Other Local category, Page 7
Fayette County skier defies odds to compete in Junior World Championships
As Jessie Duda fought through traumatic brain injuries caused by a post-prom car crash, doctors told the Fayette County native she may never be able to ski again. But about 2½ years later, Duda will travel to Kazakhstan to compete against athletes ages 14 to 19 from across the world...
District soccer notebook: Pitt’s Sarah Schupansky signs with NWSL’s Gotham
Sarah Schupansky is extending her soccer career as she turns professional. The former standout at North Allegheny and Pitt signed a multi-year contract to play for the NJ/NY Gotham of the National Women’s Soccer League. The deal is through 2026 with a team option for ’27. “I could not be...
Deer Lakes grad Michael Sullivan chosen in MLS draft
Deer Lakes graduate Michael Sullivan has been drafted by MLS club Toronto FC. Sullivan, a midfielder who just completed his senior season at Pitt, was selected with the ninth pick of the second round, 39th overall, of the MLS SuperDraft. Sullivan played 67 games in four years with the Panthers,...
Level Green’s Brandon Svoboda named to United States’ roster for IIHF World Junior Championship
San Jose Sharks forward prospect Brandon Svoboda, a native of Level Green, was named to the United States roster for the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Junior Championship tournament, which begins later this month. USA Hockey announced the roster via a release Thursday. A total of 25 players were...
St. Joseph grad Julie Spinelli immediately steps into starting lineup for Frostburg State women’s basketball team
Just before her team faced Towson in an exhibition game, Frostburg State women’s basketball coach Jenna Eckleberry noticed freshman Julie Spinelli looked a little antsy. And Spinelli hadn’t even received the news that she was going to be in the starting lineup. Having some butterflies isn’t unusual for a freshman....
Steel City FC soccer teams to join pre-professional leagues
Pre-professional soccer continues its growth spurt in the Pittsburgh region. Steel City FC will join the USL W League (women) and USL League Two (men) in 2025, the United Soccer League announced Friday morning. Steel City FC trains more than 1,500 players in and around Pittsburgh, with primary training sites...
Level Green native selected for USA Hockey’s preliminary roster for World Juniors
San Jose Sharks forward prospect Brandon Svoboda, a native of Level Green, was selected for the U.S. National Junior Team’s preliminary roster in advance of the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Junior Championship tournament which begins later this month. USA Hockey announced that roster via a release Monday. A...
Deer Lakes grad Jake McCaskey signs with Washington Wild Things
Former Deer Lakes baseball standout Jake McCaskey has signed a contract with the Washington Wild Things in the Frontier League. The right-handed pitcher, who played four seasons at PennWest Cal (Pa.) and one more at Division I Gardner-Webb, will play for his second pro team in as many seasons after...
Women in Western Pennsylvania sports gather to recognize impact of Title IX
Whether referring to it by its long title or its nickname, nationwide advocates of Title IX — the landmark civil rights law enacted as part of the Education Amendments of 1972 — recognize its impact. Closer to home, the birth of Title IX some 52 years ago, as well as...
New Kensington to host 51st Pennsylvania Karate Championships
A tradition unlike any other in the Alle-Kiski Valley or Pittsburgh region continues this weekend. The 51st Pennsylvania Karate Championships, a keystone event since the early 1970s, returns Saturday to the grand ballroom of the Quality Inn in New Kensington. It is where the event began all those years ago....
Plum grad Max Matolcsy works way through ranks at Penn to earn more regular role on defense
Max Matolcsy could have gone to any number of schools to play football. But the allure of an Ivy League education was too good to pass up for the Plum grad. Matolcsy opted for Penn, where he enrolled in the prestigious Wharton School, established in 1881 as the world’s first...
Penn-Trafford grad Gay signs with professional indoor football team
John Gay IV always said with conviction that he would play pro football. While the Indoor Football League is not the NFL, it is considered a pro league, and Gay is about to embark on a post-college career. The running back out of Penn-Trafford recently signed with Fishers Freight, an...
