IN THE NEWSROOM WITH MORE. MIKE. THERE WERE SOME BIG NAMES HONORED TONIGHT REPRESENTING COMMUNITIES ALL ACROSS OUR REGION. 14 INDIVIDUALS, ALONG WITH TWO TEAMS, WERE INDUCTED AND AMONG THE INDUCTEES. OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST AND WWE CHAMPION KURT ANGLE, FORMER CENTRAL VALLEY AND PITT STAR AND SUPER BOWL CHAMPION JORDAN WHITEHEAD AND ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL COACHES OUR AREA HAS EVER SEEN, TIM MCCONNELL. HE BECOMES THE THIRD MEMBER OF HIS FAMILY INDUCTED, JOINING HIS SON, TJ, AND SISTER SUZY, ALSO PART OF THIS YEAR’S CLASS. UPPER SAINT CLAIR FOOTBALL PLAYER AND CANCER SURVIVOR WARREN TIMKO. EARLIER THIS WEEK, WE TOLD YOU ABOUT WARREN’S BATTLE WITH A RARE BRAIN TUMOR. OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WARREN, WHO WAS A GRADUATING SENIOR, TOLD US HE HAD TO RELEARN HOW TO SPEAK AND BALANCE HIMSELF. HE WAS DECLARED CANCER FREE LAST JUNE, AND TONIGHT HE EARNED THE COURAGE AWARD AND BECAME A HALL OF FAMER. I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT I MADE IT THIS FAR. LIKE A YEAR AND A HALF AGO. IF YOU TOLD ME THAT I WOULD BE HERE, OR EVEN ALIVE IN GENERAL, I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT YOU WERE INSANE. NOTHING BUT MIRACLES HAVE BEEN HAPPENING TO ME, AND THIS FEELS LIKE ANOTHER BLESSING FROM ABOVE. ONE FOLLOW UP NOTE WARREN PLANS ON ATTENDING DAYTONA STATE COLLEGE IN THE FALL WITH THE INTENTION OF TRANSFERRING TO THE UNIVERSI
WPIAL Hall of Fame inducts 16 new members in Class of 2026
Western Pennsylvania high school sports legends inducted into WPIAL Hall of Fame
Updated: 12:02 AM EDT Jun 6, 2026
The WPIAL inducted its 2026 Hall of Fame class on Friday night, with Olympic gold medalist and Mt. Lebanon graduate Kurt Angle headlining the list.Jordan Whitehead, the Central Valley and Pitt football star who won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was also among the big names honored at the DoubleTree hotel in Green Tree.Tim McConnell, one of the most successful high school basketball coaches in Western Pennsylvania, became the third member of his family inducted to the Hall of Fame, joining son T.J. and sister Suzie.Also part of this year’s class was Warren Timko, an Upper St. Clair football player and cancer survivor. Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 previously reported on Timko’s battle with a rare brain tumor. The graduating senior said he was declared cancer-free last June, and on Friday night, he became a Hall of Famer.”I can’t believe that I made it this far,” Timko said. “A year and a half ago, if you told me that I would be here, or even alive in general, I would have thought that you were insane. Nothing but miracles have been happening to me, and this feels like another blessing from above.”Each year, the WPIAL Hall of Fame recognizes some of the greatest names in Western Pennsylvania high school sports.See the full list of 2026 inductees below.ATHLETESKurt Angle, Mt. Lebanon wrestlingTricia Fabian Alderson, Chartiers-Houston softballBridget Guy Williams, Hempfield Area trackMaddie Holmberg Nickal, Hempfield Area trackPhil Mary, Chartiers-Houston wrestlingDerek Moye, Rochester footballJordan Whitehead, Central Valley footballCOACHESTim McConnell, Chartiers Valley/Bishop Canevin basketballJoe Salvino, Monessen/Belle Vernon basketballTEAMS1981 Mt. Lebanon boys soccer2004 Hopewell girls volleyballHERITAGEJim Conklin, Waynesburg wrestlingCONTRIBUTORAnne MadaraszCOURAGEEthan Keener, South Fayette basketball/baseballWarren Timko, Upper St. Clair footballOFFICIALCharles Evans Hunnell, football/lacrosse Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.
GREEN TREE, Pa. —
The WPIAL inducted its 2026 Hall of Fame class on Friday night, with Olympic gold medalist and Mt. Lebanon graduate Kurt Angle headlining the list.
Jordan Whitehead, the Central Valley and Pitt football star who won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was also among the big names honored at the DoubleTree hotel in Green Tree.
Tim McConnell, one of the most successful high school basketball coaches in Western Pennsylvania, became the third member of his family inducted to the Hall of Fame, joining son T.J. and sister Suzie.
Also part of this year’s class was Warren Timko, an Upper St. Clair football player and cancer survivor. Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 previously reported on Timko’s battle with a rare brain tumor. The graduating senior said he was declared cancer-free last June, and on Friday night, he became a Hall of Famer.
“I can’t believe that I made it this far,” Timko said. “Just a year and a half ago, if you told me that I would be here, or even alive in general, I would have thought that you were insane. Nothing but miracles have been happening to me, and this feels like another blessing from above.”
Each year, the WPIAL Hall of Fame recognizes some of the greatest names in Western Pennsylvania high school sports.
See the full list of 2026 inductees below.
(Kurt Angle reflects on his wrestling career in “4 The Record” interview: Watch the video above)
ATHLETESKurt Angle, Mt. Lebanon wrestlingTricia Fabian Alderson, Chartiers-Houston softballBridget Guy Williams, Hempfield Area trackMaddie Holmberg Nickal, Hempfield Area trackPhil Mary, Chartiers-Houston wrestlingDerek Moye, Rochester footballJordan Whitehead, Central Valley footballCOACHESTim McConnell, Chartiers Valley/Bishop Canevin basketballJoe Salvino, Monessen/Belle Vernon basketballTEAMS1981 Mt. Lebanon boys soccer2004 Hopewell girls volleyballHERITAGEJim Conklin, Waynesburg wrestling
CONTRIBUTORCOURAGEEthan Keener, South Fayette basketball/baseballWarren Timko, Upper St. Clair footballOFFICIALCharles Evans Hunnell, football/lacrosse
Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.