Knoch wrestlers look to rebound in individual tournament
The Knoch wrestling team has experienced the ups and downs of the WPIAL season. A 5-1 mark in section matches gave reason for optimism, but some key injuries heading into the section and WPIAL team tournaments left the Knights and first-year coach Bob Waldron wondering what might have been. “We...
Knoch girls basketball seniors gear up for final ride
Maddie Boyer, Mackenzie McGraw and Lily Hawk have been friends and basketball teammates since fourth grade. The three Knoch seniors admit they have come a long way on a journey that has brought them to a last hurrah and a chance to make history before they graduate. “It’s been a...
Allegheny commit Ryan Lang having strong year for Knoch
Ryan Lang worked hard to transform his game, and now it has paid off. Lang, a 6-1 senior guard at Knoch, committed to Allegheny on Sunday. “I love the coaches there. I love the campus and the team,” he said. “I think it’s the best place for me.” Allegheny coach...
Long time coming: Knoch wins win 1st section title in 50 years
A 50-year section-championship drought came to an end Saturday afternoon as the Knoch girls basketball team held off a furious fight from Highlands to capture the Section 1-4A crown with a 56-48 victory in front of a large and spirited home crowd. “The girls have played a couple of playoff...
High stakes as Knoch, Highlands girls set for showdown Saturday
The Knoch girls basketball team stands on the cusp of securing the Section 1-4A championship. That hasn’t happened in Saxonburg since 1972, when the Knights, as well as all other girls teams in the region, played in the Western Pennsylvania Girls Athletic League before joining the WPIAL for the 1973-74...
Deer Lakes boys rebound for victory against Knoch
The Deer Lakes boys basketball team was looking for a bounce back from Tuesday’s loss to Section 1-4A leader North Catholic as it hosted section rival Knoch on Friday. Mission accomplished. Led by 21 points from both Bryce Robson and Armend Karpuzi, the Lancers turned back the charge of the...
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...
Knoch girls top Freeport, stay unbeaten in section
The Knoch girls basketball team keeps rolling along in Section 1-4A. Last week, the Knights took care of business, beating Highlands by 17 points in a battle of section unbeatens with first place on the line. On Tuesday at home, Knoch produced another fast start, this time against rival Freeport....
Knoch doesn’t have to look far to find new football coach
For Tim Burchett, it happened to be the right fit at the right time. Burchett was named head football coach at Knoch by the South Butler County School District earlier this week. A computer teacher at Knoch Middle School and a business teacher in the high school, Burchett, 33, has...
Knoch’s Nina Shaw shows off scoring touch, all-around game
Nina Shaw went off for a career-high 26 points in Knoch’s 50-33 victory over Section 1-4A rival Highlands on Monday. The junior guard scored 19 in the first half as the Knights established their tempo and took control with a 15-point halftime advantage. But while the team hit its season...
Knoch girls basketball team wins section showdown with Highlands
The lead in Section 1-4A was on the line Monday as 3-0 Knoch and 3-0 Highlands did battle at Highlands High School. The visiting Knights established themselves early and gradually were able to pull away for a 50-33 victory. “We wanted to come out quickly and establish ourselves and make...
Knoch, TikTok benefitting from Traggiai’s talents
With his athletic life revolving around shedding seconds off of a clock, it’s no surprise Caden Traggiai’s go-to social media platform is TikTok. Traggiai, a senior at Knoch, is one of the top swimmers in the A-K Valley, finishing sixth in the 500-yard freestyle and seventh in the 200-yard freestyle...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Jan. 10, 2022: Big night for girls basketball
A busy night of WPIAL girls basketball is highlighted by a couple of games for first place. One of those contests is in Section 2-3A as South Park hosts Brownsville. The Eagles (7-2, 3-0) are No. 3 in the latest Trib HSSN Class 3A rankings. South Park had won six...
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...
A-K Valley High School Athletes of the Week: Rylen Campbell and Madilyn Boyer
Rylen Campbell Class: Sophomore School: Plum Sport: Wrestling Report card: Campbell won the 106-pound title at the Southmoreland Holiday Classic on Tuesday. He was the sixth seed but worked his way through the bracket and upset top-seeded Ana Malovich of Butler via a pin in the second period in the...
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...
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....
Alle-Kiski Valley boys and girls cross country honor rolls announced
The Alle-Kiski Valley Cross Country Honor Roll for the 2021 season was released Wednesday. Jack Lorence, a senior from Fox Chapel, was named the boys runner of the year. He capped his final season with a ninth-place finish at the WPIAL Class 3A championships Oct. 28 at Cal (Pa.). He...
A-K Valley High School Athletes of the Week: Week ending Dec. 18, 2021
Ryan Lang Class: Senior School: Knoch Sport: Basketball Report card: Lang surpassed 1,000 points for his career with a 39-point effort in a 66-52 win over Latrobe. He averaged 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists last year and was a Valley News Dispatch first-team all-star. How did it feel...
Highlands continues hot start, defeats rival Burrell
The Highlands girls basketball team got off to a winning start in Section 1-4A play Thursday as three players scored in double figures and a fourth came close during a 59-37 victory over Burrell. The Golden Rams, playing for the fifth time in seven days, improved to 5-0 overall. “We...
Top A-K Valley swimmers already off to strong starts
Sophie Shao was the hunted last season after bursting onto the high school scene as a freshman and winning WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA gold in the 100-yard butterfly. She answered the bell and turned away all challengers to defend both crowns. Shao, a junior, now is eyeing a WPIAL...
Burrell must retool to keep streak of 15 straight WPIAL Class 2A championships going
Burrell wrestling is looking to celebrate a “Sweet 16” this winter. If the 15-time defending WPIAL Class 2A champions are to continue their dominance, they’re going to have to replace a trio of talented wrestlers who graduated: champ A.J. Corrado, state runner-up Ian Oswalt and 24-match winner Aaron Edwards. With...
Trib HSSN 2021-22 WPIAL Class 4A girls basketball preseason breakdown
Last March, Beaver used a stingy defensive effort to hold down a talented Quaker Valley team in the Class 4A girls basketball finals, winning the program’s first WPIAL championship. Both the Bobcats and Quakers suffered significant graduation losses after that championship confrontation, though, leaving the field wide open heading into...
Trib HSSN 2021-22 WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball preseason breakdown
Class 4A is where the stars play in WPIAL boys basketball. Starting with defending champion Lincoln Park, most of the top teams in the class have at least one Division I prospect on the roster. By March, it might come down to which collection of talent comes together best as...
Plum’s Kaitlyn Killinger chosen as Valley News Dispatch Girls Soccer Player of the Year
The Plum girls soccer team surrendered two goals in a game just three times in the 2021 season. One was in the WPIAL Class 3A championship game against Mars, and the other two came against Section 3 rival Oakland Catholic. The second matchup between the Mustangs and Eagles, the section...
