Sports

Quaker Valley Sports Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2013

The inductees include two undefeated teams and four athletes.

The Quaker Valley Sports Hall of Fame has announced the inductees for the Class of 2013.

The inductees include two undefeated teams, the 1956 Football Team and the 1991 Girls’ Soccer Team; and four athletes — Ernie Robinson, ’58; Courtney South, ’85; Chris Churchill, ’97; and John Houghton, ’03. 

“We are really excited about another strong group of inductees,” Mike Mastroianni, director of athletics and student activities, said in a statement.

“They again represent different eras and their credentials are impressive and unquestioned.  Our athletic department and our school district are very fortunate to have had such distinguished contributors.”   

The Class of 2013 will be inducted into the Quaker Valley Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday, Sept. 22 during a brunch and awards ceremony at the Sewickley Heights Golf Club.

The ceremony will be the featured event of the QV Sports Hall of Fame weekend celebration, which will begin with recognition at the Sept. 20 football game.

The Hall of Fame committee encourages all former Quaker Valley athletes and supporters to attend the weekend festivities.

Inductees:

The 1956 Football Team is the only undefeated Quaker Valley football team in school history.  As QV’s first football team it played an important role in uniting a new school district. Led by Coach Joseph Dobrick, a 2012 QV Sports Hallof Fame inductee, this team combined the talents of Sewickley and Leetsdale high schools.  The impact of the team’s success brought two rival communities and student bodies together and set a tone for excellence in all areas that still exists today.  In addition to Coach Dobrick, assistant coach Halley Willison (’99), and players Robert Mott (’00) and Jack Larimer (’02) have already been inducted into the QV Sports Hall of Fame. A third player, Ernie Robinson, will be inducted as a member of the Class of 2013.

Ernest Robinson, '58 is accomplished three-sport star athlete, who excelled in football, basketball and track. Robinson was a three-year letter winner in football and the starting quarterback his senior year. The only blemish that year was a heartbreaking 7-6 loss to Beaver.  Robinson threw the pass for QV’s only touchdown. Robinson earned all-section honors in basketball his senior year and excelled in three events as a sprinter on the track team.

After a decorated stint in the U.S. Army, Robinson embarked on a hugely successful 31-year teaching and coaching career in Columbus, OH.  He coached his school’s girls’ basketball teams to eight city titles and five district championships, winning a state title in 1986. He is a four-time City Coach of the Year and earned Ohio State Coach of the Year in 1986. He was inducted into his District Hall of Fame.

The 1991 Girls’ Soccer Team became the first undefeated team at Quaker Valley since the ’56 football team. Coached by Dom Vezza, the ’91 team finished 23-0 en route to the WPIAL title. QV defeated a strong Mt. Lebanon team 1-0 in the championship game and ended the season ranked the No. 1 team in the country by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The ’91 team was led by two Quaker Valley Sports Hall of Famers – Liz Gaadt (’99) and Liz Neidlinger (’01). Gaadt also earned All-American status.

Chris Churchill, ’97 captained back-to-back state championship soccer teams, the first in 1995 and then the undefeated 1996 team.  A three year starter, he was team MVP his junior year. In addition, he earned all-section and all-WPIAL honors three times during his sophomore, junior and senior years.  Churchill was also a two-time all-state pick and then became National All-American his senior year. He finished his career with 50 goals and 22 assists as a defender. After graduation Churchill went on to play at Penn State University lettering his freshman year before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh. While at Pitt he became a three-year starter and earned All-Big East recognition his junior and senior years.

John Houghton, ’03 is the leader of maybe the most accomplished brother-sister tennis act in the history of WPIAL tennis.  His coach, Ed Perry, said “I can state without reservation that John Houghton is the best tennis player ever to have graduated from Quaker Valley High School.”

Houghton has the credentials to back up that claim. A four-year number one singles player, Houghton had only three losses his freshman year and all were to the eventual WPIAL champion.  Houghton then won three straight WPIAL championships and only had two losses in his sophomore and junior years and both came in the PIAA finals.  In his senior year, Houghton went undefeated on his way to winning the WPIAL and PIAA singles titles.  Houghton continued his tennis career at the United States Military Academy at West Point where he was the school’s number one tennis player for his entire four-year career.

Courtney South Schorr, ’94 is the most accomplished women’s swimmer in Quaker Valley history. She was a member of the Quaker Valley girls’ swim team for four years, and served as team captain during her senior year.  During her senior year, Schorr was the three-time PIAA State Champion in three events (the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, and 200-yard freestyle relay).  

Based on her performance in 100-yard freestyle, Schorr was named a high school All-American in that event. Schorr then went on to swim at the University of Notre Dame, where she was a four-year letter winner and co-captain during her senior year. She was Notre Dame’s top freestyle sprinter during her freshman, sophomore and junior years, setting Notre Dame records in multiple events.  

Notre Dame’s women’s swim team won the Big East Championships in Schorr's junior and senior years.  In her junior year, Schorr was a top three finisher in the Big East Championships in her three individual events (50-yard, 100-yard, and 200-yard freestyle).  Schorr was also a member of Notre Dame’s 800-yard freestyle team that won the Big East Championships in 1997 and set a new Notre Dame record.  Her senior year she was the recipient of the Notre Dame Knute Rockne Student-Athlete Award, and was named an NCAA Academic All-American.

Tickets to attend the Hall of Fame induction banquet will go on sale in early August. The Quaker Valley Sports Hall of Fame will release more updates and information regarding the weekend festivities. 

For more information or for anyone interested in contributing to the Hall of Fame and the weekend events, contact Gene Klein at kleing@qvsd.org.

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