John Grupp stories, Page 3

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...

North Allegheny boys volleyball is back in its customary spot as the WPIAL team to beat. After losing to Shaler in the past two WPIAL Class 3A championships, the Tigers are perched atop the 2025 Western Pa. Coaches Association preseason rankings and eager to see it through this time. “It’s...

Hampton softball coach Kate Hedderman made a promise after last season’s loss in the WPIAL Class 4A finals. The then-first-year coach pledged, “It won’t be the last time you see us here.” One year after reaching the WPIAL championship game for the first time in program history, the Talbots look...

Missing the WPIAL playoffs last season for the first time in eight years left a frustrated feeling with Hampton baseball. The players took it out on the offseason. The Talbots devoted themselves to conditioning and weightlifting and played in a fall league for the first time in coach Kellen Wheeler’s...

North Allegheny first-year softball coach Bill Aguglia worked magic at his previous job by guiding Upper St. Clair to the WPIAL playoffs for the first time in two decades. His new gig offers some challenges right off the bat, but he feels good about it. “I think we’re going to...

The North Allegheny baseball team is armed and dangerous. Despite losing a trio of Division I pitchers, the defending WPIAL Class 6A champion Tigers will again be trotting out a deep and talented staff. “I love our depth on the pitching end,” coach Andrew Heck said. “It’s amazing on paper,...

North Allegheny junior Gus Stedeford couldn’t believe his eyes. Leading 7-0 and on the verge of qualifying for the PIAA Class 3A wrestling championships, Stedeford was called for an illegal slam on State College’s Nicholas Berrena and lost by injury disqualification in the 133-pound fifth-place match. The controversial ruling at...

The North Allegheny boys tennis team snapped a 15-year WPIAL title drought last spring. The Tigers’ wait for another championship should be much shorter. Led by reigning WPIAL Class 3A singles champion Advaita Sircar, North Allegheny welcomes back five of its top seven players from last year’s 18-1 PIAA semifinalist....

On paper, the North Allegheny girls basketball team had its worst season in 37 years. On the court, it was a different story. “I think there are other ways to win outside of the wins and losses on paper,” said first-year coach Gabby Baldasare, whose Tigers (9-14) lost to top-seeded...