Other Local category, Page 59

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds worked hard to earn home-field advantage in the playoffs. They will get to use it for the second straight weekend, this time against two-time defending champions Louisville City FC at 7 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals of the USL Championship Eastern Conference. “We’re ready to go. We’re...

Bradford Woods product Michael Grady is headed toward a spot on next year’s U.S. Olympic rowing team. Grady, 23, is one of 24 candidates for 14 spots among the eight, four and pair that will compete next summer in Tokyo, USRowing men’s coach Mike Teti said. The team will be...

The 47th annual Pennsylvania Karate Championships are coming to the A-K Valley. On Nov. 9, Valley High School will host the annual event as competitors from all over the state compete for top honors in the karate championships. It is an open tournament, so ages of contestants will range from...

Roger Huston, track announcer at The Meadows for the last four decades, has announced his retirement from day-to-day duties at the Washington County harness racing venue. His last day will be Saturday. Huston, 77, called his first race at The Meadows on Feb. 8, 1976. He’s been behind the microphone...

Neco Brett’s goal in the 71st minute was one of many indelible moments created by the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Saturday night at Highmark Stadium. The Riverhounds ended a 15-year drought without a playoff victory in style, crushing 10th-seeded Birmingham Legion, 7-0, in the USL Championship Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Brett, a...

When running back John Gay started putting up big numbers at Penn-Trafford, colleges took notice. Lafayette, an FCS school in eastern Pennsylvania, was among them. As Gay’s performances continued to surge, more colleges took notice. Bigger colleges. Once FBS schools came knocking, Gay said, many of the smaller schools backed...

Former North Allegheny swimmer Jen MacKay Williams expects her induction into the University of Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame on Nov. 1 to get her some cred around her house. “At this stage of life, where my world is consumed with my kids and their sports, it’s nice to have...

Scott Houseman decided it was best to attend a junior college when he was coming out of Yough so the mountain of a lineman could hone his skills and potentially land larger scholarship offers. His plan is taking shape. The 6-foot-4, 295-pound freshman offensive lineman who initially saw playing time...

He did not hit a home run or strike out a batter, but Cody Elias played a significant role for Oakland A’s during their run to the American League wild-card game. In his first year with the organization, the 30-year-old Jeannette native garnered significant attention for his role on “A’s...

Dick Groat spent 40 years as part of the broadcast team calling University of Pittsburgh men’s basketball games. But the 2018-19 season was his last with good friend and broadcast partner Bill Hillgrove. Though the 88-year-old was disappointed when the university decided to part ways with him, he still loves...

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds are preparing for the USL playoffs, but they’re also participating in the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank’s fight against hunger. The Riverhounds hosted a Hunger Action Night at Highmark Stadium on the South Side, and HoundsTV host Justin McCauley joined the food bank’s Brian Gulish for this...

The landscape of independent, professional baseball changed significantly Wednesday, as the Frontier League — the oldest independent league in the country — announced it will be absorbing five teams from the Can-Am League in a merger for the 2020 season. A process that started two years ago, according to Frontier...

Demetrious Cox is ready to start a new chapter in his football career. The former Jeannette and Michigan State standout was selected Wednesday in the XFL Draft. He was the second player picked in the fifth round — the 34th pick overall — by the New York Guardians. A safety,...

Kason Harrell is a man of faith and believes in the value of discipline and extra practice. Rewards are earned, not entitled. What happens in lonely gyms stays in lonely gyms. The former Hempfield basketball standout felt he had done all be could do in his pursuit of a professional...

Kason Harrell’s journey to professional basketball reached a high note Monday night when the former Hempfield star signed a contract with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the NBA G League affiliate of the Indiana Pacers. Harrell, who graduated last year from Purdue Fort Wayne, had a tryout with the Mad...

Mike Devine played in the previous three American Association finals only to see his team lose in a deciding Game 5 twice and once in four games, so celebrating a championship on the field with the St. Paul Saints in September was a special moment. The fourth time was the...

JJ Matijevic has made his presence known in the Arizona Fall League. The 23-year-old Norwin graduate and Houston Astros prospect was selected to play in the AFL All-Star Game set for 5 p.m. Saturday at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Maricopa County, Ariz. Matijevic, a first baseman for...

After Penn Hills won its first PIAA title since 1995 last year, coach Jon LeDonne hopes to make it a yearly occurrence. In order for that to happen, Penn Hills will need to rely on its feeder program to cultivate and develop the talent in the area. The Linton Middle...

The old saying goes, “Defense wins championships.” And as of late, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has shown exactly why that’s the case. Before Tuesday’s 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Loudon United FC, the Hounds had not allowed a goal in 698 minutes, which ranks as the second-longest shutout streak in USL Championship...

South Fayette resident and former Pitt women’s tennis player Janet DeCostro is shining in a new sport. DeCostro, 61, earned a gold medal with her mixed doubles partner in the 60-64 age group in the Super Senior International Pickleball Association East Championships in September in Griffin, Ga. She won silver...

More than 600 entries will take to the Allegheny River for the Head of the Ohio Regatta on Saturday and Sunday in downtown Pittsburgh. Race director Matt Logue of host Three Rivers Rowing said it will be the largest turnout since 2004. “We are expecting a slightly larger regatta than...

Educated Athletes First is providing another college tour experience and stepping up its game at that. EAF, the nonprofit venture of former Jeannette star athlete Demetrious Cox and his father, Dorsey, designed to help aspiring athletes and their parents along the path to college-level sports and academics, will hit the...