Cheswick Christian Academy seniors hit 1,500 career points in back-to-back games
There are many low probability events with unlikely odds of occurring across the universe. The odds of all the planets lining up within one degree occurs once every 13.4 trillion years. Chances of being struck by lightning twice in a lifetime is about 1 in 9 million. The odds of...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Apollo-Ridge’s Madison Hughley, Burrell’s Ryan Wass
Madison Hughley School: Apollo-Ridge Class: Sophomore Sport: Basketball Claim to fame: Hughley scored 26 points to lead the Vikings (12-10, 6-4) to a 59-46 Section 4-2A win over Frazier on Monday night. She then scored 17 points in a 40-36 win against Riverview on Wednesday and 21 in a victory...
Freeport defense shuts down Knoch, closes off path to playoffsVideo
The Freeport girls basketball team was well aware of what was at stake for its opposition coming into Thursday night’s game against Knoch. “Yesterday at practice, we prepared very hard,” freshman Sydney Reiser said. “We knew it was going to be a big game, knew Knoch was going to try...
After strong season, Kiski School football players earn college opportunities
There were a lot of new and exciting changes surrounding the Kiski School football team in 2025. After coming off their first winning season in three years, posting a 6-3 record in 2024, the Cougars brought in a new coach with new schemes, saw an influx of transfers from the...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Kiski Area’s Jada Blanciak, Cheswick Christian’s Brady Rochkind
Jada Blanciak School: Kiski Area Class: Junior Sport: Basketball Claim to fame: Blanciak scored 26 points as Kiski Area (10-8, 4-5) earned a 44-24 win against Section 2-5A opponent Greensburg Salem on Jan. 24. She then dropped 15 points in a 63-31 victory over West Mifflin on Friday night. When...
Chartiers Valley wrestler Michael Lawrence taking care of business in final year
When entering their senior season of any sport, some high school athletes are aware there is little time left to meet expectations and accomplish the goals they set for themselves. Chartiers Valley wrestler Michael Lawrence entered his senior year with a lot of unfinished business, milestones to reach and a...
Plenty of changes for Chartiers Valley hockey but goal remains the same
Over the last two years, it would be difficult to find a more dominating hockey team in Class A of the PIHL than Chartiers Valley. The Colts finished a combined 37-1 in the regular season and earned an appearance in the state championship game at the end of the 2023-24...
Franklin Regional boys, girls earn team titles at WCCA swim meet
It was a good day to be a Panther at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association swimming championships. The Franklin Regional boys (Class 3A) and girls (Class 2A) won team titles Saturday at Derry. The other team champions were the Latrobe girls (3A) and Mt. Pleasant boys (2A). The Panthers boys...
Deer Lakes boys start fast, earn revenge against cold-shooting Burrell
When Burrell and Deer Lakes squared off in December, the Bucs hit six 3s in the first half, didn’t turn the ball over and held the Lancers’ top scorers in check en route to victory. But in Friday’s rematch on a frigid night, Burrell came out cold to start the...
Alle-Kiski Valley athletes of the week: St. Joseph’s Kasey Cienik, Cheswick Christian Academy’s Joe Rosio
Kasey Cienik School: St. Joseph Class: Senior Sport: Basketball Claim to fame: Cienik scored 15 points for St.Joseph (8-6, 5-3) in a 59-22 Section 1-1A win over Springdale on Monday night. She then scored another 15 points as the Spartans defeated Western Beaver, 71-30, on Thursday night. Another offseason in...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Kiski Area’s Gianna DeVito, Valley’s Baxter Diehm
Gianna DeVito School: Kiski Area Class: Senior Sport: Basketball Claim to fame: DeVito opened the week by scoring 18 points in a 56-29 Section 2-5A win over West Mifflin on Monday. She followed that with 22 points in a 58-46 win against Serra Catholic on Wednesday. Monday’s win helped keep...
Cheswick Christian girls basketball team short on numbers but has ‘ton of heart’
Being an assistant on the Cheswick Christian girls basketball team last year, Nicole Dias had firm knowledge of the team she would inherit coming into 2025-26. Although the roster is small — eight players this season — and inexperienced, returning just two regulars from a year ago, Dias says her...
