Michael Love stories, Page 11
Plum grad Lauren Ferragonio motivated during 10th season with Pittsburgh Passion
The Pittsburgh Passion women’s football team enjoyed an undefeated 2024 regular season and was victorious in its Women’s Football Alliance first-round playoff game against Tampa Bay. The victory over the Inferno propelled the Passion to the National Conference Championship game against the Boston Renegades. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, it wasn’t able...
Plum baseball riding high ahead of WPIAL playoffs
Plum and Franklin Regional are known for having one of the more competitive rivalries in all of WPIAL baseball. But the Mustangs made sure they established themselves as the superior team this season with a Section 1-5A series sweep that upped their section-leading record to 9-1 and helped them remain...
Elite runners aim to defend titles at Pittsburgh Marathon
Andrew Bowman came to Pittsburgh on Thursday ready to enjoy its various attractions and to prepare to challenge for another victory on the city’s streets and bridges. Last year, the 31-year-old Michigan resident covered the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon 26.2-mile course in 2 hours, 15.52 minutes. He is switching...
Winchester Thurston grad Will Loevner ready to again contend at Pittsburgh Marathon
Will Loevner returned to long-distance running two years ago after five years of success in mountain bike racing. The 2016 Winchester Thurston graduate who ran two years at Penn State won the Cleveland Marathon in 2023 and qualified for the Olympic marathon trials at the Philadelphia Marathon later that year....
Deer Lakes overcomes early deficit to defeat Ligonier Valley
Things started out well for Ligonier Valley in a Section 1-3A softball game Monday at Deer Lakes High School. The Rams tallied three runs in the top of the first as Natalie Bizup and Abby Springer paced the early uprising with an RBI apiece. But the homestanding Lancers rallied from...
Top boys volleyball teams record big wins, hold on to spots in boys volleyball rankings
A pair of top-five boys volleyball matchups in Class 3A highlighted the WPIAL section slate last Thursday as North Allegheny topped Butler, 3-0, and Seneca Valley swept Pine-Richland. Those four teams remained at the top in the latest Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association’s WPIAL boys top-10 rankings released Monday morning....
Gateway grad brings energy, toughness to Slippery Rock softball during big senior year
Emotions were flowing April 22 when Emma Kennedy and her Slippery Rock softball teammates took the field for a doubleheader at IUP. The Crimson Hawks program’s “Strikeout For Cancer” event that day honored those who have battled cancer, who are battling cancer or who have died from the various forms...
On campus: Former Plum bowler Mareana Pilyih named Division III Rookie of the Year
Mareana Pilyih made a seamless transition from high school bowling at Plum, where she was a two-time WPIBL Most Valuable Player honoree, to the collegiate game at Saint Vincent College. As a freshman this past fall and winter, she led the Bearcats with a 191.3 average over 105 games with...
Multiple heroes emerge as Riverview baseball vies for section title
When the Riverview baseball team has earned a win this season, the players have presented one of their own with a WWE championship belt signifying that player’s impact on the victory. The belt has been distributed numerous times since the Raiders’ first win March 19. The Raiders completed a dominating...
Knoch softball team starts 9-0 in section
Last year, the Knoch softball team went 10-2 in section play. Their only two losses were to undefeated champion Indiana by scores of 2-0 and 7-0. Senior Grace Hensch said she and the other returning players kept those games in mind because of what the losses meant to their section...
Logistics shaping up for Saturday’s Pittsburgh Karate Championships in New Kensington
Frank Caliguri has a lot on his mind with the Pittsburgh Karate Championships just a day away. While there is so much to get done before Saturday’s annual event at the Quality Inn in New Kensington, he knows the preparations are in good hands. “Everything is on track,” Caliguri said...
Kiski Area, Burrell, Valley have high hopes entering WCCA track meet
Kiski Area’s Lauren Ciuca broke 11 minutes in the 3,200-meter run at last week’s Butler Invitational. Her time of 10:59.76 set a school record and put her on the awards podium in third out of 64 who ran the event that day. She wasn’t too far behind the winner, West...
