John Grupp stories

North Allegheny’s Michelle Weniger has witnessed a lot in her two decades as girls tennis coach, but nothing like this. The NA Hall of Fame coach was still looking for answers one day after a 3-2 loss to Hollidaysburg on Tuesday in the PIAA Class 3A team tournament in which...

The North Allegheny girls cross country team finds itself in an unusual position heading into the WPIAL Class 3A championships. The seven-time defending champion Tigers are underdogs — and in a big way. “I think it’s pretty refreshing, to be honest,” North Allegheny coach John Neff said. “Sometimes we go...

North Allegheny senior Kayli Dings entered the final round of the WPIAL golf championships feeling like she had nothing to lose. And not much to gain. After a disappointing first round gave her a slim chance to qualify the PIAA championships, Dings lowered her hopes heading into the WPIAL individual...

Hampton’s top cross country runner is swapping a walking boot for racing spikes for the WPIAL Class 2A championships. Junior Josh Wukitch, who missed last year’s finals with a broken foot, is back to full strength and motivated for his return to the WPIAL meet Oct. 23 at White Oak...

Hampton first-year girls soccer coach Chris Garraffa wants his players to focus on possibility, not perfection. Garraffa has instilled an attacking mindset in his debut season with the WPIAL Class 3A playoff-bound Talbots, emphasizing increased scoring chances above pinpoint passes. “We are willing to go to the goal immediately compared...

Former North Allegheny star Lucia Wells is more focused on her place on a soccer field than her location on one. Wells, NA’s all-time leading goal scorer, has transitioned into a versatile two-way player with multiple starts at forward and defender for Pitt this season. “Honestly, I’m good playing anywhere,”...

This past summer, North Allegheny’s Keely McMahon-Regan worked at the NA girls volleyball camp for grade-schoolers. This fall, she is putting on a clinic. Tasked with delivering pinpoint passes to a frontline led by a pair of all-state hitters, the senior setter is the lead playmaker for the eight-time defending...

The North Allegheny boys soccer team is using balance to replace brilliance. After graduating their top five scorers, including an all-state forward, the Tigers are spreading around the goals on their path to the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs. “The way we play, it is so focused on possession and keeping...

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...