Ted Sarneso stories, Page 8
A-K Valley Senior Spotlight: Springdale’s Brooke Taliani
Brooke Taliani’s high school soccer career did not get off to the best of starts. As a freshman, she missed most of the season after having knee surgery. Then, after she recovered, she twisted both of her ankles. In her sophomore year, Taliani struggled to come back from those injuries,...
Chartiers Valley slugger Lily Duffill commits to No. 1 college choice, Penn State
Chartiers Valley junior Lily Duffill always had the goal of playing Division I softball. It’s an added bonus that she will get to do so at her No. 1 school. The catcher announced earlier this month that she would be continuing her academic and athletic career at Penn State. “They...
After undefeated season, Chartiers Valley hockey still has unfinished business
Anyone affiliated with the Chartiers Valley hockey team will tell you they expected to improve in 2023-24 after winning only six games the prior season. No one, however, expected the season to unfold the way it did. “We were a lot deeper, played a lot of young guys,” said coach...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Riverview’s Hannah Hudack, Deer Lakes’ Collin Rodgers
Hannah Hudack School: Riverview Class: Sophomore Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: Hudack scored the game-winning goal with under 12 minutes left to go in No. 10 Riverview’s WPIAL Class A first-round upset win against No. 7 Waynesburg on Tuesday night. What was your reaction to scoring the game-winning goal on...
Deer Lakes cruises past Burrell, ties school record for most wins in a season
Deer Lakes already had clinched a playoff berth before its game against Burrell began Friday. The only question that remained was where the Lancers would finish in the conference. The Lancers’ victory, coupled with Imani Christian’s win over Freeport, gave them second place in the Class 3A Allegheny 7 Conference....
Westinghouse, Allderdice to collide again with City League championship on the line
There will be no surprises when Allderdice (5-4) and Westinghouse (7-1) meet in the City League championship game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Cupples Stadium. The schools have faced each other a lot over the last few years. It will be the third time in four years they have met...
Deer Lakes boys shut out North Catholic again, advance to WPIAL semifinals
It’s always tough beating a team three times in a season. But the Deer Lakes boys soccer team did it against North Catholic on Thursday with a WPIAL Class 2A semifinals berth on the line. The third-seeded Lancers beat the sixth-seeded Trojans, 3-0, at Lancer Stadium in West Deer. Earlier...
Fox Chapel ends field hockey reign of 8-time defending WPIAL champ Penn-Trafford
With four minutes to go in a tense tie game, Fox Chapel sophomore forward Emma Srodes brought the ball through the Penn-Trafford zone on a change of possession and fired a shot from 10 yards. “We’ve been practicing that shot a lot in practice, the shot when I take the...
Mt. Pleasant girls roll past McGuffey in soccer playoffs, get rematch with Burrell
When the final horn sounded on the Mt. Pleasant girls soccer victory over McGuffey on Tuesday night, there wasn’t much in the way of celebration from the Vikings bench. The players had the look of determination, that this win was just a box checked on their journey to the WPIAL...
Deer Lakes settles in after ‘nervous’ first half, shuts out Hopewell in boys soccer playoffs
For three consecutive years, Deer Lakes and Hopewell have faced each other in the first round of the WPIAL boys soccer playoffs, with each team taking a victory. In the third rendition Monday night at Lancer Stadium in West Deer, the No. 3 Lancers (16-2-1) shut out No. 14 Hopewell...
A-K Valley Senior Spotlight: Freeport’s Ben Brestensky
Ben Brestensky is a young man of few words. When asked about the Freeport boys cross country team winning the title at the Bald Eagle Invitational at White Oak Park on Oct. 5, the senior gave a very short answer: “It felt really good to win.” Even though he’s a...
A-K Valley high school athletes of the week: Week ending Oct. 20, 2024
Kate Giannetta School: St. Joseph Class: Junior Sport: Volleyball Claim to fame: Giannetta, a setter for the Spartans, produced 17 kills and had nine aces in her team’s win over Riverview on Tuesday. She followed that performance with 12 kills and five aces on Thursday in a victory against Apollo-Ridge....
