Kiski Area boys basketball team clinches playoff spot
Kiski Area needed a victory to make the WPIAL playoffs after enduring a five-win season a year ago. But it didn’t come easy. Latrobe, not playing like a 2-9 team, gave the Cavaliers all they could handle before Kiski Area senior James Pearson took over the game. Pearson scored nine...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 7, 2022: Top girls team has chance to clinch
The final week of section play in WPIAL basketball begins with a full slate of section contests in girls hoops. Last year, Trinity was perfect in Section 2-5A, winning all 12 games and finishing 2½ games in front of second-place Thomas Jefferson. The Hillers can win their second straight outright...
George Guido: WPIAL playoffs could use home-court advantage
The WPIAL is looking at using home floors for at least the initial round of the upcoming 110th basketball tournament. The league office is expected to send out a list of requirements to contending schools this week outlining what needs to be done to host a game. This will be...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports for Jan. 31, 2022: Basketball section titles on the line
Welcome to the final day of the first month of the year and the start of the stretch run of the 2022 WPIAL basketball regular season. While most teams are caught up on section games and will finish with three to four section contests over the next two weeks, a...
Mt. Pleasant dominant at WCCA swim/dive meet
It was quite the day for the Mt. Pleasant swim team and freshman Lily King. King set four meet records: individually in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles and as a part of the 200 IM and 400 free relay teams. Those results helped propel the Viking girls team to the...
Kiski Area boys make late run to get past Gateway in Section 3-5A
With four minutes left in Friday’s Section 3-5A boys basketball matchup between Gateway and Kiski Area, the visiting Gators held a one-point advantage and hoped to make a run to put the game on ice. But the Cavaliers wanted none of that. Kiski Area outscored Gateway, 15-6, down the stretch...
Kiski Area swimmers Hansen, Sterlitz have sights set on top spots at WCCA meet
As freshmen in 2020, Levi Hansen and Parker Sterlitz made a run at the boys 500-yard freestyle title at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association championships at Derry High School. Hansen took third, and Sterlitz was fourth behind then-junior Austin Prokopec from Penn-Trafford and then-senior Ryan McFaden from Franklin Regional. Fast...
Kiski Area wrestlers top Franklin Regional, repeat as section champs
For the 26th time in program history, the Kiski Area wrestling team is section champion. The Cavaliers won twice Wednesday at Franklin Regional and capped the evening with a 40-29 victory over the host Panthers to bring home the Section 1-3A title for the second year in a row. “It’s...
Kiski Area swimming embracing ‘small but mighty’ mantra
Kiski Area swimming may not have a massive roster, but it does have massive ambitions. The Cavaliers have put together a strong start to the 2021-22 season, and coach Lisa Pepka has been plenty satisfied with what she’s seen in the pool. “We’ve had high hopes, and I’ve been impressed...
WPIAL announces section wrestling tournament pairings
The WPIAL announced pairings Thursday for wrestling section tournaments as part of the team championship. The section tournaments will be held Wednesday at the sites of the first-place team in the B subsections. There was a three-way tie for second place in Section 1-A. Fort Cherry was awarded the spot...
WPIAL announces 2022 Hall of Fame class
Bob Kalp won more than 400 games as Hempfield’s softball coach, and Chuck Tursky celebrated his 500th career win as Kiski Area’s wrestling coach. Those are remarkable numbers, and they set them apart from their peers, yet the wins only partially explain why they’re among the best coaches in WPIAL...
Kiski Area wrestling continues dominance, tops Burrell
Covid wreaked havoc with last year’s winter sports season, and the annual wrestling clash between Alle-Kiski Valley rivals Burrell and Kiski Area was one of the big events which fell victim to cancellation. But the match returned Friday night in front of a spirited crowd at Burrell High School. The...
Kiski Area boys basketball enjoying turnaround this season
Kiski Area’s boys basketball team has not only exceeded last year’s win total, the Cavaliers have actually doubled it. New coach Corey Smith, a standout with the program from the early 2000s, has taken over as head coach and has his alma mater at 2-1 in Section 3-5A play and...
