Team spirit strong during successful season for Sewickley Valley YMCA swimmers
The Sewickley Valley YMCA swimmers — the Sea Dragons — competed in the Division II championship meet held earlier this year at Butler. The Sea Dragons swim at five levels: New Novice (ages 6-8), Advanced Novice (7-8), Cadet (9-10), Prep, Junior and Senior (11-18) and High School. Sewickley Valley YMCA...
For Quaker Valley, sense of pride comes with season-ending PIAA loss
Quaker Valley’s first-round PIAA playoff game March 6 against Hickory became a tedious uphill climb for the Quakers almost from the opening tip. QV didn’t score a point until the 4:33 mark of the first quarter as the visitors secured leads of 6-0, 11-2, 17-10 and finally 19-12 in the...
Talented lineup returns for Sewickley Academy softball
The 2025 season was filled with highlights for the Sewickley Academy softball team. The Panthers started out 7-0 and 9-1 and ended up qualifying for the WPIAL Class A playoffs. They tied for second place with South Side Beaver in Section 1-A, finishing behind only Union, the WPIAL and PIAA...
Sewickley Academy shows dominant defense, rebounding in PIAA tournament wins
Sewickley Academy defeated Jeannette in the WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball championship game Feb. 27 at Petersen Events Center. The Panthers did not play again until March 7 when they zipped past Saegertown, 65-25, at home in the PIAA first round. “I think we were a little rusty in the...
Coming off playoff season, Sewickley Academy baseball can lean on key veteran players
The Sewickley Academy baseball team has four returning starters and each is expected to play an important role for the Panthers this season. Billy Pietragallo is a senior infielder/outfielder and is joined in the starting lineup by junior Jacob Stanislaw (OF/P) and sophomores Austin Fritz (P/INF) and Charlie Scally (C)....
Matthias Lezama shines for Quaker Valley in return to Penguins Cup finals
Matthias Lezama has had a significant impact on the Quaker Valley hockey team in his first two seasons with the Quakers. “He truly has,” QV coach Kevin Quinn said. “He has a desire to win, compete and score. And he brings it each game. He is also a great teammate...
WPIAL finals loss was ‘a good learning experience’ for Quaker Valley boys
Quaker Valley’s boys basketball team took an impressive 11-game winning streak into the WPIAL playoffs then extended it with two postseason victories. After a first-round bye, the Class 4A top-seed Quakers routed No. 8 Belle Vernon, 72-41, and edged No. 13 Deer Lakes, 44-42, in a nail-biter. But the No....
Sewickley Herald notebook: 3 Quaker Valley wrestlers make it to states
Three Quaker Valley wrestlers qualified for the PIAA Class 2A tournament off their performances at the Southwest Regional at Altoona. “Survive and advance. That’s the mindset we’ve been taking week by week,” QV coach Austin Heinl said. “We lost some tough matches and won some tough matches. It’s just another...
Sewickley Academy girls follow slow start with strong finish in run to PIAA tournament
Sewickley Academy’s girls basketball team experienced a turnaround season within 2025-26, thanks to a strong case of player perseverance. The Panthers started out 1-3 and 2-6 as the players adapted to Rob Shazer’s coaching style in his first year as head coach. Sewickley then rang up a seven-game winning streak...
Focus on defense pays championship dividends for Sewickley Academy boys
“Defense wins games; offense just determines by how much.” That has been the mantra of the Sewickley Academy boys basketball team all season, and it came to fruition Feb. 27 in the WPIAL finals at Petersen Events Center. Second-seeded Sewickley turned in another aggressive, laser-focused defensive performance against No. 1...
Amelia Suhayda, Marcus Zhan lead Quaker Valley swimmers at WPIAL meet
Quaker Valley senior Marcus Zhan earned a runner-up finish in the 200-yard freestyle event at the WPIAL Class 2A swimming championships Feb. 26-27 at Pitt’s Trees Pool. Zhan, who attends Sewickley Academy and competes for the Quakers as part of a cooperative sponsorship, turned in a time of 1 minute,...
Sewickley Herald notebook: Quaker Valley hockey dominates playoff opener
Quaker Valley easily defeated Greensburg Salem, winning by an 8-0 margin in the first round of the PIHL Penguins Cup Class A playoffs Feb. 23 at the Ice Castle in Castle Shannon. Senior forward Jase Vasbinder collected three goals and two assists for QV, which improved to 19-1-1. Max Modrovich,...
Sewickley Academy girls make state playoffs, build foundation for bright future
The Sewickley Academy girls basketball team ran out of time in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class A playoffs. Seventh seeded Sewickley lost Feb. 19 to No. 2 Serra Catholic, 53-49, to drop into the Class A consolation round. The Panthers overcame a 14-point deficit early in the fourth quarter...
