Wanda Holloway and Mont Mattocks are two of 11 former athletic greats who will be inducted into the Mercer County Hall of Fame at the group's 62nd anniversary banquet at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Radisson Hotel, near West Middlesex. Following are sports biographies of the pair:
WANDA HOLLOWAY
Wanda Holloway is the only four-time, first-team All-State selection — male or female — in the history of Mercer County.
The former Sharon High basketball great, who graduated in 1980, established a county scoring record with 2,106 points. That record lasted until broken by Sheena Aden of Lakeview in the 2006-07 season.
Wanda started her hoop career at Sharon playing with the boys teams in 7th and 8th grade because they didn’t have a girls team. She sharpened her skills playing with brother Randy on the playground and also at the F.H. Buhl Club.
In a brilliant career at Sharon where she earned All-State honors every year, she led the team into the playoffs a few times but fell short of a state title. Her senior year she scored 488 points, including a single-game high of 41 against Taylor-Allderdice, before the team was eliminated from the playoffs in a heart-breaking 38-36 loss to Aliquippa.
Wanda was heavily recruited by colleges, including UNLV, Cal, Missouri and several Carolina schools, before accepting a scholarship at the University of Georgia.
At Georgia, she played in a Southeast Conference-record 134 games and still stands in the top 10 in SEC career double-doubles with 49. She is tied for the school record with Janet Harris with a dozen consecutive double-doubles.
She still ranks 8th on the Georgia career scoring list with 1,833 points and stands 3rd for career rebounds with 1,163.
But as prolific as she was on offense, she was also a defensive force and held the school’s single-game shot-block record (8) for many years.
She helped lead the team to two SEC championships and into the NCAA Final Four.
There was no WNBA at that time, although she had offers to play overseas for women’s teams. She turned them down and remained in Georgia after earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She coached the junior varsity team for several years at Clarkston High. The varsity team reached the state finals a few times, but never won it.
She turned to running and has competed in half-marathons and marathons.
She and her brother Randy again make Mercer County history, being the first brother-sister duo to enter the Mercer County Hall of Fame.
MONT MATTOCKS
Mont Mattocks was one of the top athletes out of Mercer High School and also excelled in the field of coaching at nearby Grove City High.
In cross country and track at Mercer as a senior, he earned several honors, including runner-up in District 10 cross country and 9th in the PIAA state meet. He established a school mark on Mercer’s 2 1/18 mile layout in 11:10. He also ran the 800 and mile events in track, going unbeaten in the regular season.
In basketball, 1965 and 1966, he was a starter on teams that went 42-8. The 1966 squad went 28-0 in winning the state title. Mont made both ends of a 1-and-1 to send the championship game into overtime before the Mustangs prevailed, 55-52, over Darby-Colwyn. He set a school record in single-season assists (375) and in 2007 was inducted into the Mercer High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
From 1967-70, he was a basketball star at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a 3-year starter on teams that went 61-12. He was named to the District 18 all-star teams three times, including 1st team as a senior. He set school records for single-game, single-season and career assists. His single-game (14) and career (450) marks still stand today.
The outstanding point guard scored 742 points in his career and was inducted into the IUP Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.
He began his coaching career as graduate assistant at IUP, coaching the freshman team that included his brother Marty to a 16-4 record in 1971. He was head coach at Grove City High from 1976-1983, with his teams posting a mark of 110-69. His Eagles won the District 10 title in 1979 and he was named Mercer County Athletic Conference coach of the year. His teams also won MCAC titles in 1980 and ’81.
He also served as assistant coach for Grove City boys for 8 years and GC girls for 2 years.
He played ASA slow-pitch softball for more than 20 years with Mercer Tire, Old Rudes and Polish Falcons (New Castle). He was a standout in independent basketball in various leagues and tournaments with the Indiana AC’s and Old Rudes.
He is also an avid golfer and three-time flight champion at Grove City Country Club.
He served as chairman of the Elks Youth Hoop Shoot competition for 10 years and is a selection committee member of the Roger Flynn Scholarship.
