Twins’ induction into A-K Valley Hall of Fame emotional for Vick family

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, May 17, 2025 | 10:27 PM

David Vick would have liked to see Jaime Vick Moran give her own acceptance speech at the 54th annual Alle-Kiski Sports Hall of Fame ceremony Saturday night at Pittsburgh Shriners Center. Through her battle with leukemia, Vick repeatedly proved that she knew how to hold a room.

At a dinner, Vick watched her give a speech that left the next speaker, former Pitt men’s basketball coach Ben Howland, searching for a way to follow it. When Vick Moran spoke, Vick said she had the attention in every room she was in.

“Jamie was a gifted speaker,” Vick said. “She had a number of occasions where she had groups like this. She had a group at a Breakfast of Champions, where there were about 500 people. Tears were coming out of people’s eyes. She was motivational and sincere about everything.”

Jaime’s twin sister, Jodie Vick McCartney, also was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

They are the second pair of twins to be inducted into the A-K Valley Hall of Fame, along with Garry and Barry Nelson, who starred for Fox Chapel and Duquesne basketball teams before being enshrined in 2011.

Jamie and Jodi graduated from Kiski Area in 2002 and were standouts in volleyball and basketball. Both would play basketball at Saint Vincent before returning to Kiski Area as teachers and coaches.

“It’s hard to put into these words what it means to be inducted together,” Vick McCartney said. “Jaime and I were teammates from the beginning, literally out of the womb. … She never let cancer define her. She inspired everyone and her strength inspires me.”

Don Frederick (Ken High/football), Jonathan Martin (Valley/football), Larry Ondako (Arnold/basketball), Nick Reiser (Knoch/football), Mark Schubert (Springdale/football) and Paul Sapotichne (Springdale/basketball) also were honored. There are 408 individual inductees in the Hall of Fame.

Frederick spent 46 years in various coaching jobs. Frederick’s favorite moment was helping a seventh/eighth grade basketball team win a championship.

One of the players on the team, Fred Soilis, told Frederick he was going into the Hall of Fame.

“It made me realize it doesn’t have to be in the major leagues to be important,” Frederick said. “It’s not the winning of the games that is important, as it is the life-long relationships that are built during those seasons. It’s about instilling the values my coaches instilled into me in my players.”

Sapotichne will return to coaching this year. It will be his 43rd season as he takes over at Greensburg Salem, a school he led to a PIAA runner-up finish in 2009.

“I’ve been coaching non-stop with a couple of years off for retirement and a few years off for health problems,” Sapotichne said. “Then I got some calls that said the coach just left. Would you be interested in coming back again? I’ll be starting my 43rd year at Greensburg Salem High School.”

Martin said he enjoyed having his mom to support him during his career. She attended 35 of his 36 college games at Slippery Rock.

“Out of 36 college games, they only missed one because it’s in New York,” Martin said. “At baseball games, my mom motivated me by holding money in the air. When I hit the ball, I would keep running and running.”

Two teams were inducted. The 1948 Ford City boys basketball team went 23-5 and won the WPIAL Class 3A title. Ford City finished second in the state, losing 30-23 to Norristown.

The 1971 Kiski Area football team also was inducted. The Cavaliers beat Thomas Jefferson to win the Class 3A championship. The Saylor Ratings system ranked Kiski No. 1 in the state.