Michael Love stories, Page 66

Class 4A Semifinals 2-Elizabeth Forward (15-2) vs. 3-Burrell (12-1) 3 p.m. Wednesday at Norwin Winner plays: Winner of 1-Beaver Area (17-0) vs. 5-Montour (14-4) Players to Watch: Carlee Soukup, Elizabeth Forward; Pyper Ferres, Burrell Extra bases: The Warriors won their first WPIAL title in 2019 when they shut out Mt....

Caroline Dynka didn’t want her varsity career to end Monday on the turf at Norwin High School. The lone senior on the Burrell softball team, a mainstay and leader for four years and three seasons, Dynka did whatever she could to help her team get a run or two on...

The Burrell and Belle Vernon softball teams went well beyond regulation to decide their WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal game Monday at Norwin. As dusk approached and the teams were locked in a scoreless battle with a trip to the semifinals on the line — Belle Vernon’s Talia Ross and Burrell’s...

Class A semifinals 1-West Greene (13-3) vs. 4-Springdale (11-1) 6 p.m. at Boyce Mayview Park, Upper St. Clair Township Winner plays: Winner of 2-Union (18-3) vs. 3-Greensburg Central Catholic (12-5) in championship game June 1 at Lilley Field, Cal (Pa.) Players to watch: Alexis Hrivnak, Springdale; London Whipkey, West Greene...

Class 4A quarterfinals 6-Belle Vernon (12-7-1) vs. 3-Burrell (11-1) 5 p.m. at Norwin Winner plays: Winner of 10-West Mifflin (12-9) vs. 2-Elizabeth Forward (14-2) on Wednesday in semifinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Ashley Joll, Belle Vernon; Katie Armstrong, Burrell Extra bases: Belle Vernon registered its first playoff win...

Next spring, Amaya Robinson hopes to make an impact on the track at Slippery Rock University as a member of The Rock women’s track and field team. She got one final tune up for future success there last week as she ran both the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the...

Riverview junior Amberson Bauer and senior teammates Ty Laughlin and Parker Steele were a part of last year’s boys 3,200-meter relay which set a school record and brought home WPIAL gold. Freshman Chris Barnes came on board this season, replacing the graduated Mason Ochs. The quartet made a strong run...

The Plum boys and girls track and field teams were well represented at the WPIAL Class 3A track and field championships last week at Slippery Rock University. A pair of Mustangs — senior Logan Brooks and junior Connor Domke — brought home top-eight medals from the meet which was contested...

Bob White was a three-year football standout at Freeport who went on to star at Penn State and captain the 1986 Nittany Lions to the national championship. Through his on-field successes, he said he always understood there were so many people who helped guide him. “When I find myself in...

Facing an early deficit against Ellwood City in a WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal Thursday at North Allegheny, the Southmoreland softball team responded in a big way. The No. 5 Scotties scored nine runs in the top of the fourth to surge into the lead. They added on the rest of...

The Greensburg Central Catholic softball team will play in a WPIAL semifinal game for the first time in 10 years. The Centurions got back-to-back run-scoring doubles from sophomore Macee Magill and junior Isabella Marquez in the bottom of the eighth to rally past No. 6 Leechburg, 9-8, in a Class...

Carson McCoy won state gold last year in the 1,600-meter run, and now he can display that hardware with a pair of WPIAL individual gold medals. The Deer Lakes senior entered Wednesday’s WPIAL Class 2A track and field championships at Slippery Rock University seeded first in the boys 1,600 and...

The Springdale softball team’s 3-1 victory over rival Leechburg on May 11 gave it an outright section title for the first time since the 1998 team went 14-0 in section play and made the semifinals of the WPIAL Class AA playoffs. Now, this year’s Dynamos hope to make a run...

Last year, the Greensburg Central Catholic baseball team earned the No. 2 seed for the WPIAL Class A playoffs and secured a first-round bye. But the Centurions met a quick and frustrating end to the season with a quarterfinal loss to Riverview. This time around, the Centurions made sure there...

BASEBALL Class 4A First Round 8-Highlands (13-6) vs. 9-Quaker Valley (8-9) 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Plum The Golden Rams finished in a three-way tie for second in Section 1 at 6-4, and they won seven of eight to close out the regular season. Highlands is in the playoffs for the...

Matt Bonislawski is a Golden Ram once again. The former football standout at Highlands who returned to the school as athletic director from 2007-2013 was hired Monday evening as the school district’s new head football coach. Bonislawski was recommended to the Highlands school board of directors by the athletic department,...

Baseball Class 5A First round 11-Plum (12-6) vs. 6-Shaler (14-6) 7 p.m. Tuesday at North Allegheny The teams last met in the playoffs in 2015, a WPIAL Quad-A quarterfinal game won by Shaler, 1-0 … The Mustangs, the third-place team from Section 2, lost three of four to end the...

Greg Klingensmith owns the Apollo-Ridge boys school record in the discus at 156 feet 9 inches recorded in placing third at last year’s WPIAL Class 2A track and field championships at Slippery Rock University. The William & Mary football recruit has his sights set on improving both numbers as he...

Heading into this season, the Plum girls lacrosse team already had experienced the WPIAL playoffs three times in its young history. The first trip came in 2018 in only its second full season in the WPIAL. As the No. 10 seed for the Class 2A playoffs, the Mustangs lost to...

The 36-year wait to put another number on the boys volleyball section-title banner in the gym at the Gateway Furrie Sports Complex has ended. Head coach Phil Randolph and his players couldn’t be more excited. Gateway clinched its first section title since 1986 with a 3-0 win over Mars on...

Amberson Bauer qualified, along with several of his Riverview track and field teammates, for the WPIAL Class 2A championships at Slippery Rock University. The junior middle distance and distance specialist built up a great deal of momentum leading up to the meet with times that put him in contention for...

It has been an up and down season for the Plum softball team, but last Tuesday against Penn Hills, the Mustangs were able to enjoy a victory which clinched a spot in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. Plum controlled its own destiny for the fourth and final spot from Section...

Last year, the Plum boys volleyball team was the No. 9 seed for the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs, and it defeated No. 8 Trinity in the first round before a matchup with eventual champion Seton LaSalle in the quarterfinals. The Mustangs hope for a similar first-round outcome as they again...

Seneca Valley and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart are the No. 1 seeds in Class 3A and 2A for the WPIAL playoffs as both brackets were revealed Friday afternoon. The Raiders and North Allegheny, the No. 2 seed, finished tied at the top of the Section 2 standings and...

Three Alle-Kiski Valley softball teams — Burrell, Deer Lakes and Springdale — earned byes into the quarterfinals as the WPIAL playoff brackets and pairings were released Thursday at Triblive HSSN. All three section champions will open tournament play Thursday against opponents yet to be determined. Deer Lakes (11-4) drew the...