With team-first focus, Sewickley Academy boys sprint into WPIAL championship game
Jeannette, like Sewickley Academy, has been awe-inspiring in the 2025-26 boys basketball season. The Jayhawks are 22-1 and riding a 20-game winning streak. Sewickley is 24-1 with its only loss coming against Roselle Catholic from New Jersey. The Panthers were 21-0 before that game that was decided by a few...
Bruce Anderchak climbs to top of Quaker Valley wrestling’s all-time wins list
He’s No. 1. Senior wrestling star Bruce Anderchak broke the school record for career wins at Quaker Valley with his 152nd victory Feb. 21 at the WPIAL Class 2A tournament at Chartiers Valley. Anderchak began the district event two victories away from tying the QV all-time win record held by...
Mimi Thiero sits atop Quaker Valley all-time scoring list, boys or girls
Oumou “Mimi” Thiero achieved perhaps her greatest career milestone Feb. 20 during Quaker Valley’s 54-35 consolation win over Avonworth in the WPIAL Class 3A girls basketball playoffs. The 6-foot-5 Thiero, a Maryland recruit, netted 29 points to become QV’s all-time leading scorer, boys or girls, with 1,980 career points. “It...
Everything comes together for Quaker Valley boys en route to WPIAL title game
Quaker Valley and Knoch — the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds in Class 4A basketball — were set to clash Feb. 26 in the WPIAL boys championship game. “Knoch is an outstanding team,” QV coach Mike Mastroianni said. “They are an experienced and well-coached team and came into the...
Bethel Park rallies to support women, girls in sports
National Girls and Women in Sports Day for 2026 was observed Feb. 4, promoting the accomplishments of female athletes and advocating for gender equality in sports. The observance took place a day earlier at Bethel Park High School, as the Bethel Park Girls Basketball Boosters held a grandiose event at...
Bethel Park notebook: Hall of Fame welcomes 5 new members
Five individuals were inducted recently into the Bethel Park High School Athletic Hall of Fame, representing the Class of 2025. Five sports were represented by the inductees: Tracy Pfister ’83 (swimming), Anthony Caruso ’08 (soccer), Nick Kwiatkoski ’11 (football), Levi Metheny ’16 (football/basketball) and Nino Bonaccorsi ’17 (wrestling). Former coaches...
Balanced offense carries Bethel Park hockey into PIHL playoffs
The Bethel Park hockey team is a PIHL playoff qualifier. “In the playoffs, the expectation is simple,” coach Mike Schall said. “Compete every shift and give ourselves a chance to win every night. Playoff hockey comes down to details, discipline and mindset. “If we stay true to our identity, manage...
Thomas Jefferson boys, girls pack powerful 1-2 punch
It was magical. The 2025-26 regular season could be considered the best combined performance by Thomas Jefferson basketball teams in school history. Dom DeCicco is in his 19th year of coaching the boys team. “I think it’s great,” DeCicco said. “Matt (Gould) has done such a remarkable job with the...
Joey Nix finds perfect touch — again — for Thomas Jefferson bowling
Some bowlers never are able roll a 300 game in a lifetime. Thomas Jefferson senior Joey Nix has accomplished the feat twice during his decorated high school career. Nix tossed his second 300 on Jan. 14 at Spins Bowl, his home alley located on Buttermilk Hollow Road in West Mifflin...
South Hills Record notebook: Thomas Jefferson gymnasts wear WPIAL crown
Thomas Jefferson won the WPIAL team championship in gymnastics for the second year in a row. It marked the second time the Jaguars captured back-to-back titles as they also were WPIAL champions in 2019 and 2020. The TJ girls posted their best final score since 2020 with 142.209 total points...
Thomas Jefferson’s Emmett Forte earns coveted Breisinger Award
His forte on the Thomas Jefferson football team was tackling. Off the field, he’s a valuable mentor for the younger players. Emmett Forte, a 5-foot-10, 195-pound senior running back/linebacker, is the recipient of this year’s prestigious Breisinger Award. “I’m honored to be held and looked at in the highest standard...
Sewickley Herald notebook: Junior wrestler marches into WPIAL tournament
Seven wrestlers at Quaker Valley qualified for the WPIAL tournament. The qualifiers from the Class 2A Northern Section tournament were seniors Bruce Anderchak (121) and Matt Danna (160), juniors Trey Dunlap (189) and Harper Sipes (145), freshmen Angel Perez (285) and Jake Neff (172) and sophomore Damien McClay (133). “I...
