Michael Love stories, Page 10
A-K Valley high school baseball playoff preview capsules for May 22, 2025
WPIAL baseball playoffs Class 2A Semifinals 6-Riverview (14-6) vs. 2-Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (14-7) 4 p.m. Thursday at Peterswood Park Winner plays: Winner of 8-Freedom (12-7)/12-Laurel (10-10) in the championship game May 27 or 28 at EQT Park (time TBA) Players to watch: Rece Sempfer, Riverview; Dean Douglass,...
Riverview sophomore keeps composure, leads Raiders past Burgettstown in 2A quarterfinals
Lukas Duncan plunked Burgettstown third baseman Sam Elich to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning of Tuesday’s WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinal at North Allegheny. But the Riverview sophomore, pitching with his team holding a one-run lead, didn’t let that blemish get to him. He retired the next three...
Top-seeded South Park knocks off rust, shuts out Deer Lakes in Class 3A
Twelve days went by between the South Park softball team’s final regular-season game and Monday’s WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals against Deer Lakes at Fox Chapel. The Eagles’ high-powered offense took a couple of innings to get going against the Lancers. If it was a little rust, South Park hitters shook...
After claiming 2 WPIAL gold medals, Gateway’s Dino Nadarevic turns attention to state meet
Dino Nadarevic had already claimed one WPIAL title last Wednesday at the Class 3A track and field championships before he went for more. With a gold medal in the shot put already placed around his neck, Nadarevic, a Gateway senior, smashed the school record in the discus and dominated the...
Alle-Kiski Valley softball playoff preview capsules: Games for May 19, 2025
WPIAL softball playoffs Class 2A Quarterfinals 1-Neshannock (19-0) vs. 8-Apollo-Ridge (14-4) 5 p.m. Monday at North Allegheny Winner plays: Winner of 13-Shenango (11-8)/12-Bentworth (9-9) on Wednesday in semifinals (site/time TBD) Players to watch: Mikaila Ditty, Apollo-Ridge; Addy Frye, Neshannock Extra bases: The Section 2 runner-up Vikings outlasted No. 9 Our...
Riverview, Plum athletes earn trips to PIAA track and field championships
Riverview senior Matt Orbin was seeded fourth entering the Class 2A boys javelin at last Wednesday’s WPIAL track and field championships at Slippery Rock. Orbin didn’t let the fact that it was his first appearance at the WPIAL finals get to him as he stayed consistent from his season-best of...
Plum softball reflects on power-packed season after WPIAL playoff exit
The Plum softball team had designs on breaking a tough playoff losing streak when it took on Chartiers Valley at West Mifflin in a WPIAL Class 5A first-round game May 12. The Mustangs were the No. 8 seed as they hoped to snap a six-game playoff skid. The game with...
Longtime coach Joe Lafko hired to lead Knoch boys basketball team
Joe Lafko looked to the future and also the past for motivation to return to coaching high school boys basketball. Lafko, who was hired at Knoch on Wednesday, said his upcoming retirement in June after 35 years of teaching social studies at Hampton helped him in his decision. The WPIAL...
Apollo-Ridge’s Jaden McCray, Freeport’s Mackenzie Magness among A-K Valley champs at WPIAL meet
Apollo-Ridge junior Jaden McCray earned a fifth-place medal in the javelin at last year’s WPIAL Class 2A track and field championships. That came with an automatic trip to states. But in his return to WPIALs on Wednesday at Slippery Rock University, McCray was shooting for more. And more is what...
Alle-Kiski Valley softball playoff preview capsules: Games for May 14, 2025
WPIAL softball playoffs Class 6A Quarterfinals 12-Fox Chapel (13-6) vs. 4-North Hills (16-4) 3 p.m. Wednesday at North Allegheny Winner plays: Winner of 1-Penn-Trafford (18-2)/9-Chartiers Valley (12-6) in semifinals (date, time, location TBD) Players to watch: Natalie Anzaldi, North Hills; Summer Burkhart, Fox Chapel Extra bases: Fox Chapel pulled a...
Freeport pole vaulter seeking repeat among A-K Valley athletes set for WPIAL meet
Mackenzie Magness capped her first varsity track and field season last year with a WPIAL Class 2A pole vault championship and a trip to states. She has not slowed down this spring, and the Freeport sophomore who extended her own school record with a top attempt of 12 feet, 3...
Slugger’s 2-run homer propels Chartiers Valley past Plum in Class 5A 1st round
For Lily Duffill, seven was heaven, but eight is great. The Chartiers Valley junior catcher and clean-up hitter crushed a two-out, two-run home run – her eighth of the season – in the top of the third inning of a WPIAL Class 5A first-round matchup with Plum on Monday at...
