The Greater Pittston area will be well represented when the Luzerne County Sports Hall of Fame celebrates the addition of 10 new members at this year’s induction ceremony.
Pittston Area graduate Allie Barber and Wyoming Area graduates Bree Bednarski, Brianna Pizzano, and Frank Redmond IV are among the inductees.
The induction is scheduled for June 7 at 7 p.m. at Mohegan Pennsylvania. Cocktail hour begins at 3 p.m. The program starts at 4 p.m. Tickets include dinner and are $75 for adults and $25 for children. Children 2-and-under are free.
Tickets are on sale now at luzernecountysportshalloffame.com. Program advertisements can also be purchased through the organization’s website.
ALLIE BARBER
Soccer, basketball, track and field
An all-around outstanding athlete, Barber was a key member of Pittston Area’s district championship teams in three sports.
She scored a Pittston Area record 159 career goals in soccer and was a 2013 Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association all-state selection. In 2014, she led the Patriots to the District 2 Class 3A championship.
Barber scored 1,000-plus career points in basketball, helping Pittston Area win the 2015 District 2 Class 4A title. She also ran in several events for the 2014 District 2 Class 3A girls’ track and field champions.
Barber continued her soccer career at Bloomsburg University. She started 59 consecutive matches with 19 career goals and 20 assists. After leading Bloomsburg to the 2018 PSAC title, she was named Bloomsburg’s Eleanor Wray Senior Female Athlete of the Year and its Outstanding Senior Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
BREE BEDNARSKI
Field hockey, softball, track and field
A two-time leading scorer in Wyoming Valley Conference field hockey, Bednarski rewrote the Wyoming Area, District 2, and state record books.
As a senior in 2015, Bednarski scored 67 goals, establishing a new Pennsylvania single-season record. She also set Wyoming Area records for goals in a single game (eight) and career (127).
Bednarski was also a standout outfielder in softball and a District 2 gold medalist in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and the 400-meter relay in 2016. She was first team all-state in both field hockey and softball.
Bednarski played collegiately at Michigan and Penn State. At Penn State, she was once named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and appeared in 65 games.
Now one of the WVC’s top coaches, Bednarski has led her alma mater, Wyoming Area, to its first league and district championships in program history.
BRIANNA PIZZANO
Tennis, softball
A tennis player since age 3, Pizzano won multiple local and regional tournaments as a child.
Pizzano elevated her play at Wyoming Area, appearing in six District 2 girls’ tennis finals. She won a gold medal in singles as a freshman and sophomore. She was also an all-conference and all-state shortstop who batted .457 as a junior before her senior season was canceled due to COVID-19.
At Misericordia University, Pizzano won MAC Freedom Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year as a freshman. She stayed at the top for the next three seasons, as well, finishing a four-time conference Player of the Year. She lost only one match in regular-season play throughout her career and won three MAC championships at first singles.
Graduating with a 3.95 GPA, she was the MAC’s Senior Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
FRANK REDMOND IV
Cross country, track and field
A graduate of Wyoming Area, Redmond was a top 10 District 2 finisher three times in cross country. He was also a PIAA state-qualifying track star in the 800-meter run. Redmond starred at the collegiate level with Misericordia University’s teams in both sports.
Redmond was a four-time Most Valuable Player for Misericordia’s cross country team and a three-time MVP for its track team.
Redmond remains Misericordia’s program record holder in the outdoor 800 meters and the indoor 800 and 1,000 meters. He was Misericorida’s first-ever All-American in track and field, finishing in fifth in the 800 meters at the 2010 NCAA Division III outdoor championship meet.
Redmond was a three-time All-MAC selection in cross country, earning first-team honors once and second-team honors twice.
