Ray Fisher stories, Page 21
Quaker Valley basketball teams reach playoff goals
Oumou “Mimi” Thiero was a dominant force for the Quaker Valley girls team during the 2023-24 regular season. In fact, the 6-foot-4 sophomore guard/forward proved to be one of the leading players in the WPIAL. “Mimi has been excellent,” QV coach Ken Johns said. “She gets a lot of attention...
Club volleyball team with WPIAL stars finds immediate chemistry, success
It’s club volleyball season and one team loaded with talented WPIAL athletes already has brought home a tournament championship. Pittsburgh Elite Volleyball Association’s 17 Premier team took first place at the inaugural Nike Classic Open in Columbus on Jan. 13-14. Maggie Burnham, who played collegiately at Northwestern and Duquesne (when...
Quaker Valley senior drawn to energy of Rutgers rowing team
Quaker Valley’s Lindsay Gledhill, a senior rowing afficionado, took a scientific approach to choosing a college. Rutgers became the crystal clear winner. “I was drawn to Rutgers by the competition, culture of the team, academics and location,” Gledhill said. “Rutgers crew competes in not only the Big Ten but also...
Quaker Valley MS’s Brennan Breisinger adds county title to undefeated regular season
Brennan Breisinger is one of a kind on the wrestling mat. As an eighth grader on the Quaker Valley middle school team, Breisinger began the week of Jan. 29 with an unblemished 24-0 record — with 21 pins and three major decisions — and has placed first in the Allegheny...
Sewickley Academy dedicates basketball court for late coach, athletic director Win Palmer
It was a gratifying yet somewhat sad day at Sewickley Academy. On Jan. 20, the basketball court in the Means Alumni Gymnasium and Events Center was dedicated and named for Win Palmer during Spirit Day. Palmer, beloved former coach and director of athletics at Sewickley Academy, died Aug. 31, 2023,...
Sewickley Academy basketball teams set sights on playoff berths
The Sewickley Academy boys and girls basketball teams are heading into the season’s stretch run. Here’s a look at both teams and where they stand: Girls coming together Sewickley Academy’s girls basketball team ended the first half of section play with a victory, defeating host Shenango, 45-41. It gave the...
Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy teams well-represented at PIHL all-star games
Although in different PIHL divisions, they would jointly make up a formidable starting lineup. Quaker Valley landed five players on the Varsity A Gold all-star team while Sewickley Academy had two selected for the D-2 game. As a group, there are three forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender. The PIHL...
Thomas Jefferson great recalls memorable tryout with Steelers
Gary Gomolak is a big-time name in Thomas Jefferson football lore. Considered one of the best players in team history as a 6-foot-3, 197-pound tight end/safety, Gomolak was one of the most heavily recruited athletes at TJ. Gomolak received offers from Pitt, Boston College, West Virginia, Indiana, Purdue, South Carolina,...
Fisher’s Files: Evan Berger reaches goal, becomes school’s all-time leading scorer
Notebook items from around the South Hills: Thomas Jefferson senior Evan Berger said it was cool to break the all-time leading scoring total in school history in boys or girls basketball. Berger, a 6-foot-4 guard/forward, passed 1989 TJ graduate Karri Miller Lockhart when he netted his 1,358th point Dec. 12...
Deep Quaker Valley wrestling lineup racking up wins
Quaker Valley already has four wrestlers in its 20-win club for 2023-24. Prior to the Allegheny County championships held Jan. 19-20 at Fox Chapel, QV senior Jack Kazalas (22-1), junior Marcus Richey (22-4) and sophomores Bruce Anderchak (21-1) and Matthew Danna (21-3) were 20-match winners. “They all are showing that...
Narrow losses help prepare Quaker Valley boys for 2nd half of section play
Players on the Quaker Valley boys basketball team said “enough is enough.” Three consecutive losses were all they could handle; the Quakers responded with a 54-51 section win against South Allegheny in two overtimes on Jan. 12. The hard-fought victory lifted QV’s record to 2-2 in Section 4-4A and 7-6...
West Jefferson Hills hall of fame set to induct 24 in Class of ’24
There’s a nice symmetry. A group of 24 Thomas Jefferson graduates or district contributors, along with two championship-caliber teams, will be inducted into the West Jefferson Hills School District Hall of Fame in March. It’s the Class of ‘24. TJ graduates who have distinguished themselves in the areas of academics,...