A-K Valley WPIAL softball playoff capsules: Games for Tuesday, May 13, 2025
WPIAL softball playoffs Class 3A First round 8-Deer Lakes (7-13) vs. 9-Charleroi (9-8) 5 p.m. Tuesday at Norwin Winner plays: 1-South Park (18-0) in quarterfinals (date. Site and time TBD) Players to watch: Siena Plummer, Deer Lakes; Lyla Brunner, Charleroi Extra bases: Charleroi returns to the WPIAL playoffs in Class...
Busy final stretch helps Gateway volleyball prepare for WPIAL playoffs
A couple of postponements created a busy scenario for the final week of the regular season for the Gateway boys volleyball team. Four matches in four days, starting with a crucial Section 4 clash with Central Catholic and continuing with matches against Plum, Penn Hills and Fox Chapel, decided the...
Gateway boys tennis celebrates return to top of WPIAL mountain
The North Allegheny and Gateway boys tennis teams expected to play a close match down to the wire when they met to decide the WPIAL Class 3A title for a third year in a row. Each team scored 3-2 victories the previous two seasons, Gateway claiming gold in 2023 and...
Plum sports notebook: Max Grice, Will Beckner to play basketball at next level
After four years spent on the same court helping the Plum boys basketball team improve, seniors Max Grice and Will Beckner have both found a home at the next level. Grice will take his talents to Division II Seton Hill, while Beckner will play at Division III Saint Vincent. Grice...
‘Anything can happen’: 2nd-seeded Plum, 8 other A-K Valley teams learn WPIAL baseball playoff assignments
Nine Alle-Kiski Valley baseball teams qualified for the WPIAL playoffs, and at the top of that list, Plum is the No. 2 seed in Class 5A. The Mustangs (18-2), the outright Section 1 champions, found out they will take on No. 15 Mars at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Fox Chapel...
North Allegheny, Shaler awarded No. 1 seeds for WPIAL boys volleyball tournament
North Allegheny and Shaler are the top seeds for their respective WPIAL boys volleyball tournaments. The WPIAL released the Class 3A and Class 2A brackets Friday afternoon after the regular season concluded with section finales Thursday evening. There will be a new WPIAL champion in Class 3A with Shaler, the...
WPIAL to decide eligibility for Bauman brothers, who transferred from Knoch to Moon
The WPIAL Board of Directors will meet Monday afternoon, and the eligibility of two former Knoch students and basketball players is one of the items on the agenda. Jackson Bauman, a rising senior point guard who led the Knights to a runner-up finish in Section 1-4A, a fifth-place finish in...
Plum golfer Lorish commits to Marshall, pursues U.S. Open
The U.S. Open golf championship is coming back to Oakmont Country Club on June 12-15, and Plum’s Wes Lorish is going to do his best to be there on the course with the game’s greatest players. “That would be a dream come true, to play there right in my back...
Valley boys tennis advances past Hampton to WPIAL team finals
Valley will get a chance to win its first WPIAL boys tennis championship as it punched its ticket to Wednesday’s Class 2A finals with a 3-2 victory over Hampton in a semifinal contest Monday afternoon on the courts at North Allegheny High School. The Vikings improved to 13-0. “I am...
Coaches association releases final WPIAL boys volleyball rankings
The last week of the WPIAL boys volleyball regular season is here, and the final playoff picture will take shape over the next four days. With that in mind, the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its final top-10 team rankings for both Class 3A and Class 2A. The WPIAL...
Jane Bareikis defends title, photo finish among highlights at 2025 Pittsburgh Marathon
Jane Bareikis had a title defense on her mind as she took to the streets of Downtown Pittsburgh and its surrounding neighborhoods Sunday morning as part of the Pittsburgh Marathon’s series of races. The Chicago resident and American citizen who is a native of Kenya made her Dick’s Sporting Goods...
Gateway grad Sarah Corrie has sights set on trip to NCAA championships in final season
With one more collegiate outdoor track and field season of eligibility left at Slippery Rock, Sarah Corrie weighed her options about whether to hang it up after a plethora of standout performances at all levels the previous four years or continue on for one more shot at reaching lofty goals...
Gateway’s Dino Nadarevic betters meet record at South Fayette Invitational
For the second year in a row, Dino Nadarevic established a new meet record at the South Fayette Invitational on April 26. The Gateway senior throwing standout won the shot put with a top attempt of 58 feet, 4.5 inches, almost a foot further than the record 57-6 he tallied...
