Ray Fisher stories, Page 41
Thomas Jefferson grad Lexi Dadig set to play basketball at next level
Lexi Dadig graduated with honors from Thomas Jefferson this spring. A quick, sharpshooting senior guard on the girls basketball team in 2020-21, Dadig plans to extend her playing days at the next level. The 5-foot-5 Dadig will continue her hoops career and education at Saint Vincent, which won the Presidents’...
Bethel Park football to feature deep group of receivers, linemen
A quick dose of Bethel Park football, by the numbers: • There are three quarterbacks listed on this year’s 70-player team roster — senior Max Blanc, a Youngstown State recruit, junior John Barr and freshman Jack Bruckner. “Max will be our leader on offense. We expect great things from him,”...
Defense, passing game to lead Brentwood
There’s a significant number of new faces in the Brentwood lineup this season. But first, returning starters include seniors Jase Keib (QB/DB), Lamarr Williams (WR/LB), Mitchell Fox (WR/DB), Jack Wisenauer (OL/LB), Alec Troy (OL/LB), Tate Jones (RB/NG) and junior Jason Redlinger (FB/DL). “As always, we expect to make the the...
Seton LaSalle looking for stability, improvement after coaching shuffle
Interim coach Chris Siegle is hoping to restore stability to the Seton LaSalle football program. The senior athletes on the 2021 squad have had four head coaches in their varsity careers, starting with Rob Carter in 2018, followed by Mike Zmijanac the past two seasons. Mauro Monz was hired to...
Bethel Park aims to rebound from rare winless season
Bethel Park has been a perennial WPIAL playoff contender on the gridiron. The 2020 season was an aberration. The Black Hawks, coming off 18 consecutive WPIAL playoff appearances and eight winning seasons in a row, did not win a game last fall and finished 0-7. They expect to turn things...
Fox Chapel teen a rising star in climbing world
Gavin Youkers just keeps climbing off the charts. Youkers began rock climbing four years ago at the age of 9 while at Climb North in Wildwood. It was there that his love of climbing was launched by his coach, Justin Mech, and his teammates. “It was fun,” Youkers said. “We...
South Hills notebook: Brentwood Firecracker 5K a success for 1st-time directors
Taylor Lee and Steve Evans were co-race directors of the 38th annual Brentwood Firecracker 5K Run. It was their first year at the helm. “Considering all the unknowns during the planning process and not having enough time to do the traditional big race and celebration, I’m so happy with the...
Baldwin grad Alina Stahl looks forward to senior season at WVU
Alina Stahl has been an accomplished student-athlete since her freshman year at Baldwin. She maintained that status throughout high school and now through three years of competition on the West Virginia women’s soccer team. Stahl, 21, has been a prized recruit for the Mountaineers, both in the classroom and on...
With postseason honors in tow, Bethel Park’s Milliken ready to embark on collegiate career
Bethel Park graduate Reagan Milliken will be taking a loaded resume with her to the Ohio State softball program in the fall. An athletic shortstop who led the Black Hawks to their first WPIAL softball title in school history, Milliken recently was named the Class 6A Player of the Year...
Bethel Park’s Chalus brothers relish final high school season together
The Chalus brothers can almost be considered mirror images. Eric Chalus, 19, stands 6-foot-1, weighs 180 pounds and is a left-handed pitcher. John Chalus, 17, goes 6-foot, 180 pounds as a right-handed hitting catcher. The two were instrumental in the Bethel Park baseball team’s thrilling PIAA championship run in 2021....
Career move out of this world for former Baldwin volleyball player Chris Rampolla
Chris Rampolla has graduated from all-state to all-universe status. Rampolla, a former standout volleyball player at Baldwin, is employed as a robotics software engineer for a company called Astrobotic Technology Inc., with headquarters located on Pittsburgh’s Northside. Astrobotic is the world’s leading lunar logistics company. It specializes in developing space...
Baldwin grad Sean Kealey getting chance to shine in Cardinals organization
After much deliberation, Baldwin graduate Sean Kealey decided to leap into the financial business world with BNY Mellon following a stellar baseball career at Allegheny College. That is, until fate steered him onto a different path with the independent Washington Wild Things. As it turns out, Kealey’s professional baseball aspirations...
Neil Christopher tops among locals again at Brentwood Firecracker 5K
He’s still No. 1. Despite experiencing a pandemic-protocoled gap year in 2020, Brentwood’s Neil Christopher retained his title at the 38th annual Brentwood Firecracker 5K Run held July 4 on Brownsville Road. Christopher, 26, finished first among male runners from Brentwood for the fifth consecutive summer. And this time he...
