Sewickley Academy boys, girls ready to take their shot in WPIAL basketball playoffs
Both Sewickley Academy varsity teams extended their seasons in 2025-26. Both squads qualified for the WPIAL playoffs off their performance against section opponents and were scheduled to tip off the postseason Feb. 16 at home. The Sewickley boys ran through the regular season with a near-perfect 21-1 record, outscoring the...
Quaker Valley boys, girls heat up heading into playoffs
The Quaker Valley boys basketball team has been unbeatable since the start of the new year. The Quakers won 11 consecutive times, finished the regular season 19-3 overall and landed the top seed in the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs. “With our consistent play over the season and by capturing the...
Lucas Grimsley adds 1,000-point milestone to stellar Sewickley Academy resume
Sewickley Academy’s talented senior Lucas Grimsley was an all-state selection following the 2024-25 basketball season. Other all-staters in boys basketball for the Panthers were Neil Hoy (1998), Corey Diethorn (2004), George Raftis (2005), Tom Droney (2009, 2010), Chris Groetsch (2016, 2017), Justin Pryor (2017), Nate Ridgeway (2017, 2018), Isaiah Smith...
Fisher’s Files: Quaker Valley boys edge Indiana in playoff tune-up
The high school schedule-maker linked three Quaker Valley teams together Feb. 9 in late regular-season action — two at home, one on the road. All three were victorious: • Sam Chapman, a 6-foot-3 junior guard, scored 17 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer, to lift Quaker Valley boys...
Sophomore forward leads Quaker Valley hockey to signature win
Matthias Lezama collected four goals and an assist Feb. 2 to lead the Quaker Valley hockey team to its most important win of the regular season. “We were a motivated group, and it showed in our performance,” QV coach Kevin Quinn said. “I liked all phases of our game.” The...
All-star defenseman makes major impact for Quaker Valley hockey
Luke Koehler is in his fourth year of varsity competition on the Quaker Valley hockey team. A skilled defenseman, Koehler was one of five QV players named as PIHL all-stars in Class A this season. “Luke has always played wherever he was needed for us,” QV coach Kevin Quinn said....
Quaker Valley boys march through section schedule
The Quaker Valley boys basketball team picked up where it left off at the start of the second half of section play. QV defeated rival Hopewell, 77-61, in a tense Section 2-4A game Jan. 30 in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Quakers’ gym. “Hopewell is a very physical...
Quaker Valley assistant getting intense on-the-job training coaching boys, girls teams
By day, KC Johns is an operations manager at Rize Sports in Leetsdale. By night, he is an assistant basketball coach at Quaker Valley Johns rarely takes a day off from QV basketball. In fact, he is in a unique position with the Quakers. Johns is an assistant with both...
Sewickley Herald notebook: Quaker Valley grad stars on ice, in classroom
Quaker Valley graduate Emily Reiner made the the dean’s list with high honors during the fall semester at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Reiner made the honor roll while skating for the Division 3 MSOE women’s hockey team. She is a 6-foot-2 freshman forward for the Raiders. One of Reiner’s...
Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy soccer coaches endorse elimination of overtime
The PIAA recently made a major rule change by eliminating overtime in regular-season games, meaning teams will settle on a draw if they are tied after 80 minutes of regulation. A unanimous decision by the PIAA soccer committee led to the game-changing decision. The rule goes into effect for the...
Sewickley Academy boys, girls put best foot forward at Win Palmer Memorial Classic
Sewickley Academy’s boys basketball team held what appeared to be a precarious 24-20 halftime lead Feb. 1 against visiting Aliquippa. The Panthers, however, roared past the Quips, 56-34, in the final game of the weekend at the Win Palmer Memorial Classic at Sewickley Academy. “I thought our guys did a...
Sewickley sports notebook: Co-op helps build depth for Quaker Valley swimming
Seven of the 27 athletes in the Quaker Valley swim program attend Sewickley Academy as part of the WPIAL’s cooperative sponsorship program. They are senior Marcus Zhan, sophomores Augustin Zhan and Zak Sharara and freshman Kilian Rodemeyer on the boys team; along with juniors Lydia Kilpela and Anna Fiedler and...
Sewickley Academy boys dominating WPIAL competition
The boys basketball team at Sewickley Academy is like a finely tuned machine. After 15 games, the Panthers had racked up both the best offensive (72.8 ppg) and defensive (29 ppg) averages in the WPIAL in boys basketball. And Sewickley’s hoopsters were even more impressive in Section 2-2A play with...
