Michael Love stories, Page 48

Here are the 2022-23 Valley News Dispatch girls basketball all-stars: Player the year Julie Spinelli St. Joseph, 5-11, Jr., G/F In St. Joseph’s season opener against Belle Vernon at the Play For Mae Tournament at Woodland Hills, Julie Spinelli went off for 29 points to lead her team to a...

Plum track and field coach Stephanie Kennedy saw a growth in numbers for both the boys and girls teams from last year to this spring, and the mix of veteran and new talent has her excited for what can be accomplished between now and the championship events in the latter...

Michael Williams and Brian Mowry know each other well as boxers who train at Boyce Gym in Plum. On Saturday, they will put friendship and camaraderie aside for 15 to 20 minutes as they face each other for the 203-plus pound open division championship as part of the Western PA...

Valley jumped on Highlands for three runs in the first inning of a nonsection softball game Tuesday. The Vikings scored just one more run in the matchup, but the early outburst proved to be the difference in a 4-2 victory over the Golden Rams. “This is a nice win for...

LEWISBURG — The North Allegheny girls swimming and diving team had a distinct points advantage even before the swimming consolation and championship finals began Friday afternoon at the PIAA Class 3A championships Bucknell University. Christina Shi, Lola Malarky and Juliet Hood placed first, third and seventh in the diving completion...

LEWISBURG — Talia Bugel couldn’t contain her excitement after she and her Fox Chapel teammates finished the 400-yard freestyle relay final Saturday afternoon at the PIAA Class 3A championships at Bucknell. The Foxes quartet — Bugel, sophomore Sarah Pasquella and seniors Payton O’Toole and Sophie Shao — was second after...

LEWISBURG — With only eight-tenths of a second separating the No. 1 and No. 8 seeds in the championship final of the boys 100-yard backstroke Saturday evening at the PIAA Class 3A championships, predicting the final order of finish was a little more difficult than one might have originally thought....

LEWISBURG — Isaiah Clerkley hit his sixth and final dive – an inward 1½ somersault pike with a 2.4 degree of difficulty – to move into first place in Saturday’s PIAA Class 3A boys championship meet at Bucknell University. The Seneca Valley junior and WPIAL champion finished with 302.95 points....

LEWISBURG – WPIAL swimmers in Class 3A are gearing up for consolation and championships heats Saturday afternoon and evening on the final day of the PIAA state meet from Bucknell University. Mt. Lebanon sophomore Sylvia Roy, second Friday in the 50-yard freestyle, has positioned herself as the top seed for...

The Franklin Regional boys 200-yard medley relay team had some unfinished business as it arrived at Bucknell for the first day of the PIAA Class 3A swimming championships. The Panthers quartet of junior Holden Thomas, senior Aiden Bunker, junior Ben Holm and senior Jason Tosh swam a time of 1...

The Franklin Regional boys 200-yard medley relay team had some unfinished business as it arrived at Bucknell University for the first day of the PIAA Class 3A swimming championships. The Panthers quartet of junior Holden Thomas, senior Aiden Bunker, junior Ben Holm and senior Jason Tosh swam a time of...

Sophie Shao and the 100-yard butterfly go hand in hand. The Fox Chapel senior closed out her four-year run in the event as a four-time WPIAL champion, the WPIAL Class 3A record holder and a two-time state champion. Shao, an Ivy League commit at Brown University, added her second straight...

LEWISBURG — The WPIAL populated the medals podium Friday afternoon at the PIAA Class 3A girls diving championships as all four entries from the district earned medals. North Allegheny senior Christina Shi led the WPIAL quartet with her third straight state championship. Latrobe senior Hannah Polosky was second, North Allegheny...

LEWISBURG — WPIAL swimmers are positioned for several championship finals swims on Day 1 at the PIAA Class 3A championships at Bucknell. Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny, Fox Chapel and Upper St. Clair are seeded second through sixth, respectively, in the girls 200-yard medley relay. North Allegheny senior Lexi Sundgren is...

WPIAL swimmers didn’t slow down Thursday as the PIAA Class 2A swimming championships continued at Bucknell University. They won seven more state titles, bringing the WPIAL’s total gold-medal haul to 14 for the two days of competition. Indiana sophomore Preston Kessler captured two of the championships as he added the...

LEWISBURG — After receiving their PIAA Class 2A championship trophy Thursday at Bucknell, the coaches and swimmers of the Mt. Pleasant girls team jumped into the water to celebrate. It was a repeat of the plunge they made at WPIALs as the Vikings swept both postseason team accolades. “So many...

Parker Sterlitz finished outside the top 16 in last year’s Class 3A boys 500-yard freestyle at the PIAA swim championships at Bucknell. What a difference a year makes. Sterlitz, the WPIAL Class 2A champion in the 500 and the No. 1 seed after a successful preliminary swim Thursday morning, captured...

To Katie Armstrong, it seems like just yesterday the Burrell softball team was making its run in the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs en route to a 14-3 final record. “It was so cool to see what we did because we were so young to start the season with a number...

A trio from the WPIAL took their places on the medal podium at the conclusion of the PIAA Class 2A boys diving championship meet Thursday afternoon at Bucknell University. WPIAL champion Brecken Finkbeiner, a junior from Blackhawk, led the WPIAL contingent with a fourth-place finish with 219.35 points, 15 points...

LEWISBURG — After a strong opening day of the PIAA swimming championships Wednesday, WPIAL Class 2A boys and girls swimmers returned to Bucknell on Thursday morning and carried the momentum into some top preliminary swims in the 100-yard freestyle, 500 free, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke and 400 free relay ....

WPIAL swimmers had a banner day Wednesday to open the PIAA Class 2A championships at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium. The WPIAL came away with seven state titles – two relays and five individuals – and earned numerous other top medal-winning performances. Southmoreland senior Henry Miller went 2 for 2 Wednesday...

A perk of being the No. 1 seed for a PIAA swimming finals heat is getting to pick the walk-up music that is played while the eight finalists make their way to the starting blocks. Southmoreland senior Henry Miller had that opportunity twice Wednesday evening as he was the top...

Freeport sophomore Kira Schrecongost and South Park junior Katie Jackovic know the power of Bedford junior Leah Shackley. Schrecongost placed third in the girls Class 2A 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.16 seconds Wednesday at the PIAA swimming championships at Bucknell. Jackovic was second in a time of 55.51....

North Catholic senior Maggie Foley had gold on her mind Wednesday afternoon at the PIAA Class 2A girls diving championships at Bucknell University. She finished runner-up the past two years to Marple Newtown graduate Alexandra Pastris. But the Pitt commit’s rise to the top of the podium was cut off...

The WPIAL will be well represented Wednesday afternoon and evening in the championship finals at the PIAA Class 2A swimming championships at Bucknell University. On the girls side, the Mt. Pleasant 200-yard medley relay of sophomore Kiersten O’Connor and seniors SaraJo Gardner, McKenna Mizikar and Reegan Brown (1:48.29); King in...