DISTRICT 9 WELL REPRESENTED AT PIAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sheffield senior Devon Meddock sings the National Anthem prior to the PIAA Class A girls' championship game Saturday at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center
The District 9 officiating crew of Ron Walter (left), Carla Smith (center) and Ron Kerlin (right) officiated the PIAA Class A girls' championship game Saturday at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center
By Chris Rossetti
STATE COLLEGE – While District 9 might not have had a basketball team involved in the PIAA Championships Friday and Saturday at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, the district was well represented in other areas.
Sheffield senior Devon Meddock sang the National Anthem prior to both games of the Saturday afternoon session (Class A girls and Class AA boys), while the officiating crew for Saturday’s Class A girls’ title game between Bishop Guilfoyle and Nativity BVM consisted of Carla Smith, Ron Kerlin and Ron Walter from District 9.
Meddock, who plans on attending Baldwin-Wallace to study Voice, found out March 13 she would be singing at the PIAA Championships.
“I guess our county Athletic Director sent in a tape of me singing,” Meddock said. “It was pretty cool when I found out. I had heard rumors that I might get to sing.”
While the Bryce Jordan Center was the biggest venue in terms of seats that Meddock had sung in, she is no stranger to big events having sung the National Anthem at the Big 30 Classic in Bradford, an All-Star football game pitting some of the best senior football players from the Central-Southwestern area of New York State surrounding Olean, N.Y., vs. some of the best senior football players from the Central-Northwestern area of Pennsylvania surrounding the Bradford area.
Meanwhile, the District 9 officiating crew was officiating their fourth PIAA girls’ playoff game of the year, and the Class A girls’ game Saturday completed the classification square. The crew’s 2009 playoff journey started with the Class AAA girls’ first-round game between Mt. Pleasant and St. Marys at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym. They then officiated the Class AAAA girls’ second-round contest between Mt. Lebanon and Erie McDowell at Morrow Field House in Slippery Rock. The crew followed that up by officiating the Class AA semifinal contest between Villa Maria Academy and Southern Huntingdon at Clarion’s Tippin Gym before doing the title game Saturday.
The championship game was a first for Walter and Kerlin, who have both been officiating for over 25 years including 29 for Kerlin and 36 for Walter. Smith, meanwhile, who is in her 13th year as an official, also officiated the 2005 Class AA girls’ title game between Delone Catholic and Westmont Hilltop.
Walter is a retired teacher, having taught for 36 years in the North Clarion School District, where he also served two stints as the girls’ basketball coach.
Kerlin, is also a retired teacher, who is currently subbing at Keystone High School, while Smith works in the Domestic Relations office in Crawford County.