Karen Kadilak stories, Page 2
North Allegheny grads make impact at ACC swimming championships
North Allegheny graduates Jack Wright and Jerry Chen were top contributors to their teams at the ACC men’s swimming championship meet Feb. 26-29 in Greensboro, N.C. Wright, a Virginia freshman, made the A final of the 200-yard freestyle, the only freshman in the 12-team field to do so. He placed...
North Allegheny’s Savchik reaches NCAA diving championships
North Allegheny alum and Rochester men’s senior diver Stephen Savchik is capping his career in a big way. Savchik qualified for the NCAA Division III championships March 18-21 in Greensboro, N.C. Savchik placed fourth on the 1-meter board with 463.40 points and 10th on the 3-meter board (429.25) in the...
North Allegheny product Isaacs soars for Duquesne tennis team
North Allegheny alum Jared Isaacs is on a record-setting pace as a senior on the Duquesne men’s tennis team. Isaacs became the Dukes’ all-time singles wins leader with his 77th career victory in an Atlantic 10 match against Davidson on March 3. In the next dual match, he became the...
Swimmer Leah Smith setting sights on qualifying for another Olympics
Oakland Catholic graduate Leah Smith is making good progress in her quest to make the Olympic Games this summer in Tokyo. Smith, who will turn 25 in April, produced this year’s fastest time in the world in the women’s 800-meter freestyle in 8 minutes, 23.46 seconds in the TYR Pro...
Mt. Pleasant’s Gardner, Belle Vernon’s Shahan lead area swimmers into PIAA meet
After repeating as WPIAL Class AA champion in two events, Belle Vernon junior swimmer Ian Shahan will be out to defend his PIAA titles this week at Bucknell. Shahan is seeded first in the boys 100-yard butterfly at 49.02 seconds and 100 freestyle (44.68). He improved his WPIAL records in...
Quaker Valley grad Harkins helps win SUNY swim title
For the third consecutive season, Quaker Valley alum Harry Harkins sparkled in relays as the SUNY Geneseo men’s swimming team won the State University of New York Athletic Conference title for the seventh year in a row. Harkins, a junior, anchored the 800-yard freestyle team that improved its meet record...
Quaker Valley’s Huang seeking more hardware at PIAA meet
After earning two gold medals at the WPIAL Class AA championship, Quaker Valley sophomore swimmer Isabel Huang looks forward to more awards at the PIAA meet Friday and Saturday at Bucknell. “My main goal is to continue dropping time, but I also hope to make the podium in both of...
North Allegheny swimmer Buerger winds down family tradition
An era will end when North Allegheny senior swimmer Torie Buerger is done competing in the PIAA Class AAA championship meet this week at Bucknell. Buerger is the fourth and final member of her family to swim for the Tigers since 2007. Her brothers, Jonathan, Matthew and Zachary, were standouts...
Belle Vernon’s Robert Spekis makes instant impact for Nova Southeastern swim team
Nova Southeastern swimming coach Ben Hewitt thought Belle Vernon alum Robert Spekis showed promise but was stunned when Spekis recently won at the Sunshine State Conference championship meet. Spekis, a freshman, took first place in the men’s 100-yard breaststroke in a Division II B-standard 54.13 seconds. “I was definitely surprised...
Gateway grad enjoys Masters swimming success
A connection she made at a meet two years ago has Gateway alum Janet (Bieno) McDonough sitting on top of the Masters swimming world. McDonough, 61, of Cranberry, is first in the FINA Short Course Meters 2019 rankings in the 240-279 combined age group in the women’s 200 medley relay...
Franklin Regional tennis player starts program to introduce kids to sport
A Murrysville nonprofit that provides free tennis training to special needs and disadvantaged children age 8 to 13 is expanding to include children of veterans. My Ground Strokes CEO Anup Nadesan said he recruited two veterans as digital and program managers. Nadesan, a Franklin Regional junior boys tennis player, and...
Mt. Pleasant swimmer Gardner chases more gold at WPIAL championship meet
For the third consecutive season, Mt. Pleasant senior swimmer Heather Gardner is heading toward two gold medals at the WPIAL Class AA championship meet Thursday and Friday at Pitt. Gardner is seeded first in the girls 50-yard freestyle in 24.07 seconds and 100 breaststroke (1:04.61). “I am very excited to...