Kiski Area boys deal Woodland Hills 1st section loss of season
The Kiski Area boys basketball team again used a balanced scoring attack Tuesday and handed Woodland Hills its first section loss of the season, 55-48. The Cavaliers were solid behind the 3-point arc, hitting seven from long range, and the Wolverines misfired on all four 3-point attempts. That was a...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Burrell’s Brandon Coury, Kiski Area’s Abbie Johns
Brandon Coury Class: Senior School: Burrell Sport: Basketball Report card: Coury scored 30 points, including 18 in the second quarter, to help Burrell earn a 53-45 win at Section 1-4A rival Deer Lakes. He is 120 points shy of 1,000 for his career. How’d it feel to help the team...
George Guido: PIAA enrollment numbers affect A-K Valley teams
Schools discovered which classifications they’ll be playing in over the next two school years. The PIAA delayed the disclosure of classes after some schools had miscalculated their enrollment figures based on the number of vo-tech students from their districts. Several local changes are in the offing as the area’s demographics...
Kiski Area girls bowling notches historic 1st win
The date will be etched into Kiski Area bowling annals. On Dec. 15, the Kiski Area girls team defeated host Butler at Family-Bowl-A-Way, 7-0, to log the program’s first-ever win against a full-squad opponent. The Cavaliers were led by the fivesome of Veronica Flanagan, Alyssa Leya, Savannah Renwick, Haley Zeller...
Powerade wrestling notebook: Loaded tournament was brutal for WPIAL’s best
It says how tough the 55th annual Powerade Wrestling Tournament was this season when only 26 wrestlers from the WPIAL earned medals and only six reached the finals. The competition was extremely difficult. “All these wrestlers are amazing,” Franklin Regional coach Matt Lebe said. “This was the toughest tournament we’ve...
Knoch girls basketball team again leans on defense in win over Kiski Area
Nina Shaw loves to put the ball in the hoop. But the junior guard also gets excited when she and her Knoch teammates are able to play strong defense. That was on display again Wednesday evening against Kiski Area at the Kiski Area Holiday Classic. For the second time in...
10 WPIAL players earn all-state in 5A, Penn-Trafford’s John Ruane named top coach
After winning its first WPIAL and PIAA football titles, Penn-Trafford has more reason to celebrate. Warriors coach John Ruane was named the PIAA Class 5A coach of the year on Wednesday, and three Penn-Trafford players earned all-state honors. Quarterback Carter Green, running back Cade Yacamelli and offensive lineman Declan Ochendowski...
Powerade Wrestling Tournament again loaded with talent
High school wrestling fans are in for a holiday treat. The 55th annual Powerade Wresting Tournament on Wednesday and Thursday is loaded with talent. It could be a preview of the NCAA Tournament in a few seasons. When the tournament began 55 years ago, it featured some of the top...
2021 Valley News Dispatch Football All-Stars
First-team all-stars Luke Bombalski Highlands, RB/LB, so. The Golden Rams’ offensive standout had a breakout season with 210 carries for 1,276 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also caught six passes for 51 yards and a score. He made 71 tackles and produced seven sacks. Logan Brooks Plum, WR/DB, sr....
Valley News Dispatch Defensive Player of the Year: Kiski Area’s Brayden Dunmire
Alle-Kiski Valley Defensive Player of the Year Brayden Dunmire DE/LB, Senior, 6-2, 230 pounds, Kiski Area When recalling positive moments from his 2021 football season, Kiski Area senior defensive stalwart Brayden Dunmire’s thoughts were drawn to a Sept. 3 nonconference matchup against rival Franklin Regional. The Cavaliers came into the...
Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame unveils class of 2022
After two years of covid-related postponements, the Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame is determined to have its 51st induction banquet May 21. The event will be held at the Quality Inn of New Kensington ballroom with 10 new inductees going into the hall. Here is the class, listed alphabetically:...
Kiski Area sponsors girls wrestling team as sport’s momentum grows
The movement to sanction girls high school wrestling has arrived in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Monday night, the Kiski Area School District became the first A-K Valley school board to sign on to the movement to someday have girls wrestling receive PIAA sanction. Kiski Area became the 31st school in Pennsylvania...