Doug Gulasy stories, Page 4
A-K Valley campus clippings: Knoch grad Geist has NCAA’s top mark in shot put
Jordan Geist is No. 1. The Arizona sophomore and Knoch graduate recorded the best shot put mark in the NCAA with a winning toss of 21.59 meters (70 feet, 11 inches) at the Triton Invitational on April 13. That throw also set Arizona’s school record and Geist’s personal record and...
A-K Valley H.S. lookahead: Week of April 22-27
Monday Softball It has been nearly two weeks since Riverview played, but the Raiders will give it another try as they visit Serra Catholic in Section 2-2A. The Raiders (4-2, 3-2) trail the second-place Eagles (6-2, 6-1) by two games. Serra won the first matchup 15-9. Baseball St. Joseph began...
Highlands’ Crise is WPIAL’s latest multi-sport star to face big decision
Johnny Crise already carried a pair of Division I scholarship offers in basketball, coaches noting the Highlands standout’s athleticism and potential while playing on the AAU circuit. This spring, interest perked up in Crise’s “other” sport: The 6-foot-7 junior, who shined at wide receiver for the Golden Rams, began taking...
A-K Valley high school notebook: Section 1-3A softball race promises to be entertaining
If the second half of the Section 1-3A softball season resembles the first in any way, expect plenty of entertainment value in the coming weeks. The rivalry between Burrell, Deer Lakes and Freeport atop the section is turning into a free-for-all — or maybe a three-for-all? — with all four...
Blair’s walk-off home run lifts Deer Lakes past Freeport in Section 1-3A
Makayla Blair felt frustrated, and her Deer Lakes teammates were angry after they saw a late lead slip away against a rival for the second time in just over a week. But this time, the Lancers had the final at-bat — and one big swing from Blair completely changed their...
Knoch boys lacrosse in search of 3rd straight playoff appearance
Knoch’s prospects appeared dim in the second half of its Section 1-AA boys lacrosse matchup with Freeport. A six-goal deficit makes rallies difficult under normal circumstances, but the Knights also faced a dwindling clock — and they weren’t exactly playing well, either. A back-to-basics approach changed that, and with it...
A-K Valley high school notebook: Highlands’ Chuck Debor resigns as AD to focus on teaching
Chuck Debor spent the past handful of years working part-time as Highlands’ athletic director, but he soon will go back to doing what he loves full-time. The Highlands school board Monday accepted Debor’s resignation as athletic director and facilities scheduler, effective June 30. He spent the last five years in...
Springdale girls soccer coach Jerry Concannon resigns after 12 seasons
Jerry Concannon oversaw a consistently successful girls soccer program at Springdale. After a dozen years, the Dynamos are looking for a new coach. The Allegheny Valley School Board last week accepted the resignation of Concannon, who led Springdale to a WPIAL championship and two PIAA runner-up finishes in his 12...
A-K Valley campus clippings: Freeport grad Kelley has big week for Thiel softball
The Presidents’ Athletic Conference made its weekly award selections for softball Monday, and it had a pretty clear-cut choice for hitter of the week. Thiel senior Jess Kelley (Freeport) dominated at the plate in four games last week, going a combined 14 for 16 with a double, seven RBIs and...
A-K Valley baseball teams earn key wins to rebound from slow starts
A seemingly comfortable six-run lead shrank to one for Valley in a handful of minutes during a Section 1-3A baseball game last week at East Allegheny. The host Wildcats had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, as the pressure mounted on Valley. Sophomore...
Fox Chapel’s Shymansky, Indiana’s Palko win WPIAL singles titles
Zachary Palko made history. Robby Shymansky repeated it. Palko, a junior at Indiana, and Shymansky, a senior at Fox Chapel, claimed the WPIAL boys tennis singles tournament championships Tuesday afternoon at Mt. Lebanon High School. Palko became the first WPIAL champion in Indiana’s boys tennis history by dispatching Yash Maheshwari...
Presidents’ Athletic Conference adds Franciscan University as full member
The Presidents’ Athletic Conference is expanding to double digits. Franciscan University will join the PAC as its 10th full-time member, the conference announced Tuesday morning. The league’s Presidents’ Council voted on the decision last week. Located in Steubenville, Ohio, Franciscan was already an affiliate member of the PAC in men’s...
