Bill Hartlep stories, Page 14
Next on the Tee: Learn how the U.S. can win the next Ryder Cup
We fix the Ryder Cup this week on Next on the Tee. Host Chris Mascaro is joined by four top golf instructors to recap what took place last week in Italy and also discuss ways the U.S. team can win next time around in 2025 at Bethpage Black on Long...
A-K Valley high school football matchups for 2023 Week 6
Class 5A Northeast Conference Fox Chapel (0-6, 0-2) at No. 2 Penn Hills (5-1, 2-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Yuhas-McGinley Stadium, Penn Hills Last week: North Hills 50, Fox Chapel 0; Penn Hills 28, Bethel Park 12 Last year’s result: Penn Hills 29, Fox Chapel 0 Fox Chapel’s quest for its...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Knoch’s Mason Nebel, Plum’s Ava Weleski
Ava Weleski Class: Senior School: Plum Sport: Soccer Report card: Weleski netted a hat trick Thursday night in helping Plum to a 7-0 nonsection win over Hampton. The senior forward also scored Wednesday as the Mustangs shut out Greensburg Salem, 3-0. Plum, which also beat Gateway, 5-0, on Monday, entered...
A-K Valley high school football matchups for 2023 Week 5
Class 5A Big East Conference Franklin Regional (3-2, 0-1) at Plum (2-3, 0-2) 7 p.m. Friday, Mustang Stadium, Plum Last week: Franklin Regional 55, Shaler 7; Gateway 49, Plum 14 Last year’s result: Franklin Regional 31, Plum 28 Neighboring teams usually fight for the last word when they meet on...
A-K Valley boys soccer notebook: Riverview coach reaches milestone
Riverview boys soccer coach Mickey Namey earned the 100th victory of his career Tuesday when the Raiders beat St. Joseph, 2-1, at Riverside Park. Freshmen Carson Bodnar and Kyle Schuetz scored for the Raiders. The win helped Riverview stay in contention in Section 3-A. The Raiders (3-7, 2-6) are tied...
Dale Earnhardt Jr. to appear at Lernerville Speedway tonight
Fans will again swarm a racetrack to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. Though he won’t be returning to racing, the 26-time NASCAR Cup Series winner will likely draw quite a crowd Tuesday night at Lernerville Speedway. He will attend the $50,000-to-win Commonwealth Clash as part of the High Limit Sprint Car...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Freeport’s Lillie Snow, Plum’s Wes Lorish
Lillie Snow Class: Senior School: Freeport Sport: Golf Report card: Snow shot a 92 and finished fifth at the Section 2-2A qualifier Tuesday at Fox Chapel Golf Club, beating the target score of 95 to qualify for the WPIAL championships for the third straight season. The senior golfer, who has...
A-K Valley high school football matchups for 2023 Week 4
Class 5A Big East Conference Gateway (1-3, 1-0) at Plum (2-2, 0-1) 7 p.m. Friday, Mustangs Stadium, Plum Borough Last week: Gateway 44, Franklin Regional 24; Norwin 30, Plum 23 Last year’s result: Gateway 28, Plum 26 These neighborhood rivals are looking for a boost in the Big East standings,...
A-K Valley high school football matchups for 2023 Week 3
Class 5A Big East Conference Plum (2-1, 0-0) at Norwin (1-2, 0-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Norwin Knights Stadium, North Huntingdon Last week: Shaler 28, Plum 14; Norwin 33, Fox Chapel 18 Last year’s result: Plum 42, Norwin 13 A power running attack meets a go-and-throw approach in a Big East...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Springdale’s Molly Hurley, Burrell’s Jayson Ireland
Molly Hurley Class: Junior School: Springdale Sport: Soccer Report card: Hurley had two goals and an assist in helping Springdale’s girls soccer team defeat Seton LaSalle, 3-1, on Wednesday. The week before, she had a key goal and assist as Springdale (3-0, 2-0) shut out rival Greensburg Central Catholic, 3-0,...
A-K Valley high school football matchups for 2023 Week 2
Nonconference Chartiers Valley (0-2) at Highlands (2-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Golden Rams Stadium, Natrona Heights Last week: Highlands 33, Blackhawk 20; Trinity 38, Chartiers Valley 0 Last year’s meeting: Highlands 28, Chartiers Valley 20 Highlands carries plenty of momentum into its home-opener after dominant wins over Ambridge and Blackhawk. …...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Freeport’s Camryn Woods, Deer Lakes’ Collin Rodgers
Camryn Woods Class: Freshman School: Freeport Sport: Soccer Report card: Woods made quite a debut for the Yellowjackets on Thursday, scoring twice to help Freeport (2-0, 1-0) earn a 3-1 Section 2-2A victory over Deer Lakes. She also scored twice Saturday in a 6-0 win over Steel Valley. The freshman...
