Michael Love stories, Page 8
Lower Burrell Legion reflects on growth, potential for sustained success
Things started well for Lower Burrell Post 868 at the Region 7 American Legion playoffs. The Bulldogs got a strong pitching performance from Colton Whitlock in a 4-1 win over the Bedford Hurricanes on Saturday. But Lower Burrell wasn’t able to continue their winning ways, and losses to Latrobe and...
2025 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Pine-Richland’s Jay Timmons
Lawrence “Jay” Timmons is rated as a four-star prospect by Rivals and 247 Sports, and Rivals has the Pine-Richland senior wide receiver/defensive back rated the 39th best in the nation and the second best in Pennsylvania. The son of former Steelers Super Bowl champion linebacker Lawrence Timmons said he is...
Freeport International kicks off, sets week’s schedule
Nate Good put on a uniform and played in the first Freeport International Baseball Invitational 31 years ago. As he got older, he took on a role as coach and gave back during the summer, and those duties included guiding teams at the Freeport International. He was at the helm...
Recruiting process ramps up for Gateway’s Mykel Bruce-McCrommon
Mykel Bruce-McCrommon scored 22 points a game as a junior this past season as the Gateway boys basketball team finished 13-9 overall, tied Latrobe for second in Section 1-5A at 10-4 and again took part in the WPIAL playoffs. It wasn’t just putting the ball in the basket that made...
Alle-Kiski Valley Hall of Famer Harry Crytzer remembered as a ‘staple of Freeport athletics’
Harry Crytzer loved Freeport athletics. Whether it was basketball, volleyball or football, he was there rooting on Yellowjackets athletes. “From when I played on teams at Freeport, to when I was coaching, to being the AD and went to a lot of games with Harry and our athletic trainer, Bill...
Plum, Riverview basketball teams benefit from summer league games
When Dave Pucka wrapped up his first year as Plum’s boys basketball coach in February, he looked to the offseason for opportunities for his team to build for the upcoming season and the goal of returning to the WPIAL playoffs after a several-year hiatus. Open gyms in May flowed into...
Annual Freeport International Baseball Invitational set to begin
Chuck Sarver pored over the schedule Friday morning, checking on the nearly two dozen teams that will descend on Freeport and its surrounding communities this week for the annual Freeport International Baseball Invitational. The FIBI president said the schedule — which includes the return of the Aussie Drop Bears organization...
Skura settles in as new athletic director at New Kensington-Arnold School District
Whether through his work in athletic administration, as a high school volleyball coach or in public relations and sports journalism at various media outlets in the region, Joseph Skura brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to New Kensington-Arnold School District as its new athletics and activities director. “I feel...
18 WPIAL players earn spots on all-state boys volleyball team
The Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its all-state boys teams from the 2025 season, and the WPIAL was well represented on the Class 3A and Class 2A lists. Junior outside hitter Will Robertson earned first-team laurels in Class 3A after helping North Allegheny to another WPIAL championship and a PIAA...
Lower Burrell knocks off Latrobe to earn spot in American Legion District 31 finals vs. Bushy Run
It took two days, but Lower Burrell stayed alive in Game 2 of its American Legion baseball District 31 best-of-three semifinal series. Bad weather suspended the game from Sunday to Monday, and the Bulldogs won 5-4 at Legion Keener Field in Latrobe, holding off Latrobe to force the deciding Game...
2025 Trib 25 Preseason Football All-Star Team: Pine-Richland’s John Curran
John Curran is ready to deliver pancake blocks, open lanes for running backs and protect the quarterback. With the start of official preseason practices a couple of weeks away, the Pine-Richland senior offensive lineman has his sights set on helping the Rams put together another run to WPIAL and PIAA...
Monroeville-area baseball teams on the hunt for postseason success
The Monroeville Red Pandas are set to begin the Pittsburgh NABA playoffs, and Gateway graduate and team manager Donovan Baxter said things are looking good for a postseason run after a regular season that saw a turnaround from a rough start. The Red Pandas began the season 0-5 and were...