Organizer thrilled with inaugural Quaker Valley Fall Fest 5K
Quaker Valley junior River Capek created, planned and directed the 2024 Fall Fest 5K fun run/walk race in Leetsdale as his self-development school project. Things went well at the Oct. 13 event at Quaker Valley High School, the 16-year-old Capek said. “Things went fantastically well,” Capek said. “We were a...
Bill Fralic among athletic greats to be inducted into Croatian American Sports Hall of Fame
Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania will be well represented as the Croatian American Sports Hall of Fame Committee welcomes 11 new members at a banquet ceremony Saturday evening at the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center hotel Downtown. Legendary Pitt athletes Bill Fralic, Ralph Cindrich and Tim Grgurich will be joined by Penn...
Former boxing world champion Paul Spadafora hospitalized in Las Vegas after dog attack
Former IBF lightweight world champion Paul Spadafora is hospitalized in Las Vegas after being attacked by his dog, his wife confirmed to TribLive. Nadine (Russo) Spadafora said the McKees Rocks-based boxer severed an artery in his left arm when his pit bull bit him Sunday night, which required a two-hour...
Valley grad B.J. Flenory inducted into New Hampshire’s Diversity Hall of Fame
Baron “B.B.” Flenory’s namesake is following his father’s legacy. But in a different sort of way. B.B. Flenory, the former Duquesne University basketball star whose life experiences continue to amaze, is himself amazed at the path his son, Baron “B.J.” Flenory, a former University of New Hampshire football star, has...
Pittsburgher 100 returns with larger purse at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway
The Pittsburgher 100 has been on the dirt racing calendar for 36 years, but the goal for a new ownership group at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway in Imperial is to put the event back on the map. The new owners, Blair and Tabby Cress, are doing so by making this...
Joe Como’s weight-loss strategy inspires 2 generations of runners at Norwin
Joe Como looked in the mirror and didn’t like what he saw. Como, who lives in Irwin, had reached his 40s and, as often happens to people at that age, he had started to retain some unwanted weight. So Como decided to take up running as a way to shed...
Gateway youth football teams contending for Big East Youth Football League titles
Gateway was one of only two programs in the Big East Youth Football League — Penn-Trafford was the other — to have all four of its teams make the playoffs in 2023. The Gators’ flag (ages 5-6), Termites (7-8), Mites (9-10) and Midgets (11-12) teams turned in successful regular seasons...
Plum Midget Football Association teams relish competition in return to Big East Youth Football League
The Plum Midget Football Association was on the move after the 2023 season. Playing in the Allegheny Youth Football League for the past several years, the PMFA board and coaches felt it was in the best interest of the organization to move back to the Big East Youth Football League...
Defending champions look to extend their records at annual Great Race
Jennifer Bigham won last year’s Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race 10K for her second back-to-back triumph in eight years. One of the fastest masters runners in the country, she also won in 2016 and 2017 and finished first in 2019. Bigham’s five Great Race 10K titles are...
Valley student wins 2nd national boxing championship
Traveling from New Kensington to Downtown Pittsburgh hardly would seem like a picnic, especially by bus. “I usually come every day, weekdays and weekends,” Valley High School sophomore Gea Fultz said as she wrapped up running a warmup mile on a treadmill at the 3rd Ave. Gym, the training site...
Quebec beats Washington Wild Things for Frontier League title on walk-off homer
Anthony Quirion hit a walk-off, three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Quebec Capitales the Frontier League championship with a 7-6 victory over the Washington Wild Things in Game 4 of the best-of-five final series Saturday night. Quebec scored five times in...
Tyler Courtney holds off Apollo’s Sye Lynch to win High Limit Commonwealth Clash at Lernerville
Saturday night’s High Limit sprint car race at Lernerville Speedway turned into a battle of survival for the leader. First it was Corey Day, who crashed while leading. Then, Brent Marks suffered a flat tire and lost the top spot. The final test, however, was left for Tyler Courtney. Courtney...
Washington Wild Things move to brink of elimination in Frontier League Championship Series
The Washington Wild Things moved to the brink of elimination with an 8-6 loss to the Quebec Capitals in Game 3 of the Frontier League Championship Series on Friday night. Washington looks to even the best-of-five set in Game 4 at 7:05 p.m. Saturday in Quebec City. The Wild Things...
