Trib HSSN June Madness quarterfinals: Spencer Lee, Franklin Regional vs. Malik Hooker, New Castle

By: Don Rebel
Monday, June 8, 2020 | 9:00 AM

Over the course of the next few weeks, June Madness will determine who fans believe is the WPIAL Athlete of the Century.

HSSN has put together two 32-player brackets, one for the boys and one for the girls, of WPIAL alums. Outside of a few exceptions, the field is made up of former district players who excelled in more than one sport.

Each weekday, June Madness will have one matchup each day with a little background info on each athlete found in a daily tale of the tape.

Starting at 9 a.m. Monday and running through 9 a.m. Tuesday, you can vote on the HSSN twitter page on the two athletes featured in this quarterfinals matchup.

Check the HSSN website at noon Tuesday for the matchup’s final results.

Here is the contest for the boys; Round 3, Day 3:

Spencer Lee vs. Malik Hooker is a battle of the heavily decorated wrestler trying to pin his third straight NFL football player in a matchup of the last two remaining athletes from Westmoreland and Lawrence counties.

Spencer Lee — Franklin Regional Class of 2017

(Wrestling)

• Defeated Darrelle Revis of Aliquippa in the second round, 68-32%.

• Defeated Montae Nicholson of Gateway in the first round, 71-29%.

• Four-time WPIAL individual wrestling champion at 113 pounds as a freshman, 120 pounds as a sophomore and junior and 126 pounds as a senior.

• Three-time PIAA individual wrestling champion at 113 pounds as a freshman and 120 as a sophomore and junior.

• Three-time national cadet and junior world champion at 50 kilograms as a sophomore, junior and senior.

• Lee was ranked as the No. 1 wrestler in the country all four years in three different weight classes.

• He was undefeated in his scholastic career until a late takedown by future college teammate Austin DeSanto cost him in a 6-5 loss.

• Lee finished his high school wrestling career with a record of 144-1.

• A breakdown of Lee’s four-year record: 49-0 as a freshman, 48-0 as a sophomore, 12-0 as a junior and 35-1 as a senior.

• He helped Franklin Regional win back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA team wrestling championships in 2014 and 2015, his freshman and sophomore seasons.

• Lee wrestles in college at Iowa.

Malik Hooker — New Castle Class of 2014

(Football, basketball)

• Defeated Devin Wilson of Montour in the second round, 71-29%.

• Defeated Robert Foster of Central Valley in the first round, 73-27%.

• Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25 football all-star team member in 2013 and Terrific 10 basketball all-star member in 2014.

• Did not start playing football until his junior year. Played defensive back, wide receiver and returned kicks.

• As a senior, Hooker scored 13 touchdowns and was a standout on defense in helping New Castle to a 7-3 record and the ‘Canes first playoff game in four years.

• Was a member of the New Castle basketball team for four years, helping them win three straight WPIAL championships his sophomore, junior and senior seasons.

• At the time, Hooker finished his basketball career as the second leading scorer in New Castle history with 1,627 points.

• In his senior season, Hooker averaged nearly 22 points, 9.5 rebounds, nearly 4 steals and 2 blocks per game.

• New Castle finished a perfect 31-0 in Hooker’s senior season in 2014, winning WPIAL gold in the school’s first PIAA championship after a 52-39 win over LaSalle College.

• Hooker played college football as a safety at Ohio State and is playing in the NFL for Indianapolis.

Spencer Lee – @LeeSpencerlee36
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Malik Hooker – @MalikHooker24

— TribLive HSSN (@TribLiveHSSN) June 8, 2020

Tags: Franklin Regional, New Castle