Uniontown
Fayette County Student/Athlete Scholarship Program Graham keeps a busy schedule
Scarlett Graham achieved immediate success in high school sports.
As a freshman she won the county cross country meet, led Uniontown High School’s soccer team in scoring and excelled at track and field as well.
There was a bit of a drop off her sophomore season, but it had nothing to do with Graham’s desire or work ethic.
“They found out I had an iron deficiency,” Graham said. “After I got that straightened out, I started running like I used to again.”
Graham got back on track as a junior and closed out her career with an outstanding senior year in track and field. She was a triple winner in the county track and field meet, finishing first in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 to earn track MVP honors. She went on to earn a WPIAL fourth-place medal in the 1,600.
Graham was just as successful in the classroom with a sparkling 4.25 GPA, which put her third in her class of 270. She will attend Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., where she intends to run cross country and track and major in chemistry.
Graham, the 17-year-old daughter of Walter and June Graham of Farmington, was selected as the top female student/athlete at Uniontown Area High School and will receive a $500 scholarship through the Fayette County Student/Athlete Scholarship Program.
The program, sponsored by Davis and Davis Attorneys at Law in conjunction with the Herald-Standard, will provide $7,000 in scholarship money to 14 of Fayette County’s best and brightest student/athletes.
The program will culminate with a banquet, to be held at 5 p.m. Sunday, June 8, at Uniontown Country Club. At that time, each of 14 honorees will receive $500 toward a college education. HSTV will videotape the program for tape-delayed broadcast.
Graham’s list of high school and community activities and honors is amazing.
She was a member of the National Honor Society, the Silk Squad, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD). She was vice president of the Math Team and the Science Olympiad Team, senior class treasurer, sports editor of the yearbook and co-editor-in-chief of the Tomahawk school newspaper.
Graham also was a student tutor at elementary schools, took part in Habitat for Humanity, coached a youth soccer team, helped raise money for a community cancer patient and was a Bible Study leader. She was named student of the month by the Rotary Club and the Chamber of Commerce, was a Wendy’s High School Heisman state finalist, and won the DAR award and a national math award.
Graham’s athletic accomplishments are just as impressive.
As a four-year starter as a midfielder in soccer, she led the Lady Raiders in scoring and was named all-county each season and was voted all-section once and was a team captain.
As a four-year letterman in cross country, she was all-county twice with a second-place finish as a senior, was a team captain and MVP, won a seventh-place medal at the WPIAL championships and qualified for the PIAA meet.
In addition to her excellence in the county and WPIAL track and field meets as a senior, Graham won the county meet 1,600 and reached the WPIAL finals as a junior, was a team captain and MVP, and set school records in the 800, 1,600, 3,200 and 3,200 relay, along with Megan Monahan, Amanda Love and Amy Lucy.
“It’s exciting for me to know that I’ll still be remembered at the school by my records,” said Graham, who has one brother, 14-year-old Garrett.
Graham thanked her parents and Uniontown cross country and boys track and field coach Joe Everhart for standing behind her.
“My parents were always supportive of me and shared in my excitement,” Graham said. “And coach Everhart taught me how to be a good sportsman in addition to how to run, and he was always very supportive, too.”
Between her school work and her many activities, Graham had little free time, but that was fine with her.
“It did get to be stressful at times, but I like being busy and having things to do,” Graham said.
Graham cited her MVP performance in this year’s county track meet as her most memorable performance.
“What I did there gave me a confidence boost,” Graham said. “It made me thankful to be a runner and to have the ability I have.”
And Uniontown High School undoubtedly was thankful to have her as a student.
Muzika proud of his successes
Adam Muzika looked around the Uniontown High School weight room recently and liked what he saw.
“It was good to see about 55 kids lifting weights for football,” Muzika said. “It’s nice to think that maybe we helped create an excitement about football in Uniontown again.”
Muzika’s class can take plenty of credit in the resurrection of the Red Raiders’ football program. The team was 2-8 his freshman season, but the four-year letterman was part of three consecutive WPIAL playoff appearances after that, snapping a postseason drought of almost 20 years. The Red Raiders won a conference championship and put together an undefeated regular season his junior year.
“When I look back on it all now, I guess what the football team did that past few years was a pretty big accomplishment,” Muzika admitted.
An even bigger accomplishment for Muzika is his acceptance to Brown University, where he will play football and major in “some combination of math and science, possibly chemical engineering,” Muzika said. “I might change a couples times before I get it all figured out. But that’s one of the nice things about Brown. They have an open curriculum.”
Muzika fashioned a 3.85 GPA at Uniontown to rank 21st out of his class of 270.
School work was always a priority for Muzika.
“It’s more of a personal decision,” Muzika said. “When you get home after practice and you’re tired, you might ask yourself, ‘Do you want to study or not?’ I always knew I’d be better off if I got all my school work done. It’s a pride issue. I didn’t want to see myself fall behind in a class or fall behind anybody else in school.”
Muzika, the 18-year-old son of Ted and Karen Muzika of Uniontown, was selected as the top male student/athlete at Uniontown Area High School and will receive a $500 scholarship through the Fayette County Student/Athlete Scholarship Program.
The program, sponsored by Davis and Davis Attorneys at Law in conjunction with the Herald-Standard, will provide $7,000 in scholarship money to 14 of Fayette County’s best and brightest student/athletes.
The program will culminate with a banquet, to be held at 5 p.m. Sunday, June 8, at Uniontown Country Club. At that time, each of 14 honorees will receive $500 toward a college education. HSTV will videotape the program for tape-delayed broadcast.
Muzika was Uniontown’s senior class vice president, was a member of the National Honor Society, the Math Team and the Science Olympiad Team, and earned Rotary Student-of-the-Month honors. He also ascended to Eagle Scout in Boy Scouts.
Muzika didn’t sit idle in the summers. He worked as an umpire for the Uniontown Umpire Association, and last summer he also worked for the city cutting grass.
In addition to participating in football, Muzika played baseball as a freshman and was a three-year letterman in track and field.
“Track was a lot of fun,” said Muzika, who threw shot put, discus and javelin for coach Joe Everhart’s Red Raiders. “Really, I looked at it as something to break the long spell between football seasons, but I wound up going to the WPIAL finals in shot put this year.”
The 6-foot-2½, 255-pound Muzika was a four-year starter in football under coach John Fortugna. He played defensive line as a freshman, offensive line and linebacker as a sophomore and senior, and offensive line and defensive end as a junior.
Muzika’s most memorable game came his junior year when highly regarded Thomas Jefferson, which had beaten the Red Raiders in the playoffs the previous year, came into Uniontown for a regular season game.
“We beat the 26-0 and I think that sort of woke everyone up and let them know they we could play, that our football program was for real,” Muzika said.
Muzika was quick to respond when asked for the people he admired and respected most as he looked back on his high school career.
“I’d have to say most definitely my parents,” Muzika said. “They were always there to support me in every thing I did, no matter how small an endeavor it was, and it was always nice to see them there. A lot of kids aren’t that lucky.
“And coach Fortugna is one of the most caring individuals I ever met. He’s always there for the students and athletes. You never see him take a break. He probably sent out 40 or 50 films of me after my junior year without me even asking, and he’s always done stuff like that.
“I’ve just been blessed with good coaches and a good family.”