Michael Love stories, Page 99
Alle-Kiski Valley girls basketball notebook: Fox Chapel-Plum rematch looms
The Fox Chapel girls basketball team hopes to get back on the winning track, while Plum hopes to keep a winning streak alive. The Foxes and Mustangs meet for the second time this season Friday evening at 6 p.m. at Fox Chapel. The teams continue to battle for positioning in...
Apollo-Ridge girls display grit in rebound section win
With a mix of experienced seniors and younger players still testing their abilities at the high school level, the Apollo-Ridge girls basketball team remains a work in progress, veteran coach Ray Bartha said. But that progress for the Vikings, hoping to make their way towards the open WPIAL Class 2A...
Apollo-Ridge girls edge Greensburg Central Catholic for key section victory
In crunch time, the Apollo-Ridge girls basketball team stood tall. Despite seeing a double-digit lead disappear in the second half of Monday’s Section 4-2A game against Greensburg Central Catholic, the Vikings made the necessary plays down the stretch in the fourth quarter to secure a 46-42 victory. “We all, as...
WPIAL releases latest swimming and diving performance lists
The WPIAL released its latest swimming and diving performance lists Monday, and there are changes at the top in four individual events and a relay from meets this past week. In boys Class AAA, Butler senior David Bocci landed in the top spot for the 500-yard freestyle with a time...
2 West Virginia-Baylor men’s basketball games postponed
The West Virginia men’s basketball team was scheduled to face Big 12 Conference foe Baylor twice in four days next week, but both games have been postponed. The conference announced Monday that the games, a home contest slated for Feb. 15 and a road matchup Feb. 18, will not be...
Burrell bowlers turn attention to postseason after strong regular season
The top boys and girls bowlers in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Bowling League compete at Wildlife Lanes in Lower Burrell. Freeport’s Mark Livingston is at the top of the heap on the boys side, and Burrell junior Lydia Flanagan is tearing it up on the girls side with a league-best...
Gateway seniors sign on for future in college football
It has become tradition with the Gateway football team that the first Wednesday in February is a day to celebrate the achievements of its senior players and also look ahead to what they hope are bright futures in college. Last week was no exception as a trio of Gators standouts...
Gateway boys continue to build identity in advance of WPIAL playoffs
When the Gateway boys basketball team’s Section 3-5A game with Woodland Hills was postponed from Feb. 2, Gators coaches and school officials looked for another opportunity to play. “Our AD (Don Holl) asked if we wanted to play Avonworth,” Gateway assistant coach Verne Benson said. “We said, yeah. It beats...
Fox Chapel girls top Hampton, complete section series sweep
The Fox Chapel girls basketball team came into Friday’s Section 2-5A matchup with Hampton winners of three straight. The Foxes added a victory to that streak in emphatic fashion with a 62-39 victory over the Talbots to sweep the home-and-home section series. “I am really pleased with the team effort...
All-Kiski Valley girls basketball notebook: Fox Chapel to face Hampton again
Fox Chapel is the only team in Section 2-5A to topple Hampton (8-2, 4-1) this season. The Foxes upended the Talbots, 58-49, on Jan. 12, and Hampton followed that loss with seven straight victories. The rematch is at 6 p.m. Friday at Fox Chapel. Behind 13 points from senior Ellie...
Dates for WPIAL swimming championships finalized
The WPIAL swimming steering committee met Wednesday afternoon and made some highly anticipated decisions regarding the Class AA and Class AAA championship meets. The Class AA meet will be held in its entirety Saturday, March 6, with the Class AAA meet to follow March 7. All decisions rendered, committee chairman...
With senior Soilis leading the way, ‘things are starting to click’ for Freeport girls
As the lone senior on the Freeport girls basketball team, Grace Soilis had concerns about the status of her final high school season and what might happen in the face of covid postponements and cancellations. “I had so many conversations with my parents and was all worked up about it,”...
Penn State football lands another 4-star commit
Davon Townley Jr., a defensive lineman from North Community High School in Minneapolis, Minn., has joined the 2021 Penn State football recruiting class. Townley Jr., who signed Wednesday morning to kick off the start of the national letter of intent regular signing period for Division I and II football, is...
