Ex-Hampton golfer’s game heats up during successful summer
Former Hampton golfer Justin Griffith is getting two more swings at his first state title. Griffith, 23, qualified for the 109th Pennsylvania Amateur Championship, scheduled for July 25-27 at Llanerch Country Club outside Philadelphia, and the 106th Pennsylvania Open Championship, set for Aug. 8-10 at Longue Vue Club in Penn...
‘Fired up’ Hampton freshmen win summer basketball title
Summer basketball leagues are built around staying in shape and building team chemistry. But bringing home a championship doesn’t hurt. Hampton used a late basket by Andrew Butler to defeat North Catholic, 38-37, on June 30 at Montour to win Pittsburgh Basketball Club summer league freshman championship. “Even though it’s...
Hampton announces latest class for Athletic Hall of Fame
Former Hampton cross country coach Tom Tobin knows all about Halls of Fame. He was a member of the first North Hills Athletic Hall of Fame class in 1995, and three years ago joined the WPIAL Hall of Fame as a part of North Hills’ dominant 1979 WPIAL and PIAA...
Championship teams guide Hampton to top of Class 5A Trib Cup standings
Hampton captured three district championships and one state title this past school year, with three of those four coming during the fall sports season. Consistent success throughout all three seasons, however, was a big part of the Talbots showing plenty of bark in winning the Trib HSSN Cup for Class...
Hampton track standout Kevyn Fish wants to be known as more than a fast freshman
Finishing first in a track and field event is never an easy task. There are many athletes vying for the prestigious accomplishment of being on the podium. Hampton freshman Kevyn Fish took no time to become a track and field star, coming in first place in the 3,200-meter run when...
Hampton’s Marshalwitz motivated to join brother on Youngstown State mound
Playing a sport on the same team with a brother is a goal that siblings often have. Playing a sport at the NCAA Division I level with a brother, however, is something that Cam Marshalwitz gets to experience. Casey Marshalwitz, Cam’s brother, is going into his senior year with Youngstown...
Impact players made season successful for PIHL girls league runners-up
The inaugural season of the highly anticipated PIHL girls division has been completed. One of the top squads in the league was Team Central, which finished as PIHL runner-up with an 8-4 record. Coached by RMU youth hockey coordinator Joe Cummings, the Central girls won six of seven regular-season games...
Hampton volleyball coach’s departure ‘heartbreaking’
Hampton didn’t have to look far to find its new girls volleyball coach. And they don’t have to look far to see where their old coach ended up. Dainen Holler, the district’s middle school coach, was promoted to the Talbots’ top spot after Annie Bozzo departed following two seasons at...
Standout guard Peter Kramer returning to Hampton
The Hampton boys basketball team will get some excitement this upcoming season when coach Joe Lafko collects his 500th career coaching victory. The Talbots this summer received some other exciting news. Peter Kramer, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who last March helped Shady Side Academy to its first WPIAL boys basketball...
Hampton ace Apaliski aims to build on breakout season
If Hampton left-hander Ryan Apaliski improves this summer as much as he did last summer, Talbots coach Kellen Wheeler may start running out of superlatives. Apaliski, who recently completed his junior year, used a strong summer of 2021 as a springboard to a first-team All-Section 2-5A performance this past season....
Hampton quartet fares well at PIAA track
Hampton brought back one state medal, one personal-best time and a vanload of memories from the PIAA Class 3A track and field championships May 27-28 at Shippensburg. Senior Matt DeMatteo placed eighth in the 300-meter hurdles to win his first PIAA track medal, and junior Ava Vitiello ran the fastest...
Hampton girls lacrosse team delights in exceeding expectations
The Hampton girls lacrosse team entered the 2022 season with tepid expectations after graduation losses decimated last year’s WPIAL Class 2A semifinalist. “Honestly,” senior captain Hannah Acquafondata said, “I kind of came into this season with my head down.” The Talbots ended the spring with their heads held high. Hampton...
Bright future for Hampton boys lacrosse
Hampton boys lacrosse coach Andy DeMichiei and his wife, Kristen, welcomed their first child, Owen, on May 10. The former high school All-American also watched his Talbots program make some baby steps during his first season as coach at his alma mater. “I think they showed positive signs and movement...
