Michael Love stories, Page 75
Mt. Pleasant girls capture 1st WPIAL swimming championship
The Mt. Pleasant girls swimming and diving team took home a runner-up trophy from the 2020 WPIAL Class 2A championships at Pitt’s Trees Pool. Last year, it was third behind Northgate and Quaker Valley at Upper St. Clair. But the Vikings, in the return to Trees Pool on Thursday and...
Fox Chapel’s Sophie Shao breaks 38-year-old record, wins 100 fly title at WPIALs
A 38-year WPIAL record is no more. Fox Chapel junior Sophie Shao captured the Class 3A girls 100-yard butterfly title — her third in as many years — Thursday at the WPIAL swimming championships at Pitt’s Trees Pool. Her time of 53.85 seconds — her personal best for high school...
Franklin Regional, Hempfield, Mt. Pleasant swimmers shine during Day 1 of WPIAL championships
It was the best of feelings and the worst of feelings for the Franklin Regional boys relays Thursday on Day 1 of the WPIAL Class 3A championships at Pitt’s Trees Pool. The Panthers’ 200-yard medley relay of sophomore Holden Thomas, junior Aiden Bunker, senior Owen Holm and junior Jason Tosh...
Valley freshman Sidnie Shirey won’t let disability keep her from swimming, inspiring othersVideo
Sidnie Shirey stands on the pool deck beside the starting block. She is confident. She dives in the water and her core muscles and legs go to work, helping her cut through the water. She is strong. As she approaches the wall to make each turn, she hopes to gain...
WPIAL’s swimming best ready to do battle in return to Pitt’s Trees Pool
Levi Hansen won three medals in four individual races at WPIALs over the past two seasons. While the Kiski Area junior loved bringing home that hardware, he is shooting for loftier goals this year. He is the No. 1 seed for Thursday morning’s WPIAL Class 3A boys 200-yard freestyle as...
Knoch girls hold off Southmoreland, reach WPIAL title game for 1st time
The Knoch girls basketball team reached the WPIAL semifinals last year for the first time in program history, but it fell one win short of its goal of reaching the championship game and an opportunity to play for the gold. But the Knights weren’t going to be denied in their...
Freeport’s Schrecongost, Fox Chapel’s Shao lead strong A-K Valley contingent into WPIAL swimming championships
Lexi Schrecongost’s swimming future is at Toledo. The Freeport senior’s swimming present is preparing for some unfinished business Thursday and Friday as the WPIAL Class 2A and 3A championships return home to Pitt’s Trees Pool. “This meet will definitely hit close to home as it will be my last (WPIAL)...
Kiski Area swim coach Lisa Pepka resigns days before WPIAL meet
Kiski Area boys and girls swimming coach Lisa Pepka resigned from the position Monday, just three days before the WPIAL championships. Pepka declined to comment on her decision, but she confirmed she is no longer the head coach. Kiski Area athletic director John Peterman on Tuesday confirmed Pepka’s resignation, but...
Aquinas Academy fends off upset-minded St. Joseph, rolls into Class A title game
The St. Joseph girls basketball team held a great deal of momentum entering Monday’s WPIAL Class A semifinal against Section 3 rival Aquinas Academy at North Hills High School. The No. 9 Spartans took down No. 1 Rochester on Thursday, and they hoped to do the same against the No....
AK Valley WPIAL basketball playoff preview capsules: Games for Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Boys Class 6A Semifinals 2-Fox Chapel (22-1) vs. 3-Central Catholic (18-5) 8 p.m. Tuesday, AHN Arena, Peters Township High School Winner plays: Winner of 1-North Hills (23-0)/4-Mt. Lebanon (16-8) Saturday at 7 p.m. in championship game at Petersen Events Center Layup lines: Fox Chapel turned away Pine-Richland, 77-67, in the...
Wild Things to host Frontier League All-Star Game
The all-stars of the Frontier League will be coming to Wild Things Park in July. Both the league and the team announced Monday morning a week-long slate of activities leading up to the all-star game July 20. “The Washington Wild Things are planning a truly unprecedented minor-league baseball all-star game...
Alle-Kiski Valley WPIAL basketball playoff capsule for Feb. 28, 2022
Monday’s game Boys Class 5A semifinals 5-Highlands (18-6) vs. 1-Laurel Highlands (23-0) 8 p.m. at AHN Arena, Peters Township Winner plays: Winner of 6-Gateway (15-5)/2-New Castle (22-1) in championship game at 8 p.m. Friday at Petersen Events Center. Layup lines: Highlands is hoping to punch its ticket to a WPIAL...