Freeport football team clinches playoff spot, stomps East Allegheny
Freeport knew what was on the line Friday against East Allegheny Friday night. Win, and it would be in the playoffs. Lose, and the picture would get muddy. From the jump, the Yellowjackets were determined to make it to the playoffs for a 34th time after missing out on the...
Mt. Lebanon wins 15th WPIAL girls tennis team title, North Catholic earns 1st
For the second time in three years, the Class 3A WPIAL girls tennis team championship came down to the match involving Mt. Lebanon junior Michelle Yang. Just like 2022, Yang came through, although in different circumstances, to give the top-seeded Blue Devils a 3-2 win over defending champion and No....
A-K Valley Senior Spotlight: Valley’s Alexandra Thomey
It’s rare in sports for teammates to have to compete against each other for a chance to move on in a playoff format. Valley senior tennis player Alexandra Thomey encountered that exact scenario when she and her sister Karrigan had to play their teammates Sophie Harclerode and Lena Fabian for...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Freeport’s Samantha Liput, Fox Chapel’s Aidan Stein
Samantha Liput School: Freeport Class: Senior Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: On Oct. 5, Liput scored a goal in Freeport’s 4-2 win against North Catholic. On Monday, she scored the winning goal in double overtime to defeat Burrell, 2-1. The win put Freeport (11-1-1, 8-1-1) in the driver’s seat heading...
Highlands bottles up Burrell star Trey Coury, rolls to victory
At halftime of Friday’s Class 3A Allegheny 7 Conference showdown between Burrell and Highlands, the Golden Rams marching band played Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.” Bucs star running back Trey Coury saw plenty of love from the Highlands defense as he was held to 18 yards on 20 carries, and...
Kiski School football on upswing, building for future
Heading into the fifth game of the season against Penn Charter on Sept. 27, Kiski School football coach David Buran knew his team was not going to have an easy go of it. “We each have played a common opponent this season and, using the transitive property, it’s going to...
A-K Valley Senior Spotlight: Springdale’s Nathan Dubas
After the Springdale Dynamos boys soccer team lost its top goal scorer from last year to graduation, senior Nathan Dubas felt it was his responsibility to step up and assume that role for himself. “I wanted to step up and be that guy this season. I knew I had to...
Freeport moves through postseason after perfect section record
If all the seasons of Freeport boys golf could be compiled into a book, and each season had its own chapter, the 2024 team’s season would have the heading of “Unique and Special.” The Yellowjackets finished the season 14-2 overall and, for the third consecutive season, went undefeated in section...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Kiski Area’s Lauren Ciuca, Deer Lakes’ Cuyler Crim
Lauren Ciuca School: Kiski Area Class: Senior Sport: Cross country Claim to fame: Kiski Area girls cross country finished first in the Section 4-3A championship Oct. 2 at Northmoreland Park. Ciuca led all five Cavaliers runners with a time of 20 minutes, 17.70 seconds and finished in third place. This...
Mt. Pleasant springs to life in 2nd half to get past Greensburg Salem
The first half of the Class 3A Interstate Conference matchup between Mt. Pleasant and Greensburg Salem was the epitome of a sleeper. Neither team could get much of anything going through the air and did limited damage on the ground. The Vikings amassed 141 total yards in the first half...
Mt. Lebanon, Quaker Valley tandems capture WPIAL girls tennis doubles gold
In the first set of the Class 3A girls tennis doubles match Thursday between top-seeded Mt. Lebanon and second- seeded Shady Side Academy, the Blue Devils needed to rally in the first set and used momentum to sweep the Bulldogs in the second. The Mt. Lebanon junior duo of Jackie...
McGuffey’s Logan Crowe holds off tight field to capture WPIAL Class 2A golf championship
On a day when dark skies finally gave way to sun, McGuffey senior Logan Crowe remained focused on his play and expanded on his one-stroke lead to win the WPIAL Class 2A golf championship Wednesday at Sewickley Heights Golf Club. “It feels amazing to be a champion,” said Crowe. “I...
Up and down year for Kiski Area boys golf ends just short of team playoffs
The Kiski Area boys golf team had high hopes coming into this season. Last year, the Cavaliers had a 10-6 overall record, went 8-4 in Section 4-3A and finished tied for third in the section, missing the playoffs by one win. They joined Section 1-3A this year and finished 10-6...
