Trib HSSN May Madness: Adam DiMichele, Sto-Rox vs. A.Q. Shipley, Moon

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Wednesday, May 13, 2020 | 9:00 AM


Over the course of the next month and a half, May 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, May Madness will have one matchup each on the boys and girls bracket with a little background info on each athlete found in a daily tale of the tape.

Starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday and running through 9 a.m. Thursday, you can vote on the HSSN twitter page on the two athletes featured in this first-round matchup.

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

Here is the contest for the boys. Round 1, Day 9:

Adam DiMichele vs. A.Q. Shipley is a battle of between small school and big school multi-sport athletes from west of Pittsburgh representing the Class of 2004.

Adam DiMichele — Sto-Rox Class of 2004

(Football, basketball, baseball)

• 2003 and 2004 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review male athlete of the year.

• Was named to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review football, basketball and baseball all-star teams his senior year.

• 2004 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review YMCA male scholar athlete of the year.

• Broke the all-time WPIAL passing record at the time by throwing for 6,471 yards.

• Threw for 2,706 yards and 36 touchdowns his senior year, leading Sto-Rox to the WPIAL Class A football championship game, where they lost to Springdale, 30-13.

• As a senior in basketball, DiMichele averaged nearly 14 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals per game in leading Sto-Rox to a 27-3 record and the 2004 PIAA Class AA state championship. He also helped the Vikings win WPIAL gold in 2001 and 2002.

• DiMichele was a four-year starter for the Sto-Rox football, basketball and baseball teams. In his last two years in Vikings green, the teams were a combined 103-20.

• He was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame in 2011.

• DiMichele was drafted in the 38th round of the Major League Baseball draft but turned down that and a football scholarship to Penn State to play baseball at Okaloosa-Walton College for two years before transferring to play quarterback at Temple for three years. After a stint at training camp for the Philadelphia Eagles, he played in both the Canadian Football League and the Indoor Football League.

Allan Quay Shipley — Moon Class of 2004

(Football, basketball, wrestling)

• 2004 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25 all-star team.

• Was a four-year starter for Moon at center and also saw action at tackle.

• Helped Moon qualify for the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs all four years as the Tigers reached the quarterfinals in his sophomore season and made trips to the semifinals in his junior and senior seasons.

• In his senior year, Moon finished 10-2 overall and won nine in a row before falling to Thomas Jefferson in the semifinals.

• Shipley was a three-year starter at center/forward for the Moon basketball team.

• Helped Moon to a 29-3 record his senior year in basketball as the Tigers beat Knoch to win the WPIAL Class AAA championship and Holy Ghost Prep to win PIAA gold three weeks later.

• Was a member of the Moon wrestling team for one year as a heavyweight, and in his first varsity match he pinned the defending state champion.

• He was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame in 2018.

• Shipley played his college football at Penn State and has played in the NFL as an offensive lineman for Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Baltimore and Arizona.

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