Michael Love stories, Page 30
Plum baseball battling toward playoff berth in Section 1-5A
Carl Vollmer was quick to extol the virtues of baseball games in Section 1-5A, one that is filled with close, natural rivalries. The veteran Plum coach said that with matchups against Franklin Regional, Penn-Trafford, Penn Hills, Fox Chapel, Gateway and Armstrong, there will be the highs of big wins and...
Freeport freshman pole vaulter Magness already turning heads with her performance
If opposing teams didn’t already know about Mackenzie Magness through her accomplishments during the indoor track and field season, the Freeport freshman pole vaulter opened more eyes at the Tri-State Track Coaches Association outdoor championships last Saturday at West Mifflin High School. Magness cleared the bar set at 11 feet,...
Dave Pucka, one of Plum’s own, hired to coach boys basketball team
Dave Pucka put his stamp on Plum athletics more than 25 years ago as a standout running back for the Mustangs, and he also was a member of the boys basketball team. He was Plum’s all-time rushing yards and touchdowns leader from his senior year in 1997 to 2022, when...
Apollo-Ridge softball team, with small roster and new coach, starts to find its footing
The Apollo-Ridge softball team began the season with 11 players. There was one recent addition to the group, but it has been all hands on deck for a team with aspirations to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs for the seventh season in a row. It also has been a get-to-know-you...
Burrell builds momentum with win over Deer Lakes
Mother Nature’s rain overnight from Sunday into Monday necessitated a change in venue for Monday’s Section 1-3A softball clash for first place between rivals Burrell and Deer Lakes. Originally an evening contest at Burrell’s Bon Air Elementary, it was relocated to Deer Lakes’ new artificial turf field for an afternoon...
Coaches rankings: Shaler, North Allegheny, top 2 teams in Class 3A, battle for tournament title
Shaler and North Allegheny remain the top two boys volleyball teams in the latest Western Pa. Volleyball Coaches Association Class 3A poll released Monday morning, and the Titans and Tigers finished last week in the championship match at the prestigious Koller Classic on Saturday at Central York High School. The...
Gateway’s Adam Memije looks forward to PIAA tournament
Gateway junior Adam Memije entered the WPIAL Class 3A singles championship match last Wednesday at Glen Creek Tennis Club in South Park Township hoping to finish off a WPIAL-championship triple crown. Last year, he captured a WPIAL doubles title with fellow Gators junior Zidaan Hassan and also helped lead Gateway...
Gateway looks forward to promising 2nd flag football season
The foundation bricks for the Gateway girls flag football team were put in place last spring. Now, the Gators are taking the next steps in their second season. High school girls flag football in the Pittsburgh area, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Steelers, grew from six teams in the first season...
Returning athletes bolster Riverview track and field teams
The Riverview boys and girls track and field teams are fueled by a nucleus of returning, experienced talent, some of whom powered their way to last year’s WPIAL Class 2A championships at Slippery Rock. Veteran coach Dave Illnicki said a mix of those athletes, along with newcomers who are setting...
Plum players learning, improving during inaugural flag football season
Anna Zanchi didn’t know much about American football before coming to Plum as an exchange student from Italy. But she has immersed herself in the game and now is a key member of Plum’s first girls flag football team. “This was all new to me,” said Zanchi, who began her...
A-K Valley campus clippings: Duquesne standout Myers enters transfer portal
Tess Myers is on the move for her final year of NCAA women’s basketball eligibility. A Lower Burrell resident and Duquesne standout the past four seasons, Myers announced Wednesday evening on X (formerly Twitter) that she will enter the transfer portal. Myers started 32 games in her final season with...
Preparations nearly complete for Saturday’s Pittsburgh Karate Championships
Frank Caliguri made a trip Thursday to the Quality Inn in New Kensington to check on the status of a number of things in advance of Saturday’s Pittsburgh Karate Championships. “We also had a time keepers and score keepers meeting the other night to make sure they’re all ready to...
Young Burrell softball team gets off to good start; tough tests await
The Burrell softball team won a section championship two years ago and finished runner-up last year. Both times, the Bucs made a run in the WPIAL tournament and qualified for the PIAA playoffs. While a couple of major contributors from both teams have graduated, a strong nucleus remains that hopes...