Cheswick Christian boys basketball prepped for year of milestones
The seniors on the Cheswick Christian Academy boys basketball team have a chance to do something many don’t often accomplish. Last year’s team finished first in the Greater Pittsburgh Division of the Southwestern Christian Athletic Conference (SWCAC) with a 10-0 record and went on to claim the SWCAC championship with...
A-K Valley high school athletes of the week for week ending Nov. 15, 2025
Katie Koehler School: Burrell Class: Junior Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: Koehler scored a goal and had an assist as Burrell (15-8-2) defeated Bedford in the PIAA quarterfinals. She then scored a goal in the Bucs’ 2-1 win over rival Freeport in the semifinal round. Koehler and Burrell’s great season...
Da’Ron Barksdale sparks Steel Valley past Western Beaver to return to WPIAL finals
Moments after his team defeated Western Beaver, 34-7, in the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals Friday night at Dormont Stadium Friday night, Steel Valley running back Da’Ron Barksdale’s was asked how he felt. “My life in high school,” he said, “has come full circle.” After Steel Valley lost to Beaver Falls...
Alle-Kiski Valley athletes of the week: Springdale’s Adele Walter-Vrabel, Deer Lakes’ Peyton Kushon
Adele Walters-Vrabel School: Springdale Class: Freshman Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: Walters-Vrabel propelled the Dynamos (14-2-1) to the quarterfinal round of the PIAA Class A playoffs with a header in overtime to defeat Windber 2-1. What was it like joining a team that won the WPIAL last year in Class...
Clairton survives scare from Jeannette in WPIAL quarterfinals
Going into a game when the Clairton football team is one of the participants, one can expect the scoreboard is going to show crooked numbers early and often. As the WPIAL Class A quarterfinal matchup between the No. 2 Bears and No. 11 Jeannette Jayhawks went into halftime, the numbers...
A-K Valley high school athletes of the week for week ending Nov. 2, 2025
Lily McLaughlin School: Fox Chapel Class: Senior Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: McLaughlin scored the golden goal with 1:38 left in overtime to lift the top-seeded Fox Chapel (19-1-1) to a 1-0 victory over No. 2 South Fayette in the WPIAL Class 3A championship game. The Foxes will look to...
Tight playoff losses end seasons full of highlights for Pine-Richland boys, girls soccer
Fall is a busy time of the year for Pine-Richland’s John Wiegand. As the coach for both the boys and girls soccer teams, his days are usually spent in the never-ending loop of practice and games. But it’s all worth it when his teams can make the playoffs. Both Pine-Richland...
Defense, ground attack lift Highlands past Derry in WPIAL Class 3A 1st round
Not a lot of tricks, but plenty of treats to go around on Halloween night as both Highlands and Derry had their share of mistakes. Led by an opportunistic defense, the Golden Rams came away with a 14-0 win over the Trojans (6-5) in a WPIAL Class 3A first round...
Shady Side Academy gets past Aquinas Academy for record-tying 22nd WPIAL field hockey title
For the third straight year, Aquinas Academy and Shady Side Academy met in the Class A field hockey title game. The Crusaders came in looking to finally get over the hump, having played in the championship game the last four years and coming up empty. The Bulldogs were looking to...
Fox Chapel captures elusive WPIAL field hockey title
The only thing to match the torrential rain at the WPIAL Class 2A field hockey championship game at North Allegheny was the relentless force of the Fox Chapel attack. The No. 2-seeded Foxes (13-3-3) rode a strong wave of offensive pressure to a 2-0 victory over top seed Peters Township...
Sophomore nets OT winner to send Fox Chapel past Plum to WPIAL finals
Ava Stackhouse was just doing what she normally does, hoping it would pay off. The Fox Chapel sophomore forward found herself with the ball on the left side of the Plum defense 64 seconds into overtime and was looking to create something. “I don’t even know what I was thinking,”...
Mt. Pleasant girls soccer in semifinals for 1st time in 3 years
On Saturday, the Mt. Pleasant girls soccer team was finally able to clear a hurdle that has eluded them the last two years. The No. 4-seeded Vikings (14-4-1) defeated No. 12 Shady Side Academy, 2-1, to secure a quarterfinal win in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs and advance to the...
Chartiers Valley makes adjustments, finds stride in rewarding football season
The 2025 season began very rocky for the Chartiers Valley Colts. They came into the year with a new head coach, Steve Spence, who came from Washington & Jefferson College, and had to learn new schemes and new terminology. And as the season opened against South Fayette, they were without...