Disputed call haunts Hampton baseball team
Hampton baseball coach Kellen Wheeler said he “couldn’t even sleep that night” after the Talbots’ controversial WPIAL playoff loss to Penn-Trafford. Senior left-hander Cam Marshalwitz called it “a terrible way to go out” and “the worst way” to end a game. A questionable seventh-inning call brought the Talbots’ 2022 season...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports for May 23, 2022: Rematches set for baseball playoffs
Welcome to Semifinals Monday in the 2022 WPIAL baseball playoffs. Unless your team is in classes 6A or 4A, then it’s Welcome to Quarterfinals Monday. Whether it’s the second or third round, the recurring theme is rematches. Of the 16 scheduled games, 11 are matchups between teams that faced each...
Catcher Bella Henzler ends Hampton career with flourish
The Hampton softball team will return almost everyone from this year’s WPIAL Class 5A playoff qualifier, but one loss is going to sting. Senior catcher Bella Henzler played her final high school game in the Talbots’ 11-5 loss to top-seeded Armstrong on May 17 at Mars in the opening round...
Busy Matt DeMatteo ready to represent Hampton in Big 33
Memorial Day weekend should be a memorable one for Matt DeMatteo. And a very eventful one. The Hampton senior will compete in the PIAA Class 3A track and field championships May 27-28 at Shippensburg University before heading to Harrisburg to play for Team Pennsylvania in the prestigious Big 33 All-Star...
Westmoreland County WPIAL baseball playoff preview capsules for May 17, 2022
WPIAL baseball playoffs Capsule previews Class 5A First round 12-Thomas Jefferson (13-6) vs. 5-Latrobe (12-7) 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hempfield Winner plays: Winner of 13-Chartiers Valley (9-11) vs. 4-Mars (14-5) on Thursday in quarterfinals Players to watch: T.J. Bucy, Sr., Thomas Jefferson; Logan Short, Sr., Latrobe Last year’s finish: Thomas...
Steve Sciullo settles into top spot at Hampton
Hampton first-year football coach Steve Sciullo likes what he sees from his new view atop the program. “We’re rolling right now,” he said. “We’re pretty happy with how things are looking.” With offseason weightlifting and conditioning in high gear and his staff of assistants in place, Sciullo has settled in...
Youthful Hampton lacrosse team shrugs off slow start
The Hampton boys lacrosse team expected to take some lumps this season as it tried to replace 13 seniors. “Look at every article, every person who follows Hampton lacrosse,” first-year coach Andy DeMichiei said. “Everyone is talking about how this team doesn’t have it, and it’s going to be a...
Reese’s walk-off home run highlights emotional week for Hampton softball
Hampton sophomore Mackenzie Reese was looking for an inside pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning against Seneca Valley on April 22. She got it, and with one swing of the bat, she did something Ron Fedell had never experienced in 24 seasons as Hampton softball coach. Reese drove...
Hampton junior strides toward WPIAL track championships
Qualifying for the WPIAL Class 3A track and field championships this spring won’t be enough for Ava Vitiello. The Hampton junior is in the running for much more than just an invitation. “I’m hoping that it goes really well,” she said, “and I think it will.” Vitiello was content to...
Hampton 3-sport star Matt DeMatteo to run track at Duquesne
Hampton three-sport athlete Matt DeMatteo has committed to attend Duquesne on a track scholarship. The senior was also considering Penn State (track) and James Madison (football). DeMatteo is a two-time all-conference selection in football and a two-time all-section pick in basketball, but his best offers were for track and field....
Trib HSSN Baseball Player of the Week for May 1, 2022
Last year, Hampton finished in fourth place in Section 2-5A with an overall record of 7-11. It qualified for the playoffs, but it was a short and not so sweet postseason experience as the team lost to West Allegheny in the opening round 14-1. Those struggles are a distant memory,...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports for May 2, 2022: Baseball, softball section play wraps up
Welcome to May, where the regular season continues to wind down, and the postseason is two weeks away. Most WPIAL baseball teams will close out their sectional series schedule this week. In five of those sections, the top two teams are deadlocked for first place and will meet in a...
