Trib HSSN May Madness: Stephanie Madia, North Allegheny vs. Tabitha Bemis, Quaker Valley

By: Don Rebel
Monday, May 11, 2020 | 9:00 AM

Over the course of the next month and a half, May Madness will determine who you 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. Monday and running through 9 a.m. Tuesday, you can vote on the HSSN twitter page on the two athletes featured in this first round matchup.

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

Here is the contest for the girls; Round 1, Day 7:

Stephanie Madia vs. Tabitha Bemis is a matchup of a couple of girls who had success in black and gold in high school on the track, the course and the gym mats.

Stephanie Madia — North Allegheny Class of 2002

(Cross country, track and field)

• 2001 and 2002 Pittsburgh Tribune Review female athlete of the year.

• Named by Harrier’s as one of the top 50 high school girls distance runners nationally in 2001.

• Madia won four WPIAL individual championships, winning gold in the 3,200-meter run in 2000 as a sophomore, the 1,600-meter run in 2001 and both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter as a senior in 2002.

• She captured state gold in the 1,600 in 2001 and both the 1,600 and 3,200 in 2002.

• In cross country, Madia finished fifth, second, third and second in her four WPIAL championship races and finished 12th, third and second before winning the 2002 PIAA cross country individual championship.

• Madia helped North Allegheny win four WPIAL cross country team championships and three district team track and field titles. She also helped the Tigers win PIAA team cross country gold in 1998 and ‘99.

• She was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame in 2019.

• Madia ran in college for the cross country and track teams at Notre Dame.

Tabitha Bemis – Quaker Valley Class of 2010

(Track and field, gymnastics, diving)

• Won 43 medals in three different sports in her high school career.

• She won WPIAL gold in 2010 in long jump and 100-meter hurdles and finished second in the triple jump.

• A few weeks later, Bemis concluded her scholastic career with state gold in the long jump and 100-meter hurdles and silver in the triple jump in the PIAA championships.

• She finished in eighth place at the 2007 WPIAL championship as a freshman in her one and only year doing the pole vault.

• Bemis started her high school career by winning gold in the WPIAL and state all-around in gymnastics, however an elbow injury forced her to give up the sport.

• As a senior, she competed for Quaker Valley in diving and finished second at the 2010 WPIAL championships and then came in sixth place in the PIAA diving finals.

• Bemis was on the track and field team in college at Edinboro.

Stephanie Madia – North Allegheny
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Tabitha Bemis – Quaker Valley

— TribLive HSSN (@TribLiveHSSN) May 11, 2020

Tags: North Allegheny, Quaker Valley