St. Joseph girls relish another shot at Aquinas after upset
The St. Joseph girls basketball team will get another crack at Aquinas Academy as the Section 3-1A rivals do battle at 6 p.m. Monday at North Hills in the WPIAL semifinals with a trip to Petersen Events Center on the line. Most playoff pundits and other observers probably thought the...
Gateway swimmers chasing medals at WPIAL championships
Before competing in college at Youngstown State, Summer Raymer has one final chance to make her mark on the biggest high school stages in Pennsylvania. The Gateway senior distance swimmer, who will compete in both the 200- and 500-yard freestyles and the 200 and 400 free relays at the WPIAL...
Young Gateway lineup ‘trending in right direction’
The Gateway junior varsity hockey team finished its regular season Feb. 14 with a tough 3-2 loss to Mt. Lebanon. It completed a 3-10-3 run, and while that record might not look inspiring at face value, coach Shawn Jesih said a closer look reveals marked improvement for a roster with...
Plum’s Kvortek celebrates PA Classic all-around title
Sarah Kvortek returned to the top of the podium in the Intermediate I (Gold) division at the WPIAL gymnastics championships Feb. 12 at Moon High School. The Plum junior claimed her second WPIAL individual title in as many seasons — this time on vault — and added a silver medal...
PIAA-playoff bound Knoch beats Montour in WPIAL Class 4A semifinals
The Knoch girls basketball team will play in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals for the second straight season. After a 15-day break from competition, the No. 3 Knights opened the playoffs in the quarterfinals Friday night and scored a 67-48 home victory over No. 6 Montour. “We had our two...
Fox Chapel freshman has eyes on PIAA diving qualification
Jackson Hagler quickly established himself as a qualifier for the WPIAL Class AAA diving championships. With that berth already secured, the Fox Chapel freshman continued to work on his craft, and he recorded a season-best score of 247.95 at a section meet with Penn Hills on Jan. 20. Now, he...
Gateway’s Passalinqua aims for success at WPIAL diving championships
Noah Passalinqua established himself as a major player in Class 3A boys diving throughout the season, and now he hopes to make his mark on a championship stage. The Gateway junior will make his WPIAL meet debut Saturday at North Allegheny High School. He is seeded seventh overall with goals...
A-K Valley WPIAL basketball playoff preview capsules: Games of Friday, Feb. 25, 2022
BOYS Class 4A Quarterfinals 7-Pine-Richland (12-11) at 2-Fox Chapel (21-1) 7 p.m. Friday Winner plays: Winner of 6-Butler (13-9)/3-Central Catholic (17-5) Tuesday in semifinals (site and time TBD) Layup lines: Pine-Richland had no trouble with No. 10 Bethel Park in a 64-41 first-round victory. Joey Dudkowski, who came into the...
Montour shakes off rust, pulls away from Burrell in Class 4A quarterfinals
The Montour boys basketball team is moving on. The Spartans, the No. 2 seed in the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs, overcame an early challenge from No. 7 Burrell in Wednesday’s quarterfinal matchup and went on to a 70-50 home victory. The game was Montour’s first in 12 days. Burrell came...
A-K Valley WPIAL basketball playoff preview capsules: Games of Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022
BOYS Class 5A Quarterfinals 5-Highlands (17-6) at 4-Penn Hills (18-4) 7 p.m. Thursday Winner plays: 8-Hampton (13-10) at 1-Laurel Highlands (22-0) Monday in semifinals (site and time TBD) Layup lines: Highlands is coming off a dominating 76-40 victory over Albert Gallatin in the first round Monday. Jimmy Kunst scored 24...
Plum trio set to represent Boyce Gym in Golden Gloves bouts
Salvatore “Dom” Sheffo started sparring with his uncle a little over a year ago. “We would hit pads for fun,” said Sheffo, 17, a senior at Plum High School. The former Mustangs wrestler took the relaxed sparring sessions and turned it up a notch in August as he began training...
Alle-Kiski Valley WPIAL basketball playoff capsules for Feb. 23, 2022
Wednesday’s games Boys Quarterfinals Class 4A 7-Burrell (14-8) at 2-Montour (18-4) 7 p.m. Wednesday Winner plays: Winner of 11-Freeport (13-9)/3-Belle Vernon (18-3) in semifinals on Saturday (site and time TBD) Layup lines: Burrell kicked off the WPIAL playoffs in successful fashion Friday with a 63-42 victory over No. 10 Elizabeth...
St. Joseph girls halt playoff losing streak
The St. Joseph girls basketball team is back in the WPIAL postseason win column. The youthful Spartans, with just one senior on their roster, halted a three-game playoff losing streak dating to 2018 with a 45-37 victory over Mapletown on Monday in a Class A first-round game at Gateway High...