North Allegheny freshman bursts onto scene, Sewickley Academy junior reaches goal in WPIAL tennis finals
Advaita Sircar made his WPIAL tournament debut Tuesday and continued his run Wednesday in the Class 3A singles championship match at Glen Creek Tennis Club in South Park Township. The North Allegheny freshman, the No. 2 seed, made the most of his inaugural championship opportunity as he took down No....
Valley junior’s quick rise up WPIAL tennis ranks fueled by love of sport
When Landon Harclerode picked up a tennis racket competitively for the first time two years ago, it was the start of a journey of discovery, of learning and of improving. “My first year, it was all right,” Harclerode said of his freshman season at No. 2 doubles with the Valley...
Upper St. Clair’s Sierra Dupre called up to U.S. national team for international soccer tournament
Sierra Dupre, a sophomore at Upper St. Clair High School and a Riverhounds Development Academy player, will get the opportunity to represent the United States on the U16 Women’s National Team for their UEFA Friendship Tournament this week in Riva, Turkey. She and her American teammates will play four matches...
Close battles, big wins reflected in movement within WPIAL boys volleyball coaches polls
It was a busy week in WPIAL boys volleyball as teams in both Class 3A and Class 2A had strong showings and made their move in the rankings as the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its latest top-10 polls Monday morning. Shaler stayed on top in Class 3A with...
Gateway grad Emma Kennedy hits strong stretch for Slippery Rock softball
Gateway graduate Emma Kennedy hopes a recent hitting streak for the Slippery Rock softball team is the genesis of good things for the junior starting catcher. She collected at least one hit in each of four games — five total out of 11 at-bats — as The Rock went 3-1...
Gateway track and field athletes gear up for competition
The first couple of weeks of preseason practices for WPIAL sports teams contained several sunny days with temperatures reaching into the 60s with a couple getting near 70. But over the past week or so, Mother Nature hasn’t been kind, with temperatures dropping into the 40s for highs with rain...
Led by sprinter Gabrielle Layne, Plum athletes embark on 2024 track and field season
Gabrielle Layne capped her 2023 outdoor track season with some major accomplishments. She found herself on the medals podium twice at the WPIAL Class 3A championships at Slippery Rock with a fifth-place finish in the 100-meter dash and an eighth-pace finish in the 200 dash. She also punched her ticket...
A-K Valley shooters on target at Cager Classic skills competition
The top senior talent in the Alle-Kiski Valley and surrounding communities gathered Friday at Highlands to match shooting skills in a competition to kick off the two-day Cager Classic all-star celebration. For Kalleigh Nerone, a Bloomsburg commit and a member of the West girls representing Highlands with teammates Shelby Wojcik,...
Basketball foes become teammates at Cager Classic
The Highlands and Hampton boys basketball teams played nine times over the past four seasons, including a third time last year in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs. Bradyn Foster, the Golden Rams’ 6-foot-8 senior center, knows all about what it was like in those bruising battles with...
Young Plum softball team showing signs of potential with impressive wins
The Plum softball team rallied from the first inning on during last Friday’s nonsection home game against Highlands at Plum High School The Golden Rams led 2-0 after one inning, 4-1 in the third and 6-2 in the fourth. Despite some adversity, which included an uncharacteristic six errors, the Mustangs...
A-K Valley campus clippings: Highlands grad Haidze on tear for IUP softball
Highlands graduate Jaycee Haidze is having a strong early season for the IUP softball team. The sophomore right-handed pitcher and infielder earned PSAC Western Division Athlete of the Week for softball after hitting .524 (11 of 21) in seven games last week. She totaled four doubles, two home runs and...
Delmont, New Kensington rinks to host national youth hockey tournaments
Last year, the Allegheny Badgers Tier II 16U boys ice hockey team won the Mid-Am District title, advanced to nationals in Amherst, N.Y., and brought home third place in the 3A bracket. Seventeen of the 20 players from that team remained together and moved up to the 18U level. The...