Quaker Valley wrestler Matt Danna joins 100-win club
Call it a moon landing. This year’s Moon Duals were unforgettable for Quaker Valley wrestler Matt Danna. The 160-pound senior registered his 100th career victory Dec. 13 at Moon by pinning Liam Hulton of Laurel Highlands in 14 seconds. “I was happy to reach 100 career wins,” Danna said. “By...
Alexa Westwood, Quaker Valley swimming teammates working toward goals
It isn’t a rebuilding season for the Quaker Valley girls swim team. It’s more like the Quakers have embarked on a retooling process. “The team has been doing very well and working hard to fill the spots of the many talented swimmers and diver who graduated last year,” Alexa Westwood...
Contributions from Keira Watson, teammates lead Quaker Valley girls to key section win
Keira Watson’s clutch free throw late in the game proved to be the difference for the Quaker Valley girls basketball team. The Quakers held on to edge Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, 37-36, on the road Jan. 22 in a key Section 1-3A contest. “Keira was 2 of 3...
Brentwood swimmer keeps lowering school record, striving to reach more goals
It didn’t take long for Brentwood’s Fawn Brendel to break her own school record. Last year, at a home meet against Thomas Jefferson in February, Brendel eclipsed Anna Watterson’s school record in the girls 100-yard butterfly event set in 2010. Brendel swam a 1:07.55 and narrowly missed the WPIAL qualifying...
Nailed it: Baldwin wins school’s 1st PIAA competitive spirit championship
They are known as the Dream Team around the Baldwin-Whitehall area. For the first time in the history its competitive spirit cheer program, Baldwin won the PIAA championship this year in the 3A Large Varsity division. The PIAA finals took place Jan. 9-10 in Johnstown. “Going into awards we had...
‘Really special’: 3 Bernotas sisters team up for Baldwin girls basketball
Not one, not two, but three. It doesn’t happen too often that three siblings play for the same girls basketball team. It is even more rare for all three sisters to be in a game at the same time. The Bernotas sisters — Laci, Lynsey and Alia — are basketball...
Pair of champion lead Thomas Jefferson wrestlers at Allegheny County tournament
The Thomas Jefferson wrestling program introduced its “Zach Attack” at this year’s county championships. TJ’s Zach Rehak and Zachary LaBryer began their run to the postseason as both won individual titles at the 2026 Allegheny County wrestling tournament held Jan. 16-17 at Fox Chapel. Rehak, a junior, defeated Baldwin freshman...
Thomas Jefferson sophomore takes game worldwide at softball tournament in Netherlands
Thomas Jefferson sophomore Madden Stanek has taken her softball skills to the international level. A shortstop and outfielder, Stanek was selected to compete in the 30th annual international fastpitch event known as The Cup 2026 held in the Netherlands in the town of Schiedam (located near Rotterdam). Stanek was joined...
Captains hit right notes for Baldwin’s championship competitive spirit team
The 2025-26 season has been historic for the Baldwin competitive spirit program. For the first time in program history, Baldwin’s competitive spirit team won the PIAA championship in the 3A Large Varsity division Jan. 9-10 in Johnstown. “Before the girls took the floor, I told them when they come through...
Big season brewing for Thomas Jefferson boys, girls basketball
Thomas Jefferson junior Noah Sear has no fear on the basketball court. The 6-foot-2 guard hit the biggest shot of his high school career Dec. 12 in his team’s section opener at Peters Township. “It was 100% the biggest shot of my career at TJ,” Sear said, “because this is...
South Hills Record notebook: Thomas Jefferson workhorse back recognized
Catching up on the South Hills sports scene: Thomas Jefferson junior Tyler Eber, a terrific 5-foot-10, 185-pound running back/defensive back, was cited as a TribLive High School Sports Network’s Terrific 25 football all-star for the 2025 season. “Tyler had another amazing year,” said TJ coach Bill Cherpak, “especially given the...
Bethel Park notebook: Wrestler captures county championship
Bethel Park’s Ian Bucheli turned in a championship performance Jan. 17 at the Allegheny County wrestling tournament at Fox Chapel. Bucheli, a junior, captured first place in the 145-pound weight class by securing a 9-0 major decision against Fox Chapel senior Adam Haines in the championship round. Bucheli improved to...
