By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, June 22, 2025 | 11:01 AM
The two leading award recipients at the Brentwood High Athletic Boosters Association annual sports banquet made their mark on the hardwood.
Forrest Betz received the Mark Reider Award as the top senior male athlete at Brentwood in 2024-25.
Paige Boehm won the Lady Spartan Award (formerly the Booster Award), which goes to the top senior female athlete in a school year.
The Mark Reider Award wasn’t new to the Betz family.
“Being named Mark Reider for this year was an honor,” Betz said. “It showed that all of the work over my past four years paid off. It also felt even more special because my older brother Carter was named Mark Reider in 2023.
“I would like to thank my family, my mom, my dad, my siblings — David Michael, Emma, Anna, Ben, Carter and Griffin — and my grandparents for being my biggest supporters throughout my high school career. I would also like to thank all my coaches who have helped me achieve all my goals.”
The 5-foot-10, 165-pound Betz was a three-year starter at guard in basketball and a four-year starter in football. He led the boys basketball team in scoring the last two seasons and ranked among the WPIAL scoring leaders in 2024-25 with a 21 point-per-game average.
“One of my favorite basketball memories at Brentwood was scoring 1,000 points with my entire family in the crowd,” Betz said. “Also, hitting my half-court shot my junior year against Keystone Oaks was a super great memory.”
Betz, who is 18, will be attending Duquesne this fall and studying business in the Palumbo Donahue School of Business.
“This is such a great honor for Forrest and so well deserved,” said Dan Thayer, Brentwood’s boys basketball coach. “Forrest is a terrific all-around athlete and excelled in every sport he participated in. He also is an excellent student.
“Forrest is an excellent young person. He has a positive attitude with all tasks presented to him. He is always willing to help others and does so with excitement.”
Betz also was selected as the “most outstanding team member” in both boys basketball and football. He finished with 1,050 career points on the hardwood and broke the school record for career receptions in football with 117.
“As a basketball player, Forrest played and practiced at a different speed,” Thayer said. “The way that he prepared every day is the reason he excelled during the season.
“His desire to become a great player allowed him to improve on a daily basis. His improvement also pushed his teammates to become better players.”
The 5-9 Boehm was a guard/forward on the Brentwood girls basketball team who averaged 12.3 points and 9 rebounds per game in her senior season.
“I am very honored to have been named this year’s Booster Award winner and to have stood out amongst my peers to the coaches here at Brentwood,” Boehm said. “Sports has always played a huge part in my life ever since I was young, so I was happy to know that I got it.
“One of my favorite memories at Brentwood was making it to states for basketball my sophomore year. Another favorite of mine was beating Fort Cherry at Fort Cherry my sophomore year.”
Boehm, whose 18th birthday is in July, competed in basketball, volleyball and softball throughout her high school career and started at the varsity level all four years in each sport.
“I was not surprised that Paige was selected as the top female athlete,” said Rachel Thomas, Brentwood’s girls basketball coach. “Paige is a very athletic young lady.
“She gives 100 percent at all times and was a great rebounder and role player for us. Several times, we needed her to play a position that wasn’t her true position. She always pushed herself and teammates to be successful. We always knew what we would get from Paige.”
Boehm also landed the “most outstanding team member” award in girls basketball. She will be going to Pitt-Johnstown this fall where she will major in biology on a pre-med path and continue her softball career.
“Paige is a competitor,” Thomas said. “She held herself and teammates accountable. She knew when to joke around but was always locked in.
“Like many other athletes today, Paige had a lot to juggle while trying to be successful on the court. She had advanced classes and a work schedule. Paige always put in the work on and off the court. I’m always proud of my girls when they are in the National Honor Society while playing multiple sports.”
Other Brentwood students lauded as most OTMs in 2024-25 were Hannah Olah (flag football), Brett Barker and Evan Mingles (soccer), Jessie Yee (girls volleyball), Elliott Cramer (boys cross country), Karina Pfeil (girls cross country), Aidan Barker (golf), Eliott Cramer (boys swimming), Karina Pfeil and Fawn Brendel (girls swimming), Daysaun Spencer (boys track), Amelia Foley (girls track), Blaize Dias (baseball), Emma Thompson (softball), Joe Klemm (boys volleyball) and Amira Smith (cheerleading).
Spencer and Lena Gaughan were cited as the leading point-getters this spring in the boys and girls track and field programs.
Spencer shattered two school records with a mark of 46-feet, 7.75-inches in the boys triple jump and a leap of 22-1 in the long jump. He won the triple jump at both the WPIAL and PIAA Class 2A finals.
Bendel broke the school record in girls swimming with a time of 107.55 in the 100-meter butterfly.
Klemm and Foley also were honored as the senior male and female scholar-athletes at Brentwood.
Tags: Brentwood
English (US) ·