In-pool profile: Thomas Jefferson’s Findlan ready to defend WPIAL 100 free title
Hallie Findlan was a woman of steel against Steel Valley on Jan. 25 as she swam the top WPIAL Class AA girls 100-yard freestyle time this season. The time of 53.84 seconds put the Thomas Jefferson senior and defending WPIAL 100 free champ at the top of the list. But...
In-pool profile: Butler’s Bocci has sights set on WPIAL swimming gold
David Bocci played second fiddle in the 100-yard butterfly and 500 freestyle at last year’s WPIAL Class AAA championships at Pitt’s Trees Pool. This year, the Butler senior hopes to lead the band as he goes for gold in his events. “With being off so much in December and into...
Kiski Area hockey program moving in right direction, hungry for more
Optimism surrounded the Kiski Area hockey team as it entered the 2020-21 season. A youthful group last year made a run to the semifinals of the PIHL Penguin Cup Class A playoffs. The Cavaliers battled Indiana for a spot in the finals but were dealt a 4-2 season-ending loss. That...
Western Regional bowling tournaments split into 2 weekends
In response to covid-19 guidelines and protocols for gathering numbers, the Western Regional high school bowling championships this year will be split up over two weekends, the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Bowling League announced Monday. Regionals will start with the boys singles tournament March 5 and the boys team event March...
WPIAL posts latest swimming and diving performance lists
The WPIAL on Monday morning released its latest swimming and diving performance lists. They are for times and point totals recorded at meets through Saturday (Jan. 30). Seneca Valley junior Daniel Simoes, North Hills senior Joshua Bogniard, North Allegheny sophomore Alexa Sundgren, Neshannock senior Conner McBeth, Quaker Valley junior Isabel...
Meeting could steer WPIAL swimmers in right direction
The WPIAL swimming steering committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday, and the group could finalize a plan for the championships and provide answers amid the uncertainty with covid-19 gathering restrictions. Among the decisions WPIAL swimmers, coaches and others hope to find out is where the championships, slated for the week...
Gateway grad Kayla Trozzi honored by Westminster
During her soccer career at Gateway and then for four years at Westminster College, Kayla Trozzi used her speed and scoring touch to make an impact and earn numerous accolades. Her efforts for the Titans recently were honored with selection to Westminster’s All-Decade Women’s Soccer Team as a first team...
Gateway girls gaining experience against top competition
The Gateway girls basketball team started its season with losses in its first six games, including its first four in Section 2-5A play. The six teams — section foes Latrobe, Woodland Hills, Penn Hills and McKeesport, along with Chartiers Valley and Bethel Park — were a combined 22-3 through Jan....
Fox Chapel’s Sophie Shao off to fast start in quest to defend WPIAL, PIAA championships
Two years ago, then-eighth grader Sophie Shao witnessed Fox Chapel freshman Zoe Skirbol make history with a WPIAL swimming championship in the 100-yard breaststroke and a state title in the 200 individual medley. Last year, it was Shao’s turn to shine in her varsity debut as she won WPIAL gold...
Fox Chapel rallies past Plum, grinds out Section 2-5A victory
The Plum girls basketball team couldn’t have asked for a better start to its Section 2-5A home matchup against Fox Chapel at Plum High School. The Mustangs scored the first 13 points, and pressure defense confounded the Foxes into six turnovers. But Fox Chapel responded to the early adversity, rallied...
Winning, not points or records, motivates Plum girls basketball standout Montue
Kennedie Montue averaged 22.1 points a game last year and helped the Plum girls basketball team to a 14-7 record and to within a game of the program’s first section championship. Last year’s Valley News Dispatch Player of the Year and multi-year all-conference performer has picked up where she left...
AK Valley girls basketball notebook: Every second counts for Kiski Area
In Saturday’s 33-31 buzzer-beating win over Greensburg Salem, Kiski Area’s players saw first-hand how much every second counts in close games. The early seconds, and minutes, didn’t add up to much for the Cavaliers, who missed their first nine shots. They trailed the Golden Lions for a total of 31...
