Michael Love stories, Page 128

When turning his attention to Monday morning — the start of official preseason practices for high school football teams throughout the WPIAL — a big smile came across Logan Harmon’s face. “I don’t know how much I will be able to sleep (Sunday night),” the Apollo-Ridge junior said. “I will...

When Jayla Robinson begins her fourth-grade school year at Ramsey Elementary School later this month, the 9-year-old Monroeville resident will have good news to share with her classmates. For the second year in a row, Robinson is a youth track and field All-American with a pair of medal-winning performances at...

Brothers Frank and Mark Bozicevic traveled beyond the borders of the U.S. once as kids, but the trip to Canada, they said, didn’t register as they were too young to remember much of the details of the journey. The Gateway graduates and members of the Waynesburg men’s basketball team hope...

Knoch grad Jordan Geist captured a silver medal in the men’s shot put Wednesday evening at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. In third after the three throws of the opening round and fourth overall after the first two throws of the finals, Geist unleashed a throw of 20.67...

Volleyballs will be flying through the air and hitting the floor at Moon High School on Friday and Saturday as the Give It Back Foundation’s annual girls volleyball camp makes its way to Western Pennsylvania for the first time. Christa Harmotto Dietzen, a Hopewell graduate and one of six former...

For the second time in less than two weeks, Jordan Geist will compete in the shot put against some of the best throwers in the world. The Knoch graduate and rising junior at Arizona will test his mettle Wednesday evening in a field of 13 at the Pan American Games...

The Alle-Kiski Valley was well represented over the weekend in both the youth ice hockey and baseball tournaments at the annual Keystone State Games amateur sports festival. The Central Region girls 19U hockey team, with 2017 Freeport graduate Cassie Suran (forward) and sisters Madison (defense) and Miranda (forward) Naylor, both...

The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference released its 2019 preseason football poll Monday afternoon, and Slippery Rock is favored to repeat as PSAC West champion. The Rock, which suffered a 33-10 loss to West Chester in last year’s PSAC title game, went on to finish 11-3 overall and win a pair...

After his team’s loss in an elimination game at the Pennsylvania Youth Legion baseball tournament, Plum manager Bill Rumcik stood in front of his players and offered words he hoped would console his dejected group. “They were really down, but I wanted to put (the season) into perspective for them,”...

Maddy Neundorfer traveled to Germany in April as part of a U.S. Olympic Development Program team. The trip, she said, was an on-field and off-field success. The team went 3-0 in game action and gave up no goals in the trio of contests. “It was great to not only experience...

The Penn State football team picked up another member of the Class of 2020 on Thursday morning. Malick Meiga, a wide receiver from Cegep du Vieux High School in Montreal, gave a verbal commitment to the Nittany Lions. He is rated three stars by 247sports. Extremely bless to announce that...

Duquesne University senior running back A.J. Hines continues to collect preseason All-American accolades. In June, he earned recognition from both Athlon Sports and HERO Sports. On Tuesday, Hines picked up first-team All-American honors in the Football Championship Subdivision from STATS. He garnered All-American recognition from five organizations after a 2018...

When R.J. Makowski began his pursuit of taekwondo master instructor status one year ago, he initially thought it would be a similar feeling to when he achieved his six black belt degrees in the Korean martial art. But when the owner of Makowski Martial Arts in Sarver reached the final...

Pennsylvania swept past Maryland in a three-game series over the weekend at the Big 26 Baseball Classic in Maryland, and WPIAL products Jarrett Heilman and Ryan McGuire contributed to the triumphs. Pennsylvania, which lost two of three to Maryland in the 2018 series, collected 30 runs over the three games,...

Pat McAfee, the former All-Pro punter with the Indianapolis Colts who has been involved several years in such media ventures as a podcaster, in-studio guest for the NFL Network and an on-air personality for WWE, now will serve as a color analyst for ESPN’s Thursday night college football. Both McAfee...

The summer of 2020 will mark the 40th annual National Veteran Wheelchair Games, and multiyear participants, Alle-Kiski Valley residents Jerry Baylor, Brenden Beck and Mark Rosensteel, are planning to be a part of the milestone games. All hope to have as much success — or even more — next July...

The Boyertown Grizzlies scored a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to pick up a 5-4 walk-off victory over Plum Post 980 in a first-round game Saturday at the PA Youth Legion Baseball State Championship in Homer City. Plum (22-6-1) still is alive in the double-elimination tournament and...

With the 25th Freeport International Baseball Invitational in the books, event officials already are turning their attention to next summer’s event. FIBI president Chuck Sarver said before the final pitch was thrown and the last of the famed hoagies were sold at the concession stand, talk began of setting the...

Andrew Cressler hasn’t played a college basketball game in five years, but the Plum graduate and former standout at Seton Hill and Pitt-Johnstown still enjoys the opportunity to mix it up on the court in a competitive environment. He is one of the more veteran players in the Kings of...

Knoch graduate Jordan Geist placed 14th in the men’s shot put Friday at the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Competing in the second flight, the rising junior at the University of Arizona unleashed a top toss of 19.78 meters (64 feet, 10¾ inches). He did...

The Gateway Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2019 will be inducted at a ceremony Oct. 5 at Edgewood Country Club. Inductees are Katrina Streiner (Class of 2005, swimming), Paul Krusey (Class of 1967, multi-sport), Greg Nemec (Class of 1973, multisport), Crista Coles (Class of 1989, soccer), Matt Houy (Class...

During the high school baseball season, Gateway coach Mark Wardzinski approached his players about continuing as a team into the summer. The response, rising junior Joe Schulte said, was positive, and the Monroeville Senior Legion team was reborn after a three-year hiatus. “I was ready to keep playing with that...

In back-to-back elimination games at the PA Youth Legion Western Regional at Homer City, Plum Post 980 faced early five-run deficits. But the Junior Mustangs rallied to win both times. The second rally came against Westmoreland County rival Uniontown, and the 7-5 victory Tuesday clinched their spot in the state...

Jarrett Heilman will be among select company at this weekend’s Big 26 Baseball Classic in Harrisburg. The Freeport pitching standout will join other top rising juniors and seniors from Pennsylvania for the annual three-game series against a team from Maryland. Heilman said he’s excited for the opportunity. “I’ve played against...

Nick Delp now knows where he will wrestle when his time in high school concludes. The Kiski Area rising senior gave a verbal commitment Wednesday to Division I Bucknell University. He made the announcement on Twitter. Committed!! ?? pic.twitter.com/rfRSJKFSHF— Nicholas Delp (@nicholas_delp12) July 24, 2019 Delp reached the 100-win milestone...