Kim Reardon Ladjevich
Kim (Reardon) Ladjevich was one of the top all-around female athletes developed in Mercer County.At Kennedy Christian High School she lettered in four sports - cross country, basketball, track & field and softball.In fast-pitch softball, she shared starting pitching honors as a freshman, the only year the school had a team back then. She played in a highly competitive fast-pitch summer league in Ohio and her scholastic senior year led the team to the district playoffs, eventually losing despite pitching a 1-hitter with 13 strikeouts. After college she pitched in the Shenango Valley men's modified-pitch league, the only female at that time.
In basketball, she was a 3-year letter winner and 2-year starter at the guard post for Kennedy, scoring 960 points and leading the team in scoring her junior and senior years. She helped KC win District 10 titles in 1983 and 1984 and led Mercer County in scoring her senior season with 468 points. She led the Lady Golden Eagles to the school's first-ever Western Regional crown, scoring 18 points or more during the playoff run, then tallied 16 in the state championship game loss.She was named Kennedy's "Female Athlete of the Year" her senior year.
Despite receiving other offers, Kim walked on at Temple University as a freshman in basketball and competed against some of the best teams in the country for four years. After seeing a lot of playing time that first year, she received a full scholarship. However, illness and injuries sidelined her for much of the rest of her career.As a junior, she recovered from an ankle injury and returned to the starting lineup, shooting 57 percent from the floor. A torn ACL early in her senior year, ended her college career. In 3-point shooting at Temple, she shot close to 40 percent, while hitting close to half of all shots from the field.
Her senior year, she was part of the team that reached the NCAA tournament for the first time and she was awarded the Philadelphia Big 5 Unsung Hero Award for her efforts and never giving up despite her injuries. Temple Coach Linda McDonald said: "Kim is the type of player I think every coach would like to have at each position." Kim was also elected to the Big 5 All-Academic Team.
After college, she coached various teams, including serving as Brookfield head coach for 8th grade girls basketball and Sharon High assistant in softball. She helped her husband Rick coach several Little League and boys basketball teams.