Springdale boys soccer team has smooth transition to new coach Palo
Paul Palo didn’t need to have the Springdale boys soccer players fill out name-tag stickers when he took over as the Dynamos coach earlier this year. The Springdale graduate served eight seasons as an assistant and the JV coach under veteran Dynamos coach Cesareo Sanchez. When Sanchez decided to step...
New AD charting course for future of Springdale athletic programs
Amanda Noel is three months into her new role as Springdale athletic director, and she said she is equally as excited with what has been accomplished so far and with what is yet to come as the fall sports season begins in less than a month. “Our coaches and athletes...
Success across sports spectrum leads Greensburg CC to Trib Cup in Class A
The battle for the HSSN Trib Cup in Class A in 2021-2022 turned into one of the closest and most unique battles where overall success won out. In the end, it was Greensburg Central Catholic hoisting the cup aloft again, this despite the school only winning one district championship all...
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...
Greensburg Central Catholic fends off Springdale rally to earn spot in state playoffs
She cranked a shot into the left-field corner and never saw the outfielder bobble the softball. Emma Henry only had one thing on her mind when the ball left the bat and she made the turn: Keep running. The Greensburg Central Catholic junior got the offense started with a triple...
WPIAL softball playoff preview capsule for Thursday, May 26, 2022
WPIAL softball playoffs Consolation game Class A Greensburg Central Catholic (12-6) vs. Springdale (11-2) 4 p.m. Thursday at Plum Players to watch: Emma Henry, GCC; Alexis Hrivnak, Springdale Extra bases: GCC is having its best season since 2012, the last time it made the PIAA playoffs. The Centurions must win...
West Greene softball team downs Springdale, goes for 6th straight WPIAL title
The West Greene machine just keeps on rolling. The Pioneers have a chance at an unprecedented sixth consecutive WPIAL softball title after Tuesday’s 5-2 victory over Springdale in a Class A semifinal at Upper St. Clair’s Boyce-Mayview Field. West Greene (14-3) will play Union on June 1 at Lilley Field...
Alle-Kiski Valley softball playoff capsules: Games of Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Class A semifinals 1-West Greene (13-3) vs. 4-Springdale (11-1) 6 p.m. at Boyce Mayview Park, Upper St. Clair Township Winner plays: Winner of 2-Union (18-3) vs. 3-Greensburg Central Catholic (12-5) in championship game June 1 at Lilley Field, Cal (Pa.) Players to watch: Alexis Hrivnak, Springdale; London Whipkey, West Greene...
Alexis Hrivnak’s 18 strikeouts lift Springdale past South Side in WPIAL quarterfinals
The Springdale and South Side softball teams are no strangers. The teams faced off in the WPIAL quarterfinals Friday for the second straight season at Montour. Last spring, South Side got the better of the Dynamos by a run. On Friday, fourth-seeded Springdale flipped the script and scored a 2-1...
A-K Valley WPIAL playoff softball preview capsules for May 19, 2022
WPIAL softball playoffs Class 3A Quarterfinals 3-Deer Lakes (11-4) vs. 6-Waynesburg (13-4) 5 p.m. Thursday at West Mifflin Winner plays: Winner of 2-South Allegheny (12-3) vs. 10-Keystone Oaks (10-10) on Tuesday in semifinals (site, time TBD) Players to watch: Reese Hasley, Deer Lakes; Kendall Lemley, Waynesburg Extra bases: The Lancers...
After another long layoff, Springdale softball ‘all about keeping the momentum going’
The Springdale softball team’s 3-1 victory over rival Leechburg on May 11 gave it an outright section title for the first time since the 1998 team went 14-0 in section play and made the semifinals of the WPIAL Class AA playoffs. Now, this year’s Dynamos hope to make a run...
