Jerin Steele stories, Page 26
Wexford native’s racing career takes left turn into full-time NASCAR truck series ride
If someone told Kris Wright in November of 2019 that he’d be racing full time in NASCAR in three years, he would’ve told them they were crazy. That’s because he had just signed a deal to race in Formula 3 in Europe. Little did Wright or anyone else know in...
Veteran core ready to lead Pine-Richland wrestlers
When mats need to be cleaned before practice, Pine-Richland wrestling coach Caleb Kolb doesn’t have to seek out a volunteer to get the mop out and start scrubbing. Jake Lukez and Joey Schneck get the job done without anyone on the coaching staff asking. It’s a small detail, but it’s...
Injuries present early season speed bump for veteran Pine-Richland girls basketball team
As Pine-Richland girls basketball enters a new season, it has a bit of a good-news, bad-news situation. The good news is the Rams have four returning starters, two other returners with experience and a couple of newcomers who will provide help. The bad news is several of those players are...
Springdale football coach Seth Napierkowski resigns after 5 seasons
It wasn’t an easy decision, but with family and work obligations increasing, Seth Napierkowski decided to step down as the Springdale football coach. After a five-year run with the Dynamos, Napierkowski submitted his resignation, and it was accepted by the Allegheny Valley School Board during Monday’s meeting. “It was something...
Burrell must retool to keep streak of 15 straight WPIAL Class 2A championships going
Burrell wrestling is looking to celebrate a “Sweet 16” this winter. If the 15-time defending WPIAL Class 2A champions are to continue their dominance, they’re going to have to replace a trio of talented wrestlers who graduated: champ A.J. Corrado, state runner-up Ian Oswalt and 24-match winner Aaron Edwards. With...
A-K Valley Class 3A wrestling preview: Led by Lehigh recruit, Kiski Area reloads
The Kiski Area wrestling team had some youth in its lineup last year, but it still was able to win the Section 1-3A title. The Cavaliers did lose a couple of key wrestlers to graduation in state medalists Sammy Starr and Braden Roscosky but have plenty of returners that are...
St. Joseph girls basketball team on the upswing
A good word to describe the St. Joseph girls basketball team is potential. The Spartans are a youthful group with only one senior, a bevy of sophomores and a freshman, but coach Dennis Jones feels they have the skill and size to be an intriguing team this winter. “We’re extremely...
St. Joseph boys target return to playoffs despite loss of top scorer
Those who followed St. Joseph boys basketball the past four years were treated by Andrew Sullivan to some high-scoring performances, but his 1,000-plus point career ended last season. The challenge for the Spartans this winter is filling the vacuum of scoring Sullivan leaves behind. St. Joseph coach Hart Coleman feels...
Pine Creek Journal notebook: 6 football players make 1st team all-conference
The Pine-Richland Rams football team was well represented on the Class 5A Northeast Conference teams. Three offensive and three defensive players made first-team all-conference. Senior tackle Jalen Klemm, senior wide receiver Alex Gochis and junior wide receiver Andrew Mellis were the Rams that made first-team offense. Gochis had 48 receptions...
WPIAL championship near-miss drives Pine-Richland boys basketball
There are two major themes for the Pine-Richland boys basketball team this winter: They’re experienced and they won’t lack for motivation. The Rams have six seniors — Luke Shanahan, Joey Dudowski, Andrew Alexander, Andy Swartout, Jameson O’Toole and Nate Zavasky — who all played significant roles for a team that...
Redbank Valley steals momentum, stops Bishop Canevin short of state finals
In one moment, Bishop Canevin went from potentially going up two scores to seeing Redbank Valley tie the game. It was a momentum stealer the Crusaders could not recover from. With the Crusaders driving inside the Redbank Valley 10 early in the third quarter, Chris Marshall intercepted a pass and...
Promising Kiski Area girls team coming together
Kiski Area girls basketball coach Nick Dizon likened his team learning and growing to building a puzzle. Once one piece is in place, it’s time to work on fitting in the next one. It’s the theme for the season for a young Cavaliers team rife with freshmen and sophomores that...
