Steve Conko, baseball
Steve Conko has baseball in his present and Penn State University and a heavy dose of mathematics in his future.
Conko has maintained a 4.1 GPA at Geibel Catholic High School and plans to study chemical engineering at Penn State.
He also played golf and basketball for the Gators.
Conko is Geibel Catholic’s spring sports male selection in the Centennial Chevrolet Scholar/Athlete Spotlight program. He is the son of Steve and Colleen Conko of Mount Pleasant and has an older sister, 29-year-old Caitlin, who played volleyball at Geibel Catholic and is a teacher at Quigley Catholic High School.
Always a team player, Conko became a versatile asset to the Gators’ program and that versatility is spreading around the team.
“I play shortstop and catcher, plus I did start a game as a pitcher this year,” Conko said. “I never caught until last year when our senior catcher wanted to pitch, so I told the coach I would catch. So I ended up being the starting catcher last year. I catch this year, but coach likes me on shortstop more so we trained another kid, same as last year.”
“It took some getting used to, just with the batter there and there is a lot going on with all of the gear on,” Conko said. “So, it took me a few games to get used to it. I prefer to play shortstop.”
Conko’s most memorable sports moment at Geibel Catholic happened last season.
“It was Geibel’s first win in two years, so that made it special,” Conko said, referring to the Gators’ 13-12 win over Clairton last season. “Plus, I was 4-for-5 and there was a key play toward the end of the game that I was involved in. It was the top of the seventh and Clairton was threatening to tie the score. There was a wild pitch and I was catching, so I went back and got the ball and tossed it toward the plate where our pitcher was covering. We got the out on a guy who was trying to score from third. It didn’t end the inning, but it left them with two out and nobody on base. The run would have tied the score.”
The Gators seem to have the Bears’ number, at least in baseball. Geibel Catholic’s only win so far this season is over Clairton, but Conko said the Gators are playing much better than their record would indicate.
“We only have one win to this point, but our consistency of play has gotten a lot better than last year,” Conko said. “A lot fewer errors a lot more balls in play, a lot less strike outs. Last year, it took us like four games for our team to get its first hit. This year, in our first scrimmage, we scored six runs.”
Whatever Conko studies, he will do so at Penn State.
“Penn State is etched in stone, the chemical engineering, I’m not so sure about,” Conko said. “It’s going to be something math-related. I love math and my mom’s a math teacher. I’ve thought about teaching because of my mom and I have two uncles who teach. It is certainly an option. I’ve also thought about just studying mathematics.”
His parents, particularly his mother, have played a large role in making Steve the athlete he has become.
“My mom has always been around me and she was just a tremendous athlete,” Conko said. “And, she just knows so much about a lot of sports. She was mainly a volleyball player, but she played baseball and softball when she was growing up and she played basketball, too. She comes and watches me all the time. She sees things, tells me what I’m doing wrong, tells me when I do something right, but she stays out of it during a game. She was my little league coach for eight years. My dad swam in high school and I swam a little bit, too. He played baseball in little league and pony league.”