Michael Love stories, Page 94
Plum softball starting to hit stride in search of elusive playoff victory
When the Plum softball team suffered a 5-0 loss to Section 1-5A rival Franklin Regional on April 7, team members were itching to get back on the field and bounce back from the uncharacteristic shutout. But a game against Woodland Hills two days later was scrapped because of covid issues...
WVU football’s Gold-Blue Game set for Saturday
West Virginia football’s annual Gold-Blue spring football game is back after a one-year covid hiatus. The game will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. The stadium will operate at approximately 25% capacity as part of health, safety and wellness measures being implemented in response...
North Allegheny, Ambridge hold their top spots in boys volleyball coaches rankings
The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its WPIAL Week 4 boys rankings Monday morning, and North Allegheny (Class AAA) and Ambridge (Class AA) maintained their No. 1 positions in their respective polls. In Class AAA, Seneca Valley remained at No. 2, while Hempfield, which made it to the finals...
Knoch thrower Josh Rohland hoping for big numbers as postseason approaches
Knoch’s Josh Rohland got his first taste of WPIAL track and field championship competition as a sophomore at the 2019 Class AAA meet at Slippery Rock. Throwing the discus, he finished 16th with a throw of 123 feet, 8 inches. The trip to WPIALs was a building block for Rohland,...
Gateway soccer standout seizes opportunity with Cal (Pa.)
In December, Gateway senior Jayson Jenkins set in stone his decision to kick in college for the Robert Morris football team. Twin sister Joelle, a standout physical defender and four-year starter for the Gators girls soccer team, also hoped to find a place to call her own for the next...
Gateway baseball determined to join playoff race in second half of season
As the Gateway baseball team continues to find its way in what is turning out to be a competitive Section 1 in Class 5A, coach Mark Wardzinski likes the resolute attitude of his players. They’re determined to keep building on the positives and working to smooth any bumps in the...
Riverview, Plum athletes look forward to final high school basketball game
Gideon Deasy’s final high school basketball season didn’t start off as he had hoped as he continued to recover from an ankle injury that had plagued him since the fall. But the Riverview senior point guard eventually made his way back to the court, and he will cap his season...
Plum baseball ‘resilient and tough’ in early-season stretch
When Plum baseball coach Carl Vollmer looked back at the Section 2-5A series against Mars from April 12 and 13, he didn’t see perfection. Far from it, he said. But what he saw was a pair of dramatic, last-inning victories that could go a long way in determining who walks...
A-K Valley campus clippings: Fisher continues to excel for Penn State volleyball
Riverview graduate Cal Fisher has delivered impactful performances for the Penn State men’s volleyball team, and he has earned first team All-Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association honors. He is one of six Nittany Lions players named to the EIVA all-star teams. It is his second conference first-team selection. Fisher finished the...
Lernerville set to open another, more conventional, season
Mike Lysakowski took on the duties of general manager at Sarver’s Lernerville Speedway last October, and he was able to take in several races to close out what was a season unlike any other in the new reality of the covid pandemic. After a flurry of offseason activity, Lysakowski said...
A-K Valley softball notebook: Plum breaks out bats in return to action
Plum players had to wait a week to get the bad taste of a 5-0 loss to Section 1-5A rival Franklin Regional out of their mouths. The Mustangs had section games Friday against Woodland Hills (covid) and Monday against Kiski Area (rain) postponed. So Plum was more than ready Wednesday...
Fox Chapel strikeouts specialist Borkovich exceeding expectations
Mackenzie Borkovich logged most of the pitching innings as a freshman for Fox Chapel in 2019. She hoped to make a jump last year as the Foxes sought a return to the WPIAL playoffs after a one-year hiatus. But the covid-related cancellation of the 2020 season dashed all hopes for...
WPIAL tennis season heats up for A-K Valley trio, Section 3-AA teams
The Alle-Kiski Valley will be well-represented Tuesday at the WPIAL Class AA singles championships as Highlands senior Gabe Norris and Valley sophomore Nicholas Bussard and senior Thomas Albert will take to the court at Shady Side Academy. For the 10th-seeded Norris, the No. 1 singles player for the Golden Rams,...
