Latrobe football team earns long-awaited 7-on-7 win on its home field
As Penn-Trafford’s final deep pass attempt sailed out of the end zone and fell incomplete, players from Latrobe jumped into each other’s arms and bounced around in a sudden swell of excitement. For once, the Wildcats got to celebrate on their home field, which hosted the county 7-on-7 passing tournament...
George Guido: 1st Willie Thrower QB Camp a success
Even if you’re the returning Willie Thrower Award winner, there’s always more to learn. Armstrong’s Cadin Olsen, one of the state’s top quarterbacks, was back in New Kensington on Saturday for the first Willie Thrower Quarterback Camp and eager to add to his game. Olsen was one of 29 quarterbacks...
Behind 3 WPIAL champions, North Catholic lifts 3rd straight Trib Cup in Class 3A
The North Catholic victory tradition continued to ring loud and clear this past school year. Steady contributions across all three seasons, along with a couple of championship runs, helped the Trojans win a third straight Trib HSSN Cup for Class 3A in 2021-22. “North Catholic has a long standing tradition...
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...
Valley school board removes interim tag, names Kim Johnson full-time AD
For two months this spring, Kim Johnson balanced her duties as a ninth-grade honors biology and AP biology teacher at Valley High School with newly gained responsibilities as the interim athletic director after the resignation of Muzzy Colosimo in March. Through her work with the spring sports teams and advanced...
Keystone Oaks softball rallies from 7-run deficit, tops Valley in 1st round
Sometimes in high school softball, that 21st out is the toughest to get. Valley had a 7-3 lead over Keystone Oaks with two outs in the seventh inning. But the Golden Eagles (10-10) pushed across four runs to tie the score, then scored a run in the eighth to hand...
Valley softball enjoying continued renaissance
Morgan Dunkel was ready to take the ball, toe the rubber in the pitching circle and have a breakout freshman season for the Valley softball team. But the early stages of the growing covid pandemic snuffed out the 2020 spring campaign. “It was difficult. I was looking forward to the...
A-K Valley senior spotlight: Valley’s Dario Wolfe
Spending months and months in quarantine allowed people to try out new hobbies and find different areas of entertainment. Dario Wolfe’s newfound passion was tennis. He spent months learning the game and practicing. A longtime baseball player, he decided last spring to join the Valley boys tennis team instead. “Dario...
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...
A closer look at 2022 Westmoreland County Scholar-Athlete honorees
BELLE VERNON Morgan Einodshofer Sports: Soccer and track and field Parents: Susan and Michael Einodshofer Class rank: 1 of 191 GPA: 4.589 College: Undecided Extracurricular activities and honors: Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Award in 2019. … National Honor Society. … Mid Mon Valley All-Sports Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete. … All-WPIAL...
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...
Pitcher plays key role as Deer Lakes tops Valley, clinches share of section title
Maddie Kee was key for the Deer Lakes softball team in its Section 1-3A clash at rival Valley on Thursday afternoon. Under sunny skies, Kee led the way at the plate, going 3 for 4 with a double and three RBIs. She also scattered four hits in the pitching circle...
Numerous athletes looking to defend titles at WCCA meet
The best of Westmoreland County will descend on Latrobe’s Memorial Stadium Saturday for the running of the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association track and field championship. This is the 99th year for the boys and 42nd for the girls. Numerous returning champions are back trying to defend their titles. Heading the...
Candidates for Westmoreland County Scholar-Athletes awards announced
It’s a rite of passage. Once a year in May, some of the top student-athletes from Westmoreland County are honored. The 66th annual Westmoreland County Scholar-Athlete banquet will honor 36 candidates, two each from the 18 high schools in the county, on May 3 at Ferrante’s Lakeview. Athletic directors and...
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...
Kim Johnson named Valley’s interim athletic director
Kim Johnson has spent the past 30 years teaching the students of the New Kensington-Arnold School District. Whether it was about the intricacies of biology or proper technique in the backstroke, she has made an impact on countless students who have passed through the halls of Valley High School. For...
Valley tennis team ready to defend Section 3 championship
Snow squalls and temperatures in the teens didn’t really signify the start of spring over the weekend, but the spring high school sports season is actually in full swing. Valley’s boys tennis team certainly has come out swinging the racquets to start the chilly campaign. The Vikings opened with a...
A-K Valley senior spotlight: Valley’s Ben Aftanas
A new sports season has begun, which means it’s again time for Ben Aftanas to get to work. The Valley senior is putting on a third uniform this school year as he takes the field as a captain for the Vikings baseball team. Also a golfer and basketball player, Aftanas...
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...
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 Valley News Dispatch Wrestling All-Stars
Calio Zanella Burrell, fr., 113 pounds 2021-22 record: 29-15 Overall record: 29-15 Helped the Bucs reach the WPIAL Class 2A team finals. He placed fifth in the WPIAL tournament and qualified for the PIAA Southwest Regional, where he went 1-2. He was one of the better freshmen in the A-K...
Valley softball team wants to build on playoff berth
Without a senior on the roster, Valley softball managed to break into the playoffs last year for the first time since 2012. The Vikings were 5-9 overall and 5-5 in Section 1-3A. They fell 7-0 to South Allegheny in the first round of the playoffs. Getting to the postseason with...
Valley baseball team confident it can compete for section title
Valley baseball coach Jim Basilone expects the Section 3-3A race to be exciting, and he is confident his team will be among those competing for the title. The Vikings return five starters from last year’s team that finished 13-8 overall and 6-4 in section play with a win over Mohawk...
