Former Apollo-Ridge basketball star Bartha rekindles memories
Shane Bartha enjoyed a tremendous senior year in basketball at Apollo-Ridge in 1991.
Bartha averaged 21.1 points and, more importantly, led the Vikings to their first and only WPIAL Class AA girls basketball title.
That championship is just one of the memories she'll reflect on when she becomes a member of the Armstrong County Hall of Fame on April 26.
It's a surreal feeling for Bartha, who admitted that while she's excited for the banquet, giving a speech could be a different story.
“I'm not going to go rant,” Bartha said. “I tried to give a couple speeches over my time, and it didn't work out well. This one I wrote, and I don't know if I'll get to say the whole thing. I'll rehearse at home. I'm not a good public speaker.”
Bartha recalls the WPIAL championship game as a nail-biting 54-51 win over Brentwood that came down to the final seconds, when a 3-point shot by a Brentwood player just missed going in.
Bartha might have been the most nervous person in the gym as she watched that shot from the bench after fouling out with a few minutes left.
“It was nerve-racking. You were standing there holding your breath wondering if it was going to go in,” she said. “It was emotional. I think I just looked at the pictures the other day. I think two of the girls were standing, and I was sitting in the chair thinking ‘no.' The girl who shot it was a good shooter.”
Bartha's 21.1 points per game is one of her seven school records. She also owns the single-season records for assists and steals; the career record for points, assists and steals; and also the single-game steals record with 15.
She hopes that her records stand long enough for her kids to begin playing at the high school level in hopes that if someone were to break her records, it would be one of her kids.
To add to her impressive senior year, a feature on Bartha appeared in Full Court Press magazine for her achievements. She credits her senior year to hard work with help from her coach, who happened to be her father, Apollo-Ridge athletic director Ray Bartha.
“Everything was so rewarding,” she said. “I put a lot of time into sports in high school. My father helped me. He was my coach all the time.
“It was one of the reasons I did so well. It was tough at times. He didn't give me any special treatment; he benched me like he would any other player.”
Bartha's fondest memory while playing at Apollo-Ridge was playing in the WPIAL championship.
“We had great support from our home town. You would come home from school and there would be banners in your yard.”
D.J. Vasil is a freelance writer.