Trio of Thomas Jefferson juniors rises to top of rankings ahead of postseason tournaments
Three of the top wrestlers in the WPIAL — Maddox Shaw, Bode Marlow and Shepard Turk — attend Thomas Jefferson. All three are juniors who were ranked No. 1 in WPIAL Class 2A in their respective weight divisions by Trib HSSN. Shaw closed out the month of December with a...
Senior joining 100-win club highlights strong season for Bethel Park wrestlers
Mason Kernan, a senior at Bethel Park, came away from the star-studded Powerade holiday wrestling tournament with a seventh-place finish at 139 pounds. Kernan defeated Carter Nogle of Mount St. Joseph (Md.) by a 7-5 score, giving him a 2-2 record in the prestigious national event. It also landed the...
Trio of PIHL all-stars helps Bethel Park remain in contention in Class 3A standings
Three Bethel Park hockey players — forwards Ethan Cooley and Anthony Karner and defenseman Zach Mazzacone — earned all-star status this season. Cooley, Karner and Mazzacone, all seniors, were selected to play for the PIHL Class 3A all-star team. All three were proud of their selections. “It’s a great accomplishment...
Before embarking on future in astronomy, physics at Stonehill, Rena Gilligan has goals to meet for Quaker Valley swimming
Stonehill College is a private Catholic institution founded in 1948 and located in Easton, Mass. It has an undergraduate enrollment in the 2,500 range, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 384 acres. The campus is located on the original estate of Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr., with 29...
Quaker Valley hockey playing strong defense, stacking up wins
The Quaker Valley hockey team started 2024 similarly to 2023. With a win. The Quakers edged Shaler, 3-2, on Jan. 4 at Alpha Ice Complex to improve to 11-0-1. The only blemish on the QV schedule is a 3-2 defeat in OT to Indiana on Dec. 7 at S&T Bank...
Quaker Valley girls shake off growing pains, get in win column
Patience and perseverance finally prevailed for the Quaker Valley girls basketball team, as the Quakers kept plugging away through the first four weeks of the season. With a team comprised of three freshmen, six sophomores two juniors and one senior, the QV girls found it difficult to attain their first...
After strong start, Sewickley Academy boys look ahead to section play
Sewickley Academy’s boys basketball team closed out the month of December most impressively. The Panthers won four consecutive games and six of seven down the month’s home stretch. Their only loss during this time was a tense one-point decision Dec. 8 to Serra Catholic. The Panthers followed up with victories...
Fisher’s Files: Quaker Valley’s Bruce Anderchak, Jack Kazalas among WPIAL’s best wrestlers early on
Notebook items from Quaker Valley and Sewickley Academy athletics: Quaker Valley’s Bruce Anderchak (107 pounds) and Jack Kazalas (139 pounds) were ranked first in their weight divisions in the WPIAL 2A individual wrestling rankings for the week of Dec. 25. Anderchak, a sophomore, ended the month with a 15-1 record;...
Quaker Valley swimmers again have high expectations for 2023-24 season
Quaker Valley’s Emily Connors is widely recognized as one of the blue-ribbon swimmers in the WPIAL. She was coached at QV for three years by John Nemeth, who resigned following the 2022-23 season and has been succeeded by former Oakland Catholic/Central Catholic coach Merci McCarthy. “I started coaching Emily as...
Freshmen show potential for Quaker Valley wrestling
Quaker Valley wrestlers Aris Haniotes and Trey Dunlap had a night they soon won’t forget. Both freshman athletes joined the QV wrestling program as varsity starters Dec. 6 at Avonworth in the Quakers’ first match of the season. QV won by a convincing 64-12 final score. Haniotes competed against Tyler...
Quaker Valley hockey out to start new winning streak
Time to kick-start another winning streak. Quaker Valley’s hockey team didn’t experience a loss in the first two months of the PIHL season, posting a 9-0 record through Nov. 30. The Quakers outscored their opponents by a 44-10 margin, allowing 1.1 goals per game and logging three shutouts. No team...
Fisher’s Files: Quaker Valley volleyball players earn all-state honors
Two Quaker Valley girls — Annica Kagle and Vanessa Pickett — were chosen to the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association all-state team in the Class 2A division. Kagle is a senior right-side hitter and a two-time all-state selection. Pickett is a junior setter. “I was honored to be chosen again,” Kagle...
Diamond Run golf pro takes on a different kind of course for charity
Adam Morrison had a Sunday to remember last month. Morrison, head professional at Diamond Run Golf Club in Sewickley, participated Nov. 5 in the world famous TCS New York City Marathon. The 34-year-old Morrison was part of a team of PGA of America golf professionals that ran in the 26.2-mile...
