Ray Fisher stories, Page 12
South Hills Record notebook: Thomas Jefferson football fills trophy case with postseason honors
A tip of the cap (or is it helmet?) goes out to Thomas Jefferson football coach Bill Cherpak for being named Trib HSSN football coach of the year in Class 4A. Cherpak and his staff guided the Jaguars to a WPIAL 4A title, PIAA semifinal-round appearance, 10-0 regular-season record, the...
Baldwin boys celebrate signature win, milestone for Nate Wesling
It could be considered the basketball game of the year at Baldwin. Trib HSSN Class 5A No. 4 Baldwin met Class 3A No. 1 South Allegheny in a nonsection clash Jan. 16 on the Highlanders’ home court. Two WPIAL hoops heavyweights. Baldwin, previously ranked No. 1 in 5A, prevailed with...
Elite 18 club volleyball team dominates field in season-opening tournament
The Pittsburgh Elite 18 girls volleyball team started off its club season impressively. Coached by Maggie Smith and Alyson Londot, Elite 18 won the Pittsburgh Ice Breaker Tournament in its division Jan. 11 at the All American Fieldhouse in Monroeville. Not only did they go undefeated in the tournament, they...
Pierce Reinhart claims 121-pound title, helps Bethel Park to runner-up finish at Allegheny County tournament
It’s been a banner season for the Bethel Park wrestling team in 2024-25. And the Black Hawks’ success continued at the Allegheny County tournament held Jan. 17-18 at Fox Chapel. Bethel Park placed second to Thomas Jefferson, which won the tournament with a record-breaking performance. The Black Hawks racked up...
Gymnasts ring in new year at high school invitational
Hundreds of high school gymnasts and USAG competitors participated in the three-day Happy New Year Invitational on Jan. 3-5 at Kiski Area. It was planned and organized by coach Renee Ruggeri, owner of Ultimate Gymnastics in Delmont, with participants traveling chiefly from Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. “This was not...
Injury sidelines Sewickley Academy’s Emma Eannarino
Sewickley Academy sophomore Emma Eannarino was averaging a team-leading 15 points, 4 steals and 5 rebounds per game earlier this season. A 5-foot-4 point guard, Eannarino picked up where her older sister and role model Libby left off at Sewickley. Libby, now a freshman at Vanderbilt, led the Panthers in...
Quaker Valley’s Bruce Anderchak becomes program’s 7th wrestler to reach 100 wins
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...
Small but mighty Quaker Valley swimmers off to fast start
The Quaker Valley boys swim team has just seven competitors, including three from neighboring Sewickley Academy. “Small but mighty” is the mantra for both the boys and girls squads at QV. “When you have a small team, everyone counts,” coach Mercedes McCarthy said. “I like to think we are small...
Behind Thiero’s double-double pace, Quaker Valley girls off to strong start in Section 1-3A
Quaker Valley’s Oumou Thiero has a rich basketball heritage. But she is inspirational both in and away from the gym. For example, the 6-foot-5 junior on the girls basketball team annually travels with her family back to her parent’s hometown of Segou, Mali, with basketball shoes, athletic equipment, food and...
Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy athletes made 2024 a golden year to remember
On Jan. 1, Trib HSSN published its annual list of athletes who won WPIAL championships in the previous year. Seven Quaker Valley athletes and one at Sewickley Academy were included. At QV, Cecilia Montagnese starting things off in the fall season by taking first place in the girls cross country...
Son of Quaker Valley AD embarks on career in college basketball
Michael Mastroianni, son of Quaker Valley’s athletic director/boys basketball coach with the same name, graduated from Ohio State in 2021. Mastroianni majored in finance and had a minor in coaching education. Since college, he has juggled career paths in both basketball and business. He currently is the chief of staff...
Sewickley sports notebook: Quaker Valley wrestlers take 2nd at MAC tournament
Quaker Valley’s wrestling team ended up second at the Midwestern Athletic Conference championships held Jan. 4 at Laurel. “I thought this year’s MAC tournament was exciting, fun and well-run,” QV coach Austin Heinl said. “We finished in second place as a team and finished with seven medalists. We had the...
Sophomore point guard Emma Eannarino sparks Sewickley Academy girls
Emma Eannarino has tackled an important role on the Sewickley Academy girls basketball team despite being only a sophomore. “Emma will continue to be called upon to display her leadership skills as the season progresses due to her position as the point guard,” SA coach Jill Capozzi said, “but also...
