Class of 2024 West Allegheny Athletic Hall of Fame

Dave Brytus - Athlete

High school punters and field goal kickers are usually small in stature, but that was not the case for 2004 West Allegheny graduate Dave Brytus. One of West Allegheny’s most prolific kickers in school history, Brytus was a 6’4”, 230-pound weapon on the football field. As a youngster, he could kick the football over his two-story house. That prompted middle school kicking coach Jim Littler to recruit him for the football team. Brytus started punting for the high school team his freshman year and his sophomore year he helped the team win its first, and only, PIAA state championship in school history.

Brytus missed his entire junior season after breaking the tibia in his kicking leg. His senior season, however, defined him as one of the elite kickers in West Allegheny history.

He placed 18 of 44 kicks inside the 20-yard line, converted eight of 12 field goals (including a record-breaking 53-yarder) and kicked a game-winning 52-yard field goal to hand West Allegheny a 38-6 victory over Montour. The Pittsburgh Tribune Review named Brytus a top specialist in the WPIAL and one of the top kickers in the country. Following his 2003 senior season, he was named an AP Class AAA first team All-State punter and earned a spot on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fab 22 Team. He also played in the Big 33 All-Star Game and was included on the Collegiate Sports of America Prep Star Magazine high school football All-Region Team, the Patriot News Platinum 33 Team and the Riddell Footwear All-American High School Team.

Brytus went on to play for Purdue University and the University of Pittsburgh. At Purdue, he was a two-year starter as a punter and named to the 2004 Sun Bowl Special Teams MVP and the 2004 ESPN.com All-Bowl Team. In 2005, he earned the Big 10 Special Player of the Week award. In January 2006, Brytus enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh and joined the Pitt Panthers football team. With Pitt, he averaged 39.6 yards on 66 punts, highlighted by a 66-yarder against Rutgers. Against Eastern Michigan, he was named Big East Special Teams Player of the Week when he averaged 45.4 yards per punt and dropped a kick inside the 20-yard line.

In 2009, Brytus signed as an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens.

Troy Reaghard - Athlete

Troy Reaghard, a 2010 West Allegheny graduate, earned three WPIAL championships and won a record 140 matches during his high school career. Thirty-nine of those wins came his senior year. Reaghard’s list of accomplishments include being a four-time MAC champion, a two-time county champion and earning a selection in the prestigious Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic when the WPIAL faced off against the state of New York. Reaghard beat his opponent 2-1. After qualifying for the state championships three times, Reaghard finished as the PIAA runner-up his senior year. In 2017, Reaghard was named by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as one of the top 15 wrestlers in West Allegheny history and selected co-MVP alongside two other West Allegheny Athletic Hall of Fame inductees: Rocky McGeary (2017 inductee) and Ron Tarquinio (2015 inductee). Reaghard sits at second all-time in matches won.

Reaghard was also a four-year letter winner on the West Allegheny football team. A special teams standout his freshman and sophomore years, Reaghard earned starting positions at middle linebacker and fullback. His senior year, he was named captain of the 2009 WPIAL championship team that reached the PIAA semifinal game

Reaghard went on to attend the University of Pittsburgh, where he continued racking up achievements on the mat. After starting as a redshirt freshman, he compiled notable victories over the course of four years. His senior year, he competed at the 165-pound and 174-pound weight classes, and at the ACC championships defeated two top college wrestlers to place third and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA championships. Reaghard started on Pitt’s first-ever ACC championship wrestling team and enjoyed four team conference championships in the lineup. During his tenure, Pitt wrestling was ranked in the top 10 four out of five years.

Reaghard is currently the head coach of the West Allegheny wrestling team and continues the tradition of success within the program. Since taking the reins in 2022, the wrestling team is 20-5 with several wrestlers enjoying individual success. In his first year, he coached Ty Watters to his second PIAA championship while also guiding Shawn Taylor to the finals. Both also won WPIAL championships in their respective weight classes. Under Reaghard, West Allegheny has sent six wrestlers to the PIAA tournament.

Michael Caputo - Athlete

Michael Caputo, a 2011 West Allegheny graduate, finished his junior year at West Allegheny by leading his football team to a WPIAL AAA championship. He also earned an athletic scholarship to the University of Wisconsin and was named a Sports Writers All-State first team running back as well as a first team All-State defensive back by Pennsylvania Football News.

