Ray Fisher stories, Page 10
Senior’s 4-medal haul highlights successful WPIAL meet for Quaker Valley swimmers
Thomas Fuener ended his WPIAL swimming career in style. The Quaker Valley senior was a four-time medalist at the WPIAL Class 2A championships Feb. 27-28 at Pitt’s Trees Pool. “WPIALs went well,” Fuener said. “It was a great way to wind down my high school career, and I’m proud of...
Sewickley Academy playoff run stops just short of WPIAL finals
Sewickley Academy’s boys basketball team rolled through the first two rounds of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs, defeating No. 15 Bentworth and No. 7 Chartiers-Houston. The second-seeded Panthers faced a more formidable opponent — No. 3 Jeannette — in the semifinal round and lost a 45-24 decision Feb. 24 at...
Quaker Valley sends wrestler to WPIAL finals for 8th straight season
The streak continues. Quaker Valley extended its streak of having at least one WPIAL finalist in its wrestling program to eight consecutive years. QV junior Bruce Anderchak advanced to this year’s WPIAL Class 2A championship match in the 114-pound weight class, where he lost a tough 3-2 decision to Elizabeth...
Quaker Valley diver claims more WPIAL silver, looks forward to state meet
Quaker Valley senior Ruby Olliffe repeated as runner-up at the WPIAL Class 2A girls diving championships Feb. 21 at North Allegheny. Olliffe, a Bucknell recruit, racked up a final score of 431.95 to finish second to Hampton junior Gabby Elk, whose winning score was 444.25. “At one point through the...
Coming off strong regular season, Quaker Valley skates into Penguins Cup playoffs
Quaker Valley’s quest for an undefeated season in the PIHL hit a snag in early February. After building a 17-0 record, the Quakers lost a pair of 3-2 decisions to Plum on Feb. 3 and Montour in overtime on Feb. 10. The Quakers roared back a week later with a...
Mimi Thiero makes big impact during productive season for Quaker Valley girls
Mimi Thiero ended her junior basketball season at Quaker Valley with some spectacular credentials. Thiero scored 578 points and grabbed 413 rebounds, giving her 1,248 points and 915 rebounds for her three-year career. A 6-foot-5 guard/forward, Thiero averaged 23.1 ppg and 16.5 rpg this season. In the QV girls’ WPIAL...
Quaker Valley boys pleased with progress during playoff season
The Quaker Valley boys basketball team took a 15-7 record and No. 10 seed into the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs. But the Quakers, the fourth-place representative out of Section 2, were forced to make a quick exit, losing to No. 7 Deer Lakes, 83-58, in the first round. QV coach...
‘Almost flawless’: Mt. Pleasant’s Olivia Kovach offers picture-perfect performance at WPIAL meet
Mt. Pleasant’s Olivia Kovach put on a picture-perfect performance at this year’s WPIAL individual gymnastics championships. Her coach indicated it was near-seamless. Kovach dethroned three-time champion Abby Rexrode from Baldwin in winning the WPIAL Advanced Division all-around title Feb. 8 at Moon. “It was something I really wanted this year,”...
Kiski Area’s Ellie Arnold caps freshman season with WPIAL gymnastics gold
Kiski Area’s Ellie Arnold recently wrapped up an unforgettable freshman season in gymnastics. The 14-year-old won the WPIAL all-around championship in the Intermediate II Division on Feb. 8 at Moon. Arnold, who also is a leading athlete in the Kiski Area girls soccer program, finished first on the vault with...
Thomas Jefferson wrestlers find success at sectional tournament
Maddox Shaw, Bode Marlow and Shep Turk are three of a kind. All three seniors are WPIAL champions and standard-bearers of the Thomas Jefferson wrestling program. And they have the highest respect from their coach, Michael Ladick. “These guys have continued to set the bar higher for the program moving...
Thomas Jefferson gymnasts celebrate 3rd WPIAL team title
The girls on the Thomas Jefferson gymnastics team were all smiles, beaming perhaps, following the WPIAL championships held Feb. 13 at Moon. The Jaguars edged North Allegheny for the team title, winning by a 141.975-141.425 score. The final team standings were TJ, North Allegheny, Central Valley (140.425), Baldwin (139.35), Beaver...
South Hills Record notebook: Abby Rexrode again leads way for Baldwin gymnasts
The Baldwin gymnastics team was led once again in 2024-25 by the talented Abby Rexrode, a senior athlete and multiple-time WPIAL titlist. After winning the past three WPIAL all-around championships in the advanced division, Rexrode placed second at this year’s WPIAL finals with a 37.9-point total — three-tenths of a...
