Michael Love stories, Page 70
Plum’s Brooks, Domke earn WPIAL track and field medals
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...
A-K Valley Hall of Fame honors 10 inductees
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...
Southmoreland surges past Ellwood City into WPIAL Class 3A semifinals
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...
Greensburg CC gets past Leechburg to make 1st semifinal trip in a decade
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...
Deer Lakes’ Carson McCoy adds WPIAL gold to his medal collection
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...
After another long layoff, Springdale softball ‘all about keeping the momentum going’
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...
Greensburg Central Catholic beats Leechburg for elusive 1st-round win
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...
A-K Valley WPIAL playoff baseball/softball capsules: Games for Wednesday, May 18, 2022
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...
Former Highlands QB hired to coach Golden Rams football team
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,...
A-K Valley WPIAL baseball and softball playoff preview capsules for May 17, 2022
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...
Alle-Kiski Valley well represented at WPIAL track and field championships
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...
Optimistic Plum girls lacrosse team seeks 1st playoff victory
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...
Gateway savors elusive section volleyball title
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...
Riverview’s Bauer hopes to build on school-record time in 800 at WPIAL meet
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...
Plum notebook: Softball team grabs final berth, earns trip to Class 5A playoffs
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...
Deer Lakes, Plum expect tough matches in 1st round of WPIAL boys volleyball playoffs
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, North Allegheny take top 2 seeds in Class 3A WPIAL volleyball bracket
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...
Alle-Kiski Valley trio rewarded with WPIAL playoff byes
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...
Former Gateway gymnast Olivia Miller sets high bar athletically, academically at Pitt
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...
Apollo-Ridge overcomes obstacles, eager for WPIAL Class 2A playoffs
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...
Gateway boys volleyball fends off Plum challenge, finishes undefeated in section
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...
Deer Lakes’ McCoy riding high after Baldwin win
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...
No changes in final WPIAL Boys Volleyball Coaches Association top-10 polls
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...
Former Gateway soccer standout Sam Alexander set to cheer on Nittany Lions
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...
Ford City grad Lizzie Suwala-Sheaffer ‘honored’ to take spot in A-K Valley HOF
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...
