Hall of Fame
From 1987 through 1991, Teri Menett-Cruse was a standout on both the Lady Cat basketball team, as well as the volleyball team. Ms. Menett-Cruse, a graduate of Johnstown’s Conemaugh Valley High School, still owns Pitt-Johnstown’s single-season field goal percentage record in basketball, and once had 12 kills in one game of a best-of-three volleyball match.
On the basketball court, Ms. Menett-Cruse helped lead Head Coach Jodi Gault’s Lady Cats to an East Regional Championship and a pair of Mid-East Conference titles. For three of her four seasons, Pitt-Johnstown was ranked in the Top-10 in the nation in NCAA Division II. During the 1988-89 season, she set the Lady Cat single-season field goal percentage record by shooting 64.5% (81-141) from the field. Ms. Menett-Cruse, a Second-Team Mid-East All-Conference selection as a senior, currently ranks 19th on the Pitt-Johnstown All-Time Rebounding List with 561 career rebounds.
Ms. Menett-Cruse, who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, also starred on the volleyball court under Head Coach Clyde Horner. In 1988, she tallied 12 kills against St. Francis College in one game of a best-of three series. She led the team in kills during her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. Ms. Menett-Cruse was also named to the All-Tournament Team in five different tournaments, including garnering Most Valuable Player honors at the Carlow College Invitational.
Ms. Menett-Cruse, who successfully juggled two varsity sports while maintaining high academic standing, earned the Pitt Undergraduate Athlete Award in 1990, an honor presented every year to one athlete from the entire University of Pittsburgh system.
After her collegiate playing days, Ms. Menett-Cruse spent 14 years as Greater Johnstown High School’s girls’ volleyball coach. In addition, she is currently in her ninth season as Conemaugh Valley’s girls’ basketball coach where she guided her team to a PIAA Class-A State Runner-up finish in 2006.
For more than 20 years, Ms. Menett-Cruse has been a high school and college volleyball official, in addition to being a USA Volleyball Official for 18 seasons. Menett-Cruse is also the president of the Central Western Chapter of Volleyball Officials, a title she has held since 2003.
Ms. Menett-Cruse, a Help Desk Coordinator at Memorial Medical Center, and her husband, Denny, have two children, Grant and Casey. The Cruse family resides in Johnstown.
“I am very honored to be selected as a Pitt-Johnstown Hall of Fame member and humbled to be chosen to join wonderful athletes and coaches who are already members,” Ms. Menett-Cruse said. “My times at Pitt-Johnstown have provided me with great memories, and I’m proud to be an alumna of the school and two of its great sports programs.”