Quaker Valley’s Huang in position to defend WPIAL swimming titles
For the second consecutive season, Quaker Valley sophomore swimmer Isabel Huang looks forward to topping the podium at the WPIAL Class AA championship Thursday and Friday at Pitt. Huang earned a pair of gold medals at the Midwestern Athletic Conference meet Feb. 14-15 at Moon. Her times of two minutes,...
Franklin Regional relay teams to battle for gold at WPIAL championships meet
Relays will be a strength for the Franklin Regional boys swimming and diving team at the WPIAL Class AAA championship meet Thursday and Friday at Pitt. The 200-yard freestyle team of junior Max Wang, seniors Payne Rizzer and Andrew Harris and sophomore Owen Holm is seeded third in 1 minute,...
North Allegheny grad Struk caps college swimming career
North Allegheny graduate Michael Struk ended his career as a member of the Washington and Lee men’s swimming team on a high note. Struk, a senior, placed second in the 1,650-yard freestyle in 16 minutes, 36.32 seconds at the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship meet. He helped the Generals, of...
North Allegheny swimming dynasty ready to add to trophy case at WPIAL meet
The North Allegheny girls swimming team is looking forward to making history at the WPIAL Class AAA championship meet Thursday and Friday at Pitt. The Tigers are favored to win their 12th consecutive WPIAL Class AAA title, the most by a WPIAL girls team. They are tied with Oakland Catholic,...
‘Fun begins’ for Norwin swimmers as WPIAL championship looms
Norwin junior swimmer Jordan Kutchak worked hard in the offseason and is reaping the rewards. Kutchak earned a gold medal in the girls 200-yard freestyle in the Westmoreland County Coaches Association meet in January. Her time of 1 minute, 57.65 seconds is on a list of top marks in WPIAL...
Sewickley Academy’s Pryor reaches new heights for Catholic University
Sewickley Academy graduate Justin Pryor is driving to the basket more, and it is helping him on the Catholic University men’s basketball team. Pryor, a 6-foot-3 junior guard, recently had two career-high 15-point games. He said laying the ball up was something he hung his hat on before the Division...
Penn-Trafford swimmer Paszek eyes school record, PIAAs
Penn-Trafford senior swimmer Corina Paszek, who committed to compete for Clarion next season, will have a couple of incentives at the WPIAL Class AAA championship meet Feb. 27-28 at Pitt. “One of my goals is to break the 200 (individual medley) school record again and qualify for a spot at...
Plum grad Justin Decheck makes impact for Gannon swim team
Plum graduate Justin Decheck is doing better than expected as a freshman on the Gannon men’s swimming team. Decheck, 18, qualified for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship meet this week in York in seven events individually. He ranks seventh in the Division II conference in the 100-yard backstroke with...
North Allegheny grad Piper Morningstar finds home at Washington & Jefferson
North Allegheny graduate and Division I transfer Piper Morningstar is hitting her stride in a new role as a sophomore on the Washington & Jefferson women’s basketball team. “Piper is starting to play her best basketball in the last few weeks,” Washington & Jefferson coach Jina DeRubbo said. “Her confidence...
Sun, soccer draw NA’s Hannah Kirkpatrick to Tampa soccer program
The promise of warm weather year-round and close proximity to a beach persuaded North Allegheny senior Hannah Kirkpatrick to join the Tampa soccer team next season. Kirkpatrick, 17, of McCandless signed a letter of intent to the Division II school Feb. 5. “I love the atmosphere,” she said. “It feels...
Belle Vernon swimmer Delaney Patterson joins teammate Ian Shahan among WPIAL’s best
Belle Vernon has had some outstanding male swimmers in recent seasons, but a female also deserves a piece of the spotlight. Sophomore Delaney Patterson ranks third among WPIAL Class AA performers in the girls 100-yard breaststroke (1 minute, 8.90 seconds) and the 200 individual medley (2:13.41). Patterson achieved both marks...
Penn-Trafford grad has NCAA diving ambitions
When she recruited him, Chicago diving coach Becky Benson envisioned Penn-Trafford’s Logan Sherwin qualifying for this season’s NCAA Division III men’s championship meet and earning All-America honors. Sherwin, a freshman, will take a step toward both at the Division III Central Regional meet Feb. 28-29 at Denison. A minimum of...
North Allegheny’s Smyers motivated to find success at PIAA meet
North Allegheny junior swimmer Molly Smyers hopes to change a pattern that has seen her shine in the WPIAL Class AAA championships, then stumble at states. Smyers earned gold medals in the girls 200-yard freestyle and 500 freestyle last season, and gold in the 500 freestyle and silver in the...
