Class of 2022

Blake Lalli—Baseball, Class of 2001

Blake Lalli excelled in baseball at Pine-Richland, leading the Rams to a 16-3 record as a senior after posting a .571 batting average. He was named to the Tribune-Review’s Terrific Nine All-Star team as a junior and senior, was a three-year letterman, and was named to the All Conference and All Area teams in his junior and senior years.

Mr. Lalli played baseball at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, from 2002-2006, where he was a two-time ASUN Conference selection (2005 and 2006) and had a .340 career batting average with 70 doubles, 27 home runs and 153 RBI. He was the first from Gardner-Webb to play in the Major League and was inducted into the Gardner-Webb Hall of Fame in 2016.

He made his MLB debut on May 18, 2012, with the Chicago Cubs and also played with the Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks and Atlanta Braves. Mr. Lalli retired in 2017 and began coaching with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2018, which he continues today. 

Lauren Lamendola—Diving and Gymnastics, Class of 2012

Lauren Lamendola was a two-sport athlete at Pine-Richland High School, competing in both diving and gymnastics. She was a two-time WPIAL champion in diving and won a WPIAL team championship in gymnastics. She also won the PIAA State Championship in diving her senior year and a State Championship runner up silver medal as a junior. Ms. Lamendola was selected to the All-State Swimming and Diving Team twice and was a two-time high school All-American diver as selected by the National Swimming and Diving Coaches Association. She broke Pine-Richland High School pool and school one meter diving records and held pool records at Peters Township High School, Chatham University and East Carolina University. She won the KDKA-TV Extra Effort Award as a senior.

Ms. Lamendola went on to dive for the Gamecocks at the University of South Carolina, where she earned All SEC honors and became an NCAA Division 1 All American while competing at the NCAA Championships in 2016 on the 1-meter board. She was also an SEC medalist in the 1-meter springboard. She earned the CoSIDA Academic All-American award and was named the University of South Carolina Female Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2016.

After graduating, Ms. Lamendola attended the Medical University of South Carolina and earned a physician assistant degree and is employed as a PA in orthopedic surgery and as a women’s self-defense instructor in Charleston, where she currently resides.

Bob McCurry—Football, Basketball, Wrestling, Track & Field, Class of 1969

Bob McCurry was a four-sport athlete at Richland High School, playing football for three years, participating in shot put in track and field for three years, playing basketball for two years, and wrestling for one year. In his senior year, Mr. McCurry was an instrumental part of the football team’s 9-1 record, the best in Richland’s history at that point, leading them to a victory in the AIC Runner-Up game. That year, he led the Rams in defensive points, averaging 15 tackles per game and five fumble recoveries. Mr. MCurry was named to the AIC All-Star team, Press All-Star Team, honorable mention Big 33 and AIC Conference A MVP.

Mr. McCurry joins two of his brothers in the Pine-Richland Athletic Hall of Fame: Jack and Paul.

Sarah Morgan Boyle—Volleyball, Basketball, Track & Field,Class of 2002

Sarah Morgan Boyle played volleyball and basketball and ran track at Pine-Richland High School. Mrs. Boyle led the Pine-Richland High School volleyball team to a WPIAL Championship in 2001, the first volleyball title in school history. She won the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Scholar-Athlete Award as a junior and was WPIAL MVP in 2001, Section MVP, Team MVP, two-time first team all-state and all WPIAL recipient. Mrs. Boyle led the team to three section champions, was voted Star Athlete by the Tribune-Review in 2001, named Player of the Year in Girls’ Volleyball by the Tribune-Review in 2001, and was voted team MVP all four years by her teammates. As a junior, Mrs. Boyle placed fifth in the high jump at the WPIAL Class AAA championships and fourth as a senior. She holds the school record in triple jump and had the second best mark in high jump for the state in 2001. She was named track and field MVP for three years.

Mrs. Boyle continued her volleyball career at the University of South Carolina where she was a four-year starter and two-time team captain for the Gamecocks. Upon graduation, she played internationally for the Klagenfurt Volleyball Club in Austria. She is a proud wife and mother of six children.

Ed Novak—Football, Basketball, Baseball and Track & Field, and Cross-Country Coach, Class of 1958

Ed Novak was nominated as both an athlete and coach for Pine-Richland, participating in football, basketball, track and field and baseball at Richland High School, and coaching cross country for many years. As a student-athlete, Mr. Novak was named to the Herald Well-Rounded 1957 All-Star Football First Team and was a two-year letterman in football, basketball and baseball, and a one-year letterman in track and field. He was the original record holder at Richland High School in the 100-yard dash in 1958, which held for ten years.

Following high school, Mr. Novak was a three-year letterman in football at Slippery Rock. He was assistant coach of the 1988 Richland High School state-championship girls cross country team and head coach of the 1989 WPIAL championship girls cross country team, as well as head coach of the 1992 WPIAL championship boys cross country team. In 1989, he received the Central Catholic Invitational Class C Girls Coach’s Award. He received the 2011 Pine-Richland Track & Field Invitational Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as a boys' and girls' cross country coach. Mr. Novak retired from Pine-Richland in 1997 after a 35-year teaching career. He joins his son Jay in the Pine-Richland Athletic Hall of Fame.

2005 Girls’ Soccer Team

The 2005 Girls’ Soccer team won the PIAA State Championship, the first-ever state championship for Pine-Richland girls’ soccer. They ended their regular season ranked number one in their section with an 8-3-1 record and were the number one seed in the WPIAL playoffs. In the PIAA State Championship game, Pine-Richland defeated Owen J. Roberts High School, the undefeated number one ranked team in the country, 1-0.

Team members included Jordan Baranowski, Hanna Burrows, Michelle Calabrese, Gabrielle Conlon, Karen Crouch, Kathleen Delaney, Carrie Deutsch, Katelyn Gill, Madeline Hennings, Natalie Hennings, Emily Karr, Christie Kimball, Meghan Klingenberg, Christina Knapp, Erica Kozminski, Emily Loughhead, Midori McAndrews, Mallory Miller, Kelsie Murray, Mariel Pfischner, Tori Pikur, Amanda Reed, Natalie Schaefer, Jeana Schwerer, Jenna Siegrist, Adrienne Steckel, Kelly Thill, Lindsay Thill, Taylor Whiting and Katie Wise. Coaches included Jodi Chmielewski, Steve Domville and Jamie Weaver.

The inductees were recognized on Friday, October 21, 2022, prior to the Pine-Richland home football game. The banquet celebration was held on Saturday, October 22, 2022, at Pine-Richland High School.