Annual Brentwood Firecracker 5K returns with a bang
Yoga enthusiast Ann Mazur from Charlottesville, Va., rambled to first place in the female division of the 38th annual Brentwood Firecracker 5K Run held July 4 on Brownsville Road. Mazur, 35, won it with an 18:35 performance, ahead of Gina Bolla, 18, of Whitehall, and Lenna Birchard, 12, of Pittsburgh,...
Speed, versatility help Abby Quickel play key role for Bethel Park softball
Yes, Bethel Park’s Abby Quickel, as her surname suggests, is quick. But as a junior outfielder on the Black Hawks’ WPIAL championship team, the versatile Quickel also displayed her altruism and selflessness. Quickel hit .380 during the WPIAL portion of her team’s schedule and ranked among the team leaders in...
Bethel Park notebook: Owen Peters named U.S. Lacrosse All-American
Owen Peters, a junior goalkeeper on the 2021 Bethel Park boys lacrosse team, was lauded as a U.S. Lacrosse All-American following the spring season. Peters also was voted all-WPIAL and all-section in Class 3A. He made 182 saves and averaged 6.8 goals allowed. “The goalie’s job is to be the general...
Fox Chapel youth baseball standout makes headlines with long ball prowess
Talk about a baseball phenom. Tristan Blum of the Fox Chapel Foxes 12U travel team went 10 for 12 at a recent weekend tournament in Fox Chapel, highlighted by a remarkable stretch in which he socked six consecutive home runs. Tristan, son of Damian and Valerie, finished with seven round...
Brentwood’s Brendel makes impact on diamond, court, classroom
Riley Brendel was not just an outstanding dual-sport athlete at Brentwood. The recent graduate also hit the books with passion. Brendel earned the Senior Scholar Athlete Award at Brentwood for the 2020-21 school year, thanks mainly to his commendable GPA of 3.97. Brendel was the male recipient. Bailey Wertz was...
Senior trio makes impact on Baldwin softball program
There were only three seniors — Beatrice Cook, Lindsay Bonetti and Olivia Los — on the Baldwin softball team this year. Cook, a transfer from Brentwood, was a three-year starter in the outfield. Bonetti was a three-year starter at second base. Los, a first baseman/outfielder, played right field this season....
Large crop of Bethel Park baseball, softball players headed to college diamonds
The senior class on Bethel Park’s PIAA championship and WPIAL runner-up baseball team will be well represented on college diamonds next spring. They include pitcher Eric Chalus (Kent State), catcher/infielder Sawyer D’Andrea (Bethany), pitcher Jimmy Gasper (Saint Vincent), outfielder Shane Hamel (Penn State Wilkes-Barre), outfielder Larry Kusan (Davis and Elkins)...
State championship might be just the beginning for Bethel Park baseball
Eric Chalus, the winning pitcher in the 2021 PIAA Class 5A championship game, was one of three seniors in Bethel Park’s starting lineup along with center fielder Shane Hamel and first baseman Zack Sackett. Next season, the Black Hawks will have starters returning at almost every position, starting with pitcher...
TribHSSN Preseason WPIAL Football All-Star team: Nick Bryan, Thomas Jefferson
The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized July 22 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. A long-standing tradition of the renowned Thomas Jefferson football program is the dominating play...
Thomas Jefferson’s Nick Bryan commits to Kent State
After a frenzied five-month recruiting stretch, Thomas Jefferson senior lineman Nick Bryan offered a verbal commitment to Kent State on Saturday. A dynamic 6-foot-3, 275-pound tackle, Bryan made three visits to the Kent State campus, two football related and one for academics. He projects to play on the interior for...
Bethel Park closer Cody Geddes wraps up state title with clutch performance
Bethel Park’s Eric Chalus and Evan Holewinski proved to be one of the most dynamic pitching tandems in the state this season. Chalus, a left-handed senior headed to Kent State, racked up an impressive 11-0 record and 0.97 ERA, striking out 91 in 72 innings while issuing only four walks....
Bethel Park baseball checked all boxes en route to a state championship
The foundation of a state championship high school baseball team is an outstanding pitching corps, paced by a strong one-two punch. The club also needs solid, clutch hitting. Defensively, it must be steady. All are facets coordinated by a dedicated coaching staff. Bethel Park’s baseball squad successfully checked off all...
