John Grupp stories

Jeff Alexander was always the smallest guy in a North Allegheny wrestling room packed with state champions and bad intentions. The 1990 graduate, who arrived on varsity as a 4-foot-10, 98-pound freshman, became a key part of one of the most dominating wrestling dynasties in WPIAL history. “I got nervous...

North Allegheny’s defense had nearly as many shutouts in the first half of the season as it had returning starters. The Tigers’ new-look defensive unit answered a bunch of offseason questions by allowing a Class 6A-low average of 11.2 points through five weeks while blanking Gateway and Penn Hills in...

Life can sometimes feel like a hard kick to the shins for North Allegheny’s Mwende Abai. The junior forward for the Tigers’ No. 3-ranked girls soccer team already has endured more heartache and tragedy than many will ever experience. “I can have a bad day, and it’s really not that...

North Allegheny standout distance runner Andrew Peigh was bloodied, but he isn’t beaten. Peigh, last year’s WPIAL Class 3A cross country runner-up, is fighting back from a scary biking accident that cost him some early-season training as the senior leader of a young but promising Tigers squad. “I’m building back,”...

North Allegheny field hockey coach Michelle Kessler was scanning her roster, searching for something that maybe didn’t even exist. “We needed to find a fourth goalkeeper,” she said. “When I was looking at the roster, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. Who am I going to ask to be the...

Hampton swimmer Jack Zierenberg won two WPIAL gold medals as a freshman two decades ago and then did something even more unusual. He quit the team. “I was pursuing individual goals,” he said. “I did USA Swimming and club swimming. But I really missed high school sports. I definitely wanted...

The top-ranked Hampton Talbots are starting to show they can score goals just as well as they prevent them. After managing one goal in its first three games, Hampton is finding an offense to match its defensive prowess. “The season is still early, and we’re still figuring some things out...

North Allegheny girls volleyball has way too much hardware to let a little slump get it down. One day after the program’s first back-to-back losses in almost 11 years, the eight-time defending state champion Tigers held an energetic, upbeat practice inside the high school’s main gym. “Losing is always bad,...

North Allegheny girls tennis coach Michelle Weniger has watched her team somehow get younger with age. One year after having among the most youthful lineups in her two decades, the newly minted Hall of Fame coach is again relying on a bunch of youngsters. “The freshmen who are coming up...

The North Allegheny girls golf team has aced its early-season tests. Off to their best start in seven years, the Tigers (6-0, 7-0-1) have rolled to an undefeated mark in Section 3-3A and won the NA Invitational, highlighted by senior Kayli Dings’ first hole-in-one. “We’ve got to get through the...

North Allegheny is learning that playing golf is trickier when you have a target on your back. The Tigers, coming off the program’s first WPIAL title since 1971 and its first state championship, have embraced the challenge of being the hunted. “Everyone is trying to beat us and playing their...

The North Allegheny girls soccer team plans on making its own luck this season. One year after some unfortunate bounces and achingly close calls denied them a spot in the WPIAL Class 4A championship game, the Tigers hope to leave little to chance this time around. “I think we got...

Graduation did a number on the North Allegheny boys soccer team. The Tigers lost their top five goal scorers and return only a couple of starters from last year’s 16-4-1 WPIAL Class 4A semifinalist. “We had some really, really big losses,” coach Manuel Montero said. “But we just reload. …...

Butler is ineligible for the playoffs again this season, but the Golden Tornado still have a lot at stake. Returning eight starters on each side of the ball, Butler is hoping to build on an encouraging 2024 season and aims to post the program’s first winning season since 1997. “Everyone...

The Hampton girls tennis team has a place to call home again, but the names and faces are a little different. Coming off the best two-year stretch in program history, the Talbots enter the 2025 season with a new-look lineup and some early question marks. Four of the top seven...

Something is in the air at North Catholic. Returning the WPIAL’s leading passer and receiver from a late-surging playoff team, the Trojans are poised to take another step forward. “We kind of expect to pick up where we left off,” coach Chris Rizzo said, “just with probably a little bit...

Hampton coach Steve Sciullo had no problem putting his finger on what went wrong during last year’s 3-7 season. “We didn’t tackle well, and we didn’t block well,” Sciullo said. “Those two things take courage. We’re hoping that we have a little bit more courage this year to go and...

North Allegheny wrestlers Evan Schomburg and Joey Synan traveled 1,100 miles to North Dakota last month, and there was one stop sign in front of them. The Tigers tandem placed in the top eight of their respective divisions at the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals on July 10-19 in Fargo,...

Sprinting down a track never did much for North Allegheny’s Lindsay Breneman. She preferred the idea of soaring. “When I was little, I watched the Olympics and I always thought pole vault was really cool because they fling themselves in the air,” she said. “I was like, ‘I want to...

Former Hampton lacrosse star Emi DiLiberto figured she had nothing to lose when she reached out to the Argentina women’s national team in spring 2024. Then things got loco. “It’s a crazy story,” DiLiberto said. “My father found a contact form online. We filled it out and laughed it off....

New Hampton boys cross country coach Kim Masarik knows all about running fast and clearing obstacles. Masarik, the most decorated female hurdler in North Allegheny history and a two-time NCAA Division I championship qualifier, was hired last month to replace longtime coach Dean Longwell, who stepped down following the 2024...

A season-ending knee injury proved to be just what the doctor ordered for North Allegheny’s Liam Flaherty. The Tigers’ two-way standout was unsure of his desire to play football in college, but a torn ACL suffered midway through the 2024 season reinforced his passion for the game. “I didn’t know...

After three decades as a boys basketball coach, Dave DeGregorio knew saying goodbye would never be easy. “It was a difficult decision from the perspective of working with this group of kids,” he said. “I really like this group of kids. But like my wife said, ‘That will be every...

Whether he was defending passes in football or soaring through the air in track, Nick Humphries left his mark at North Allegheny. Now he’s ready to make the leap all the way to Des Moines, Iowa. The 2025 NA graduate departed in late June for Drake, where he will begin...

North Allegheny’s Kayli Dings remembers when she had a hard time hitting a golf ball more than 50 yards. “It was very frustrating,” she said. “But, honestly, that’s what made it so fun. It was so competitive. It motivated me to get better.” Dings, who will be a senior at...