A-K Valley senior spotlight: Springdale’s Legend Ausk
This Legend keeps growing. A multi-sport senior at Springdale, Legend Ausk added to an already decorated resume of athletic success for the Dynamos last week when he helped throw a no-hitter in a 4-2 win over St. Joseph. Ausk tossed 51⁄3 no-hit innings, allowing one earned run and striking out...
After sprinting to school record, Springdale’s Gent sets sights on WPIAL, PIAA success
Colton Gent joined the Springdale track and field team to stay in shape and to continue training for football season. The freshman made an immediate contribution last fall as a running back, wide receiver, defensive back and return specialist for the Dynamos but wanted to improve his speed. Mission accomplished....
Springdale softball takes advantage of Leechburg miscues, holds off late rally
The Leechburg and Springdale softball teams ended long weather-related layoffs Monday with the resumption of a Section 3-A rivalry that has produced its fair share of close and competitive outcomes. The contest at Leechburg-Gilpin Park — the first this season between the Dynamos and Blue Devils — was no exception....
A-K Valley senior spotlight: Springdale’s Alexis Hrivnak
Three weeks into the season, the Springdale softball team had managed to play just two games. Senior pitcher Alexis Hrivnak made an impact in both of them. Wet weather and subsequent poor field conditions have kept the Dynamos in the dugout, but when they are on the field, they have...
New coach to Springdale football team: ‘Show me what ya got’
Ryan Tempalski is ready to generate a spark for the Springdale football program. Familiar with a number of high school coaching systems in his 16 years as an assistant in the WPIAL, the new Dynamos head coach, officially hired at this month’s school board meeting March 15, is energized to...
Former Cager Classic MVP Corey Smith now coaching in all-star basketball game
Kiski Area coach Corey Smith has come full circle with the Cager Classic. He was the East MVP in 2002, an assistant under Greg Hutcherson and now the head coach for the East as the Cager Classic returns after a two-year hiatus brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The event...
2022 WPIAL Class A softball preseason breakdown
Last spring was a celebration as district athletes returned to the diamonds after the 2020 season was canceled because of the covid-19 shutdowns. Softball was a success throughout as the WPIAL crowned four new champions while Laurel and West Greene remained on top in 2A and A. District softball squads...
Fueled by playoff loss, expectations surging for Springdale softball
To say the Springdale softball program has turned things around would be an understatement. The Dynamos won 24 games over the past two seasons, more than they won in the previous 10 years combined. Now, coach Anthony Pototo feels his team can take it a step further. “It’s just been...
Recent Springdale grad set to turn around alma mater’s baseball program
If you’re at a Springdale baseball game this spring, don’t be surprised if it takes a minute to identify the team’s coach. Dante Mahlmeister was hired in mid-February to lead his alma mater and attempt to turn around a program that has fallen on hard times. Mahlmeister, 24, played baseball,...
Sto-Rox pulls away from Springdale in 2nd quarter, advances to WPIAL 2A quarterfinals
A big second quarter was more than enough to push Sto-Rox along further in the playoffs. The ninth-seeded Vikings clamped down on defense and held host Springdale to one field goal in the second frame en route to a 72-46 victory in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A...
Alle-Kiski Valley WPIAL basketball playoff capsules for Feb. 22, 2022
Boys First round Class 2A 9-Sto-Rox (11-7) at 8-Springdale (11-11) 7 p.m. Tuesday Winner plays: Winner of 1-Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (19-0)/16-Chartiers-Houston (9-13) on Friday in quarterfinals (site, time TBD) Layup lines: Sto-Rox finished in third place in Section 2 behind co-champions Fort Cherry and Carlynton. The Vikings...
Ellis School girls bounce back in 2nd half, oust Springdale in WPIAL Class 2A
Going into halftime, the Springdale girls basketball team positioned itself to break a long postseason victory drought, but Ellis School had other ideas. After being limited to eight first-half points, the Tigers nearly tripled that number in the third quarter, scoring 21, on their way to a 37-25 comeback victory...
