Other Local category, Page 15
Former WWE, WCW wrestler Virgil, a Wilkinsburg native, dies at 61
Professional wrestling is all about characters and stories — two things Mike Jones is associated with under his wrestling personas. Jones, born in Wilkinsburg and a Pittsburgh area resident most of his life, died Wednesday morning at age 61, according to WWE. Information had been public since 2022 about his...
Valley grad Tyler Santucci takes on latest challenge as Georgia Tech’s defensive coordinator
Last fall, Valley grad Tyler Santucci directed one of the best defenses in the ACC. In his first season as Duke’s defensive coordinator, Santucci oversaw a unit that led the conference in points allowed (19.0 per game) and finished 10th nationally in red zone defense (.744). Those numbers helped Duke...
Preparations underway for 30th annual Freeport International Baseball Invitational
Pitchers and catchers report to the Pittsburgh Pirates training facility in Florida on Feb. 14, and opening day is March 28 in Miami. College baseball teams, both locally and throughout the country, begin their seasons next week. High school baseball preseason practices start March 4 with season openers three weeks...
Quaker Valley MS’s Brennan Breisinger adds county title to undefeated regular season
Brennan Breisinger is one of a kind on the wrestling mat. As an eighth grader on the Quaker Valley middle school team, Breisinger began the week of Jan. 29 with an unblemished 24-0 record — with 21 pins and three major decisions — and has placed first in the Allegheny...
Franklin Regional grad Garrett Thompson making a name for himself with Ohio U wrestling
Throughout his time as a wrestler, Franklin Regional grad Garrett Thompson said he mostly had been an unknown. He never qualified for the PIAA championships in high school, and his college recruiting prospects, at least where bigger schools were concerned, were almost nonexistent. So before this, his redshirt sophomore season...
Latrobe grad Gabe Willochell tapping into wrestling potential after transfer to Wyoming
When Wyoming wrestling coach Mark Branch needed to fill holes in his 2023-24 roster, he did what most college coaches do nowadays: He went looking in the transfer portal. Among the names he found was Gabe Willochell, a Latrobe grad who had spent two seasons competing at Edinboro, qualifying for...
Springdale grad Sean Dugan continues to move up football coaching ladder at Eastern Michigan
The life of a college coach can be, if nothing else, nomadic. Whether it is scouting, traveling for games or taking new jobs, those in the profession are almost perpetually on the move. Springdale grad Sean Dugan knows this firsthand. In May, he was hired as a defensive analyst at...
Monessen fighter Michael Moorer to be inducted into International Boxing Hall of FameVideo
Anytime you’re part of a group of fighters that includes Muhammad Ali, you’re doing something right. Michael Moorer is one of only four boxers, including Ali, to win the heavyweight world title three times, and he was the first southpaw to become heavyweight champ. Born in Brooklyn, Moorer, 55, moved...
Paul Spadafora’s rise to world champion, fall from grace chronicled in ‘Fighting Till The End’
Paul Spadafora was back where he believes he belongs, wearing gloves and working in and around the ring with aspiring fighters last month at Tom Yankello’s World Class Boxing Gym in Ambridge. The former IBF lightweight champion from McKees Rocks, who now resides in Las Vegas, returned to his hometown...
Penn Hills grad Raion Strader makes immediate impact for Miami (Ohio) defense
Raion Strader felt more than prepared once the time rolled around to balance time in the classroom with time on the field with the Miami (Ohio) football program. Enrolling in college early allowed the Penn Hills graduate to understand what he was in for. “I wanted to stay consistent,” Strader...
Valley youth wrestling built on family, community
Valley youth wrestling had meek beginnings when Moe Quin started the program in 1968 at a local YMCA. Today, the growth of the program has led it to be a feeder system for Valley’s middle school and high school wrestling teams. “Consistency and communication have helped drive our increase in...
Diamond Run golf pro takes on a different kind of course for charity
Adam Morrison had a Sunday to remember last month. Morrison, head professional at Diamond Run Golf Club in Sewickley, participated Nov. 5 in the world famous TCS New York City Marathon. The 34-year-old Morrison was part of a team of PGA of America golf professionals that ran in the 26.2-mile...
Kiski Area grad Bella DeVito gets off to solid start in college wrestling career at Lock Haven
When he got Isabella DeVito into the wrestling room at Lock Haven, second-year coach Matt Lackey immediately was struck by her demeanor. For someone who competes in such a high-intensity sport, she was, in Lackey’s words, “very mild mannered.” But once she got on the mat, that demeanor changed. Under...