A-K Valley high school football matchups for 2023 Week 1
Friday Apollo-Ridge (1-0) at Valley (0-1) 7 p.m. Friday, Memorial Stadium, New Kensington Last week: Apollo-Ridge 18, Leechburg 16; Armstrong 49, Valley 16 Last year’s meeting: Apollo-Ridge 34, Valley 19 These longtime rivals each would like to gain some nonconference momentum before conference play begins. … The big story for...
Pitt backcourt shorthanded after Dior Johnson leaves men’s basketball team
A once-prized Pitt basketball recruit who ran into legal trouble and redshirted last season, Dior Johnson is “no longer attending the University of Pittsburgh,” a team spokesman said in a statement Friday evening. The move comes as a surprise after the 6-foot-3 guard joined the Panthers on their preseason trip...
New coach hopes to bring about change at Carrick
There’s a theme of change surrounding the Carrick football program. Dennis “Shor D” Wolford, who was the Raiders’ offensive coordinator last season, has moved into the head coach position, replacing Greg Johnston, who was 2-14 in two seasons at the helm. And he is focusing on making changes, starting in...
A-K Valley high school football matchups for 2023 Week Zero
Nonconference Apollo-Ridge at Leechburg 7 p.m. Friday, Veterans Stadium, Leechburg Last year’s meeting: Apollo-Ridge 34, Leechburg 28 Apollo-Ridge gained bragging rights last season when the rivalry renewed after a two-year hiatus. Can the Vikings collect 530 yards of offense this time around? … Apollo-Ridge has a young roster, but senior...
Summit Academy eyes improvement in Big 7 Conference
Summit Academy’s football team took its share of lumps last season, but there were plenty of learning moments for the players and coaches. The group is hoping to use that experience from a year ago to find more success this fall, with an all new team. “The goal is to...
2023 WPIAL Class A football breakdown: Strength of Big 7 Conference on displayVideo
It’s popular coachspeak to say that a meat-grinder conference schedule prepares teams for the postseason. Last season, that appeared to be absolutely accurate in the WPIAL Class A Big 7 Conference. Laurel won the conference with a 6-0 record and earned the No. 2 seed for the Class A playoffs...
New coach hopes to guide Freedom to success
It was mid-March when Ron Balog took the reins of the Freedom football team. It’s been full-speed ahead since. The former Quaker Valley head coach who spent last season as an offensive coordinator at North Catholic wanted to make sure his team was prepared despite the late start to the...
Ellwood City ready to take next step in program turnaround
Ellwood City got rid of a losing stigma last season, and now the Wolverines are aiming to take the next step in the program’s turnaround. They snapped a 27-game losing streak in Week 2 last season with a 46-6 victory at Carlynton. It was the longest skid among WPIAL teams,...
Highlands’ Aaran Randolph likely to grab more headlines this fall
Aaran Randolph had quite an introduction to A-K Valley football fans. When they opened their newspaper Saturday morning Oct. 1, 2022, the Game of the Week headline read: “RUNNING RAM: Randolph’s 5 scores lead Highlands past Mars.” What the Golden Rams faithful already knew, many across Western Pennsylvania then discovered...
Freeport linemen hoping to pave the way toward Allegheny 6 title defense
It’s unlikely Isaac “Ickey” Woods will score a touchdown this season. The Freeport lineman doesn’t get carries in the backfield, won’t catch any passes and isn’t going to take snaps at quarterback. He doesn’t return punts or kicks and probably isn’t going to be deep enough in the secondary to...
Young Freeport looks to outslug opponents in defense of conference title
Freeport doesn’t have the largest linemen in Class 3A. The Yellowjackets don’t have a bevy of skill players committed to Power 5 programs. With 39 players, they also don’t have the biggest roster in the Allegheny 6 Conference. None of that matters to veteran coach John Gaillot as long as...
Highlands hunting playoff success
Luke Bombalski had a simple response when asked about goals for the Highlands football team this season. “Win that first playoff game,” he said. There was no mention of rushing yards, a number of touchdowns or how many tackles or interceptions the senior running back/linebacker wants to accumulate. Nothing about...
Pirates’ No. 1 draft pick Paul Skenes makes minor league debut
Paul Skenes made his professional baseball debut Thursday afternoon, and it was a quick one. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ No. 1 overall pick out of LSU, Skenes started for the FCL Pirates in their game against the FCL Twins at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla. He tossed a 1-2-3 inning with...

