New coach Skoda eager to help Highlands girls soccer team get back on track
Preseason practices for the girls soccer season at Highlands begin in less than a month, and Matt Skoda said there is much work to be done before that first official workout. The veteran high school soccer coach recently was hired to head the Golden Rams program, and, he said, he...
Bolstered by 5 WPIAL championship teams, Quaker Valley captures Class 4A Trib Cup
Mike Mastroianni was in a no lose situation in this year’s race for the Trib HSSN Cup in Class 4A. He is the athletic director and boys basketball coach at Quaker Valley while he lives in the Montour school district. Those two schools finished first and second, with Mastroianni’s Quakers...
A-K Valley teams adjust to changes in basketball alignment
Basketball in the A-K Valley will have a bit of a different look next winter. The WPIAL board of directors approved section alignments for the next two-year cycle in boys and girls basketball on June 13. Several A-K Valley teams were impacted. Here’s a look at some of the changes:...
Deer Lakes’ Justin Brannagan named 2022 Valley News Dispatch Baseball Player of the Year
2022 Valley News Dispatch Baseball All-Stars Player of the Year Justin Brannagan Deer Lakes, Sr., P/INF Justin Brannagan had a propensity this year for coming up big in clutch playoff scenarios. In February, Deer Lakes trailed Blackhawk by one point in the final seconds of a WPIAL Class 4A first-round...
Burrell’s Katie Armstrong earns 2022 Valley News Dispatch Softball Player of the Year honors
2022 Valley News Dispatch Softball All-Stars Player of the Year Katie Armstrong Burrell, Jr., P If the regular season didn’t already show it, then a WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal game against Belle Vernon proved just how dominant Burrell junior pitcher Katie Armstrong was throughout the spring. Armstrong held a potent...
Late Highlands coach Rich Falter remembered for his humility, impact on players
Despite an outstanding coaching career that included 316 victories in high school basketball, Rich Falter never sought the limelight. In fact, he had to be deceived into showing up for an awards ceremony in order to be inducted into the Highlands High School Basketball Hall of Fame. Falter, who recorded...
West Mifflin dismantles Highlands softball in WPIAL 1st round
Highlands had high hopes for another lengthy postseason softball run going into Wednesday’s first round Class 4A playoff game at Norwin High School. But those hopes were dashed quickly as West Mifflin’s Emily Buchleitner hit an inside-the-park home run on the second pitch of the game. The Titans added two...
Former Highlands QB hired to coach Golden Rams football team
Matt Bonislawski is a Golden Ram once again. The former football standout at Highlands who returned to the school as athletic director from 2007-2013 was hired Monday evening as the school district’s new head football coach. Bonislawski was recommended to the Highlands school board of directors by the athletic department,...
Highlands baseball hitting stride as playoffs approach
Coming off last year’s success, a three-game section losing streak in April isn’t the way Highlands wanted to start its baseball season. But the Golden Rams appear to be hitting their stride at just the right time. Highlands (11-5, 6-4) has won five in a row and eight of its...
Highlands knocks off Burrell, heating up race for section softball title
The Burrell softball team had an outright Section 1-4A championship in its sights as it hosted Highlands on senior night Monday evening at Bon Air Field in Lower Burrell. The Golden Rams had other ideas. Highlands broke through for four runs in the fourth inning — taking advantage of four...
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...
George Guido: Leechburg softball heading to playoffs for 35th straight season
Spring is upon us. The flowers are blooming, the lawn mowers are humming and Leechburg is in the WPIAL softball playoffs. The Blue Devils clinched their WPIAL record 35th consecutive Class A softball berth Friday with a doubleheader victory over The Ellis School, 15-0 and 12-1. Leechburg is 6-1 in...
Kiski Area, Valley, Highlands gear up for WPIAL team tennis tournament
The Kiski Area boys tennis team opens the WPIAL Class 3A team tournament Tuesday as the No. 9 seed, and the Cavaliers, the runner-up to Franklin Regional in Section 1, will take on No. 8 Central Catholic at 3 p.m. at Norwin. The matchup comes almost 10 years to the...
