Uniontown honored with sportsmanship award
Former Uniontown Area High School principal Richard A. Constantine was a proponent of sportsmanship, which was evident when the Red Raiders won three sportsmanship awards in the first five years of the “SPORTSMANSHIP: The Only Missing Piece is You” program that was launched by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) and Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) in 1997 to promote sportsmanship in the schools and to reward those schools that best demonstrate the elements of good sportsmanship.
Constantine, a 1965 graduate of Uniontown Area High School who excelled in football and wrestling before earning an athletic scholarship to play football for the University of Virginia, taught social studies at Uniontown for 10 ½ years while also serving as head wrestling and assistant football coach.
Constantine was an assistant principal for 2 ½ years prior to working as principal for 19 years, four years as assistant to the superintendent and five years as administrative director of athletics at Uniontown.
During his time as principal at Uniontown, Constantine preached sportsmanship and was proud when his school was presented with the sportsmanship award in the first (1997) and second (1998) years. The Red Raiders earned their third award for the 2000-2001 school year.
Constantine passed away on Aug. 29, 2010, but Uniontown Principal Bob Manges was proud to carry on Constantine’s legacy through the sportsmanship program as Uniontown received its fourth sportsmanship award in the 30th edition of the program on Wednesday at the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh.
“I had the pleasure of working with Mr. Constantine, as a coach, when he was athletic administrator here, and I think he would be so proud of this award sitting on my desk right now,” Manges said.
Uniontown Athletic Director and Dean of Students Harry Kaufman was instrumental in the Red Raiders receiving the award, as the Red Raiders were presented with a “SPORTSMANSHIP: The Only Missing Piece is You” 4×6 banner, a PIAA Board of Directors resolution acknowledging their selection and a distinctive paperweight with the miniature banner embedded inside. A total of $1,250 will be shared among the winning schools, which is courtesy of The Wilson Group. Uniontown will be recognized at the annual WPIAL Sportsmanship Summit. The award can be presented to a maximum of five schools.
“We are just really proud of our community, kids, coaches and teachers,” Kaufman said. “We want to thank our school board and administrators for the support they give to all our athletes in the district.”
With its fourth award, the Red Raiders are in a tie for seventh place with South Park for the most sportsmanship awards among the 30 different WPIAL schools who have earned multiple distinctions as leading the way in the district to promote sportsmanship.
South Fayette leads the WPIAL with eight awards. Hampton and North Hills each have seven, West Allegheny comes in with six, and Derry and Peters Township own five apiece.
Manges acknowledged that the road to being recognized hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but the growth in competing at the highest level of sportsmanship has been evident the last school year at Uniontown.
“I think us winning this award was not about us being perfect, it was about having something bad happen, and what we did with that,” Manges said. “We did not run from that, we took the blame and the criticism, but I feel like we, as a district, jumped into the same boat to make this better.
“We almost did a doctoral thesis of work to show the state that we were going to go above and beyond what they expected of us, and that’s what we did, and I think we are being recognized for that.”
Kaufman acknowledged the Uniontown community for the support in the program, and he believes the award is for all to celebrate.
“We are proud to say that we are all Red Raiders, and we’re happy that everybody got a chance to see this, and if you are a ‘Raider Nation’ member, you should be proud of this award because it’s for all of you,” said Kaufman. “This award goes to the Uniontown Area School District as a whole.”
Kaufman and Manges were accompanied by four Uniontown junior student-athletes to the presentation in Pittsburgh — Eleanor Carei, Charley Murtha, Qua’Mari Scott and Matthew Page.
CBS Sports rules analyst Gene Steratore spoke during the event. Steratore is a Uniontown native who graduated from Laurel Highlands High School.
Murtha has been on about every field or court during her time at Uniontown, as she has competed in cross country and track, basketball and soccer, but regardless of the sport or situation of the contest, she has promoted sportsmanship.
“As an athlete, I think sportsmanship is the main thing a good athlete needs,” Murtha said. “Obviously, you get looked at for how many goals you score, how fast you can run, or how many shots you make, but people really like a good human being, and I think being able to be a good human being reflects, not just you, but your whole team, and who you are off the court or field.”