Highlands athletic director Chuck Debor resigns
Chuck Debor spent the past handful of years working part-time as Highlands’ athletic director, but he’ll soon go back to doing what he loves full-time. The Highlands school board Monday accepted Debor’s resignation as athletic director and facilities scheduler, effective June 30. He spent the last five years in the...
North Catholic basketball star Tess Myers receives offer from Colorado
Tess Myers spent the weekend playing basketball in Colorado. She might get a chance to do so for a much longer time than that in the coming years. Myers received a scholarship offer Monday from Colorado of the Pac-12, her first offer from a power conference school. A 5-foot-10 guard...
Campus clippings: Tre Tipton shines in Pitt’s Blue-Gold game
Tre Tipton received recognition for his improvement Saturday, then backed it up on the field. The former Apollo-Ridge star caught both touchdown passes for Blue in its 14-7 victory over Gold in Pitt’s annual spring game Saturday at Heinz Field. Tipton caught three passes for 43 yards and scores of...
Defending champion Shymansky leads field of WPIAL tennis singles finalists
Robby Shymansky has an opportunity to double his WPIAL singles success. The Fox Chapel senior, the defending WPIAL Class AAA singles champion, advanced to the finals again with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over South Fayette’s Jacob Patterson in the semifinals Monday at Oxford Athletic Club North in Wexford. Shymansky will...
St. Joseph boys basketball coach Kelly Robinson steps down after 21 seasons
Kelly Robinson believed he was ending his St. Joseph basketball coaching career on a nice, round number of 20 seasons. Then he realized he miscounted by one. “I’m bad with math, and I work in payroll of all things,” Robinson said. Robinson, the longest-tenured coach in the Alle-Kiski Valley and...
A-K Valley notebook: Perfect start for Freeport softball
Freeport finished the 2018 regular season as one of only two undefeated softball teams in the WPIAL, and the Yellowjackets are picking up where they left off. Entering Monday, Freeport stood as one of 11 WPIAL softball teams, including three in the Alle-Kiski Valley, with undefeated records. Knoch and Leechburg...
Alle-Kiski Valley lookahead for Week of April 15, 2019
Monday Baseball: The Section 1-3A race is getting interesting, with five teams — Deer Lakes, Steel Valley, Freeport, Burrell and Valley — competing for four playoff berths. Two games loom large as section leader Deer Lakes (5-4, 4-0) visits Valley (2-6, 2-2), which posted two section wins to get back...
A-K Valley notebook: No rest for No. 3 Leechburg softball
What’s a softball team to do after an 18-run victory that requires just three innings to complete? Leechburg decided to practice. It has been that kind of spring for the Blue Devils (6-0, 5-0), ranked No. 3 in the Tribune-Review’s Class A rankings. They outscored their first five opponents by...
Highlands looking into restarting girls volleyball program
Highlands is setting itself up for a return to the WPIAL in girls volleyball after three seasons away. The district’s school board will vote Monday on a motion that would restart the program in time for the 2019 fall season, athletic director Chuck Debor said. If approved, the Golden Rams...
Young Deer Lakes softball team not taking anything for granted
Katrina Taliani batted in the final inning of a PIAA quarterfinal game two seasons ago, one of the youngest players on a veteran-laden Deer Lakes softball team. Two seasons later, she is the lone senior on the Lancers, hoping to bring the program back to its recent heights. “It’s been...
St. Francis (Pa.) junior Keith Braxton declares for NBA Draft
St. Francis (Pa.) last had a player selected in the NBA Draft nearly three decades ago, but junior Keith Braxton could change that. Braxton, the reigning Northeast Conference Player of the Year, declared for the NBA Draft on Thursday. He remains eligible to return to St. Francis if he withdraws...
Freeport boys focused on improving their ‘lacrosse IQ’
Freeport has the brawn to contend with some of the top teams in WPIAL boys lacrosse. But Dave Riley would prefer to see the brain. Fresh off back-to-back postseason appearances, the first two in the short history of their program, the Yellowjackets began the season with three victories in their...
A-K Valley notebook: Pitchers finding early-season success
There’s been a call to arms in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Whether it’s from a mound or a circle, local pitchers are dealing. Highlands senior Noah Gillette became the second A-K Valley baseball pitcher in a four-day span to throw a no-hitter Monday, blanking Deer Lakes, 2-0, in a nonsection game....
