Michael Love stories, Page 49
A-K Valley WPIAL softball playoff capsules: Games for Wednesday, May 17, 2023
WPIAL softball playoffs Class 4A quarterfinals 6-Knoch (11-8) vs. 3-Chartiers Valley (17-2) 5 p.m. Wednesday at North Allegheny Winner plays: Winner of 2-Montour (13-3)/7-Indiana (16-4) in semifinals (date, site, time TBD) Players to watch: Lizzie Danik, Knoch; Madison Crump, Chartiers Valley Extra bases: Knoch is in the WPIAL quarterfinals for...
Thomas Jefferson stuns Plum with walk-off grand slam in Class 5A 1st round
The Thomas Jefferson softball team possesses a gold chain with a dollar sign in sparkles designated for those who hit home runs. Jaguars junior center fielder Zoe Krizan had that chain around her neck Monday afternoon at Gateway because she was money in the bottom of the seventh for the...
A-K Valley WPIAL softball playoff capsules: Games for Tuesday, May 16, 2023
WPIAL softball playoffs Class 3A First round 8-Central Valley (9-8) vs. 9-Deer Lakes (10-5) 5 p.m. Tuesday at Montour Winner plays: Winner of 1-Avonworth (17-1)/16-Seton-LaSalle (5-9) Thursday (site/time TBD) in quarterfinals Players to watch: Maddie Kee, Deer Lakes; Macy Littler, Central Valley Extra bases: Deer Lakes owns the Alle-Kiski Valley’s...
Freeport grad takes over boys basketball program
For more than two decades, Rich Macura served as an assistant coach in a number of scholastic boys basketball programs. He learned from a who’s who of mentors in the sport and passed on his knowledge to hundreds of athletes ready to make a name for themselves on the hard...
A-K Valley WPIAL softball playoff capsules: Games for Monday, May 15, 2023
WPIAL softball playoffs Class 5A 8-Thomas Jefferson (13-5) vs. 9-Plum (10-6) 3 p.m. Monday at Gateway Winner plays: Winner of 1-Armstrong (16-1)/16-Upper St. Clair (8-8) Wednesday (time/site TBD) in quarterfinals Players to Watch: Taylor Lorish, Plum; Olivia Stock, Thomas Jefferson Extra bases: Plum is in the WPIAL playoffs for the...
Former Gateway, Oakland Catholic standout Macey Crawford finds success with WVU track
Former Gateway student-athlete Macey Crawford made strides this spring on the women’s track and field team at West Virginia as she continued to make a comeback from leg issues which kept her from competing for nearly a year. Crawford, a 2020 Oakland Catholic graduate, competed as a true freshman two...
Plum grad Markus Cestra earns All-PSAC honors
Markus Cestra started his fifth-year season for the IUP baseball team in an offensive hole. The Plum graduate and Crimson Hawks infielder began the 2023 campaign 1 for 13 through four games. But in his fifth game, a victory over Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East foe East Stroudsburg, he broke...
Plum notebook: Mustangs baseball team captures section title
For the second time in three seasons, the Plum baseball team was able to add to its section-title banner in the main gymnasium. The Mustangs earned a share of the Section 1-5A title, finishing 9-3 after a doubleheader split with Fox Chapel on May 8 and 9. Penn-Trafford also finished...
Shaler, Latrobe earn top seeds for WPIAL boys volleyball playoffs
Shaler in Class 3A and Latrobe in Class 2A are the top seeds as the WPIAL released the boys volleyball playoff brackets Friday afternoon. “Before the pairings were even released, I knew there were a lot of good teams in our bracket and there would be a lot of interesting...
Burrell, Deer Lakes enter WPIAL softball playoffs looking to reprise runs from 2022
Burrell and Deer Lakes made deep runs in the 2022 softball postseason. The Bucs and the Lancers hope for repeat performances, and they now know where this year’s playoff journeys will begin. Burrell is the No. 4 seed in the Class 3A bracket, and Deer Lakes owns the No. 9...
Armstrong leads Burrell softball to mercy-rule victory over Deer Lakes
Second place in Section 1-3A was on the line Wednesday as the Deer Lakes and Burrell softball teams met at Bon Air Elementary in Lower Burrell. It was the second matchup between the teams in three days. The Bucs won a low-scoring two-run affair Monday. The rematch was not as...
