Other Local category, Page 16

Oakmont native and Hannastown Golf Club member Sean Knapp continued his excellent play Wednesday by winning the Westmoreland County Golf Association’s Senior Championship for the second time in four years. His first title came in 2020 at Latrobe Elks Golf Club. Knapp, who won the West Penn Amateur last month...

Athletes are loathe to look ahead on their schedules, preferring to stick to the familiar “one game at a time” mantra. But Lipscomb women’s soccer player Lucy Ream can’t be faulted if she already has Sept. 14 circled on her calendar. That Thursday evening, the Bison open ASUN play by...

Greensburg YMCA gymnasts scored big at this year’s YMCA-USA national championships in Cincinnati. Emma Rost of Greensburg captured national titles in two events. Rost claimed gold medals in the level 4 vault and floor exercises. She also won a bronze medal in the all-around and placed sixth on the bars....

Brothers Tripp, 6, and Deekin Nolan, 5, hit the dek Saturday morning to brush up on their hockey skills. They were among about 20 area kids who got to try out the new Greater Latrobe Parks and Recreation dek hockey rink that had its grand opening at Legion Keener Park...

Last fall was a banner season for the Gateway Midget Football and Cheerleading Association. All four of its football teams — flag (ages 5-6), Termites (7-8), Mites (9-10) and Midgets (11-12) made the Big East Youth Football League playoffs. The Termites, Mites and Midgets advanced to the semifinals. “We’re not...

From inception to completion, Bill Viola Jr.’s latest book, “Common Sensei: How To Earn a Blackbelt in Life” didn’t necessarily have a core audience. Sure, the martial arts crowd was interested because of their vast knowledge of the collective and awareness of influential people in the business, such as Viola....

Hempfield alum and girls golf coach Katie Miller Gee made sure the fourth time was the charm. After three straight runner-up finishes at the Women’s Golf Association of Western Pennsylvania Amateur Championship, Miller Gee returned to the winner’s circle, capturing her second title at the event Tuesday at Sunnehanna Country...

An exemplary amateur golfer in the Pittsburgh area for decades, Nathan Smith can cross another accomplishment off his career bucket list. And this is a big one. Smith, a Brookville native who lives in Ross Township, was selected by the United States Golf Association to captain the 2025 U.S. Walker...

For the third straight season, Max McDowell will be on the doorstep of a major league call-up. A Norwin alum and eighth-year minor leaguer, McDowell received a promotion Monday when he was elevated to the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The 29-year-old catcher played...

A pair of former WPIAL golf standouts will play in a USGA event for the first time. Fox Chapel graduate Gregor Meyer and Plum alum Andrew Reynolds finished 1-2 to advance out of a recent qualifier for the 123rd U.S. Amateur Championship set for Aug. 14-20 in Colorado. Meyer, who...

Avonmore’s Ben Britton drove 16 hours to Lafayette, La., to compete in the 2023 USPA powerlifting championships last month. He certainly made the trip worthwhile. Weighing just less than 162 pounds and competing in the 165-pound weight class, Britton pulled 534.6 pounds in the deadlift portion of the championships. He...

Even as it was happening, even as she and her teammates were jumping around the floor at Duquesne’s UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, the notion of winning a national championship didn’t seem real to Kennedy Christy. The Knoch grad and then-junior on the Juniata women’s volleyball team had — in front of...

After league and regional tournaments where it won six of nine games, the Monroeville Junior Legion team set its sights on making some noise at the Pennsylvania state tournament in Berwick. Things started well with a win in its first game, but a pair of losses in the double-elimination event...

Oh so close. The Penn-Trafford Junior American Legion baseball team finished second at the Pennsylvania State Championships, falling 1-0 to Upper Perkiomen in the finals Aug. 2 at Berwick. It was Upper Perkiomen’s first title in 41 seasons. It lost to Murrysville in the 2022 finals and lost to Connellsville...

Fox Chapel graduate Lexi Quackenbush volunteered for an intense, six-week lesson on what it means to be a good teammate — the Platoon Leaders Class with the Marine Corps in Quantico, Va., this summer. She hopes to take some of those lessons back with her to Bloomsburg University, where she...

Chaminade-Madonna Prep is known for having an elite high school football program in Florida. It has the state championships and high-level talent to prove it. It’s even based in a city called Hollywood, which only adds to the glitz. But the Lions weren’t always King Football in the Sunshine State....

West Point added its 38th Pennsylvania Little League softball title Wednesday. Jocelyn Luft singled home twin sister Jayelyn Luft with the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning as West Point edged Williamsport, 2-1, in the 11U girls championship at Wellsboro. Jayelyn Luft was the winning pitcher. The...

There have been shoot-arounds and pickup games on the new basketball courts at the Barnes Street Playground for a couple of months since they officially opened in the spring. Ian Benson said he believes the current Kings & Queens of the Court summer youth basketball program at the park is...

Eight teams have qualified with two more to be decided this week as anticipation grows for the 71st Dick’s Sporting Goods PONY League World Series on Aug. 11-16 in Washington, Pa. The world will be watching as four U.S. Zone winners, the host team from Washington County, the host area...

Penn-Trafford Junior Legion baseball team kept its championship hopes alive on Tuesday by defeating Lower Southampton, 9-3, in the state tournament at Berwick. Penn-Trafford must defeat Upper Perkiomen twice Wednesday to earn the title. Upper Perkiomen defeated Penn-Trafford, 6-4, on Monday. Upper Perkiomen reached the championship game by defeating Back...

The West Point 11U girls softball team is one victory away from clinching the league’s 38th state title. Monday, the Luft twins, Jocelyn and Jayelyn, led West Point to a 9-1 victory against Williamsport in the semifinals at Wellsboro. Jayelyn Luft twirled a one-hitter, striking out 12 and allowing one...

The Freeport International Baseball Invitational wasn’t immune to Mother Nature’s adverse weather conditions as lightning Friday and rain Saturday dampened the momentum of a week’s worth of youth baseball at a half-dozen fields in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Chuck Sarver, president of the Freeport International, said despite the temporary rough weather,...

Kevin Fajt made it a three-peat July 23 by winning his sixth Westmoreland County Golf Association amateur title and third in a row. The South Greensburg mayor and Hannastown Golf Club member edged Willowbrook Country Club member Andrew Reynolds by two strokes on the tough Willowbrook course. Fajt shot a...

It was the Ethan Septak show for the Penn-Trafford Junior baseball team Sunday at the Pennsylvania Junior Legion state tournament. Septak tossed a one-hitter and helped his cause with three hits, including two doubles, to lead Penn-Trafford to a five inning 11-1 victory against Saegertown at Berwick. Logan Matrisch had...