On Friday, Jan. 24, the Lady Lions took on Chambersburg in the field house. This game celebrated 1,000 wins over the course of decades. Former coaches and alumnae players were invited to be recognized during half-time.
Former coach Art Taneyhill was recognized through his predecessor: Coach Mark Sapita.
“He [Art] is the absolute foundation of the program,” Sapita said. “He’s the one that really set the stage for all of the players to have the opportunity to receive scholarships and to go on to play in college. Some of them are even coaching in college.”
Taneyhill had a total of 471 wins while coaching the Lady Lions.
Coach Miriam Colledge guided the team from 2014-19.
“We had some really good teams in that time period,” Colledge said. “I feel like the five years that I coached helped contribute to this milestone that we’re celebrating tonight. I know the girls worked extremely hard. There’s this burning desire to want to achieve and be the best that you can be.”
Colledge hopes to see the girls go deep into the playoffs and into the state tournament.
Alumni Association President Peggy Cawthern attended the game with her husband, Bud Cawthern.
“It is a very big milestone,” P. Cawthern said. “We’re very, very proud of how Altoona has done with basketball. Being president of the Alumni Association, I’m very proud that we can give the T-shirts out tonight.”
T-shirts were given to former players with the Alumni Association logo on the back to wear during half-time.
“It is nice that the community came together to participate in this tonight,” P. Cawthern said. “The Alumni Association participates in this, too, because we have fond memories of Altoona High School being graduates of it ourselves.”
Senior Melana Eyer accomplished scoring 1,000 points in her basketball career.
“It [scoring 1,000 points] feels really good,” Eyer said. “It’s been a goal since my freshman year, so it’s really been an accomplishment. I hope to accomplish winning states in the future.”
The team is currently coached by Chris Fleegle.
“Being part of the 1,000 wins means I am fortunate to coach in such an historic sports program that a lot of people have dedicated time and effort to [in order] to ensure the girls’ basketball program continues its success,” Fleegle said. “The impact it has on the program shows that throughout the history of the Lady Lion Basketball program, there have been many special people that have worked hard as a group to achieve something bigger than themselves.”
The girls’ won the game 68-23.
“We want to continue to get better each day,” Fleegle said. “We hope to compete for both the Mid Penn and District 6 title. If all goes to plan, we hope to be a team that nobody wants to play against in March.”