Female

Megan Walkovich, Portage
A 2008 graduate, Walkovich was an 11-time letterwinner, including four as a senior. She competed in basketball, softball and track at Portage and played soccer for Bishop Carroll. Walkovich captained Portage’s basketball team and was named to the Art Burkett Tournament’s all-tournament team. MaxPreps had her ranked seventh in the state in steals per game and in the top 20 in assists per game. She was also previously honored by the WestPAC. She was Portage’s MVP in track after scoring the most points for the team and was a district qualifier in the long jump and the triple jump. Walkovich was a recipient of The Tribune-Democrat Academic All-Star Award, the Army Reserve Scholar-Athlete Award, the Marine Corps Outstanding Senior Athlete, the Art Burkett Memorial Award for basketball and the Portage Area Babe Ruth Award as the outstanding senior female athlete. She is a member of National Honor Society and Who’s Who Among American High School Students with a 3.8 GPA. She was senior class treasurer and junior-senior prom queen and was featured on WJAC’s Success by 6 segment. Walkovich is a junior achievement mentor, a volunteer youth basketball coach and belonged to the a capella choir, drama club, SADD, Portage Area TV news and One Good Turn Dance Company. She plans to attend Duquesne University’s physical therapy program.

Courtney Smay, Forest Hills
Smay, a 2008 graduate, found success in a variety of sports, from cross country and basketball to softball and powerlifting. She qualified for the state cross country meet, then helped lead the Rangers to the playoffs in basketball. A point guard, she played in the inaugural Tribune-Democrat Senior Hoops Showcase. Smay was on the Forest Hills softball team that made the district playoffs and placed second in a powerlifting contest. She ranked eighth in a class of 233 students. Smay received the School Director’s Award, Presidential Award for Educational Excellence, Air Force Mathematics and Science Award, U.S. Marine Corps Distinguished Athlete Award and Art Burkett Memorial award. Smay is a member of the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society. She received a $300 grant from her church for participating in the REACH program and plans to major in wildlife biology at California University of Pennsylvania.

Erika Varner, Forest Hills
A 2008 graduate, Varner finished fourth in her class with a GPA of 3.8. She plans to attend California University of Pennsylvania in the fall and major in chemistry. A four-year starter on the varsity soccer team, she served as captain as a senior. In track, she broke the school record for the 300-meter hurdles. She competed in the District 6 track meet twice and helped the Forest Hills 3,200-meter relay team qualify for the state meet. Varner is a member of National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, SADD and helped coach the AYSO U-7 team.

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Male

Shawn Lehman, Greater Johnstown
A 2008 graduate of Greater Johnstown High School, Lehman started his athletic career with baseball at age 5, began his wrestling career in second grade and started playing football in fourth grade. He continued all three sports throughout high school. Lehman was the starting quarterback for a Johnstown football team that finished 7-3 last year and he competed for Johnstown’s wrestling squad, placing second at the Conemaugh Township Holiday Tournament. Lehman played varsity baseball for three years and played tennis his senior year. He has earned seven varsity letters with three letters each in football and baseball and a letter in wrestling. He is a member of National Honor Society, Who’s Who Among American High School Students and the National Honor Roll. Lehman earned the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts. He also bowled in the Senior Division at Richland Lanes, where he carried a 192 average. Lehman has bowled since he was 10.

Donald Miller, Cambria Heights
A 2008 graduate of Cambria Heights, Miller overcame early asthma problems to win 11 letters during his high school career. He was a four-year letterwinner in football, earning Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference all-conference honors as a junior and a senior. He also played in the Ken Lantzy Finest 40 All-Star Game. Miller added three more letters in wrestling, where he had a career record of 84-28 with 47 falls, including a 36-7 mark as a senior, when he finished as one of the top 12 189-pounders at the PIAA championships in Hershey. He was a Pennsylvania All-Academic High School selection his final two seasons. He was a four-year letterwinner for the Highlanders in track and field, setting the school’s javelin record as a junior and then breaking his own mark as a senior. Miller has won a number of academic honors, starting in 2005-06 with the Challenge Award, which is given to the school’s most improved sophomore. He is a member of the National Honor Society, the National Society of High School Scholars and won the Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award. He won the President’s Education Award for Academic Excellence and the Challenge Program’s best GPA award for the senior class. He earned the third annual Highland Foundation Scholarship, the Cambria Heights High School Staff Scholarship, the Sam Walton Community Scholarship, the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association Scholarship and the District 6 Wrestling Scholarship. Miller has served as a volunteer for spring cleanings along local roadways, done maintenance work for a youth summer camp, umpired softball and baseball games, served as a math tutor and volunteered for elementary spring carnivals in addition to his work on the family farm. He spurned offers to compete in wrestling or track in college in order to concentrate on his studies at IUP, where he plans to major in pre-medicine.

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