2022-2023 Athletic Recognitions

The following are team and individual athletic recognitions from the 2022-2023 school year.

Section Championship Team

Bowling – Girls

County Championship Team

Cross Country – Boys

County Championship Individuals

Wrestling – Eli Carr

Wrestling – Lucas Kapusta

Wrestling – Ethan Lebin

Wrestling – Charlie Mesich

Swimming – Dominic Falcon

Swimming – Camryn Watters

WPIAL Championship Teams

Bowling – Boys (Western Regional)

Competitive Spirit

Softball

WPIAL Championship Individuals

Wrestling – Eli Carr

Swimming – Dominic Falcon (50m)

Track & Field – Liz Tapper (Shot Put & Discus)

Track & Field – Peyton Murray (Discus)

PIAA Runner-Up Team

Softball

PIAA Championship Team

Competitive Spirit

PIAA Championship Individuals

Track & Field – Liz Tapper (Shot Put)

Track & Field – Peyton Murray (Discus)

National Championship Team

Competitive Spirit – GameDay

Reflecting on Harrold Middle School

As Harrold Middle School is transitioning into Harrold School for the time being, we felt it was important to reflect on the history of the school. The school first opened in 1930 for grades 1-10. Before Harrold’s opening, students attended one-room schoolhouses up to 8th grade, which all closed as Harrold opened. By WWII, Harrold was a 7th-10th grade building and operated as such until 1956 when Hempfield Area High School opened. With nearly 100 years of history, Harrold Middle School has educated thousands of students and employed many staff members. Each has their own personal experiences and fond memories of the building.

Ed Behanna, class of 1959, attended Harrold from 1953-1955. Behanna described Harrold as a melting pot that brought together students from all the elementary schools. His particular group was talented, and he remembers assembly talent shows and football games against Youngwood and Irwin. His class was the first to transition into and graduate from the high school.

He fondly remembers standing outside of Harrold watching workers construct the high school. When it finally came time to open, Behanna was one of the students selected to help pick the name, colors, song and mascot of the new school. For Behanna, the transition was easy as both students and some teachers moved to the high school together.

Teresa Graziotto, 8th grade math and science teacher, started substitute teaching at Harrold Middle School in the late 90s. In the 97-98 school year, she was hired and has taught nearly every subject since then. Graziotto’s experience at Harrold was more than just a workplace for her; so saying goodbye was very sad.

“My place is in middle school, especially Harrold Middle School. It was my home,” said Graziotto. “I grew up there. I was a young kid in my twenties starting my teaching career, and now it’s years later and I’m the veteran teacher.”

Over her years at Harrold, Graziotto reflected on her favorite Harrold memories which included: costume ball and haunted house and the student-faculty rock concert. The Costume Ball and Haunted House were put on by the student council and the band. Students and teachers decorated a section of the building into three different areas: graveyard, clown room, seance room. Students wrote a script about a former student who haunted the school, and teachers led students through the haunted house with the script. It was such a success that screams could be heard from the costume dance happening down the hall. Another popular Harrold event over the years was the Faculty/Student Rock Concert put on most recently by chorus teacher Dan Lauritzen. Students and teachers would plan a show for the last day of school with performances by both faculty and students. Similar to Graziotto, Steve Miller, math, science and computer applications teacher at Harrold, felt the school was a family.

“When I started at Harrold, I was a single guy living at home,” said Miller. “Now I’m married with two kids, both of whom attended Harrold Middle School and one recently a Hempfield Area graduate. The staff of Harrold

Middle School has experienced every life event with me for 24 years, and I with them. They are like family.”

Miller has certainly been a huge factor in Harrold’s family as he has taught on both floors of the building, for four different principals and in six different classrooms. On top of that, he has organized fundraisers, planned field trips, coached three different middle school sports (in addition to high school teams), created/updated three different websites and so much more. Though he couldn’t pick just one, a few of Miller’s favorite Harrold memories include the studentfaculty rock concert, dodgeball for charity, water-powered bottle rockets and egg drops, awards assemblies, 7th grade auctions, dances, concerts and more.

“More than anything else, it was the students that made Harrold Middle School special,” said Miller. “Their positive attitude, work ethic, desire to be successful and willingness to try new things always made Harrold a great place to be. I was, and forever will be, lucky to have been a teacher at Harrold Middle School. And I look forward to seeing some of those students again and meeting a new group at West Hempfield Middle School.”

Donna Eicher, retired history teacher, taught at Harrold from 1992-2006. Her absolute favorite part was the kids, specifically her 8th graders. As a former elementary school teacher, Eicher’s transition to middle school was a new experience, and she received great help from her colleagues, specifically Ed McCormick. Her favorite memories include chaperoning dances, putting on plays and building a stronger relationship with her video lab students, many with whom she still keeps in contact. Eicher acknowledged that Harrold Middle School employees made the environment amazing. She looked forward to going to work everyday and even hated retirement at first because she missed her students.

“I loved school. I went into school everyday with a smile and left everyday with a smile,” said Eicher.

Gene Brisbane attended and taught at Harrold. Brisbane attended Harrold from 1964-67 and taught various 7th grade subjects for 16 years. He also has family ties to the building. Brisbane’s grandfather, C. Scott Brisbane, worked as the assistant principal at Harrold and coached nearly every sport offered. To commemorate his impact, the Brisbane family has dedicated an award in his name since 1963.

Brisbane’s great aunt also taught at Harrold up until the opening of the high school where she continued teaching. But, the Brisbane line didn’t stop with Gene. His wife and three children are Harrold alumni, and four of his grandchildren have or will be attending Harrold.

Brisbane explained how nice Harrold’s atmosphere was both from a student and teacher perspective. He and his family are sad to see the change but hope to keep it alive through displaying artifacts and continuing past awards.

Like Brisbane, Jim

Steeley Jr. attended Harrold and now teaches at the high school. Steeley spent his 7th-9th grade years at Harrold from 1982-1985. While there, he played on a number of successful sports teams, such as football, basketball, and track and field. Steeley was one of the last groups to still be considered a “Harrold Chief.” Originally, each separate school had its own mascot and color. Harrold students were the Chiefs and sported the color red. Steeley still has his bright red Chiefs letterman jacket.

Steeley credits the friendships and relationships developed at Harrold for changing his life. One funny memory he shared was when Harrold was going through renovation and students had classes in trailers outside. One of their “games” was to cram at the end of the trailer to see if it could be tipped. For the record, it never worked. “From my classes, to the dances, to the sports teams I played on, I have nothing but wonderful memories of being a Harrold Chief,” explained Steeley. “It did exactly what it should’ve done, it transitioned me from the simplicity of elementary school into a mature setting, and it prepared me on so many levels for being successful at the high school.”

Like many already mentioned, Steeley credits those inside the school for its success. He said teachers such as Jeanne and Del Smith, Jack Serenko, David Kaylor and coaches like Don Miller, Pat O’Hara and many more had a positive impact on him as a young man and a student. To Steeley, he couldn’t have asked for a better principal than Denny Leshock, whose actions and wisdom enforced that students could have fun without sacrificing accountability.

“Harrold Middle School was not the building,” said Graziotto. “Harrold Middle School was the family that was created by everyone in our building: students, teachers, school counselors, principals, secretaries, paraprofessionals, PCAs, custodians, cafeteria workers, etc. WE all created the atmosphere that was Harrold Middle School where everyone was cared for and valued.”

All Relics Courtesy of Jim Steeley