2018 Hall of Fame Inductees

Michael Franko - Athlete

Cross-country launched in 1969 as the third sport at Butler County Community College -- and Mike Franko helped to get the new program off and running.

Franko was BC3’s team captain, an All-State and All-Region honoree, and qualified for the National Junior College Athletic Association 1969 National Cross-Country Championship that BC3 hosted on its new 4.2-mile Oak Hills course.

Franko left BC3 in the fall of 1970 to serve in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, and resumed his cross-country career in 1973. Despite a nearly four-year hiatus, Franko again served as team captain and duplicated his earlier successes with All-State and All-Region honors and qualifying for a second NJCAA National Cross-Country Championship. He expanded his role in BC3 athletics during his second stint, lettering in baseball and basketball and earning the distinction as BC3’s first three-sport athlete.

Franko continued his running career at Slippery Rock State College, where he competed in cross-country and track and field, achieving a personal best time of 4:18 in the mile. He served as a cross-country co-captain and was a member of a conference championship-winning track and field team in the 4x400 meter relay.

Franko returned to BC3 in 1977-79 to teach corporate fitness and direct the intramural program before moving on to a long career as a Multimedia Consultant for the Butler Media Group. Franko has been an avid runner, racer and promoter of the sport. He served on the Butler Road Race Board of Directors, was inducted into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame, and has been honored as a BC3 Distinguished Alumnus.

Becky Jo Higgins-Arey - Athlete

Is there anything more uncommon than a left-handed catcher? Maybe the left-handed catcher who was one of the best softball players ever at Butler County Community College. 

Beckie Jo Higgins-Arey was not the typical BC3 softball player, and she did not produce typical results.

As a freshman, Higgins-Arey co-captained BC3’s 1990 squad to an 18-2 record. She helped the Pioneers sweep Westmoreland County Community College in the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference Championship series, in which she hit a home run and a single in BC3’s Game 1 win. In Game 2, her two-out, run-scoring base hit gave BC3 a one-run victory and the WPCC championship.

The following week, the Pioneers faced Northampton County Community College for the Pennsylvania Collegiate Athletic Association Championship. BC3 won the best-of-three series two games to one to take home the program’s first and only PCAA Championship. Higgins-Arey led BC3 with a .402 batting average and was named to the WPCC All-Conference and PCAA All-State teams.

The 1991 season found Higgins-Arey back behind the plate in helping the Pioneers repeat as WPCC champions. As captain in 1991, Higgins-Arey led BC3 to a 15-4 record, batted .366 and once again earned WPCC All-Conference and PCAA All-State honors.

Higgins-Arey also played on BC3’s women’s volleyball team. After graduation, she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and has had an extensive career in public education.

Bryant Lewandowski - Athlete

In a Butler County Community College men’s basketball program nearly 30 years old, it is hard for a player to be the first to reach many milestones.

It’s harder still when you are not even the first member of your family to court success in BC3’s program. Bryant Lewandowski found a way: becoming BC3’s first men’s basketball player to reach 1,000 points and joining his brother as the first and only siblings to be selected as BC3 All-Americans.

It’s not always easy being the younger brother. While Bryant Lewandowski followed the lead of his brother, Joe, he forged his own path to basketball success. In 1995, his only season, Joe Lewandowski was chosen as a National Junior College Athletic Association All-American. That success influenced Bryant to choose BC3 where, from 1997-99, he tallied 1,303 points and became the all-time leading scorer in the men’s program.

As a freshman in 1997-98, Lewandowski got off to a fast start by averaging 23.1 points per game and earning All-Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference honors. His success continued in his second season by averaging 22.7 points. On Jan. 22, 1999, in BC3’s win against Cambria Area Community College, Lewandowski finished with 42 points, breaking BC3’s career record of 981, set by Terrance Pankey in 1991.

Two nights later, against Niagara County Community College, Lewandowski broke the 1,000-point barrier with a 24-point outing. His All-Conference, All-State and All-Region honors paved the way for a 1999 NJCAA All-American Award.

In one season at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, Lewandowski led the Rockets in scoring average, assists and steals. He continued his basketball career overseas as the starting point guard for Horsens, Denmark, in the ProEuro League of the International Basketball Federation, and as a Pokal Cup finalist playing for Copenhagen, Denmark. He finished as an American Basketball Association All-Star in 2005-06 with the Ohio Aviators.

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(Published May 2018)