Ray Fisher stories, Page 11
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...
Sewickley Academy swimmers find success alongside Quaker Valley teammates
Marcus Zhan is one of a handful of Sewickley Academy students competing in the collaborative swim program at Quaker Valley this season. Zhan, a junior, is joined by his younger brother Augustin, a freshman, along with another freshman, Yourin Li, on the QV boys team. The older Zhan sibling specializes...
Quaker Valley senior headed to Michigan State after getting out of the pool and into a boat
Quaker Valley senior Paige Juliano apparently is a fast learner. After jumping into the sport of rowing for just one year, Juliano, who has a 4.22 GPA, has landed a spot on the Michigan State women’s rowing team. “Funny story about rowing,” she said. “I have been a year-round swimmer...
Sewickley Academy honors former coach, AD at Win Palmer Memorial Classic
The Win Palmer Memorial Classic was a two-day basketball event held Feb. 1-2 at Sewickley Academy. It was held to pay tribute to Palmer, Sewickley Academy’s former beloved coach and director of athletics. “The weekend went wonderfully,” Sewickley athletic director Mike Scerbo said. “We had 11 games over two days...
Sewickley sports notebook: Quaker Valley swimmers look ahead to MAC, WPIAL meets
Anna Fuener is a key member of the Quaker Valley girls swim team. Like the majority of swimmers on the boys and girls teams at QV, Fuener is looking forward to taking a dip into some of the “faster” pools in the area in hopes of lowering event times across...
Quaker Valley wrestlers make impact at WPIAL team tournament
Quaker Valley advanced to the WPIAL Class 2A wrestling dual meet tournament as the No. 4 seed. The Quakers finished with a 2-2 record in the tournament, beating Elizabeth Forward, 54-18, and Freedom, 48-23, before suffering semifinal and consolation-round losses to No. 1 Burrell, 55-13, and No. 3 McGuffey, 44-21....
Depth helps Sewickley Academy boys maintain winning run
The beat goes on for the Sewickley Academy boys basketball team. The Panthers ended January with Section 2-2A wins against Leechburg, Eden Christian, Brentwood and Winchester Thurston and were scheduled to wrap up the month Jan. 31 at home against Propel Braddock Hills. “I’m just really pleased with how our...
Quaker Valley swimmers continue section success ahead of postseason meets
Quaker Valley’s girls swim team improved to 4-0 in Section 2-2A thanks to recent dominating wins against Riverside and Blackhawk. The Quakers defeated Riverside, 79-42, after coasting by Blackhawk, 99-67. Led by senior Margaret Getty, QV racked up a dozen first-place performances against the Panthers. Getty finished first in the...
Championship-winning group of Quaker Valley seniors make college choices official
Quaker Valley held its annual college signing day Jan. 16 with 10 senior athletes formally announcing their college choices. All 10 are PIAA or WPIAL medalists, and each has a GPA above 4.0. Kirsten Close (tennis) signed with at Haverford, Margaret Getty (swimming) chose West Chester, Paige Juliano (rowing), opted...
Quaker Valley boys savor signature win over Avonworth
Quaker Valley’s boys basketball team went on the road to earn perhaps its biggest win of the regular season. The Quakers stunned Class 4A No. 1 Avonworth, 59-56, on Jan. 28 for its fifth consecutive victory and improved to 13-4 overall. Avonworth entered the game with a 6-0 record in...
With her star still on the rise, Quaker Valley’s Mimi Thiero hits 1,000-point mark as junior
Oumou “Mimi” Thiero entered select territory in the Quaker Valley girls basketball progam. The 6-foot-5 Thiero, a junior guard/forward and Division I recruit, recently joined an elite group of Quaker Valley players in the school’s 1,000-point club. Thiero scored 29 points Jan. 20 to reach the career milestone and lead...
Sewickley sports notebook: Kevin Quinn, Quaker Valley hockey reach 500-win milestone
The Quaker Valley hockey team and coach Kevin Quinn won the 500th game in program history Dec. 2 in a 6-2 decision against Chartiers Valley at Mt. Lebanon Ice Arena. “We enjoyed the moment as a program,” said Quinn, the first and only coach of the QV hockey program. “It...
Quaker Valley wrestlers pick up section wins, place at tournaments
The bitterly cold temperatures in January haven’t curbed the efforts of the athletes in the Quaker Valley wrestling program. After celebrating the new year with a second-place showing at the Ed Driscoll MAC Tournament, the Quakers won section decisions at Avonworth, 51-24, and at home against Carlynton, 54-18. QV also...
100-match winners lead Quaker Valley wrestlers at Allegheny County tournament
Quaker Valley junior Bruce Anderchak has dominated in high school wrestling for the past two-and-a-half years. Case in point: Anderchak joined an exclusive club Jan. 15 at home against Carlynton when he secured his 100th career win as a QV grappler. “Bruce has wrestled for more than two-thirds of his...
Quaker Valley notebook: Former Quakers swimmer lends expertise as coach
Did you know that Matt Kwalick, a Quaker Valley assistant swim coach, competed for the Quakers swim team when he was a high school student? “We are super thrilled to have Matt Kwalick as a new assistant this year,” said Margaret Getty, a senior leader on the QV girls team....
Behind 4 Allegheny County champions, Thomas Jefferson wrestling focused on WPIAL team postseason
Thomas Jefferson wrestlers Bode Marlow, Maddox Shaw and Shepard Turk made team history last season as all three won WPIAL championships. Can the three seniors do it again? “We have a balanced team this year with a lot of guys coming up from ninth grade and returning 10th graders,” TJ...
Buzzer-beater boosts Thomas Jefferson boys
His 11th rebound in the game was his most important. Thomas Jefferson junior Nick Trklja grabbed an errant shot inside the paint and scored the game-winning basket at the buzzer to lift his team to a thrilling 73-71 Section 3-5A win Jan. 17 at Peters Township. Near-pandemonium followed as Trklja’s...