Indiana wins softball section finale vs. Highlands in extra innings
The Highlands softball team had its back against the wall in a must-win situation as it hosted Indiana in its Section 1-4A finale Monday afternoon. The Golden Rams controlled their own destiny for a WPIAL playoff spot, but they had to win. The Indians led by five runs in the...
With WPIAL playoffs on horizon, volleyball coaches association releases final boys rankings
The final week of the WPIAL boys volleyball regular season is here as teams fight for the few remaining openings to both the Class 3A and Class 2A playoffs. With that, the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its final top-10 polls and players of the week for the 2023...
North Hills grad Margo Malone wins Pittsburgh Marathon in hometown
Margo Malone was no stranger to running marathons, but Sunday’s 26.2-mile race on the streets of Downtown Pittsburgh was her first in her hometown. Hearing the cheers from the thousands of spectators who lined the course and the loud response heading down the home straightaway, the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team...
Gateway’s Kefimba Cisse rounds into form ahead of WPIAL championships
Kefimba Cisse is in the home stretch of preparation for the WPIAL Class 3A track and field championships May 17 at Slippery Rock. The Gateway junior distance standout is ramping up his training as he hopes to cut times in his events. As a practicing Muslim, Cisse had his season...
Gateway snaps skid but falls short of playoff berth
The Gateway baseball team hoped for positive results as it closed out the Section 1-5A slate with series against Penn-Trafford and Penn Hills. The Gators came into the week seeking to build off a 15-0 victory over Woodland Hills on April 28 which snapped a slide that reached nine games...
Plum gymnast Natalia Burris competes at Eastern Nationals
Natalia Burris was in select company over the weekend. The Plum sophomore and a USA Gymnastics Level 9 competitor joined six others on a regional team that was to compete at the Eastern Nationals on Sunday in Kissimmee, Fla. The seven selected for the Region 7 squad at the Level...
After strong regular season, Plum girls lacrosse carries journey into WPIAL playoffs
The WPIAL girls lacrosse committee is scheduled to meet Thursday to hash out the WPIAL playoff pairings and also release the brackets for both Class 3A and Class 2A. Plum hopes to earn a first-round bye in the Class 2A field of at least 12 teams — six from each...
Elite runners look forward to challenge at 2023 Pittsburgh Marathon
The Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon and UPMC Health Plan Half Marathon returned last year from a two-year in-person hiatus to much fanfare, and race officials are confident the momentum gained from a successful, albeit rain-soaked, 2022 event will carry over to this weekend’s stacked lineup celebrating the event’s 15th...
Leechburg softball team proud to uphold playoff streak
Anna Cibik found herself in an unfamiliar position last week. The Leechburg senior starting pitcher, also one of the leading hitters for the playoff-bound Blue Devils, exacerbated an existing foot injury during her team’s Section 3-1A win over Monessen on April 26 and was held out of the section victory...
Top A-K Valley squads chase WPIAL team track titles
Rain and cold temperatures at the start of May prompted the WPIAL to make changes to the schedule of the Class 3A and Class 2A track and field team championships. The postponements could lead to better performances. Originally set for Tuesday, the meets now will be Thursday, and several Alle-Kiski...
With 2 weeks left, WPIAL boys volleyball teams jockey for positions in section, coaches rankings
Two weeks remain in the WPIAL boys volleyball regular season, and teams in Class 3A and Class 2A are gearing up for the stretch run to the postseason. Shaler and Latrobe remain at the top of their respective classifications in this week’s Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association WPIAL Top-10 polls...
New St. Joseph coaches excited to take over basketball programs
Geoff Dutelle and Logan Acri are ushering in new chapters for the St. Joseph basketball programs, and both got a chance last week to meet and talk with each other about what the future holds on and off the court. “We both met with our respective teams at about the...
Gateway’s Gratton sisters face off on softball field for respective college teams
When Kayla and Deanna Gratton shared the softball diamond growing up, they always did it on the same team. But on April 8, the Monroeville sisters and Gateway High School graduates found themselves on opposite sides for the first time. Kayla, a junior captain for Waynesburg, and Deanna, a freshman...
Victory over Derry helps bolster Gateway boys volleyball team’s resume
The Gateway boys volleyball team toppled Armstrong and Deer Lakes to open Section 2-2A play, but consecutive section setbacks to Latrobe and Mars left the Gators at .500 in section and seeking a return to the win column. The Gators got that in the form of a 3-1 win over...
