Franklin Regional notebook: Honors keep coming for former Panthers swimmer

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, November 26, 2023 | 11:01 AM

Purchase Photo Options

A college freshman now, Aiden Bunker is still reaping the rewards of a terrific career as a student-athlete at Franklin Regional.

A 2023 graduate who currently is a swimmer at Villanova, Bunker was named to the USA Swimming Scholastic All-American list, a notable accomplishment for the former WPIAL standout.

The 2022-2023 All-America list includes 1,135 athletes in grades 9-12 who maintained a minimum grade-point average of 3.5 and met the competition criteria during the qualifying period.

Bunker won a PIAA Class 3A title with the Panthers’ 200-yard medley relay alongside Holden Thomas, Ben Holm and Jason Tosh. He also had a runner-up finish in the 200 free relay (Jason Tosh, Thomas, Holm), and was third in the 200 individual medley.

Bunker was a five-time National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association’s All-American and holds five Franklin Regional school records.

Kaforey an all-star

Franklin Regional senior soccer player Dom Kaforey was selected to play for the Class 3A team in the 2023 Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association boys all-star games Nov. 25 at Pine-Richland.

The first game was to feature Class A vs. Class 2A, followed by Class 3A vs. 4A.

Huang selected

Franklin Regional’s Grace Huang was selected to play in the 2nd We Serve First Foundation all-star girls volleyball match Dec. 2 at Kiski Area.

The game consists of the top senior players from the Alle-Kiski Valley and its perimeter schools.

Hockey rolls

Seven players scored goals as Franklin Regional dismantled Norwin, 12-0, in PIHL Class 2A action.

Max Rutkowski scored four goals and added an assist, while Derek Garman and Max Williams each had two goals for the Panthers (2-2-0-1).

Williams added three assists to join Rutkowski with five points.

David Valentino made 13 saves in net.

Norwin (4-2-0-1) played without star forward Alex Thomas, who sat out with a hip injury.

Recruiting

• Franklin Regional senior Max Bernadowski signed a letter of intent play baseball at Slippery Rock. He is a shortstop and righthanded pitcher for the Panthers.

• Shaeley Reichbaum of Franklin Regional signed to continue her soccer career at St. John Fisher, a Division III program in Rochester, N.Y. Reichbaum played mainly forward for Franklin Regional.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional