From:
Sunday, October 1, 2023 | 11:01 a.m
Courtesy of Jasmine Rogers
Quaker Valley graduate Christa Rogers-Pettie will be inducted into the Quaker Valley Sports Hall of Fame in the Class of 2023.
Courtesy of Denise Stoudermire
Quaker Valley graduate Christa Rogers-Pettie will be inducted into the Quaker Valley Sports Hall of Fame in the Class of 2023.
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The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 delayed Dr. Christa Rogers-Pettie into the Quaker Valley Sports Hall of Fame.
Due to the pandemic, drafts for the HOF have been suspended for three years from 2020 to 2022.
The 2008 QV graduate patiently waited for the highly anticipated call from her former track coach, Jerry Veshio, informing her that she had been accepted into the class of 2023.
“Did you see the emoji with all your teeth showing?” That was me telling my family about my selection into the QV Sports Hall of Fame,” Rogers-Pettie said. “Both my older brother and sister were accepted into the QV HOF, so I feel like I have completed the family triad.
“I am pleased that the QV Hall of Fame has been reinstated. It feels great to be recognized for my achievements and I’m excited to be included alongside my teammate Tabitha (Bemis).”
Veshio finally met the former three-sport wonder, who continued her athletic career on scholarship at Morgan State and Alabama A&M. Rogers-Pettie was excited — and essentially reassured — to hear from her former coach, as her intuition took over at that point.
Your first reaction to being inducted into the Hall of Fame?
“I got a voicemail from Coach Veshio and we played phone catch for a day or two,” Rogers-Pettie, 33, said. “So I already suspected why he was calling. I think I was excited and a little relieved. I didn’t want to be the only Rogers who wasn’t accepted.”
Rogers-Pettie joins siblings Jasmine (Class of 2014) and Darren (Class of 2019) as QV Sports Hall of Fame honorees.
“My sister had by far the biggest influence on my athletic career,” Rogers-Pettie said. “We played the same sports but excelled in different ways. I always watched her train and traveled to her games and tournaments. In her senior year, she broke the state record in the 100-meter hurdles.
“When she started college, I was basically just starting high school. She left me big shoes to fill, but I never felt the pressure of it. To this day she is my biggest supporter and I can’t imagine it any other way.”
Rogers-Pettie will be recorded the weekend of October 13-14. The HOF Class of 2023 will be recognized on October 13th at the Quakers’ home game against West Mifflin.
“Christa’s induction into the Hall of Fame is well-deserved,” said Veshio, who in addition to his coaching work also served as athletic director at QV. “I am very proud to have been part of her wonderful career.
“As can be seen from her biography, Christa was a phenomenal athlete, as evidenced by the fact that she achieved excellence in multiple sports. Her tenacious work ethic and ability to transfer specific skills from one sport to another made her unique.”
A banquet to honor the new inductees will be held at the Edgeworth Club on October 14 at 11 a.m. For ticket information, please email Christina Johns at [email protected].
Rogers-Pettie was a four-year letterwinner in volleyball, basketball and track. Her great athletic career included sectional, WPIAL and PIAA recognition in all three sports.
As a setter on the QV girls volleyball team, she was named All-Section four times, earned WPIAL honors her junior and senior years, and earned all-state honors as a senior.
“I think my favorite sport was volleyball, although I think I was better at basketball and track,” Rogers-Pettie said. “As a setter, you direct the entire offense. I think watching my sister and participating in all her tournaments really helped me grow my love for the game.”
On the basketball court, Rogers-Pettie demonstrated his versatility as a point guard and forward, leading the Quakers in scoring, assists, rebounds and steals for three consecutive years.
“My basketball coach, Curtis Williams, was a big influence on me,” Rogers-Pettie said. “He was my coach from the time I really got into AAU basketball all the way through high school. He knew how and when to push me and when to just let me run things.
“But above all, he knew the game and its players. His family was and is an extension of me.”
Rogers-Pettie amassed 1,245 career points, making him one of the best players in school history.
“During my senior season, I had no idea how close I was to my (1,000-point) milestone,” Rogers-Pettie said. “The referee stopped the game and I didn’t know why at all. Then it was announced that I had reached 1,000 career points.
“It was honestly an unforgettable moment. My mom and my coach were very good at playing this game close to the vest.”
Rogers-Pettie continued her elite competitiveness in track and field, winning the 100- and 200-meter dashes, the 100 hurdles and the 400-meter relay at the 2007 and 2008 WPIAL finals. In 2008, she broke the WPIAL -Meet record in the 200 meter dash.
“I won four gold medals in 2008, and my senior year I left states with four medals,” said Rogers-Pettie, who broke Olympic sprinter Lauryn Williams’ 200-meter WPIAL record.
Rogers-Pettie – then known as Christa Rogers – was a 5-foot-10, 155-pound high school competitor and was named the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Female Athlete of the Year. She was also selected as a WPIAL Scholar-Athlete in 2008.
“As a track and field athlete, I have seen firsthand how participating in multiple sports pays off for Christa,” Veshio said. “That she maintained peak physical and mental strength month after month as she progressed through season after season shows how unique she was.
“As the youngest in a family of elite athletes, it seemed inevitable that Christa would follow in these footsteps. I would like to add that it was a lot of pressure to be in her shoes and live up to the high expectations. However, she never failed to come through.”
Rogers-Pettie competed in both volleyball and track at Morgan State and later transferred to Alabama A&M. As a freshman at Morgan State, she won the team’s MVP award in women’s volleyball.
“My sophomore year I ran track and competed in the 100 hurdles, 100 hurdles, 4×100 and 200 hurdles,” Rogers-Pettie said. “I felt like I had to relearn a few things after a year off, but I managed to place in the 100 at the MEAC finals.
“At Alabama A&M I played volleyball and was actually interested in tennis. Long story short: During the offseason, I witnessed a conversation between my volleyball coach and the tennis coach in which the tennis coach discussed eligibility issues. I was academically qualified and learned to play tennis. My first game was against Auburn.”
The QV product currently resides in Charles County, Md., approximately 40 minutes from Washington, DC. She has a son, 5-year-old Carter, and works in cybersecurity.
“I’m lucky to have family close to me,” Rogers-Pettie said. “My sister lives in Washington DC and my parents moved to Maryland during the pandemic.
“I encourage my son to try all types of sports and I hope he finds something he enjoys. He’s currently training to be a superhero, so we’ll see where that takes us.”
Rogers-Pettie earned a degree in electrical engineering from Alabama A&M. She then attended the University of Maryland at College Park, where she received a master’s degree in systems engineering and a doctorate in reliability engineering.
“The mother and father were instrumental in their children’s education,” Veshio said. “They demanded positive results both academically and athletically. They were both caring and patient and managed to achieve an ultimately high success rate for their children.”
These days, Rogers-Pettie seems to have her cake and eat it too, as the saying goes. She founded a custom cake decorating company called Cakes by Christa in 2019.
“It’s actually become really successful,” Rogers-Pettie said, “and my goal is to be on a decorating competition show like ‘Baking Impossible’ or ‘Is it Cake?’ to take part.”
It seems like another Hall of Fame project is on the way.
When you go
Six individuals and two championship teams will be inducted into the Quaker Valley Sports Hall of Fame as members of the Class of 2023.
This year’s new additions are Tabitha Bemis, Dean Cvitkovic, Dr. Jeff Mulholland, Dr. Christa Rogers-Pettie, Justin Shegog, Furman South and the 1989 boys basketball teams and the 1993 boys soccer teams.
The induction ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Oct. 14 at the Edgeworth Club, 511 East Drive, Sewickley.
Registration and a social hour will take place from 11 a.m. to noon, and a bar will also be available. The presentation of the HOF candidates begins at 12:00 p.m.
The cost is $30 per ticket. Children under 10 have free entry.
Checks should be made payable to Quaker Valley Sports Hall of Fame and mailed to Quaker Valley Sports Hall of Fame, c/o Quaker Valley Athletic Dept., 625 Beaver Street, Leetsdale, Pennsylvania, 15056.
To purchase tickets or for more information, contact the Quaker Valley athletic office at 412-749-6001 or email Chrissy Johns at [email protected].
There will also be a reception/tailgate party prior to the Quakers’ home game against West Mifflin on October 13th at 5:30 p.m. at QVHS. All are welcome.
Tags: Quaker Valley
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