John Grupp stories, Page 2

Jack Bertram will have to settle for being the fastest distance runner in North Allegheny history. The Notre Dame-bound senior ran gold medal-worthy times at the PIAA Class 3A track and field championships May 23-24 but met opponents just a little bit faster. “I’m not too disappointed with how the...

Jill Capozzi was unsure if she would ever coach again after stepping away from Sewickley Academy in February. Then one phone call stopped her in her tracks. “I walked away from it without really thinking I was getting back into it at all,” she said. “But that didn’t last long.”...

North Allegheny softball started this season at an amusement park in Florida, and like the rest of the spring, it was a lot of fun but ended too soon. Despite fielding a young lineup under first-year coach Bill Aguglia, the Tigers went 11-5 in section play and earned a No....

North Allegheny senior Avery Anderson felt no regrets about the Tigers’ humbling four-win girls lacrosse season. “Just because we were losing, that didn’t mean we stopped liking each other or fighting for what we wanted,” she said. “And when we did win, the celebrations were great.” The victories were elusive....

North Allegheny tennis standout Advaita Sircar is feeling rejuvenated these days. The arm that bothered him during a straight-set loss in the WPIAL Class 3A team championship has recovered, and the upcoming PIAA tournament includes a favorable bracket for the Tigers’ star sophomore. “I feel super confident now after all...

North Allegheny ninth-year baseball coach Andrew Heck considers every senior class special. But this year’s group could be extra special. “They do a really good job of making sure they keep everything light and tight-knit,” Heck said, “and that’s what you like to see as a coach.” The 10-player Class...

Hampton junior Zane List admits the Talbots boys tennis team held modest goals this season. “Honestly,” he said, “we just wanted to make the playoffs.” After graduating five of their top seven players from last year’s WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinalist, including PIAA singles qualifier Vitaliy Pikalo, the youthful Talbots were...

Hampton girls lacrosse coach Kelsey Burke is leaving behind one beloved family to focus on another. Burke, an expectant mom, told her players after the Talbots’ 12-1 victory over Trinity in the WPIAL Class 2A first round May 12 that this will be her final season. “It’s very bittersweet,” she...

North Allegheny is known for its distance runners, but some of the Tigers’ most valuable athletes only travel about 8 feet. The throwers for the North Allegheny track and field team, while not as acclaimed as the school’s decorated runners, are a key reason the Tigers went undefeated in Section...

North Allegheny junior Reagan Riordan is a two-sport athlete with a one-track mind. Whether on the lacrosse field or the volleyball court, Riordan is driven to win. “She is an absolute team player,” NA lacrosse coach Courtney Killian said. “She wants everyone to succeed, and she wants to help everybody....

The North Allegheny boys volleyball team is proof that you can learn more from your losses than your wins. The top-ranked Tigers have rebounded from a pair of lesson-building defeats to regain the form that made them preseason WPIAL favorites and a state title contender. “It was a wake-up call,”...

Logan Lyle is on a run. The North Allegheny senior goalie is having another standout season, trying to lead the Tigers back to the WPIAL Class 3A boys lacrosse championship game. Lyle earned all-WPIAL Class 3A honors last season and is the last line of defense for the first-place Tigers...

Good things happen when Kyle Demi pitches as a senior. The 6-foot-2 right-hander turned his final year at North Allegheny into a chance to play at Pitt, and now he’s having by far his best season with the Panthers. “Overall, it’s been going really well,” Demi said. “Better than anything...

North Allegheny senior Anthony Bertucci’s introduction to rowing found him neck-deep in the Ohio River, ready to quit the sport before he ever really got started. “I’ll be honest,” he said, recalling the humbling practice when his one-man scull flipped as a novice eighth-grader. “That was almost it for me.”...

North Allegheny’s Sammy Plotsko and McKenna Rowlands hit it off right away as sixth graders at Ingomar Middle School. And the hits kept coming. The only seniors on NA’s 24-player roster, the best friends are leaders of a young Tigers team and are treasuring their final softball season together. “We...

North Allegheny junior Evan Kaufman’s left shoulder was in such bad shape last spring that he had to serve underhanded during the state playoffs. Nearly one year later, after surgery and extensive physical therapy, Kaufman is back on the court, providing a late-season boost to the defending WPIAL Class 3A...

Michelle Ruiz was doing her best to convince North Allegheny athletic director Bob Bozzuto. Nearly a decade ago, the NA gym teacher wanted Bozzuto to clear the way to start Powder Puff football at Marshall Middle School. “Bob was hesitant,” Ruiz said. Bozzuto was fully supportive of girls flag football,...

North Allegheny sophomore outfielder JJ Mancuso is doing his best not to act his age. After an up-and-down freshman season in which he combined great potential with inconsistency, Mancuso is finding a calm balance for the WPIAL Class 6A defending champion Tigers. “Obviously, last year wasn’t what I really wanted...

Hampton junior McKenna Restori entered this track season hoping to run the 100-meter hurdles in under 18 seconds. That didn’t take long. Restori, who began running track only 2 1/2 years ago, set new personal best times in the 100 hurdles with first-place finishes in each of Hampton’s first two...

New Hampton girls soccer coach Chris Garraffa has big plans for a program he believes has underachieved a bit lately. The former boys soccer coach at Lampeter-Strasburg in Lancaster said he sees a Talbots roster with a “ton of quality” that has yet to reach its potential. “I found games...

North Allegheny track star Izzy Costa was likely to break the school’s 400-meter record at some point this spring. But no one saw this coming. At a season-opening tri-meet in mid-March, with nobody to push her and little at stake, Costa recorded a fully automated time of 55.86 seconds to...

North Allegheny senior Jack Bertram spent the past two seasons chasing two of the best distance runners in WPIAL history. But now he’s the one to catch. After settling for third in the 3,200-meter run at the past two WPIAL Class 3A championships behind Butler’s Drew Griffith and Ringgold’s Ryan...

The North Allegheny girls lacrosse team hopes chemistry is the ideal formula for success. Coach Courtney Killian said this year’s roster is the tightest-knit group in her three seasons, and senior midfielder Maddy Lemmon agrees. “I think our team bond is definitely a lot better this year than it has...

The North Allegheny boys lacrosse team is feeling a bit defensive. After losing a 64-goal scorer to graduation and a 39-goal scorer to injury, the Tigers are counting on a talented, experienced backline in their bid to return to the WPIAL Class 3A championship game. “Defensively, we have a good...

North Allegheny senior Gus Miller’s alarm sounded long before sunrise, at 4:45 a.m., numerous days this winter. Around the district, other NA swimmers also rose early on dark, frigid mornings with their alerts and buzzers serving as a call to action. There was work to do. “We had to be...