Playing under 3rd head coach has helped make Nolan Donnelly a more complete player, leader at Sewickley Academy
Nolan Donnelly has had an unconventional basketball career at Sewickley Academy as a four-year starter. The 6-foot-4 senior forward has had three different head coaches in charge of the program since his freshman season. Donnelly was coached by Win Palmer for two years, followed by Jim Dudas last season and...
Freshman Keira Watson makes immediate impact for Quaker Valley girls
Keira Watson loves to play basketball. And it shows. The 5-foot-7 freshman guard stepped into Quaker Valley’s starting lineup at the season’s onset and has displayed steady improvement since then for the Quakers. “Without that love, it’s hard to really improve consistently,” QV coach Ken Johns said. “Keira’s one of...
Quaker Valley boys find stride in early season tournaments
It was tournament time for the Quaker Valley’s boys basketball team in the first week of the season. The Quakers swept through the Lake Ethel Classic held Dec. 6-7 at Derry, rolling past Class 5A Laurel Highlands, 65-29, and Class 4A Derry, 58-27, in the two-day event. “We had good...
Sewickley Herald notebook: College offers piling up for Quaker Valley’s Mimi Thiero
The number of college offers received by Quaker Valley basketball standout Mimi Thiero seemingly increases from week to week. “My recruiting process has been going really well,” Thiero said. “I enjoy talking to all of the college coaches and hearing about their programs.” An updated list of offers the 6-foot-5...
Sewickley Academy boys deliver 1st win to coach Mike Iuzzolino
The game of basketball has taken Mike Iuzzolino, Sewickley Academy’s first-year boys hoops coach, to Europe and back. Iuzzolino’s focus Dec. 7, nonetheless, was at 315 Academy Ave. in Sewickley for a nonsection game against Riverview. The Panthers steamrolled past the Raiders, 56-28, to give the retired professional basketball player...
Quaker Valley wrestlers show potential, win 2 titles at Chartiers-Houston tournament
Quaker Valley secured fifth place at the season-opening Chartiers-Houston wrestling tournament held on the weekend of Dec. 6-7. QV coach Austin Heinl believes it was a good learning experience for his team, but he has loftier expectations for the Quakers in 2024-25. “I think the Chartiers-Houston tournament was a great...
Quaker Valley hockey passes tough early season test
The Quaker Valley hockey team passed its first major test of the season with flying colors. The Quakers defeated Chartiers Valley, 6-2, on Dec. 2 at Mt. Lebanon Ice Center in a battle of two of the top teams in the PIHL Class A Gold Division. QV remained undefeated at...
Baldwin’s Jeff Ackermann celebrates 400th victory
It was a day of celebration for the Baldwin boys basketball team. The Highlanders (2-0) defeated Altoona, 73-49, on Saturday to give coach Jeff Ackermann his 400th career victory. Ackermann posted a 224-116 record in 13 seasons at Moon, was 126-35 in six years at Pine-Richland and improved to 50-43...
South Hills Record notebook: Baldwin volleyball coach honored
A tip of the cap to Jason Jonas, Baldwin’s first-year girls volleyball coach who was named the Big 56 Coach of the Year in Section 1-4A. “I think Baldwin’s volleyball program is getting back to its winning ways,” Jonas said. “We had a super young team in a highly competitive...
Baldwin spotlights wide array of alumni working in sports media
Baldwin is becoming known as a school that produces a mass influx of professionals in the sports media industry. The long list of Baldwin alumni in the business includes Austin Bechtold (93.7 The Fan), Cory Berger (JRM Sports), Nathan Breisinger (Pittsburgh Sports Now), Marc Cardillo (Pittsburgh Penguins, JRM), Kevin Gorman...
Brentwood girls eye return trip to WPIAL postseason
The Brentwood girls basketball team is looking to build on last year’s WPIAL playoff season. Brentwood finished third in Section 2-2A with a 6-4 record a year ago behind co-champions Fort Cherry (9-1) and Burgettstown (9-1). “I’m very excited for this season,” coach Rachel Thomas said. “We have a solid...
With deepest lineup in years, Brentwood boys excited about season’s possibilities
The Brentwood boys basketball team had a great deal of anticipation for the tipoff of the 2024-25 season. And it started with their veteran coach, Dan Thayer. “Our expectations for this year’s team are high,” Thayer said. “We return eight players from last year’s team and have added three new...
