Other Local Sports category, Page 77
Penn State strong on first day; 8 former WPIAL wrestlers advance to NCAA quarters
The first day of the NCAA wrestling championships saw its usual share of dominant wins and eyebrow-raising upsets. And, as is also custom at this time of the year, Penn State ended the night in strong position to win another national title. Although they weren’t immune to the upset bug...
Stakes raised for next Micky Phillippi-Luke Pletcher meeting at NCAA wrestling
Micky Phillippi doesn’t know how many times he’s faced Ohio State junior Luke Pletcher on the wrestling mat. “Counting the practice sessions in high school, it was probably thousands,” said Phillippi, a redshirt freshman at Pitt. But when they two square off at noon Friday in the NCAA Division I...
Five matches to watch in the evening session of Day 1 of the NCAA wrestling championships
With the first session in the books at the NCAA Division I wrestling championships, it’s time to look for the best matchups in Thursday’s second session at PPG Paints Arena. There are going to be some good ones, especially at 133 pounds. (Wrestlers’ seeds are designated before their names.) 5-Luke...
NCAA wrestling Day 1: Pitt’s Micky Phillippi, Nino Bonaccorsi advance to quarterfinals
Pitt redshirt freshmen Nino Bonaccori and Micky Phillippi moved into the quarterfinals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday night, both sweating out tight, hard-fought victories in front of crowd of 17,957 at PPG Paints Arena. Phillippi, the No. 3 seed from Derry, defeated Austin Gomez of Iowa State, 1-0,...
Kevin Gorman: Ready to watch NCAA wrestling with wide-eyed wonderVideo
Teague Moore knows the wide-eyed wonder that comes with the tidal wave of energy at the NCAA wrestling championships, one that wrestlers can ride to glory or be crushed under its weight. The American University coach will be flooded by memories this week, with reminders of the overwhelming joy of...
At-large wrestlers can make good on reprieve at NCAAs
Greg Bulsak and Nick Kiussis spent the minutes leading up to 3 p.m. March 12 repeatedly refreshing the NCAA wrestling website on their phones. Sammy Krivus kept himself busy by lifting weights. Ultimately, all three wrestlers received the news they were hoping for the same way: from somebody else. Bulsak,...
Penn State’s Jason Nolf sets sights on 3rd straight NCAA wrestling titleVideo
Jason Nolf was relaxed during a news conference Wednesday at the NCAA Division I wrestling championships at PPG Paints Arena. The 2014 Kittanning graduate was joking with teammate Bo Nickal during the question-and-answer period, which might surprise many Penn State wrestling fans. They are used to the serious Nolf, who...
Latrobe grad, Virginia Tech senior Zack Zavatsky wants to go out on top at NCAAs
For Zack Zavatsky, something that’s been a significant part of his life will come to an abrupt end later this month. So why not go out on top? A Latrobe alum, Zavatsky’s final competitive wrestling act figures to come at the NCAA championships this weekend at PPG Paints Arena in...
Latrobe well represented at NCAA wrestling championshipsVideo
When the NCAA wrestling championships come to PPG Paints Arena beginning Thursday, Latrobe will be prominently represented. Three former Wildcats stars will compete in the event. Each of them — Virginia Tech’s Zack Zavatsky and Luke Pletcher and Ethan Smith of Ohio State — has a chance to make the...
Pittsburgh getting bigger, better NCAA wrestling championships
Bob Bubb became an NCAA All-American in 1959, wrestling in the University of Iowa’s gymnasium. Nearly 60 years later, Nico Megaludis won a national title in “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” New York’s Madison Square Garden, with a finals attendance of 19,270 — more than the crowd for the entire...
Latrobe raising funds for Scott Munchinski, local coach with leukemia
Latrobe is rallying around one of its own. Friends of Scott Munchinski have started a GoFundMe page to help pay for medical costs and other expenses as he battles Acute Myeloid Leukemia. In the fight with you @ScottMunch73 You got this. Munchinski Family Jason Thomas (@ramblerjay) March 19, 2019...
Latrobe grad Pletcher hopes to continue his statewide success at NCAA wrestling championships
If it’s a competitive wrestling match somewhere in Pennsylvania, Luke Pletcher is probably winning it. And guess where this season’s NCAA championships happen to be? “Of course it’s going to be cool to come back to Pittsburgh,” Pletcher said, referring to the NCAA wrestling championships that begin Thursday at PPG...
