Greg Macafee stories, Page 28
Senior Spotlight: Vincentian Academy’s Jared Katz left wanting more
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Vincentian Academy is set to close its doors at the end of the school year. So after senior Jared Katz watched the boys basketball team win the WPIAL Class...
Avonworth’s Trevor Faulkner starting to reel in collegiate offers
Avonworth’s Trevor Faulkner was hoping to be a quarterback, but the 6-foot-5, 225-pounder made the switch to tight end last season, when the Antelopes reached the PIAA Class 2A championship game. At the time, Faulkner was focusing on the transition to his new position, not on college scholarships. He ended...
Former Canon-McMillan shortstop Linda Rush plays crucial role in Drexel’s turnaround
Drexel softball coach Carl Taylor remembers seeing former Canon-McMillan shortstop Linda Rush for the first time. Taylor admitted a college coach normally wouldn’t want to recruit a player based solely on a video, but that wasn’t the case for Rush. He came across her recruitment video on Youtube and while...
Yough seniors no strangers to hard work
Editor’s note: This is the last in an 18-part series profiling nominees for the Westmoreland County Scholar-Athlete Excellence Awards. Yough seniors Steven Manon and Sara Krofcheck were no strangers to hard work. They used work ethic and determination to excel on the athletic field and in the classroom, making them...
Senior Spotlight: Waynesburg senior had storied high school career even without final season
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. When Waynesburg senior Luke Robinson was younger, he was always playing with the older kids. His brother Hunter had started playing baseball a few years before him, so when...
WPIAL alumni Ian Happ, LaVar Arrington pass on valuable, virtual advice to alma maters
Mt. Lebanon baseball coach Pat McCloskey was exchanging texts back and forth with a former player on a random Monday night. Out of the blue, that former player, who just happened to be Chicago Cubs utility man Ian Happ, asked if the longtime Blue Devils coach could set up a...
Senior Spotlight: Moon 3-sport athlete was hoping for one more successful season
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Logan Young was hoping to have a standout season across the board in his final year at Moon. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Carnegie Mellon football commit had already done so...
Riverhounds bring back players for small group training
The Riverhounds are back on the field. Not fully, but the Riverhounds will take what they can get as members of the team returned to their facilities Monday in small groups while following league protocol and local health guidelines. “It’s good to have (the players) back,” Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley...
Penn-Trafford seniors defined excellence during high school careers
Editor’s note: This is the 15th in an 18-part series profiling nominees for the Westmoreland County Scholar-Athlete Excellence Awards. During their high school careers at Penn-Trafford, Gabe Dunlap and Corina Paszek were the definition of excellence on the athletic field and in the classroom. Dunlap went down as one of...
Decision to get Tommy John surgery blessing in disguise for former Knoch pitcher
Alex Stobert has had quite a journey through college. The former Knoch pitcher who helped the Knights capture WPIAL and PIAA titles in 2015 — throwing 26 scoreless innings out of 27 during the PIAA postseason — has made the rounds. After playing at Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College for two...
Senior Spotlight: After football state title, TJ senior misses chance to shine on diamond
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Thomas Jefferson senior Dylan Mallozzi got his final high school season off to a great start. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound running back rushed for 1,921 yards and 28 touchdowns, including...
Ex-Slippery Rock QB Roland Rivers stays ready as he awaits opportunity
When the NFL Draft came and went in April, former Slippery Rock quarterback Roland Rivers III never received a call. So he waited, hoping a team would sign him as a free agent afterward. Still, nothing came. Now, almost a month after the draft, Rivers still is without an NFL...
Pittsburgh Hotspurs, Arsenal FC announce collaboration for 2020-21 season
Soccer in Western Pennsylvania received positive news earlier this week when Pittsburgh Hotspurs and Arsenal FC announced a collaboration for the 2020-21 season. The collaboration between the soccer clubs will allow players from both youth programs to earn a spot with the Pittsburgh Hotspurs NPSL or WPSL First Team squad,...
Monessen seniors stay busy during successful high school careers
Editor’s note: This is the 12th in an 18-part series profiling nominees for the Westmoreland County Scholar-Athlete Excellence Awards. Milana Sacco and Cameron Frolo have spent their entire high school careers representing Monessen in the best way they could. From athletic endeavors on the track, soccer pitch and baseball field,...
Senior Spotlight: Mitchell, Freeport baseball seniors still finding ways to bond
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Although their final high school season was canceled, the seniors on the Freeport baseball team have still found a way to bond during the coronavirus pandemic. Jarrett Heilman started...
Smithley, Ganassi among those ready to get NASCAR back on track
Over the weekend, UFC led the way for the return of live sports during the coronavirus pandemic, and on Sunday, NASCAR will follow suit. The series plans to resume its racing schedule at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. The 400-mile race will kick off a stretch of seven races in...
Record-breaking Slippery Rock kicker Jake Chapla ready for next opportunity
Over the past four years, Jake Chapla made quite a name for himself at Slippery Rock. The Plum graduate became the PSAC’s all-time leader for points by a kicker and also broke The Rock’s career records for field goals and extra points. “Just reflecting back on that, I really accomplished...
Senior Spotlight: Laurel Highlands second baseman won’t soon forget run to WPIAL finals
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Just like the Laurel Highlands basketball team this past December, the baseball team was on the verge of a WPIAL championship last May. After going 11-6 overall and 7-5...
With family help, Kiski Area seniors succeeded in athletic endeavors
Editor’s note: This is the 10th in an 18-part series profiling nominees for the Westmoreland County Scholar-Athlete Excellence Awards. When Kiski Area’s Jack Blumer and Sidney Palla first got started in high school, they had the opportunity to get ushered in by their older siblings. For Blumer, he was joined...
Former Fox Chapel pitcher Pilarski makes jump to Division I
When former Fox Chapel pitcher Jacob Pilarski finally got the call that his senior baseball season at Virginia Wesleyan was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, he was disappointed. He wanted his final season at VWU to be a big one. He was hoping he could make a big enough...
Chip Ganassi Racing ready to take E-racing to extreme
Fox Chapel native Chip Ganassi has never been one to shy away from innovation, and earlier this week his racing team announced its next adventurous endeavor. After celebrating its 30th anniversary earlier this year, Chip Ganassi Racing revealed it will be joining its first electrical racing venture, confirming its 2021...
Springdale quarterback Ausk returns from collarbone injury bigger and better
Legend Ausk was excited about his sophomore year on the football field. The young Springdale quarterback put in a lot of time and effort during the offseason to make sure when the lights turned on at Veterans Memorial Field on Friday nights in 2019, he was the one leading the...
After Tommy John surgery, former Fox Chapel left-hander Monteverde motivated to take career to next level
A year ago, former Fox Chapel left-hander Pat Monteverde was coming off one of the best innings of his life. The then-sophomore at Seton Hill had thrown 10 pitches and struck out three Augustana batters during the Griffins’ spring break trip to Florida. Augustana was the defending NCAA Division II...
Senior Spotlight: After first playoff win in 18 years, St. Joseph senior wanted one more shot
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Tyler Wood has loved baseball since he was a little kid. Ever since his father introduced him to T-ball, the senior right-hander was drawn to the sport. So, when...
Senior Spotlight: West Allegheny baseball standout grew to love high school game
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. For the past few years, the West Allegheny baseball team has been on the brink of capturing championships. The Indians fell short in 2017-18 when they placed third in...
