Thomas Rosahac

Born and raised in the area, Rosahac had several outstanding achievements while at Panther Valley.

In baseball, he was a two-year starter and maintained a .400 batting average. He was also a two-year starter in basketball and tallied 814 career points, which puts him 14th on the school's all-time scoring list. As a team captain during his senior year, Rosahac led the TIMES NEWS area in scoring, averaging 18.6 points per game while leading his team to the District 11 championship game.

In the spring of 1989, which was his junior year, Rosahac did what had never been done in the 25-year history of Panther Valley - he became a four sport athlete by participating in both baseball and track during the same season.

One afternoon at Panther Valley, the Panthers were involved in a track meet and baseball game against rival Marian.

Rosahac pitched the first two innings of the baseball game, then changed into his track uniform and broke the school record in the 400-meter event by running a time of 51.2 seconds, a record that still stands today.

Both the baseball and track teams went on to beat Marian that day.

Rosahac finished second at the District 11 track meet in the 400 in both his junior and senior seasons. Rosahac never lost a 400-meter event in a dual meet, compiling an 8-0 record over a two-year period.

While certainly accomplished on the track and on the diamond, Rosahac's biggest achievements came on the football field, where he was a two-year starter on offense and defense.

Rosahac helped his team win back-to-back District 11 championships in his sophomore and junior seasons.

As a team captain his senior year, he led the team to an 11-2 record and an Anthracite League championship. His team also earned an Eastern Conference playoff berth for the first time in school history.

Rosahac finished his senior season with 73 receptions and 1,218 receiving yards, both of which are still single season records at Panther Valley.

Rosahac was selected TIMES NEWS area First Team wide receiver and defensive back, First Team wide receiver and defensive back for the Pottsville Republican Herald, and First Team All-State at wide receiver. Rosahac played collegiately at Brown University.

Rosahac has been married for 17 years to Marie (Michalik) Rosahac, formerly of Shenandoah. He remains active in athletics and is currently the president of the Jim Thorpe Olympian Booster Club, which sponsors youth sports programs for children in the Jim Thorpe area from K-6th grades. He has also been a little league coach for 10 years, youth football coach for nine years and youth basketball coach for 18 years.

Last year, Rosahac also started his career as a PIAA sports official for football, basketball and softball.