After capturing long-awaited section title, Baldwin boys fall in WPIAL 1st round
Athletic talent overshadowed by grit and determination carried the Baldwin boys basketball team to a banner 2024-25 regular season. Baldwin defeated South Hills rival Bethel Park, 64-55, on Feb. 4 to clinch the Highlanders’ first section title since 1986 — 39 years ago. “We set goals at the beginning of...
Sewickley Herald notebook: Panthers shake off nerves in playoff-opening win
Sewickley Academy’s boys basketball team didn’t experience any playoff jitters in its WPIAL Class 2A first-round game Feb. 17 against Bentworth. The second-seeded Panthers jumped out to a 19-2 lead after just eight minutes and won by a resounding 59-26 final score. Freshman Mamadou Kane, a 6-foot-8 forward/center, sparked Sewickley...
Quaker Valley wrestlers show championship form at section tournament
Quaker’s Valley’s dominance on the mat was on full display at the WPIAL Class 2A Northern Sectional tournament Feb. 15 at Keystone Oaks. Nine QV wrestlers finished as top-six placers, including five that advanced to the championship round. All nine qualified for the WPIAL tournament. “I’m happy with how our...
Quaker Valley girls’ defensive effort rewarded with playoff win
The Quaker Valley girls basketball team is a resilient group. The seventh-seed Quakers displayed their adaptability Feb. 14 against No. 10 McGuffey in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A basketball playoffs. QV defeated the visiting Highlanders, 39-35, to advance to a quarterfinal matchup Feb. 17 against No. 2...
Balanced Bethel Park lineup filled with 20-win wrestlers
Eight athletes assumed leading roles in the Bethel Park wrestling program this season. Seniors Ethan Higgins, Aden Stout, Michael Gibson, Seth Miller and Hunter Goelz and sophomores Pierce Reinhart, Ian Bucheli and Colton Fisher all attained 20 or more victories by mid-February. “Each of these wrestlers have had great seasons...
100th win highlights season for Bethel Park wrestler Ethan Higgins
Career win No. 100 arrived as expected for Bethel Park’s talented senior wrestler Ethan Higgins. “It’s an incredible feeling. Honestly, I’ve worked so hard to get to this point, and when it finally happened, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment,” Higgins said. “It’s a testament to all the hours...
Hard-working Bethel Park girls rewarded with playoff success
Bethel Park’s girls basketball team prepped for a possible playoff run in 2024-25 by playing an onerous regular-season schedule. To that end, the Black Hawks recovered from a midseason malaise to finish 11-11 with a spot in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A tournament against Franklin Regional. “An...
Bethel Park boys basketball season marked by close losses, development
One of the highlights of the 2024-25 season for the Bethel Park boys basketball team was a two-game sweep of Thomas Jefferson in section play. The Black Hawks defeated TJ by scores of 52-48 and 65-63 but missed out on a WPIAL playoff berth while the Jaguars advanced as the...
Sewickley Academy girls wrap up playoff spot in last game on section schedule
Sewickley Academy’s playoff chances in girls basketball hinged on two things. The Panthers needed to win Feb. 6 and have Eden Christian lose its final section game. They got both. The Sewickley girls won a nailbiter against Leechburg, 36-35, and the Warriors dropped a 75-12 decision to Union, the Section...
Sewickley Academy boys exceed expectations with flawless section record
The Sewickley Academy boys basketball team rolled through Section 2-2A this season with a 12-0 record, two games ahead of runner-up Northgate at 10-2. Winchester Thurston finished third at 8-4, while Brentwood and Eden Christian tied for fourth with 5-7 records. As a reward, Sewickley Academy (17-4) landed the No....
Retired teacher continues to make mark on Quaker Valley sports as photographer, coach
John Doucette has been the man behind the camera at Quaker Valley since 1994. “I started taking photos after spending two months traveling Europe prior to my student teaching experience in London,” Doucette said. “I moved to the Pittsburgh area in 1993 with a teaching and coaching position in the...
Quaker Valley girls heat up in 2nd half of season to finish 2nd in section
Quaker Valley finished as the runner-up in Section 1-3A in girls basketball with a 10-4 record. As a result, the Quakers, seeded No. 7, drew No. 10 McGuffey on Feb. 14 in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A tournament. McGuffey finished third behind co-champions Keystone Oaks and Seton...
Quaker Valley boys overcome adversity to claim 21st straight playoff berth
The postseason is a familiar neighborhood for the Quaker Valley boys basketball team. The Quakers have advanced to the playoffs for 21 consecutive years. QV qualified for the WPIAL playoffs this season via a fourth-place finish in Section 2-4A. “As all teams face during a season, we really had our...
