Michael Love stories, Page 91
Plum native Bjorn Fratangelo qualifies for French OpenVideo
Plum native Bjorn Fratangelo will play in this year’s French Open after winning a qualifier Thursday in Paris. The nine-year pro secured his spot with a 6-2, 7-6 (3) win over Australia’s Alexsandar Vukic. Fratangelo, 27, will enter his 11th Grand Slam tournament. He is 2-10 in 12 Grand Slam...
A-K Valley contingent takes medal aspirations into Class AAA state meet
The Kiski Area girls 3,200-meter relay knocked nearly 15 seconds off its seed time at last week’s WPIAL Class AAA track and field championships at Slippery Rock. Their time of 9:31.92 put the quartet of seniors Jordan Fairman and Emily Schrag, junior Payton Sullivan and freshman Eliza Miller in fourth...
North Allegheny fends off Seneca Valley challenge, wins 4th straight WPIAL boys volleyball crownVideo
The North Allegheny boys volleyball team defeated section rival Seneca Valley twice in the regular season, and it sought to add a third victory as the Tigers and Raiders met Wednesday evening to decide the WPIAL Class AAA title at Fox Chapel. Seneca Valley, on the other hand, hoped to...
Seton LaSalle captures program’s 1st WPIAL boys volleyball championshipVideo
A first-time WPIAL champion was crowned as North Catholic and Seton LaSalle met Wednesday to decide the Class AA boys volleyball title at Fox Chapel. The teams had split two nonsection matches in the regular season. The rubber match went the way of the Rebels. Paced by a dominant performance...
Deer Lakes’ Carson McCoy among A-K Valley athletes ready for state track meet
Deer Lakes’ Carson McCoy knows the feeling of running at the PIAA Class AA track and field championships. As a freshman in 2019, he took part in the 800 meters at Shippensburg and placed 21st. Now, McCoy is one of the hunted at states as the No. 2 seed for...
A-K Valley softball playoff capsules: Games for May 27, 2021
Thursday’s games Class A Third-place consolation 2-Leechburg (12-5) vs. 4-South Side (12-4) 4 p.m. at Mars Coaches: Debbie Fleming, Leechburg; Amy Pieto, South Side What’s at stake: The winner qualifies for the PIAA playoffs, and the loser is done for the season. Players to watch: Madison Hanan, Sr., INF, Leechburg;...
Union takes down Leechburg, advances to WPIAL Class A title game
The Union softball team has another crack at unseating West Greene from its WPIAL Class A throne. The Scotties advanced to next week’s championship game at Cal U. with Tuesday’s 7-2 semifinal victory over Leechburg at Mars. “This is fantastic,” Union coach Doug Fisher said of his team’s run to...
Walk-off win propels Armstrong softball to Class 5A title game
The Armstrong softball team hit eight home runs and scored 27 runs over its first two WPIAL Class 5A playoff victories. It was a different offensive story Tuesday against Fox Chapel in a semifinal game at Mars. The No. 7 River Hawks found runs at more of a premium against...
Elizabeth Forward hits 3 home runs, rallies past Knoch in Class 4A quarterfinal
Elizabeth Forward, the top seed in the WPIAL Class 4A softball playoffs, hit 15 home runs in 17 regular season games. The Warriors added three to that total Monday in a 7-5 come-from-behind victory over No. 8 Knoch in a quarterfinal game at Plum. “We can hit the long ball...
West Mifflin rallies past Burrell in Class 4A softball
The West Mifflin softball team’s return to Plum was a successful one. The Titans fell to Indiana on an extra-inning walk-off at Plum in the first round of the 2018 WPIAL Class 4A playoff. On Monday, West Mifflin rallied from a two-run first-inning deficit to top Burrell, 6-2, in a...
A-K Valley softball playoff capsules: Games for Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Class A Tuesday 2-Leechburg (12-4) vs. 3-Union (11-7) 4 p.m. at Mars Coaches: Debbie Young, Leechburg; Fred Settle, Union Winner plays: Winner of 1-West Greene (16-2) vs. 4-South Side Area (12-3) in championship game June 2 or 3 at California University of Pa. Players to watch: Anna Cibik, Soph., P/1B,...
Alle-Kiski Valley WPIAL softball playoff capsules for May 24, 2021
Class 4A quarterfinals Monday 1-Elizabeth Forward (15-2) vs. 8-Knoch (10-7) 5 p.m. at Plum Coaches: Harry Rutherford, Elizabeth Forward; Gary Coe, Knoch Winner plays: Winner of 4-Montour (12-5) vs. 5-Highlands (14-4-1) on Wednesday (site, time TBD) in semifinals Players to watch: Kailey Larcinese, Sr., P, Elizabeth Forward; Olivia Vissari, Sr.,...
