Hampton triathlete covers distance to school’s hall of fame

By: John Grupp
Saturday, September 14, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Angie Raimondi admits her high school career lacked enough to earn a spot in the Hampton Athletic Hall of Fame.

Turns out she was just getting started.

The former Hampton swimmer and rower developed into an accomplished triathlete with three Ironman competitions and a 321.6-mile Ultraman to her credit.

“I think more than anything,” she said, “it was my athletic career after high school.”

Raimondi is part of a six-person Hampton Hall of Fame Class of 2024 that includes a girls basketball 1,000-point scorer, two longtime coaches, a three-decade football announcer and a standout two-sport athlete from the 1950s.

The 24th annual Hampton Hall of Fame banquet will be held Sept. 26, and the inductees will be honored at the Talbots’ Sept. 27 game against visiting McKeesport.

Raimondi, who joins her younger brother Joe Raimondi (HOF Class of ‘23) in the hall, was a four-year letter winner in swimming and rowing. The 2008 graduate was a PIAA qualifier in swimming as a junior and won a Pittsburgh Indoor Rowing gold medal in sprints.

“I’ve made lifelong friends in swimming and rowing,” she said. “The team aspect was a lot of fun.”

Raimondi started training for triathlons in California about five years after graduating from Hampton. Her first one was the 2013 Wildflower at age 24. She eventually completed three Ironman Triathlons (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run) — the first one in Barcelona. Then, in 2020, she finished the Florida Ultraman, a grueling three-day event that consists of a 6.2-mile swim and 90-mile bike ride on Day 1, a 171.4-mile bike ride on Day 2 and a 52.4-mile run — two full marathons — on Day 3. She was the seventh female finisher and 21st overall with a total time of 30 hours, 22.12 minutes.

“It was always on my bucket list,” Raimondi said of triathlons. “It kind of escalated. It started with wanting to try one, and 10 years later, I was making it all the way up to the ultra-endurance triathlon.”

It was only a matter of time before former Talbots basketball star Laryn Edwards got her HOF invite. The 2018 graduate ranks fourth all-time in program history with 1,314 points and earned second-team all-state honors as a senior. She also was a track standout in the 200-meter dash and 1,600-meter relay.

The high-scoring guard went on to play at Loyola (Md.) and Providence and currently is an assistant coach for the Robert Morris women.

“I was shocked,” Edwards said. “I wasn’t expecting it at all. But I’m happy.”

Two ex-Talbots coaches, Bruce Steckel and Bruce Alstad, are part of the 2024 Hall of Fame class.

Steckel, a four-year golfer at Hampton from 1968-71, coached the Talbots’ boys golf team from 2013-23, winning three section titles and going 126-59 overall. He also doubled as an assistant baseball coach for a decade.

Alstad coached the Hampton Middle School wrestling team for nearly 30 years after being hired in the late 1970s, putting together undefeated seasons and section titles.

Rounding out the class of 2024 are Kevin Green, the football announcer and basketball scoreboard operator since 1992 and a former middle school track coach, and Byron Collier, a 1957 graduate who starred in basketball and track.

Raimondi never won a WPIAL title or a PIAA medal as a swimmer, but her days at Hampton helped set the foundation for her success as a triathlete.

The 35-year-old has taken a little break from competition since moving back to Pittsburgh, content to ride her bike around North Park Lake or lift weights. She has a Hall of Fame-caliber job, that’s for sure. Raimondi is an e-commerce national business manager for one of the world’s largest confectionery and chewing gum companies.

“I sell candy on the internet,” she said. “That’s basically what I do.”

Sensational Six

Here are the inductees for the Hampton Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2024

Name Sport Graduation year

Bruce Alstad, coach, wrestling, 1966 (Fergus Falls, Minn.)

Byron Collier, basketball/track, 1957

Laryn Edwards, basketball/track, 2018

Kevin Green, contributor, 1985 (Freedom)

Angie Raimondi, swimming/rowing, 2008

Bruce Steckel, coach, golf/baseball, 1971

Tags: Hampton