Brutto, Yedsena inducted into District 11 Hall of Fame
Former Shenandoah Valley and Marian girls' basketball coach Paul Brutto, left, and former Mahanoy Area girls' basketball standout Meggan Yedsena were inducted Sunday evening into the District 11 Hall of Fame (Photo by Leroy Boyer).
FOGELSVILLE — Paul Brutto laughed when he was asked how his girls’ basketball teams approached stopping former Mahanoy Area scoring machine Meggan Yedsena.
“Hope the game is canceled,” joked the former Shenandoah Valley and Marian head coach.
Laughs, old stories, renewed friendships and photographs were the theme as Brutto and Yedsena were inducted as part of the sixth class to the District 11 Hall of Fame during a banquet Sunday evening at The Delta Hotel by Marriott.
Brutto was a head girls’ basketball coach in the Schuylkill League for 40 seasons, compiling a 144-126 mark from 1981-1991 at Shenandoah Valley before guiding the storied Marian program to 606 wins over 30 seasons from 1991-2021 that included the 2008 PIAA Class A state championship.
Yedsena remains one of the all-time leading scorers in Pennsylvania, compiling 2,751 points from 1986-1990. A two-time, first-team All-State guard, Yedsena guided Mahanoy Area to a pair of PIAA Class A state championships in 1988 and 1989.
“It’s such an honor to be here,” Yedsena said. “Coming back to something like this means a lot. We had so much support when we were playing … the community support, the news support, it was just incredible. It’s very nostalgic. I’m so glad to be here.”
The District 11 Hall of Fame is selected each May by a committee of administrators, former coaches and media members from across District 11, including T102SportsNow.com content editor Leroy Boyer. Nominations can be submitted by District 11 member schools, officials groups and the media.
Brutto and Yedsena were among 14 standouts to be inducted this year, joining Dieruff girls’ basketball coach Linda Cruttenden, Whitehall soccer/field hockey star Kayla Cunningham, Nazareth football standout Chuck Dibilio, Emmaus football lineman Keith Dorney, Parkland three-sport star Tim Massaquoi, Dieruff legend Ross Moore, long-time Easton wrestling coach Steve Powell, former Allentown Central Catholic and Emmaus athletic director Dennis Ramella, Northampton player/coach/athletic director Mike Schneider, long-time coach and athletic director Rich Sniscak, Emmaus softball pitcher Shannon Williams and Salisbury soccer star Jason Yeisley.
They join a growing list of Schuylkill League inductees to the District 11 Hall of Fame, which also includes Scott Buffington, Joe Cesari, Stan Dakosty, Diane Decker, Randy Haas, Kim Homa, Lafay Hope, Kenneth Kline, Cindy Miller, Ron Rhen, Jim Steidle, Michelle Swantner, Allysa Vavra and Jack Wabby.
“It’s a great honor,” Brutto said. “You look at the names that have gone in previously and my classmates here, it’s such an elite group of athletes, coaches, ADs. To be placed in the same breath as they are, it’s such a super honor. I couldn’t be more happier.”
Yedsena was accompanied by nearly two dozen friends, family, former teammates and former coaches at Sunday’s banquet.
A 1990 Mahanoy Area graduate, she scored more than 1,000 points in one season, one of only three players in Pennsylvania history to do so, all without the help of the 3-point shot. She scored more than 40 points in a game five times during her junior season. As a senior, Yedsena was the 1990 Gatorade Circle of Champions Player of the Year for both Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic Region and was a 1990 third-team Parade All-American.
With Yedsena leading the way, Mahanoy Area won three straight District 11 championships, two in Class A (1988, ’89) and one in Class AA (1990). In 1988, the Bears then topped Lackawanna Trail (77-47), Lourdes (57-42), Notre Dame-Green Pond (74-64) and Minersville (60-55) in the PIAA playoffs before defeating Ferndale 74-53 in Class A state title game at the Hersheypark Arena.
In 1989, the Bears were in Hershey again after rolling past Benton (71-42), North Penn (91-61), Lebanon Catholic (78-56) and Old Forge (81-67). Mahanoy Area made it back-to-back state gold with a 67-50 win over District 7 champion St. Francis Academy.
Yedsena went on to play collegiately at the University of Nebraska, where she started 120 straight games, averaging 9.3 points per game to finish with 1,116 points. She was one of the most prolific passers in Nebraska history with a school-record 696 assists and also held the program record for career steals with 297.
Yedsena was the Big Eight Newcomer of the Year in 1991, was a three-time All-Big Eight second-team pick and a two-time first-team All-Big Eight academic selection. She helped the Huskers notch the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history by compiling six points, seven assists and four rebounds in a win over San Diego State in 1993.
Yedsena went on to play professionally in Germany and Austria and played in the Women’s American Basketball Association. She played for the Colorado Chill of the NWBL in 2003 and the Birmingham Power in 2004.
Yedsena and her daughter, Dylan, reside in Dallas, Texas, where she works in the medical device industry.
Former Mahanoy Area girls’ basketball assistant coach Dot Demmer presented Yedsena with her Hall of Fame plaque.
“It was a great time to be in a small town in Pennsylvania,” Yedsena said of her career. “The community support we had was unparalleled. The coaching staff … everyone was so supportive.
“I tell people all the time, the Coal Region, there’s no place like it. There are die-hard, loyal people in the Coal Region. There’s something that’s instilled in us from that and I take it everywhere I go.”