Bria Bosiljevac gets plenty of run support as Shaler rolls past Plum
The Shaler softball team had allowed just two runs over its first six Section 1-5A games. Plum got one of those runs in a loss to the Titans on April 4. The Mustangs tried to solve Shaler starter Bria Bosiljevac and gain a measure of revenge for the setback at...
With postseason approaching, volleyball coaches association releases latest WPIAL boys rankings
WPIAL boys volleyball is just three weeks away from the start of the playoff tournaments, and teams in both Class 3A and Class 2A continue to position themselves for runs to the postseason. They also are making moves throughout the weekly Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association top-10 polls, which were...
Gateway’s Austin Lockhart chasing school record, WPIAL success in triple jump
Austin Lockhart leapt 43 feet, 3 inches in the triple jump at last year’s WPIAL Class 3A track and field championships at Slippery Rock. It wasn’t his best distance of the season. That was a 44-5 at a regular-season invitational. But his top jump in his WPIAL debut earned him...
Behind WPIAL singles champion Adam Memije, Gateway tennis seeking more hardware
Adam Memije and Advaita Sircar could meet at some point in the PIAA Class 3A singles tennis tournament May 23-24 in Hershey. Memije, a Gateway senior, and Sircar, a sophomore from North Allegheny, already know a lot about each other. They faced each other in the WPIAL finals for the...
Apollo-Ridge softball bounces back after 1st section loss
When the Apollo-Ridge softball players came to practice Tuesday, coach Ashtin Kirkwood said she saw a team in good spirits despite a loss to South Allegheny the day before. The first meeting between the Section 2-2A leaders went to the Gladiators, who rallied from a two-run deficit with a big...
Former Franklin Regional player, Mt. Pleasant assistant Garland eager to get started as coach of Riverview girls soccer
Jessica Garland honed her skills as a high school soccer coach the past decade as an assistant to her father, Rich, at her alma mater, Franklin Regional, and for the past five seasons at Mt. Pleasant. She now is getting her chance as a head coach. Garland on Monday evening...
Catanzaro steps down as Riverview girls basketball coach after 4 seasons
Jill Catanzaro stepped down Monday as coach of the Riverview girls basketball team after four seasons at the helm. The decision, she said, was a difficult one because of her love of the game, her love of coaching and love of Riverview and its athletes. But when she thought about...
South Allegheny grinds out win vs. Apollo-Ridge
South Allegheny used a big fourth inning to turn around its fortunes against Apollo-Ridge in a key Section 2-2A softball matchup Monday at Apollo-Ridge High School. The Gladiators collected just five hits in the game, but they were opportunistic at the plate, and strong defense and the pitching of junior...
Central Catholic, Derry move into Western Pa. coaches’ boys volleyball rankings
North Allegheny and Shaler didn’t budge from their top spots as the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its latest WPIAL boys volleyball top-10 rankings Monday morning. The Tigers remained No. 1 in Class 3A and capped the week with a runner-up finish at the prestigious Koller Classic on Saturday...
On campus: Gateway grad Nolan Boehm shines for Chatham baseball
Nolan Boehm is making his mark this spring for the Chatham baseball team. The Gateway graduate was third for the Cougars in hitting at .308 (20 for 65) through 20 games. He recorded two doubles, two triples, 12 runs batted in and 11 runs scored through a doubleheader split with...
Gateway volleyball adjusting to new lineup, classification in early-season matches
The Gateway boys volleyball team has been adjusting to both a move up to Class 3A and a new lineup dynamic with the loss of a majority of last year’s squad to graduation. But Gators coach Phil Randolph likes what he sees from his players in the early part of...
Plum notebook: Mustangs secure key section wins over Armstrong, Penn-Trafford
Members of the Plum baseball team knew coming into the season that it would be a dogfight at the top of Section 1-5A, and the Mustangs were right there in the mix after the first two Section 1-5A series. They took care of business in the opening home-and-home section set...
Senior quartet helps Plum flag football team score early-season wins
The Plum girls flag football team worked out and practiced for the better part of three months to be ready for the opening weekend of its second season, a showcase event March 29 involving high school and college teams at Saint Vincent College. The Mustangs, led by a group of...
