Championships keep getting sweeter

There's more to life than basketball, as one dad said, but the game has given these kids a place in local history.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Maureen Meier had no intention of leaving the state championship trophy won by the Kennedy Christian High girls basketball team.
"If [Coach] needed me to take the trophy any place, I offered to carry it," said Meier, a senior guard for the Golden Eagles. "I didn't let it go Saturday evening. I was on the bus, and then I fell asleep with it."
Those dreams couldn't have been any sweeter.
Basking in the glow of their first state championship in girls basketball, the Golden Eagles mingled with classmates and teachers Monday in the first day back to school since the 48-46 victory over Pottsville Nativity BVM at Hersheypark Arena.
"My dad told me that there's a lot more to life than basketball," senior forward Katie Fill said, "but this is what basketball is all about."
Celebration: One can bet the celebration at Kennedy Christian will last for a long time.
The boys and girls teams were honored Monday at a morning rally in the high school gymnasium. On display were the state championship trophies and the gold medals, which players wore around their necks.
"This has really made me realize how much the fans, especially the cheerleaders, meant to the team," senior guard Keenan Christiansen said. "We wouldn't have gone anywhere without those people."
The Golden Eagles became part of history.
The boys team (27-5), coached by Joe Votino, won its fourth straight Class A state title Friday, 87-45 over Fairfield, matching the Pennsylvania record set by Carlisle in the 1985-88 seasons.
Coach: In winning Mercer County's first state title in girls basketball Saturday, the Golden Eagles also sent their coach, Father Rick Tomasone, away in a positive manner.
Tomasone, the coach for the past 16 seasons, has been reassigned in the diocese and will move to Erie following the school year.
"At the parish [Sunday] I got an ovation from the parishioners," Tomasone said. "It has just been a wonderful experience.
"If I hugged the girls every day for the rest of my life, it wouldn't be enough."
The game: Kennedy Christian had a 15-point lead early in the third quarter before Nativity rallied to tie the score 46-46 with 12 seconds remaining in the game. Kennedy Christian called a timeout with nine seconds remaining and won the game on its ensuing possession.
Senior Erin Frankovich took a pass from senior Barbora Fabianova and scored underneath with three seconds remaining for the Golden Eagles' victory.
"It didn't matter if they were the Golden Girls or gorillas, we simply were not going to be denied," said Tomasone, referring to Nativity's school nickname of Golden Girls.
Kennedy Christian will work on finding a replacement for Tomasone, but his legacy with the Golden Eagles will not be forgotten.
"I told [sophomores] Lauren Friedrich and Becca Gasiewicz that it's not me -- there's nothing magical about me," said Tomasone, with tears forming.
" 'You're the ones that have to do it on the court,' and they told me that now they have something to defend."
Boys: Although it kept talk of four straight titles to a minimum, the boys team eyed Carlisle's mark ever since it defeated Bishop Hannan for the 2000 crown.
"It really is amazing what we've accomplished," said Votino, the 19th-year coach who has been the architect of six state titles at Kennedy Christian.
"You don't think about it at the time, but it really feels good when you've accomplished something in life that you know you've worked for, when you know it wasn't given to you."