Michael Love stories, Page 69

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...

Olivia Miller went from misfortune to good fortune this spring as her collegiate academic and athletic tenure at the University of Pittsburgh came to a close. The Gateway graduate saw her 17-year gymnastics career come to a sudden end at the Eastern Atlantic Gymnastics League championships March 19 at George...

Eric Kowalczyk saw promise in his young Apollo-Ridge softball team when the season started in late March. Despite just one senior, several freshman getting their first taste of the varsity game and other returnees continuing to grow, the first-year Vikings coach has seen growth in his team through a playoff-qualifying...

The Plum boys volleyball team hoped to play spoiler and prevent visiting Gateway from finishing its Section 2-2A slate undefeated as the teams met in the section finale Tuesday at Plum. But the Gators, No. 6 in this week’s Western PA Volleyball Coaches Association Class 2A top 10, had other...

Carson McCoy just missed out on gold in the 800-meter run at last year’s Baldwin Invitational. The Deer Lakes senior returned to the track at Baldwin High School in the wind and rain Friday and didn’t let the 800 title slip from his grasp. He ran a personal-best time of...

WPIAL boys volleyball section play concludes Thursday evening, and the playoff brackets and pairings are scheduled to be released Friday. Several playoff spots, section titles and playoff positioning will be determined over the next four nights. With that, the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its final spring 2022 Class...

Sam Alexander fashioned one of the top varsity careers in the history of Gateway boys soccer as a lockdown goalkeeper who earned numerous all-star honors for his play. His athletic endeavors continue at Penn State but in a slightly different direction. Last month, Alexander, a freshman on the University Park...

Lizzie Suwala-Sheaffer could hit a shot from anywhere on the basketball court. With a layup, a mid-range jumper or a 3-pointer, the Ford City and Clarion University graduate often frustrated opposing defenses while energizing her teammates, coaches and fans of the teams she represented. Suwala-Sheaffer probably is best known for...

Allison Polesnak knows all about running marathons and half-marathons, especially the one closest to home in Pittsburgh. The Monroeville native, 2007 Gateway High School graduate and Plum resident ran the Pittsburgh Marathon for the fifth time on May 1, her 33rd birthday, while also putting the finishing touches on wedding...

Riverview and Springdale are rivals in every sport, and baseball this spring is no exception. So, you can’t blame the Raiders players for being a little excited when they finished off a two-game Section 3-A sweep of the Dynamos last week. Game 1 went down to the wire, and Game...

Jarrett Heilman (Freeport) has been a steady force for the Mercyhurst baseball team. The sophomore crafted a 7-0 record in 10 games — eight starts — through a complete-game 14-2 victory over Seton Hill in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference action April 29. In seven innings that day, Heilman gave up...

Rain has yet again forced Lernerville Speedway officials to cancel Friday night racing. The announcement came Friday morning after steady precipitation began to fall late Thursday and continued to drench the area. The forecast calls for additional showers well into the day Saturday. Racing is scheduled to resume next Friday,...

Second verse, same as the first. The first Section 1-4A meeting between the Freeport and Burrell softball teams last Friday was a pitchers’ duel between Burrell’s Katie Armstrong and Sydney Selker. Each struck out 19 in the 1-0 Bucs victory. Both pitchers again were solid in Thursday’s rematch at Bon...

Morgan Dunkel was ready to take the ball, toe the rubber in the pitching circle and have a breakout freshman season for the Valley softball team. But the early stages of the growing covid pandemic snuffed out the 2020 spring campaign. “It was difficult. I was looking forward to the...

The Burrell softball team had an outright Section 1-4A championship in its sights as it hosted Highlands on senior night Monday evening at Bon Air Field in Lower Burrell. The Golden Rams had other ideas. Highlands broke through for four runs in the fourth inning — taking advantage of four...

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is back on top of the Class 2A rankings as the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its Week 6 WPIAL boys top-10 polls Monday morning. The Chargers defeated No. 5 Ambridge, 3-1, in Section 1 play last week and also toppled No. 4...

Despite a sometimes-rocky trip through the Section 1-5A schedule this spring, the Plum softball team still was alive for a WPIAL playoff spot as it entered its home stretch of games. “It’s been a progression throughout the season, and the girls have dealt with a lot, from injuries to a...