Lower Burrell’s Mat Factory ‘not a huge gym’ but finding ways to train variety of competitors
If you’re not actually looking for the Mat Factory, you may drive right by it. Situated at 2827 Leechburg Road in Lower Burrell, the Mat Factory has a mat space of just 22 feet by 75 feet, which is just fine with founder Isaac Greeley. “I’ve always loved that atmosphere...
Quaker Valley Wrestling Association building girls program from ground up
The Quaker Valley Wrestling Association appears to have a solid game plan. And QVWA has a prototype to follow off its own successful experience. “We are thrilled to be starting the youth team for girls this year,” president Jason Richey said. “In 2012, we started a boys youth team. It...
Karate instructor hits the road with Team USA
Sensei Dustin Baldis is a true world traveler. His latest adventure as he celebrated his 30th year representing the Team USA karate program took him to Saudi Arabia from Oct. 20-22, Hungary from Oct. 22-30 and Chile from Oct. 30-Nov. 5. “I was traveling (overseas) for three weeks solid,” Baldis...
Cast in bronze: Community College of Allegheny County’s Bill Shay honored by former players, basketball community
Hero. Mentor. Teacher. “If you can go through life and have someone say those three words about you, then you are a miracle, and you, are a miracle,” said Tim Grgurich, of Bill Shay, who dedicated his career to the basketball program at Community College of Allegheny County on Pittsburgh’s...
Hempfield grad Joe Sunder glad to sharpen players’ skills at volleyball clinic
When Joe Sunder got the phone call from coach Sheron Watson asking him to help facilitate a volleyball clinic in Hempfield earlier this month, he couldn’t say no. It helped that he happened to be in the area. “I was in town for a wedding, so I immediately said yes,”...
Kiski Area grad Nick Delp aims to earn elusive NCAA wrestling berth at Bucknell
In his three seasons as a wrestler at Bucknell, Kiski Area grad Nick Delp has had his moments. As a sophomore, when the Bison visited perennial power Oklahoma State, Delp scored a 7-5 decision over the Cowboys’ Wyatt Sheets at 157 pounds. Sheets had been an All-American the previous season...
Local pro Mark Goetz advances to final stage of Korn Ferry Q-school
Mark Goetz secured future starts on the Korn Ferry Tour, but he wants more. The 25-year-old Greensburg native and Hannastown Golf Club member tied for first in the second stage of tour Q-School with a 19-under-par total of 269 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Highland Oaks —...
Mat Factory’s Chris Dempsey brings home bronze in World Combat Games
When Chris Dempsey traveled to Saudi Arabia to compete in the World Combat Games, he was surprised at his experience. “It was not what I expected,” Dempsey said. “Saudi Arabia and Qatar were beautiful places. Everything was brand new, clean, and the people were really nice. Completely the opposite of...
Ligonier’s Sahara Robinson wins dirt bike racing national championship
Sahara Robinson found herself riding her dirt bike with a purpose, looking for her first Grand National Cross Country Series national championship. It was the 11th of 12 rounds of the series in Newburg, W.Va., and the Ligonier youth was determined, no matter the circumstances nor the condition of the...
Sisters from Quaker Valley lead Pennsylvania charge at national youth wrestling tournament
Dublin Parnell, representing Quaker Valley in the 8U/50-pound division, kicked off October as an All-American wrestler. Dublin participated for Team PA Red at the War of Roses Midwest National Duals Tournament in Indianapolis and was the only team member to go undefeated at the weekend event. The talented youth grappler...
Pennsylvania Karate Championships celebrate 50 years
The Pennsylvania Karate Championships are golden in 2023. They also have expanded to two days. The 50th championships, a keystone event in the region since the early 1970s, will be Friday and Saturday in the grand ballroom of the Quality Inn in New Kensington. It is where the event began...
Greensburg Central Catholic’s Dlugos brothers on opposite sides of historic Williams-Amherst football rivalry
Zach and Nate Dlugos are taking sibling rivalry to another level. On Saturday, the Greensburg Central Catholic grads will be on opposite sides of “The Biggest Little Game in America” when the football teams from Amherst and Williams clash. It is the fourth-most played matchup in all of the NCAA...