A-K Valley campus clippings: Another top honor for Knoch grad Jordan Geist at Arizona
Jordan Geist enjoyed another banner season in the throwing events for the University of Arizona. The Knoch graduate and Wildcats junior picked up his third Pac-12 postseason award, earning Men’s Field Athlete of the Year for the second time (also in 2019). Geist also was named Men’s Freshman of the...
Gateway’s Jenkins, Robinson claim medals at WPIAL championships
Clear, sunny skies and temperatures in the low to mid 80s greeted Gateway track and field athletes as they competed at last week’s WPIAL Class AAA championships at Slippery Rock. Senior Jayson Jenkins and junior Amaya Robinson picked up a medal as Gateway was represented in 11 events overall. Robinson,...
Gateway caps roller coaster season with playoff loss to Mars
As the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A baseball playoffs, Mars and Gateway were expected to play a close and competitive game. That’s just what happened May 19 at North Allegheny. The contest ended in a walk-off as JJ Wethereholt singled...
Riverview’s distance relay looks forward to PIAA meet
Mason Ochs knew he had another long race ahead of him — the individual 3,200-meter run — at Wednesday’s WPIAL Class AA championships when he anchored the 3,200 relay in the morning’s heated temperatures under sunny skies. But the Riverview senior didn’t take it easy and rolled through his 800...
After upset loss, Plum softball turns attention to promising future
The Plum softball team hoped for a long stay in the playoffs as it kicked off the WPIAL Class 5A tournament against Fox Chapel in the first round May 18 at Gateway. The Mustangs, the No. 3 seed in the bracket, came into the game winners of nine in a...
3-run, walk-off homer propels 14th-seeded Fox Chapel softball past Franklin Regional
Fox Chapel’s Brynn Palmer came up in the bottom of the seventh of Thursday’s WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal against Franklin Regional with the game on the line. The Foxes third baseman/shortstop already had driven in two runs, and with one out, two runners on base and her team down a...
Riverview relay team, Apollo-Ridge’s Weightman claim WPIAL gold
Mason Ochs knew he had another long race ahead of him - the individual 3,200-meter run - at Wednesday’s WPIAL Class AA championships when he anchored the 3,200 relay in the morning’s heated temperatures under sunny skies. But the Riverview senior rolled through his 800 split and brought home gold...
North Catholic’s Trevor Paschall wins 4 gold medals at WPIAL Class AA track and field championships
Temperatures under sunny skies climbed throughout the morning Wednesday as the top athletes competed at the WPIAL Class AA track and field championships at Slippery Rock University. As the final events concluded, thermometers had readings in the low to mid 80s. But that didn’t stop the cream of the crop...
Alle-Kiski Valley WPIAL softball playoff capsules for May 20, 2021
Today’s games Class 5A Quarterfinals 11-Franklin Regional (10-6) vs. 14-Fox Chapel (12-6) 2 p.m. at Plum Coaches: Jim Armstrong, Franklin Regional; Chris Olbrich, Fox Chapel Winner plays: Winner of 15-Indiana (11-7)/7-Armstrong (13-4) on Tuesday in semifinals Players to watch: Sydney Jackson, So., C/OF, Franklin Regional; Neena Pietropaolo, Sr., Fox Chapel...
Penn-Trafford softball stomps Hampton in 1st round
The Penn-Trafford softball team scored four runs in the bottom of the first during Tuesday’s WPIAL Class 5A first-round playoff game against Hampton at Gateway. The top-seeded Warriors rolled from there to a 10-0 victory halted after five innings. “We got hits and did a lot of the little things,”...
Fox Chapel stuns Plum in first-round pitchers’ duel
The Plum and Fox Chapel softball teams met in late March to open the 2021 season. The Mustangs scored a five-run victory in the matchup. The teams rematched Tuesday in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs, but this time, the result was different. The 14th-seeded Foxes scored...
Alle-Kiski Valley WPIAL softball playoff capsules for May 19, 2021
Wednesday’s games Class 4A 6-Burrell (7-5) vs. 11-Belle Vernon (10-9) 2 p.m. at Plum Coaches: Rick Nealer, Burrell; Tom Rodriguez, Belle Vernon Winner plays: 3-West Mifflin (15-4) Monday (time, site TBD) in quarterfinals Players to watch: Katie Armstrong, So., P, Burrell; Maren Metikosh, So., OF, Belle Vernon Extra bases: Burrell...
Burrell relay team, other Class AA medal hopefuls gear up for WPIAL meet
As sophomores in 2019, Burrell’s Brayden Callahan, Jake Guerrini and Ryan Wurzer, along with the now-graduated Kaleb Seibert, finished 12th in the 1,600-meter relay at the WPIAL Class AA championships at Slippery Rock. Despite the finish outside of medal contention, the group, with everyone back in 2020, had their sights...