Young athletes finding success for Highlands track and field
Brooke Signorella had just earned a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles at the annual Lady Spartan/Wildcat Invitational, but her sprint wasn’t quite over. The Highlands sophomore quickly returned to the starting line because as soon as the hurdles were cleared from the track it was time for her next...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Kiski Area’s Hannah Simpson, Highlands’ Jimmy Kunst
Hannah Simpson Class: Junior School: Kiski Area Sport: Softball Report card: Kiski Area broke out the bats Wednesday afternoon to take down Indiana in a Section 1-5A game. Junior pitcher Hannah Simpson was 3 for 4 with five RBIs to help lead the offensive attack. The Seton Hill commit earned...
Highlands softball shakes off rust, builds momentum with win over Freeport
The Highlands softball team returned to game action Friday after a nine-day, weather-related layoff, and it put a second win on the board against Section 1-4A rival Freeport. Playing just their second home game of the season, the Golden Rams got solo home runs from Jaycee Haidze and Maera Williams...
Highlands tennis team looks to return to WPIAL playoffs
Tyler Kirin has a coaching philosophy that goes beyond wins and losses. It’s deeper than points on the court, but the principles work hand-in-hand with winning, both in tennis and in life. “I’m really proud of the young men we have, and I’m proud of the effort they put in,”...
Highlands baseball players benefit from early-season trip south
Hoagie sales, golf outings and the exhausting obligation of monthly fundraisers was all the Highlands baseball team needed to take its first trip south in program history. With just one week of tryouts and one week of practice under their belts, the Golden Rams loaded the bus for a 13-hour...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Highlands’ Abbie Deiseroth, Valley’s Wesley Schrock
Abbie Deiseroth Class: Junior School: Highlands Sport: Softball Report card: Junior first baseman Deiseroth hit three home runs and had five RBIs in Highlands’ 12-2 victory over Freeport in a Section 1-4A game April 4. It was part of a five-homer outburst for the Golden Rams in the section opener...
Highlands softball team pounds 5 HRs among its 20 hits in win over Freeport
After scoring single runs in losses to Shaler and Laurel to open its season, the Highlands softball team broke out in a big way Monday in the Section 1-4A opener against Freeport at Freeport Community Park. The Golden Rams pounded out 20 hits, including five home runs, and senior Jaycee...
Knoch’s Maddie Boyer named Valley News Dispatch Girls Basketball Player of the Year
Maddie Boyer Knoch, 5-10, Sr., Guard As a freshman, Maddie Boyer helped the Knoch girls basketball team make the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs. The Knights suffered a first-round loss to Elizabeth Forward. Two years ago, Boyer increased her role at both ends of the court, and Knoch increased its standing...
Fox Chapel’s Eli Yofan takes Valley News Dispatch Boys Basketball Player of the Year honors
Eli Yofan Fox Chapel, 6-2, Sr., Guard Eli Yofan averaged 19.3 points throughout the 2021-22 boys basketball season, but he was limited for most of Fox Chapel’s WPIAL Class 6A title game against North Hills early last month at the Petersen Events Center. But as he did all season, the...
Highlands’ Foster sprinted to Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame
When Robert Foster began running track and field at Highlands, he wasn’t sure where the sport would take him. With hard work and determination, it took him to championships and into the record books. Foster made his mark on the track as one of the fastest to compete at Highlands,...
Highlands searches for new football coach after Girardi steps down
Dom Girardi stepped down as Highlands football coach Thursday, ending a five-season tenure with the Golden Rams. Girardi said he came to the decision over the past week and cited changes at home and at work that would take more of his time away from his coaching responsibilities. “I kept...
After trip to PIAA playoffs, future remains promising for Highlands boys basketball
Members of the Highlands boys basketball team wanted a second chance. After having their WPIAL playoff run stalled in the semifinals with a 61-44 loss to Laurel Highlands, the Golden Rams turned their focus to the PIAA tournament. They rebounded with a PIAA first-round victory over Brashear and earned another...
