Franklin Regional’s Bunker, Todero up for scholar/athlete award

By: Paul Schofield
Saturday, April 8, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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One of the passages of spring is the annual Westmoreland County Scholar/Athlete Awards dinner.

It’s where two high school students from each of the 18 county high schools gather, and one male and one female win the Excellence Award.

The banquet will be held April 18 at Ferrante’s Lakeview and be sponsored for the first time by Judge Michael Stewart.

This year’s nominees from Franklin Regional are seniors Aiden Bunker and Sierra Dawn Todero.

Both are outstanding athletes and excellent students.

Bunker, who will attend Villanova and pursue a mechanical engineering/aerospace degree is an outstanding swimmer.

He was part of the winning 200 medley relay team at the PIAA Class 3A championships. He teamed up with Holden Thomas, Ben Holm and Jason Tosh. The four also finished second in the 200 freestyle relay, while Bunker placed third the 200 IM.

He placed 13th in the 100 breaststroke.

Bunker also helped Franklin Regional to section titles in 2020 and 2023 and Westmoreland County titles in 2020, 2022 and 2023.

He has placed in numerous individual events at the county, WPIAL and PIAA meets and was part of winning relay teams at different levels.

Bunker was a four-year letterwinner and served as team captain.

In the classroom, Bunker ranks 28th of 283. He has received Highest Honors with Distinction every quarter in high school. He is a member of the National Honor Society and French National Honor Society.

He is a member of the French Club, Chess Club, Franklin Regional against Plastics and is math and French tutor. He also works as a lifeguard at different pools.

He is the son of Casey and Kristin Bunker.

Todero plays soccer and competes on the track team as a jumper.

She was an all-section soccer player for three consecutive years (2020-22) and was an all-WPIAL player in 2022.

For the track team, Todero competes in the sprints and long and triple jumps. She earned a second-place finish in the long jump and a third in the triple jump at the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association meet in 2021. She finished second in the triple jump in 2022.

At the WPIAL meet, she placed eighth in the triple jump in 2021 and seventh in 2022.

She has a 3.52 grade-point average and plans to attend Robert Morris.

She is the daughter of Kris and Bill Todero.

She received a CIHS Rotary Scholarship, an RMU Merit Scholarship and a RMU Cross Country/Track Scholarship

Todero earned high honors and is a member of the Helping Homebound Heroes Club and is a USATF Club member (Three Rivers Association). She also is a volunteer for different camps.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional