Other Local Sports category, Page 58
Norwin grad on track to make U.S. goalball squad for Paralympic Games
The packed arena will be filled for the biggest tournament of Calahan Young’s career, and everyone watching will be on the edge of their seats to find out who scores next. The only catch is the players won’t witness any goals or diving saves. That’s because they are all legally...
Swimmer Leah Smith setting sights on qualifying for another Olympics
Oakland Catholic graduate Leah Smith is making good progress in her quest to make the Olympic Games this summer in Tokyo. Smith, who will turn 25 in April, produced this year’s fastest time in the world in the women’s 800-meter freestyle in 8 minutes, 23.46 seconds in the TYR Pro...
USL Championship suspends league play for at least 30 days
The United Soccer League has announced the USL Championship has temporarily suspended the 2020 season for a minimum of 30 days because of health concerns surrounding the coronavirus. USL Championship Temporarily Suspends Play pic.twitter.com/lUwfXvnIbl— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) March 12, 2020 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC was set to begin its season this...
Gateway grad set to represent Team USA at Para Powerlifting World Cup
Next week, Blaze Foster competes in one of the biggest events of his life when he represents Team USA at the Para Powerlifting World Cup in Bogota, Colombia. How Foster, a 2007 Gateway grad, got to the point to competing on an international stage is a case of hard work...
Little Leagues organizations weigh use of ‘Astros’ as team name
More than a decade ago, Little League Baseball Inc. introduced “I won’t cheat” patches to be worn during the Little League World Series. Some Western Pennsylvania Little League districts are asking themselves, then, if it sends the wrong message if some in-house teams still are named after a franchise sanctioned...
Gateway grad enjoys Masters swimming success
A connection she made at a meet two years ago has Gateway alum Janet (Bieno) McDonough sitting on top of the Masters swimming world. McDonough, 61, of Cranberry, is first in the FINA Short Course Meters 2019 rankings in the 240-279 combined age group in the women’s 200 medley relay...
Franklin Regional tennis player starts program to introduce kids to sport
A Murrysville nonprofit that provides free tennis training to special needs and disadvantaged children age 8 to 13 is expanding to include children of veterans. My Ground Strokes CEO Anup Nadesan said he recruited two veterans as digital and program managers. Nadesan, a Franklin Regional junior boys tennis player, and...
Murrysville native headed to World Championships with U.S. ball hockey team
When Matthew Fischetti was 16, he had visions of following in his older brother Tyler’s footsteps by being a member of the USA junior ball hockey team. After trying out, he didn’t make the cut. The news was tough, but it lit a fire under him to train for the...
Franklin Regional Junior Olympic team sends 11 wrestlers to state championships
Eighteen members of the Franklin Regional Junior Olympic (JO) wrestling team earned top-four finishes at the recent Area III state qualifier held Feb. 16 at Franklin Regional Senior High School. Six wrestlers earned first-place finishes, Area III champion designations and spots in the 2020 PJW state tournament. Another five earned...
A-K Valley Sports Hall of Fame tickets available
Tickets are available for the 51st Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame banquet at 7 p.m. May 16 at the New Kensington Quality Inn. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased by contacting Larry Lutz at 724-822-3695 or Bill Heasley at 724-882-3079. Inductees are: • Chris Como, Burrell and Pitt-Johnstown...
Pleasant Hills Middle School varsity cheer team places sixth in nation
The Pleasant Hills Middle School varsity cheer team was a national finalist this season. The PH girls qualified for the National High School Cheerleading Championship, held Feb. 7-9 at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. A total of 28 teams competed in the varsity division; 12 qualified for the semifinals....
‘March Mayhem’ boxing card in Cheswick will feature local, regional fightersVideo
Local promoter Derek Gionta of Plum is excited to see more boxing events happening in the Steel City. “A friend of mine is doing cards three or four times a year, plus you have the Meadows and the Rivers casinos,” said Gionta, who is promoting a March 7 card, “March...
Fox Chapel’s Chip Ganassi celebrates race team’s 30th anniversary
When Chip Ganassi was a young kid, he always found himself on something with an engine. Whether it was a go-kart, a dirt bike, a snowmobile or a car, Ganassi loved to just go. “I sort of had a fossil-fuel-fired youth,” Ganassi said. “I was always racing one thing or...
Registration open for 2021 Drive, Chip and Putt competition
Youth golfers from across the country will once again get to compete in the annual Drive, Chip and Putt competition, set to begin at hundreds of golf courses in the spring. The 2021 competition is for golfers ages 7-15, who are broken up into four divisions. Players take part in...
Former Penn-Trafford athletic trainer Larry Cooper heading to national hall of fame
Despite retiring from his position as a long-time athletic trainer at Penn-Trafford at the end of the 2017-18 school year, Glen “Larry” Cooper has remained quite active in his profession. He has fanned out on a national level as the secretary of the National Athletic Trainers Association. While he may...
Demetrious Cox, Jeannette alum, set to begin next phase of football career in revived XFL
Demetrious Cox has not played in a football game since this past NFL preseason, just before the Cincinnati Bengals released the former Jeannette star. Which explains why he can’t wait to suit up and sprint onto the field Sunday to begin his XFL career. “It’s an amazing feeling,” Cox said....
Franklin Regional grad Jared Smith climbs rankings in karate
Jared Smith’s journey at USA Karate’s senior level — ages 18-34 — still is in its early stages, but the Murrysville resident and 2019 Franklin Regional graduate continues to prove he is one of the best at this level in the country. The 19-year-old freshman at Carnegie Mellon put his...
Local teams come together to celebrate women’s sports
There was a celebration of women’s sports Thursday night. Pittsburgh’s women’s sports teams gathered at the Thelma Lovette YMCA in the Hill District for the second annual Girls and Women Sports Event. The event’s aim was to celebrate women in sports and inspire female athletes in Pittsburgh to realize the...
Chartiers Valley grad Christian Kuntz gets new football life as XFL long snapper
The XFL is back, and it will look different this time. The original league lasted only one season in 2001, marred by spotty play, poor TV ratings and outlandish sideshows more associated with co-founder Vince McMahon’s primary endeavor, the WWE. The latest incarnation of the XFL — the season runs...
Norwin alum Tommy Shirley joins Washington Wild Things
A former WPIAL Most Valuable Player from Norwin is joining the Washington Wild Things. Left-handed pitcher Tommy Shirley, a former Houston Astros draft pick with Triple-A minor league experience, was acquired by the local Frontier League team from the New York Boulders. “We are excited to give Tommy the opportunity...
Wild Things to host Frontier League All-Star Game
The top talent in the Frontier League will again be descending upon Washington, Pa. For the third time, the Washington Wild Things will host the Frontier League’s All-Star Game. The 2020 independent baseball league event is scheduled for July 15 at Wild Things Park. “The Frontier League is extremely pleased...
Pittsburgh Open to welcome some of world’s top squash players this week
Since he was a young boy, Chatham University freshman Abdul Malik Khan has had a dream of being one of the top squash players in the world. The 20-year-old Pakistani will get to face some of them in the Pittsburgh Open this week at the Rivers Club in Downtown Pittsburgh....
Plum native Oravitz finding his way through junior hockey ranks with college on horizon
In his first full season playing junior hockey, Plum native Cole Oravitz has learned keeping a positive mindset is important to success. Oravitz transferred from the USHL’s Madison Capitols to the Minnesota Magicians of the NAHL and dealt with a nagging wrist injury for two months. He worked through the...
McCauley, Corley, Dumm headline Mon Valley Hall of Fame class
Yough graduate Ben McCauley is one of six inductees in the the 2020 Mon Valley Sports Hall of Fame class. The class will be inducted at the 27th annual banquet June 19 at St. Spyridon Hellenic Center in Monessen. The banquet begins at 5:30 p.m. Others inducted are Mon Valley...
Distinct WPIAL flavor to Shippensburg men’s basketball teamVideo
Shippensburg handed No. 9 IUP its only loss of the season. The Raiders did the same to No. 8 West Chester. Knocking off elite programs is nothing new for the emerging men’s basketball program, not since Latrobe native Chris Fite became coach seven years ago. He has transformed Shippensburg from...