America’s Mile race draws thousands of runners to North Shore
Just a short distance from the first night of the annual Picklesburgh festival on the Roberto Clemente (Sixth Street) and Andy Warhol (Seventh Street) bridges, a couple thousand runners and walkers took to a North Shore road course Friday evening as P3R and VisitPITTSBURGH hosted the America’s Mile. This year,...
Athletic director Andre Carter eager to take on expanded role at Riverview
This summer has been one of transition for Riverview’s Andre Carter. The school district’s athletic director, who also served as a volunteer coach for the Raiders girls basketball team this past season, was hired as the program’s new head coach last month. Then, at the start of this month, Carter...
Lower Burrell Legion tops Homer City to lead District 31 1st-round series
Lower Burrell Post 868 has the upper hand in its best-of-three District 31 first-round series with Homer City Post 493. The Bulldogs scored three times over the first two innings of Tuesday’s series opener and then rode the pitching of starter Jonathan Walker (Kiski Area) and reliever Jake Smith (Kiski...
Lower Burrell Legion ‘ready for next chapter’ in playoffs
It seems like just yesterday, Lower Burrell Post 868 began its District 31 league schedule with a wild 12-10 triumph at Young Township Legion. That May 24 contest began a compacted dash through 18 games of a regular season that concluded Saturday in a 4-3 loss at league contender Bushy...
Dino Nadarevic’s WPIAL, PIAA sweep headlines year in Gateway sports
Dino Nadarevic was to throw the shot put and discus one more time in a high school event last Thursday and Friday at New Balance Nationals before transitioning to a new journey at Duquesne. It was the culmination of a high school career that began in obscurity but with promise...
Valley News Dispatch softball all-stars: Dani Pici packs punch for Plum
Player of the Year Dani Pici Sr., C, Plum Dani Pici brought the power this spring for a Plum team that made its mark with the bat. The senior catcher fronted the Mustangs with 11 home runs among her team-leading 36 hits. “The previous three (varsity) seasons, I had about...
Valley News Dispatch baseball all-stars: After recovering from injury, Michael Hanz led Freeport to postseason
Player of the year Michael Hanz, Freeport Freeport, Sr., P/INF Michael Hanz missed Freeport’s first four games of the season while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. But he was strong in his return and made an impact right off the bat. As the designated hitter, he went 2 for 3...
Antone headlines Kiski Area Sports Hall of Fame inductees
Maddie Antone never slowed down as an athlete at Kiski Area. She earned 12 varsity letters in volleyball, basketball and softball. Antone helped Cavaliers girls volleyball to the section title in 2011 and was a 2012 all-section selection. She scored more than 1,000 points in her Kiski Area basketball career...
Excitement builds for Pitt’s Lola Abraham as return from torn ACL draws nearer
Lola Abraham is amped up for the start of the Pitt women’s soccer team’s fall season. “We’re going to have a newer, younger team,” the Panthers sophomore forward and Riverview graduate said. “All of the coaches and returning players are super excited. We have a lot of potential with how...
Monroeville Junior Legion team hopes to make playoff push this summer
The Monroeville Junior Legion baseball team dropped the first two games of its Westmoreland County Youth Legion season but quickly got on the winning track in what is expected to be a competitive run to the playoffs. Wins over Bushy Run, 3-2 on May 29; Uniontown, 10-2 on June 2;...
Gateway bowlers compete at high school nationals after strong season
In 2024, the Gateway boys bowling team finished fourth overall at the state championships. At the time, the players and coaches didn’t know there was a national championship tournament or that they had qualified for it based on making the state tournament. This year, however, the Gators were keenly aware...
Plum bowlers relish experience at high school national championships
When the Plum boys and girls bowling teams punched their tickets to the state championships in March, they also secured return trips to the U.S. High School Bowling National Championships on June 7-9, in Fort Wayne, Ind. For seniors Cade Schimmer and Vince Rossetti on the boys side, and the...
Aspiring body-builder, Plum grad Sarah Kvortek uses advice to reach goals at 2nd competition
Sarah Kvortek fared well in her first bodybuilding competition March 30 at a show hosted by Slippery Rock University. The Plum graduate and SRU student placed third in the figure division and was rewarded for all the work put in since deciding to start training 12 months earlier. But at...
