John Phillips stories, Page 3
With familiar races and new wrinkles, green flag about to drop at Lernerville Speedway
With the arrival of spring, folks will start making their way to Sarver, much like they have over the past 58 years, as the season kicks into high gear at Lernerville Speedway. With a schedule that runs into October, expect plenty of rubbing and racing along the way. The first...
Riverview track teams quick off the starting blocks this season
Riverview boys and girls track coach Dave Ilnicki has seen quite a bit of running, throwing and jumping over the decades. Ilnicki, a teacher in the district, is in his 33rd year of guiding kids in the track program. It’s his 29th season in charge. “I was hired in 1992...
Penn-Trafford girls lacrosse ready to tackle tough competition in Class 3A
The Penn-Trafford girls lacrosse team is facing some stiff competition in 2025. After competing in Class 2A, the Warriors moved up to the rugged Section 1 in Class 3A. In 2024, Penn-Trafford lost in the WPIAL class 2A semis and made the PIAA tournament. So far in 2025, the Warriors...
Riverhounds show offensive spark in home win over Birmingham
After beating Hartford a week ago in the team’s 2025 home opener, Pittsburgh Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley said his goal scorers needed to finish better when on the attack. It seems that a week of messaging paid off for Lilley and his starting 11, as they dominated play from the...
Successful Florida trip gets Plum baseball warmed up for section schedule
After laboring through a long, cold winter, like many up north, visions of a beautiful Florida sun come March will always help with getting into a better mood. For the Plum baseball team, that formula was a winning one last week, as the team ventured to St. Petersburg to participate...
Riverhounds pick up 1st win of season in home opener
As the seconds ticked off the Highmark Stadium scoreboard Saturday along the banks of the Monongahela, Bob Lilley and his Pittsburgh Riverhounds found the much-needed first win and 3 points, putting together a 1-0 home-opener victory against Hartford Athletic. The game was played in brisk, windy conditions as 4,026 braved...
Plum’s Owen Proskin wins national title in pentathlon, looks forward to outdoor track season
Track and field has a wide range of events in which people can specialize. From short-distance running, such as the 100- and 200-meter sprints, to field events in shot put, javelin and others, the competition is always tough. But when it comes to the granddaddy of track and field events,...
Riverhounds enter home opener seeking 1st win
The start of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds season has delivered a mixed bag of results. Two weeks ago, the Riverhounds controlled play on the road, needing an Augi Williams second-half goal to register a 1-1 tie against North Carolina. Then they lost 2-0 at San Antonio last Saturday in a lackluster...
With talented core returning, Gateway looks like WPIAL boys tennis contender
When Gateway boys tennis coach Matt Stockunas talks about his path to becoming involved with the program, the story is a winding road with unexpected twists and turns. Stockunas enters his 29th year as a teacher at Gateway, his fourth year as member as a boys tennis program, starting off...
Plenty of changes for A-K Valley softball teams ahead of 2025 season
Change is the theme for many of the Alle-Kiski Valley softball programs heading into the 2025 WPIAL season — changes in class, sections, head coaches and players. Freeport is among the teams bumping up in class to join Section 1-4A. Coach Ron DeJidas’s team brings zero seniors into the new...
Mt. Pleasant swimmers seeking more hardware at PIAA championships
Sandy Felice has seen quite a bit over two stints as head coach of the boys and girls swim teams at Mt. Pleasant. The Slippery Rock grad and Hempfield native has racked up quite a bit of hardware over the years, leading Vikings to a sea of WPIAL and PIAA...
