Josh Rizzo stories, Page 5

Apollo-Ridge right tackle Connor Bogdanski was tired, but earned the feeling he was looking for July 23 at James M. Burke Athletic Facility. The Vikings had the smallest school enrollment at the Big Man Challenge, but they were able to earn a team victory over host Fox Chapel and Knoch....

The public address announcer ended his pre-game duties before the Sonny Westerman Old Timers game by sharing a sentiment likely shared by a large majority of the crowd, the players and any on-call medical personnel within shouting distance of Swartz Field in Freeport Borough Thursday night. Don’t get hurt. Despite...

Carter Bonner doesn’t think going on the recruiting trail for football is an easy process. One thing that eases the Penn Hills junior’s mind when it comes to the decision-making process is the impact it has on his dad during the road trips to visit schools. The two made a...

Adam Hoffman was floating in the pool in South Carolina when he found out that his efforts with the Shaler boys volleyball team had earned him all-state honors. Hoffman was one of many Titan athletes across all spring sports who drew recognition in the postseason. Hoffman was named an honorable...

Jack Kartsonas prefers to dominate one task at a time. On a recent Wednesday, the former West Virginia University standout and Fox Chapel native was only worried about the quality of the steak he was cooking and not about the challenge of leaping into minor league baseball. Kartsonas, who played...

The Fox Chapel hockey club will introduce a new program to spark interest in younger age groups. The Foxes will host a free skate with the varsity team July 27 at the Alpha Ice Complex. The program is available to students in Fox Chapel school district who are entering first...

Zykir “Ziggy” Moore feels a deep connection to many of the neighborhoods that make up the Woodland Hills community. That feeling gives Moore, who lives in Churchill but is originally from Rankin, a sense of pride when he pulls on the Wolverines’ football uniform. Moore, who recently committed to play...

Kate Friday spent much of the Fourth of July looking around with astonishment. But it wasn’t the fireworks that caught her eye. The 19-year-old Fox Chapel graduate and 5-foot-7 midfielder for the Pittsburgh Riveters was swept up in the community’s response to her team. Nearly 4,200 fans attended the Riveters’...

Fox Chapel senior Max Melocchi enjoys the pressure that comes with playing quarterback. However, Melocchi is happy to be preparing to play wide receiver and power back for the Foxes in the upcoming season. During a 7-on-7 workout July 9 at Fox Chapel, Melocchi was happy to haul in passes...

The Knoch football players had an acronym printed vertically on the back of their uniforms for the Fox Chapel 7-on-7 football practice Wednesday night. Reach your full potential (RYFP) has become the slogan for the Knights, led by veteran first-year coach T.J. Wiley. Wiley said the early response he has...

Woodland Hills senior wide receiver Scoop Smith wanted to make his college commitment something that stood out. He didn’t want to be behind a table picking from baseball hats. Instead, Smith hosted a football camp Sunday at the Wolvarena, announcing his commitment to Miami (Ohio) with a video on the...

Piper Coffield would have loved to have six of her teammates alongside her during the Pittsburgh Riveters USL W Central Conference semifinal playoff game Friday at Highmark Stadium. But the Mars graduate knows how things work in the summer at the pre-professional level. As the summer gets later, players have...

Marty Matvey didn’t need to work his contact list to help fill out the Fox Chapel girls basketball summer league. By the end of February, Matvey already had a full list of teams who wanted to get extra work in. The only team Matvey had to find a way to...

The Fox Chapel football team has stayed busy this summer. With all of the other typical summertime commitments — between vacations, other sports leagues and other activities — the Foxes have regularly had more than 50 players for workouts. When the practices for the season begin, coach Dave Leasure anticipates...

Shady Side Academy’s Javon Johnston impressed at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. Johnston finished in first place in the triple jump in the freshman division, winning the event with a leap of 45 feet, 11.5 inches. Johnston also finished third in the long jump with...

Jeremy Haigh was caught off guard when he received an email from Fox Chapel baseball coach Jim Hastings. The recent Foxes graduate didn’t realize he had been nominated for the Pennsylvania State Baseball Coaches Association All-State team. Haigh, who was chosen by the organization as first team all-state as a...

Cam Ponko wasn’t against having one more opportunity to wear her green-and-gold Penn-Trafford softball uniform after seeing her senior season culminate with a PIAA Class 5A title. She may have a harder time pulling on her crimson-and-black threads at IUP this fall after creating so many strong memories this spring....

Ronald Porter III’s willingness to try something new as a junior and his quick progress from there allowed him to do something during his senior season that was the highlight of the athletics programs at Penn Hills during the 2024-25 school year. Porter initially came out for track wanting to...

Dontae Pollard didn’t feel good either time he entered the transfer portal to find a new home to play college football. Both times, the quick reaction he drew from schools helped provide him comfort. Pollard recently announced he would use his final season of eligibility at Temple following two years...

The Shady Side Academy girls basketball team took a crushing loss in the WPIAL Class 3A championship game. The Bulldogs also lost their 6-foot-2 forward Cassie Sauer for their run through the state playoffs. But Shady Side Academy was able to pull itself together and move on to the PIAA...

Michael Worsen shouldn’t have even been at the Class 3A Western Regional. But the Fox Chapel senior made the most of his opportunity, entering the tournament as a late scratch and earning a spot at the PIAA tournament at 121 pounds. Worsen, who also crossed the 100-win mark for his...

Cooper Roscosky doesn’t wait long to hear what Kiski Area wrestling coach Chris Heater has to say about how a practice went. What Heater appreciates is that Roscosky is more interested in the feedback than the manner it is delivered. “On a daily basis, he would want to know what...

Tom Sorce is happy for the Shaler Area sports community. The Titans softball coach did wish he was worried less about the chores around the house and more about what his colleagues in other sports were. The Shaler softball team joined the boys volleyball and baseball teams in capturing WPIAL...

Penn State redshirt senior tight end Khalil Dinkins felt prepared when the Nittany Lions reached college football’s biggest stage last season. How Penn State has prepared this summer since reaching the semifinals of the first 12-team College Football Playoff last season hasn’t felt much different to Dinkins. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound...

This wasn’t the best spring for training for rowing competitions. The Fox Chapel rowing crew was able to make accommodations to put them in the best spot for success. Niko Vavpetic and his teammates — Gavin Nguyen, Keitaro Inada and Ian Wellman — will line up their rowing machines on...