William Whalen stories, Page 6

Three new coaches in three seasons, temporary leadership and a lack of consistency took their toll on the Gateway boys volleyball program. With the arrival of first-year coach Phil Randolph, those days seem to be over. Couple that with Gateway dropping from Class AAA to AA, and, for the first...

No one ever picked up an easy win around the Petruska household, and those who were lucky enough to do so know they earned it. It didn’t matter what type of game Mars girls basketball coach Dana Petruska was playing with her sons, she never let them win and nothing...

When the ball goes up in the air at Hershey’s Giant Center at 2 p.m. Thursday for the start of the PIAA Class A boys championship game, a team from the North Hills and the other from North Philly will add to the state’s already rich sports rivalry between East...

The Our Lady of the Scared Heart boys basketball team has been playing with emotion all season. The Chargers found themselves in a fast-paced, up-and-down the floor game against District 9 champ Ridgway, and it hit a fever pitch in the final seconds of the first half. OSLH’s Daren DiMichele...

Even with all of its success, WPIAL Class 4A champion North Catholic girls basketball team has been in search of its most complete game of the season, and it seemed like a scare from Blackhawk on Wednesday in the PIAA second round did the trick. After 27 games, the Trojanettes...

One lousy pin. That’s how the Norwin boys bowling team ended its season last year, falling one pin short at the Western Regionals and being denied a spot in the state tournament. The Knights are tired of hearing about it and instead of leaving anything to chance, Norwin went out...

Every coach wishes for the best and wants his or her team to do well, but Penn-Trafford bowling coach Bud Cummins never thought his girls bowling team would wind up being one of the best in the state when the season started. His bowlers proved the long-time coach wrong. “They...

After six years of being a varsity sport, dropping in WPIAL classification, getting a feeder program in place that is starting to churn out young talent, the Plum boys lacrosse team is finally poised to deliver a little payback and start winning some matches. It’s finally the Mustangs’ time to...

To say the Monessen softball team still hasn’t moved on from last season’s heartbreaking loss to rival West Greene in the WPIAL Class A championship game is a gross understatement. The wounds from that game have turned into scars, but the fire in the bellies of the Greyhounds continues to...

Tough losses can do one of two things, divide a team or bring a team together. After suffering consecutive postseason losses to the same team to end the last two seasons, Monessen baseball coach Bill Matush feels like the 2019 Greyhounds are galvanized and have finally bonded as a team....

No team wants to see a section rival in the postseason, but that’s what happened Wednesday night at Fox Chapel. Section 3-5A foes Oakland Catholic and Penn Hills laced them up one last time this season in a rubber match. But this time the stakes were higher. A spot in...

It wasn’t how North Catholic girls basketball coach Molly Rottmann drew it up, but she’ll take it. After seeing her team struggle in nearly every phase of the game during the first half, Rottmann marched her Trojanettes into the locker room trailing by 16 points to a hot-shooting Blackhawk team....

It’s tough not to crack a smile and imagine the possibilities when someone rolls up for a road trip driving a shiny new black Chevy Suburban, but Penn-Trafford wrestler Nick Coy jumped in anyway. The WPIAL Class AAA 138-pound champion, Warriors coach Rich Ginther, three assistant coaches and Ginther’s son,...

At the start of the swim season, Franklin Regional coach Vic Santoro was wondering what kind of team he had. After a strong showing at the Westmorland County Coaches’ Association championships, where the girls took first place for the second year in a row and the boys finished second, Santoro...

Allderdice boys basketball coach Buddy Valinsky gave his team a bit of a break this past week. Light practice is hardly the conventional wisdom going into a matchup against the No. 1-ranked Class 6A team in the state. But this time of year, less is more. The six-time defending Pittsburgh...

Every team needs a little luck while making a championship run. Unfortunately, for Shady Side Academy, Neshannock’s luck came in the form of a late time out by the Indians. Trailing by three points with 18.5 seconds remaining, Shady Side Academy’s Ariana Goitz brought the ball up the floor, had...

Franklin Regional boys basketball coach Steve Scorpion felt a little conflicted last Tuesday night. Scorpion, like many others, traveled to North Hills to take in the WPIAL Class 5A semifinal game between No. 2 seed Penn Hills and No. 3 Moon. A former assistant coach at Penn Hills, Scorpion wanted...

There weren’t any ESPN personalties on hand. No television cameras. There were no live feeds back to a studio host when the Saint Vincent women’s basketball team gathered inside the school’s Carey Center. And, it didn’t matter. The entire Bearcat basketball community, including friends and family, gathered around to watch...

Korry Myers School: Highlands Class: Junior Sport: Basketball Report card: Myers is coming off his best defensive performance of the season in the No. 5-seeded Golden Rams’ 69-61 win over No. 4 Uniontown in Saturday’s WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals. A 6-foot guard, Myers put up 15 points to pace the...

Watching a 21-point first-half lead evaporate over the course of 12 minutes of basketball, Allderdice girls basketball coach Ellen Guillard looked calm, cool and collected on the outside, but she was a nervous wreck on the inside. Guillard watched her team play on its heels for most of the second...

Allderdice boys basketball coach Buddy Valinsky felt pretty confident about his team winning the City League boys basketball title. He walked out of the Dragons locker room wearing a brand new Nike hat with “City League Champions” embroidered on it. “It was something that I’ve never done before,” Valinsky said....

Norwin girls basketball coach Brian Brozeski walked down the hallway outside of the Knights locker room Friday night when out of nowhere a loud roar emerged from the locker room as the door closed. Brozeski smiled. “That’s a nice sound to hear,” Brozeski said. Brozeski had plenty to smile about....

When longtime rivals Allderdice and Brashear take to the court Saturday afternoon and play for the City League boys basketball championship, there will be no secrets or surprises, just straight-up basketball. “We concentrate on what we do well,” Allderdice coach Buddy Valinsky said. “Our focus over the last five games...

When Allderdice third-year coach Ellen Guillard walks her team onto the hardwood floor of Pitt’s Petersen Events Center Saturday to face Obama Academy in the City League girls basketball championship game, things will have come full circle for her and the Dragons. Obama Academy is the team that handed Guillard...

Western Pennsylvanians saw nearly every form of precipitation Wednesday: snow, ice, sleet and rain. Weather conditions forced schools to call a two-hour delay or cancel classes, and it showed on the court. The Deer Lakes and Seton LaSalle girls played like two teams that were on a two-quarter delay during...