New Kiski Area boys coach has visions of turnaround
The excitement of his first season as the Kiski Area boys basketball coach hasn’t waned an ounce for Corey Smith since the day he was hired back in April. He’s accepted the task of restoring his Alma Mater’s hoops program into a formidable one after some lean years. The Cavaliers...
Injury woes changed course of Pine-Richland football season
Coaches never want to use injuries as an excuse, and Pine-Richland football coach Steve Campos is no different in that regard. But what the Rams went through in terms of key players going down this season was something that Campos had never experienced in his long coaching career. The Rams...
Junior goalie stands tall for Pine-Richland hockey team
Most days after arriving home from elementary school, Dan Mooney would hop off the bus, drop his backpack and jump right into the middle of a pickup hockey game. “My older brother (Tommy) and his friends would always be playing in the driveway,” Mooney said. “They didn’t have a goalie,...
Cheswick Christian boys basketball team motivated to make mark
At the elementary and middle school levels, the current group of Cheswick Christian basketball players experienced success, which has given them some confidence coming into the season. Now they hope they can translate those winning ways to the high school level. “They’re eager to break back through at the high...
Full schedule breeds enthusiasm inside Cheswick Christian girls basketball program
After a covid-shortened 2020-21 season in which the Cheswick Christian girls basketball team played only nine games, signs are pointing towards a return to a more normal slate this winter. That’s a welcomed proposition for Chargers coach Jacque Willis and her team. Cheswick Christian returns three starters from last year’s...
Senior class built winning culture for Pine-Richland field hockey
A few nights after Pine-Richland field hockey’s season came to an end, Rams coach Donna Stephenson said it felt weird sitting at home because she felt like she should be out at practice with her team. Stephenson’s feelings went beyond the everyday routine teams get into during a season before...
No. 3 Bishop Canevin takes down Cornell to reach 1st WPIAL title game since 1990
There have been times Bishop Canevin coach Rich Johnson has gone with his gut when deciding his quarterback. On Friday night, he made a change to freshman Kole Olszewski early in the second quarter hoping for a spark. Olszewski provided more than just one spark. He came out on fire....
Kiski Area hockey team proving itself in early part of season
The Kiski Area hockey team lost several key players, including Michael Rayburg and Jonathan Ayres, from a team that made back-to-back PIHL Class A semifinals appearances. If they needed any evidence that they can still play with the top teams in the league, last Thursday’s game against Fox Chapel was...
Clutch goalkeeping sends Hampton past West Allegheny, into state finals
When Zach Panza’s attempt hit the crossbar and put Hampton on the brink of elimination in round four of penalty kicks, Talbots goalkeeper Thomas Bradfield admitted he thought his high school career was over. It was an understandable thought because the odds of making consecutive saves in penalty kicks aren’t...
A-K Valley girls athlete of the week: Plum’s Ava Weleski
Ava Weleski Class: Sophomore School: Plum Sport: Soccer Report card: Weleski scored the winning goal for Plum in a 2-1 victory over Mechanicsburg in the PIAA Class 3A quarterfinals Saturday. She also has three multi-goal games in the postseason and a total of seven goals. This season is the first...
A-K Valley boys athlete of the week: Burrell’s Joe Scolaro
Joe Scolaro Class: Senior School: Highlands/Burrell Sport: Hockey Report card: Scolaro scored twice and had an assist to help Burrell’s hockey team top Wilmington, 7-1, last Monday. It was his second two-goal game of the season. He had a team-leading six goals and 11 points entering Monday’s game against Ringgold....
Freeport, Hampton clash for 4th time this season — in PIAAs
The final hurdle between Freeport girls volleyball and returning to a state championship game is a very familiar foe. In a rare occurrence, Freeport and Hampton will meet for the fourth time this season. This time it’s in the PIAA Class 3A semifinals 6 p.m. Tuesday at Fox Chapel. The...
Before heading west, Pine-Richland runner caps decorated high school cross country career
On Nov. 10, Meredith Price signed a letter of intent for track and cross country at Utah State, so this coming fall she’ll be running in the Rocky Mountains. The last few years she’s proven she’s had no problem navigating the hills of Pennsylvania. Price placed 17th in the PIAA...