Ambridge takes over as Class AA No. 1 in latest WPIAL volleyball coaches rankings
The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its Week 3 boys volleyball rankings Monday morning, and for the second week in a row, there is a new team at the top of Class AA. Ambridge, on the strength of a 3-2 win over rival North Catholic in a Section 1-AA...
Clark brothers bolster lineup for Gateway tennis
David Clark loves the competition on the tennis court with twin brother, Nathan. Nathan is the No. 1 singles player for the Gateway boys tennis team, but David is not far behind at No. 2. “It’s definitely competitive, but it drives us,” said David Clark, who wrestled for the Gators...
Gateway boys lacrosse developing young roster
With 19 seniors and a high level of experience up and down the lineup, the 2019 Gateway boys lacrosse team made history. With the highest-ever playoff seed (No. 7), the Gators hosted a playoff game for the first time and rolled past Sewickley Academy before falling to No. 2 Hampton...
Pine-Richland’s Spencer wins 1st Willie Thrower Memorial Award
Chuck Curtis played football for the New York Giants in 1957 before beginning a football coaching career that lasted for 30 years. He coached as an assistant at Southern Methodist University in the mid-1960s and helped play a part in giving more black student-athletes the chance to get recruited to...
Plum, Riverview graduates shine at college level
Cal Fisher continues to produce for the Penn State men’s volleyball team. Earlier this week, the Riverview graduate was named the Off the Block National Opposite (Hitter) of the week for his play in the Nittany Lions’ weekend series at nationally ranked George Mason. Fisher led Penn State, ranked No....
Plum boys volleyball aims for success under new leadership
The Plum boys volleyball team is hopeful for a run at a berth in the WPIAL playoffs this spring, and the Mustangs will go after it in a new classification with a new coach at the helm. It is a rebirth of sorts for the team, which now calls Class...
Little things add up for Freeport softball in win over Highlands
Freeport third baseman Autumn Powell grounded out to second base for the first out of the second inning of Friday’s Section 1-4A opener at Highlands. The grounder scored catcher Natalie King, who had walked and moved to third on a pair of wild pitches. The small-ball run was a humble...
Alle-Kiski high school softball notebook: Fox Chapel-Burrell provides pitchers’ duel
Spectators at the March 29 nonsection game between Fox Chapel and Burrell were treated to a double pitching gem. Foxes junior Mackenzie Borkovich and Burrell softball Katie Armstrong dueled for 10 innings before Fox Chapel won in the bottom of the 10th, 1-0, on a throwing error. Borkovich, who shook...
Freeport’s Borghol overcomes back issues to make triumphant softball return
Maya Borghol hit a home run in a March 23 scrimmage against Kiski Area. The trip around the bases, the Freeport senior center fielder said, was confirmation the power she displayed during a breakout freshman season still was there. Lingering issues after back surgery in 2018 took away most of...
Kiski Area blanks Greensburg Salem on opening night of PIHL playoffs
The Kiski Area hockey team is headed back to the PIHL Penguins Cup Class A semifinals. For the second year in a row, the No. 2 Cavaliers will play in the final four after posting a 5-0 victory over No. 7 Greensburg Salem in a quarterfinal contest Monday at Belmont...
North Catholic takes over Class AA top spot in latest WPIAL coaches boys volleyball rankings
The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its Week 2 boys volleyball rankings Monday morning, and there is a change at the top in Class AA. North Catholic, No. 3 in last week’s top 10 poll, has taken over the No. 1 position, unseating Seton LaSalle. The teams went head-to-head...
BMC Cheer Team Rampage wins national championship
The BMC Cheer Team Rampage based out of Brandy Marie Gymnastics in Sarver captured a national championship title at the Encore Championships Pittsburgh Division I and II event March 20 and 21 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The team performed routines for judges both days in the L2...
