Disaya Craggett, Uniontown; Emme Cavaliere, Izzy Coleman, Lindsay Klink, Kayla Howell, Laurel Highlands; Maggie Quertinmont, Gabriella Delorenzo, Mya Glisan, Albert Gallatin; Brooklynne Snyder, Ashlynn Snyder, Jefferson-Morgan;Taylor Doppelheuer, Southmoreland; Zayda Downey, Mia O’Hern, Rylie Bednar, Brownsville; Keira Lamp, Beth-Center; Grace Polkabla, Frazier; Devan Clark, Treslee Weston, Mapletown; Kendra Jones, Crace Clingenpeel, Monessen; Sammi Zimmerman, Kylee Davis, West Greene; Emma Larkin, Maddie Ploskina, Geibel Catholic.