Ted Sarneso stories, Page 2
Chartiers Valley boys overcome adversity, show improvement during playoff season
As the WPIAL playoffs were just set to begin, Chartiers Valley boys soccer coach Bill Douglass knew it wasn’t about where his team was seeded, just that the team was in the postseason for the third year in a row. “Once you get into the playoffs, everyone has a chance...
Mt. Pleasant girls dispatch Shady Side Academy, clear quarterfinal hurdle
Third time’s the charm. The past two seasons for the Mt. Pleasant girls soccer team ended in tough defeats at home in the WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals. But thanks to leading scorer Morgan Gesinski, the No. 4-seeded Vikings (14-4-1) were finally able to clear that hurdle Saturday, with a 2-1...
Crosby accounts for all 5 TDs as Greensburg Central Catholic tops Leechburg, awaits playoff fate
Samir Crosby did everything in his power to make sure his football team still had a shot at making the playoffs. The dual-threat senior quarterback accounted for all five touchdowns as the Centurions (5-5, 3-4) routed Leechburg (7-3, 5-2), 36-7, in a Class A Eastern Conference clash on senior night...
Pine-Richland volleyball takes pride in Spike Out Cancer efforts
When Angela Seman took over as head coach of the Pine-Richland girls volleyball team in 2021, she wanted to teach her players more than just the game. She wanted the girls to learn life skills and make sure they understood that “volleyball and sports end for everyone at some point”...
Defense answers every question for defending WPIAL champion Pine-Richland
Coming into the 2025 season, the Pine Richland football team knew what it had on offense. Top statistical leaders in passing (Aaron “Oobi” Strader), rushing (Maclane Miller) and receiving (Jay Timmons) all returned to an offense that averaged 35.6 points a game last year. More on them later. But the...
Kiski School football leaning on run game, suffocating defense
The Kiski School football team opened the season with a unique opportunity, getting the chance to showcase its talents overseas in a game in Dublin against the National U19 team of Ireland on Aug. 22 as part of the Global Ireland Football Tournament (GIFT), an annual international invitational tournament. The...
Alle-Kiski Valley athletes of the week: Freeport’s Peyton Los, Highlands’ Jerid Kaminski
Peyton Los School: Freeport Class: Senior Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: Peyton scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Burrell on Monday. The Yellowjackets then defeated Knoch, 3-0, on Wednesday evening. Freeport (14-1, 10-0) sits atop Section 2-2A and is getting ready for the playoffs. Tell me about...
Grabowski’s big runs help Penn-Trafford race past rival Franklin Regional
For Penn-Trafford junior running back Ben Grabowski, it was a near-perfect game. The junior saw plenty of green in front of him and was barely touched Friday night as he carried the ball four times for 172 yards (a 43-yards-per-carry average) and scored on three of those carries. That helped...
Alle-Kiski Valley athletes of the week: Fox Chapel’s Clara Koteski, Kiski Area’s Max Mottura
Clara Koteski School: Fox Chapel Class: Junior Sport: Golf Claim to fame: Koteski finished fourth in the WPIAL Class 3A girls golf final with a 7-over-par 79 at Sewickley Heights Golf Club on Wednesday. The top seven finishers qualified for the PIAA championships Oct. 20 at Penn State. Her nine-hole...
Plum girls soccer rolls in regular season, but improvement is key to reach playoff goals
After last season’s 3-0 loss in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals to Fox Chapel, Plum girls soccer coach Jamie Stewart knew his team needed to face more quality opponents. The one school that came to mind was Norwin out of Class 4A. “We wanted to see where we stacked up...
Shoaf spoils alma mater’s homecoming as Southmoreland remains unbeaten with win over Yough
Normally a homecoming elicits feelings of remembrance and allows for reflection of years gone by. Dustin Shoaf, Southmoreland’s coach and Yough’s all-time leading rusher, downplayed most of those feelings as his team rolled into Cougar Mountain in Herminie and came away with a win. “It was just another game for...
Mt. Lebanon pair repeats, Winchester Thurston duo makes comeback at WPIAL girls tennis doubles finals
It didn’t begin well, but it ended all the same. The Mt. Lebanon girls tennis doubles duo of seniors Jackie Tang and Michelle Yang appeared a little off Thursday to start the WPIAL Class 3A final, which was a rematch of last year’s contest as the Blue Devils once again...