After scoring two touchdowns in the first game of his senior season against South Park, Caputo suffered a debilitating ankle injury that ended his high school career. In just three short years of playing football, however, Caputo had amassed some prestigious achievements. He was rated the 41st linebacker in the country by Rivals Recruiting and ranked as the 13th player in Pennsylvania high school football. Caputo finished his high school career with 2,759 yards on 377 carries, scoring 40 touchdowns and 10 receptions for 140 yards. His junior year, he rushed for a total of 2,759 yards and scored 38 touchdowns. In a single game against New Castle, he ran the ball for 297 yards.

As a defensive back for West Allegheny, Caputo registered 89.5 tackles his junior season. After his junior year, he was named team MVP, 2009 Western Pennsylvania Big School Player of the Year and chosen as Player of the Year by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, the Beaver County Times and the Pittsburgh Sporting News.

In addition to being a three-time letter earner in football, he was also a two-time letter winner in track and field.

At Wisconsin, Caputo played 53 games and made 40 starts. He recorded 244 tackles, including 10 tackles for a loss, while snatching three interceptions and notching six career double-digit tackle games. His junior season, he was named to the All-American second team by the Football Writers Association after leading the Badgers with 106 tackles, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, among other team-leading defensive statistics. He was named team captain his senior season and selected to play in the East West Shrine Bowl in 2016, earning defensive MVP honors after recording three tackles and two interceptions.

After graduating from Wisconsin in 2015, Caputo entered the college coaching ranks and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Louisiana State University. In 2019, he became the safeties coach at the University of Utah before returning to his alma mater, Wisconsin, in 2020 and 2021 to coach defensive backs.

Nick Kolarac -Athlete

Nick Kolarac, a 2010 West Allegheny graduate, fell in love with soccer at the age of 3 and never looked back. At 11, he started playing club soccer as well as in the Olympic Development Program, a US Youth Soccer program that identifies and develops young soccer players with high potential. All of this led to him excelling as one of West Allegheny’s premier soccer players during his four years of high school. His senior year, he led the nation with 39 assists in 18 games. Along the way, Nick earned All-Section honors (2-A, Section 5A) and All-WPIAL honors his junior and senior years. That made him the first player in West Allegheny history to be selected to All-Section and All-WPIAL teams in back-to-back years.

As the team’s captain his senior season, Kolarac led his team to a 12-1-1 record and all the way to the WPIAL semi-finals. The team ended up finishing in third place and qualifying for states, where they defeated the Slippery Rock Rockets in the first round before losing in the second round during overtime to the Hampton Talbots, 1-0.

Kolarac continued his soccer career in college at Saint Francis University, where he played in 73 games, scored 18 goals and had 14 assists. As a junior, he was named to the second team on both the All-NEC team and the NSCAA All-Region team. As a senior captain in 2013, he led his team with 11 points and three game-winning goals that resulted in earning him first team honors on the All-NEC and NSCAA teams.

After graduating from Saint Francis with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Kolarac continued his soccer career by signing with the semi-pro Michigan Bucks team. He helped the Bucks win a national championship and then played for five years with the Steel City FC of the National Premier Soccer League and a year with the Philadelphia Fury. He played another three years with Saint Louis before fulfilling a childhood dream by signing and playing for his hometown Pittsburgh Riverhounds team.

In 2019, Kolarac signed with the Pittsburgh Hot Spurs and in 2021 he led the team to its first playoff berth in team history. He was also named to the All-Conference team

Kellen Campbell - Athlete

Kellen Campbell, a 2001 West Allegheny graduate, started his wrestling career in the West Allegheny Youth Wrestling Program. He went on to wrestle through his junior high and varsity years, reaching some monumental milestones as a member of the varsity team. In his junior and senior years, Campbell qualified for PIAA competition and in his senior year finished eighth. Both years, he earned slots in the prestigious Powerade Tournament. His senior year, he finished as a runner-up.

In his sophomore, junior and senior years, Campbell was named a Mid-American Conference Champion and was inducted into the MAC Hall of Fame.

