Michael Love stories, Page 13
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...
A-K Valley high school notebook: Deer Lakes volleyball enjoying turnaround season
The Deer Lakes boys volleyball team is turning around its fortunes this spring, both in section play and beyond. The Lancers, 1-15 a year ago, head into Monday’s nonsection match with Section 3-2A leader Seton LaSalle at 7-2 overall and 3-1 in Section 1 play. “The players came into the...
With baseball season heating up, buzz builds for Freeport International
High school baseball in the All-Kiski Valley is in its fourth week, while college teams have been knocking it out of the park for nearly two months. The Pirates, despite their inauspicious start, are giving baseball fans something to talk about in the early season. While those games are in...
A-K Valley softball notebook: Knoch bolstered by ‘barnburner’ victory over North Catholic
The Knoch softball team had won five straight by shutout and had scored 59 runs in those games before Monday’s nonsection home matchup against North Catholic. The Knights quickly found out that the game with the Trojanettes wouldn’t turn out the same way. North Catholic broke open a tie game...
Scarpa shuts down Freeport as Greensburg Salem erupts for Section 1-4A softball win
Alle Scarpa struck out the first 10 Freeport batters she faced in Monday’s Section 1-4A matchup at Freeport Community Park. The 11th batter, Yellowjackets third baseman Addyson Caruso, doubled to left. She stole third to put the tying run closer to home plate with one out in the fourth. But...
With section play well under way, volleyball coaches association releases latest WPIAL boys rankings
WPIAL section matches are in full swing, and the top teams in both Class 3A and Class 2A continue to establish themselves. The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association again has recognized those teams with its Week 4 top-10 polls released Monday morning. North Allegheny (Class 3A) and Shaler (Class 2A)...
Gateway’s Dino Nadarevic breaks discus record, has shot put mark in sight
Gateway senior Dino Nadarevic entered his final high school outdoor track and field season eyeing up a couple of longstanding throwing school records. Work in the offseason and in the indoor season got him ready to go after the top marks in both the discus and shot put. Building his...
‘A long way to go’: Despite strong start, Gateway baseball focused on staying hot
The Gateway baseball team won its fifth game of the young season, 3-2 over McKeesport in its Section 4-5A opening series March 25. The Gators, who upped their record to 5-1 with the victory, won four games all of last season. First-year coach Andy Hoover said hard work in practice...
Riverview’s Katerina Tsambis named Valley News Dispatch girls basketball player of the year
Katerina Tsambis 5-4, Sr., G, Riverview The Riverview girls basketball team won 14 games this past season and lost just five. Of those 14 games, a couple of them stand out for senior guard Katerina Tsambis. “I would have to say beating some of the bigger schools we played like...
Knoch’s Jackson Bauman headlines Valley News Dispatch boys basketball all-stars
Jackson Bauman 6-2, Jr., PG, Knoch When everything was on the line for the Knoch boys basketball team, Jackson Bauman shined. A heart-and-soul player for the Knights, Bauman came up big as his team faced elimination against section rival Deer Lakes in the WPIAL Class 4A fifth-place game with a...
Plum athletes hit early marks at Altoona Igloo Invitational
The Plum boys and girls track and field teams are well into their 2025 spring season, and early invitational and dual-meet results have put a smile on the face of head coach Matt Proskin. He struck a positive tone last Wednesday after a competitive section dual meet with Franklin Regional...
