Michael Love stories, Page 120

Gannon University has its man. Erik Raeburn, a northeast Ohio native, is the new head coach for the Knights football team. The school announced the hire at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. Raeburn is no stranger to the Gannon program as he served as the program’s offensive coordinator for the...

The Apollo-Ridge boys basketball team made a leap back to prominence last year, improving by seven wins, both overall and in section play, from the year before. The Vikings were in the playoff mix until the final week of the regular season. But a pair of section losses, including one...

Only 16 high school girls volleyball teams were left standing last Tuesday as the four classifications moved to the semifinal round of the PIAA playoffs. Freeport and Knoch were in the mix and hoped to return to the finals where they captured gold in 2017. However, their postseason runs were...

North Penn-Liberty (22-0) vs. North Catholic (22-1) 1 p.m. Saturday, Cumberland Valley High School, Mechanicsburg Coaches: Jennifer Nawri, North Penn-Liberty; Amanda Fetter, North Catholic Players to watch: Maddison Minyo, senior, middle hitter/outside hitter, North Penn-Liberty; Dominique Felix, senior, outside hitter, North Catholic. How they got here: District 4 champion North...

Bishop Shanahan (23-0) vs. North Allegheny (22-1) 6 p.m. Saturday, Cumberland Valley High School, Mechanicsburg Coaches: Greg Ashman, Bishop Shanahan; Heidi Miller, North Allegheny Players to watch: Abby Miller, senior, setter/opposite, North Allegheny; Cara Shultz, senior, outside hitter, Bishop Shanahan. How they got here: District 1 champion Bishop Shanahan defeated...

Peyton Kondis is off to another strong start with the Houston women’s swim team. The Plum resident and Oakland Catholic graduate was named American Athletic Conference Swimmer of the Week after winning the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke and helping the 200 and 400 medley relays win in a dual meet...

Fox Chapel seniors Christian Fitch and Grace Sisson were selected as the Alle-Kiski cross country runners of the year as a part of the 2019 All-Star teams. The all-star recognition, which includes teams and coaches of the year, as well as first-team, second-team and honorable mention-selections, is a collaborative effort...

The James 5:16 Boxing Center in Tarentum will host amateur boxing Saturday. Chris Archer, a trainer at the facility, said there will be 13-15 bouts between fighters from local gyms throughout the area and region who continue to prepare for the Golden Gloves and USA Boxing tournaments early next year....

Last year at this time, Nick Delp saw Kiski Area graduates Cam Connor and Darren Miller sign Division I National Letters of Intent to wrestle at Penn and Bucknell, respectively. On Wednesday, it was Delp’s turn to celebrate the finality of his college decision. The Bucknell wrestling commit joined a...

The Case Western Reserve football team edged Waynesburg on Saturday to clinch the Presidents’ Athletic Conference championship and the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs. Throughout the matchup with the Yellow Jackets, Patrick Crossey was making a difference for the Spartans defense. The Plum graduate and senior...

The North Allegheny girls volleyball team captured PIAA gold the past two seasons, and the Tigers will go after their third consecutive crown and sixth in program history after defeating Landisville Hempfield 3-1 in a Class AAAA semifinal match Tuesday at Altoona High School. The Tigers improved to 21-1 overall...

Things started well for the Knoch girls volleyball team in Tuesday’s PIAA Class AAA semifinal against Palmyra at Altoona High School. The Knights outlasted the Cougars 27-25 in a competitive first game and hoped to build on the gained momentum. But the District 3 champion didn’t waver. Palmyra, undefeated in...

As the Freeport girls volleyball team was taking care of Beaver on Saturday in a PIAA Class AA quarterfinal at Shaler, North Catholic and defending PIAA champion Bald Eagle Area squared off for another spot in the state semifinals. The Yellowjackets’ sweep of the Bobcats propelled them into the PIAA...

Jarrett Heilman is busy preparing for his final high school baseball season with a Freeport, which returns numerous starters and key contributors from last spring’s run to a Section 1-3A title and the PIAA playoffs. But when the senior pitcher hangs up his Yellowjackets uniform for the final time, he...

The Knoch girls volleyball team swept Franklin Regional when the teams met in the WPIAL Class AAA semifinals last week. The Panthers hoped to turn the tables on the Knights as they faced off again Saturday, this time with a berth in the PIAA semifinals on the line. But Knoch,...

Chase Balla is a jack-of-all-trades for the Allegheny College football team. The 5-foot-8, 180-pound junior has served as an anchor of the defense as a linebacker/defensive back hybrid since his freshman season, when he earned All-North Coast Athletic Conference honorable-mention honors. Balla, a Valley High School graduate, has been a...

After two emotional and physically draining five-set matches to cap the WPIAL playoffs, senior outside hitter Lauren Lampus and the other Freeport girls volleyball team members were happy to take care of business in straightforward fashion Tuesday in the first round of the PIAA tournament. The WPIAL champion Yellowjackets took...

The Pennsylvania Karate Championships is the second-longest running event of its type in the United States, and Saturday’s 47th annual event at Valley High School again is expected to attract the top martial arts competitors from the Alle-Kiski Valley as well as the region, state and country. “It was one...

The WPIAL wrapped up the 2019 field hockey season Thursday with the release of its Division I and II all-star lists. North Allegheny and Mt. Lebanon, WPIAL Class AAA playoff qualifiers, led the way with three Division I first-team selections apiece, while champion Pine-Richland and runner-up Peters Township each had...

When Plum girls soccer team members gathered for summer workouts and then came together for official preseason practices in August, a buzz surrounded the talented but youthful group. First-year head coach Jamie Stewart said he saw the potential, but hard work and determination would turn potential into a reality of...

Hannah Irvine was on point offensively for the Saint Vincent women’s soccer team in a 3-1 victory over Thiel to cap the 2019 season. The Deer Lakes graduate, a sophomore midfielder, recorded a hat trick as the Bearcats finished 2-6 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and 2-14 overall. Irvine led...