Alle-Kiski Valley athletes of the week: Deer Lakes’ Bryanna Simonetti, Highlands’ Ryan Maloney
Bryanna Simonetti School: Deer Lakes Class: Senior Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: Simonetti scored a pair of goals in a Deer Lakes (10-1, 5-1) shutout win over Yough on Wednesday. The Lancers sit in second place in Section 4-2A and have won five games in a row for the second...
Elizabeth Forward pulls away for rout of Greensburg Salem
The opening Class 3A Interstate Conference game between Elizabeth Forward and Greensburg Salem was a one-score contest through a quarter and a half. The Warriors (5-1, 1-0) proved to be bigger and faster, pulling away for a 49-7 victory over the Golden Lions (2-4, 0-1) at Offutt Field in Greensburg....
New coach brings changes to Chartiers Valley girls volleyball
Over the past two-plus years, Cullen Vereb has been an assistant coach on the Peters Township girls soccer team under his father Pat, who is the head coach. When Cullen was contacted by former Chartiers Valley girls volleyball coach Mackenzie Greene about taking the head coaching position with the Colts,...
A-K Valley high school athletes of the week: St. Joseph’s Jillian Bloch, Freeport’s Ethan Crooks
Jillian Bloch School: St. Joseph Class: Junior Sport: Volleyball Claim to fame: Bloch, the Spartans libero, has stepped up when needed. On Tuesday against Springdale, she had to slide into the setter role because of a number of players being out sick. On Thursday, she produced 21 digs to lead...
Penn-Trafford rebounds with dominant performance vs. Kiski Area
Coming off a tough loss to Woodland Hills last week, the expectation was for Penn-Trafford to rebound at home against a struggling Kiski Area team. The Warriors (4-1, 1-1) wasted no time putting up 35 points in the first half en route to a 42-0 drubbing of the Cavaliers (1-4,...
Ben DiNucci, Class of 2025 enter Pine-Richland hall of fame
It all began Thursday, June 12, when the Pine-Richland Athletic Hall of Fame selection committee convened to review numerous submitted nominations for its 2025 class. After careful consideration and adherence to the committee’s bylaws that state five individual athletes and one team must be chosen, the committee had their selections....
Pine-Richland girls golfers have short memories, plenty of talent
The Pine-Richland girls golf team is coming off a brilliant 2024 campaign that included a 12-1 overall record and 11-1 mark in Section 1-3A. The squad finished fifth in the WPIAL team championships. That led coach Jared Slimm to borrow a quote from Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni when speaking...
Pine-Richland boys golfers dismiss doubts, earn shot at successful postseason
As the summer air gives way to a brisker, autumn feel, the regular season begins to wrap up in high school golf and the postseason picture begins to come into focus. The Pine-Richland boys golf team has been playing well all season and has held on firmly to the second...
Derry holds off Burrell in another thrilling finish
Derry and Burrell performed some late-game magic in their games last week against Deer Lakes and Mt. Pleasant, respectively. When the teams squared off Friday night at Trojan Stadium at Derry, all anyone had to do was sit patiently and wait for the last minutes of the fourth quarter. The...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Fox Chapel’s Emily McKee and Kiski Area’s Samuel Plazio
Emily McKee School: Fox Chapel Class: Junior Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: McKee scored a pair of goals in a 7-0 win versus Penn Hills on Tuesday and recorded a hat trick as Fox Chapel (4-1, 2-0) routed Obama Academy, 10-0, on Wednesday night. McKee has scored 45% of the...
Burrell QB Perkins puts on a show in win over Mt. Pleasant
Mt. Pleasant came into its game against Burrell happy to have one half of its running back tandem back in the starting lineup. But what the Bucs brought offensively was something the Burrell fans hadn’t seen in a long time. Sophomore quarterback Antonio Perkins put on a show for the...
Alle-Kiski Valley athletes of the week: Riverview’s Mary Quinlan, Kiski Area’s Austin Beck
Mary Quinlan School: Riverview Class: Junior Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: Quinlan is on fire to begin the season. On Monday, she scored a pair of goals as the Raiders (2-0, 2-0) defeated Greensburg Central Catholic 9-1 to open Class 1A Section 4 play. Two days later, she scored a...
Norwin dominates Kiski Area from start to finish, evens record at 1-1
What a difference a week makes. Coming into their matchup Friday night at Norwin Knights Stadium, the hosts and visiting Kiski Area Cavaliers would experience opposite outcomes from how they finished the week prior. Kiski Area (1-1) came into the game after shutting out Knoch despite racking up more than...