Penn State coach Cael Sanderson demands his wrestlers win with ‘gratitude’
If you’re wondering how Penn State has been able to win seven of the past eight NCAA wrestling championships, coach Cael Sanderson believes he has the answer. He demands his wrestlers are thankful for who they are, what they’ve been given and the opportunities under their feet every time they...
Penn Hills grad Campbell ready to wrap up his wrestling career where it began
Te’Shan Campbell’s college wrestling career began in Pittsburgh. It will end there, too — by way of a circuitous route. A Penn Hills alumnus who on a PIAA title, Campbell developed into an ACC champion over his freshman and sophomore years at Pitt before transferring to Ohio State two years...
Franklin Regional grad Spencer Lee looks to defend NCAA wrestling title
When Spencer Lee last wrestled in Pennsylvania, he lost in the finals of the 2017 PIAA Class AAA championships to Austin DeSanto, who is now his teammate. Lee felt a little betrayed by fans, whom he thought adored him. He didn’t understand at the time that fans love the upset,...
Jeannette grad “ShowBoat” Robinson gets serious about basketball HOF nomination
Dribbling circles around helpless Washington Generals, making half-court shots while blindfolded and throwing buckets of confetti on flinching fans made people laugh for years. But when Lamont Robinson took a brief timeout from comedy basketball to acknowledge a more serious moment, one that knocked the spinning ball off his finger,...
Pitt tandem choose wrestling over basketball, become championsVideo
When he was 14 at McCluer High School in Florissant, Mo., Pitt wrestler Demetrius Thomas thought he wanted to play basketball. Lucky for him, two McCluer coaches conspired to make sure that didn’t happen. Years earlier, Micky Phillippi — just like any 6-year-old would do — dutifully followed his father...
NCAA wrestling championships: Class-by-class preview
Nearly 350 of the nation’s best college wrestlers will converge on Pittsburgh this week for the NCAA Division I championships, with the city hosting the event for the first time since 1957. From Thursday to Saturday, wrestlers will compete for the most prestigious honors. Eighty will become All-Americans. Ten will...
Bucknell wrestler Drew Phipps of Norwin set for NCAA championship debut
Falling tantalizingly shy of qualifying for the NCAA wrestling championships last season pushed Drew Phipps to make sure it wasn’t going to happen again. A Norwin graduate, Phipps is having his best collegiate season as a junior for Bucknell. A 197-pounder, Phipps carried a 14-match winning streak into last weekend’s...
Belle Vernon product Zach Hartman enters NCAAs with confidenceVideo
Zach Hartman might not end his freshman college season as an NCAA national champion. But if the Belle Vernon alumnus doesn’t, rest assured it won’t be because he wasn’t aggressive about going for it. “The thing that makes Zach really tricky and really dangerous,” Bucknell coach Dan Wirnsberger said, “is...
WPGA opens Frank Fuhrer III Hall of Fame
Moving day for the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association a year ago brought it to a new home on Pittsburgh’s North Side. A spacious and classic-style red brick building — as vintage-looking as an Arnold Palmer cardigan — not only allowed the organization to stretch its legs but also afforded them...
YWCA of Westmoreland County announces award winners
Several individual and team winners were announced this week for the annual YWCA Sportswomen of the Year Awards Banquet set for 5:30 p.m. April 15 at the Ramada Inn, Greensburg. Sports Girl of the Year for Excellence in a Team Sport: Morgan Phillips Sports Teen of the Year Excellence in...
WPGA offers assistance for golf rules changes
Trying to figure out some of the new rule changes in golf can be enough to cause a club toss. That might result in said club being damaged. But wait, there is a new rule for that. A club damaged during a round can now continue to be used, “even...
Passion releases 2019 schedule
The season opener for the Pittsburgh Passion women’s semi-pro football team is less than a month away. The team kicks off its 17th campaign April 6 against the Cleveland Fusion at West Allegheny’s Joe P. DeMichela Stadium. A road game against longstanding rival D.C. Divas follows on April 13. The...
Former Steelers DB Russell Stuvaints signs with Pittsburgh indoor team
The Burgh Defenders, who will open their first season in the American Arena League on March 23, signed McKeesport native and former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Russell Stuvaints, majority owner and coach Tjuan Benafactor announced Thursday. Stuvaints, 38, played three seasons for the Steelers, including four games in 2005 when...