In all, he earned 103 varsity wrestling victories.

At the same time, Campbell was a standout fullback and linebacker for the West Allegheny football team, being named a team captain his senior year after earning letters all four years. In 2000, he was named to the AAA All-Star second team at linebacker by the Pennsylvania Football News and the Pittsburgh Fab 22 Football Team. He was also an East West All-Star game selection. Campbell played in the 1997, 1998 and 1999 WPIAL championship games as a

two-way starter at linebacker and running back, earning All-Conference team nods. After excelling in the 1999 WPIAL championship game, Campbell was named MVP. Both that year and in 2000, he helped the team reach the PIAA championship.

After high school, Campbell continued his education at the University of Pittsburgh, where he was a two-year starter at fullback for the Panthers. He was named a team captain his senior year and graduated with a BS in business administration and management. He then earned a MBA from Pitt’s Katz School of Business. After working for several years in business development, Campbell chose an entrepreneurial venture with the creation of MAC.BID. He has grown that company to 20 locations throughout the United States with over 1,600 employees. Campbell is married and lives in the West Allegheny School District with his wife, Nicole, and their three children, Kase, Kyler and Kelso.

Campbell continues to give back to the community by coaching in the baseball and wrestling programs in the district.

Kevin Campbell - Athlete

Kevin Campbell, a 2000 West Allegheny graduate, started developing his wrestling prowess in the West Allegheny Youth Wrestling Program. He continued his quest to become a top wrestler in the junior high and varsity programs.

In high school, Campbell earned numerous achievements, including being named team captain his junior and senior years, lettering for four years and qualifying for WPIAL competition. He was a four-time MAC champion and earned an induction into the MAC Hall of Fame. In 1999, Kevin finished in fourth place in the prestigious Powerade Tournament. Before finishing his outstanding high school wrestling high school career, he won 100 matches.

Campbell was also a four-year letterman on the football team. He was named captain his junior and senior years and in both years he led the team in tackling. In 1998 and 1999 he was an All-Conference selection. As a starting linebacker and fullback, he helped the team finish as runners-up in the state championship. He was named a second team AAA All-State linebacker by the Pennsylvania Football News and also named a second team big school All-State linebacker by the Associated Press.

After high school, Kevin continued his education at Mercyhurst University, where he obtained a bachelor’s in business and was a four-time letter winner and starter at fullback and on special teams for the Lakers football team. Today, he owns a successful real estate management company and lives in the West Allegheny School District with his wife, Heather, and their three children, Deklan, Aiden and Keeva, all of whom attend West Allegheny. Campbell continues to give back to the community as head coach of the West Allegheny Youth Wrestling Organization.

Garrett Browning - Athlete

Garrett Browning, a 2012 graduate of West Allegheny, started playing golf at the age of 5, as attested by Jerry Stone, his college coach from Robert Morris University. Stone lived near Browning and watched him grow into a prolific golfer. He later recruited Browning for Robert Morris.

You might say Browning reached one of his peaks as a noted golfer in high school when, as a sophomore in 2009, he won his first state championship. When he repeated his senior year, he joined a rarified group of just six other golfers in PIAA golf history. One of those was Arnold Palmer, who won back-to-back PIAA state championships in 1946 and 1947. In that second state championship, Browning beat out accomplished high school boys’ soccer players Tommy Nettles of Pine Richland and Colton Wiggins of Indiana.

While Browning never won a WPIAL championship, in three appearances he finished third, tied for eighth and tied for sixth, all qualifying him for the state championship. You might say he won the “big ones” when it counted.

At Robert Morris, Browning became a four-year starter and as a junior he helped the Colonials win the NEC conference title, giving the team a NCAA tournament berth. His sophomore and junior year, he was named to the All-NEC second team and in his senior year named to the first team. Among other college achievements, he was also named a five-time tournament medalist, the most in Robert Morris history.

In his nomination letter, Stone writes, “He demonstrated a tremendous work ethic. His teammates referred to him as ‘Bulldog.’” Scott Macher, a member of the Professional Golfers Association of America, stated in his nomination letter, “There is no greater example of excellence in golf than what Browning was able to accomplish as a student at West Allegheny.”