Greg Macafee stories, Page 34
Allegheny County championship matches are set
The semifinals have concluded at the 2020 Allegheny County wrestling tournament held at Fox Chapel and the championship field is set. The Parade of Champions will begin at 5:45 with the first championship match set to begin at 6 p.m. Of the 14 weight classes, 12 No. 1 seeds advanced...
Plum starts second half of section play with win over Armstrong
A balanced offensive attack is something every coach hopes for, and on Friday night, it helped the Plum Mustangs kick off the second half of their Section 3-5A schedule on the right note. Nine Mustangs found a way to score and junior Connor Moss led the way with 11 points...
Allegheny County wrestling tournament notebook: Mt. Lebanon’s Luke Stout impresses in quest for fourth title
For the past three years, the Allegheny County tournament has been good to Mt. Lebanon senior Luke Stout. He’s a three-time champ and after earning three pins on Friday at Fox Chapel High School, Stout is making a run at No. 4. “I’ve just wanted to keep doing the same...
Deer Lakes leaning on experience, defense heading into 2nd half of season
Entering the second half of section play, the Deer Lakes boys basketball team is in a position it didn’t expect to be. After their state playoff run last season, the Lancers came into the 2019-20 season expecting the same results. Through 11 games, the Lancers are 6-5 with a 3-3...
A-K Valley Boys Basketball Notebook: Local scorers putting up big numbers
Several players from the A-K Valley have been among the WPIAL’s highest scorers this season. Leading the way is Springdale’s Demitri Fritch. The 6-foot-3 junior guard is averaging 27.1 points — along with 13 rebounds, seven assists and four steals a game. He has been a big reason for the...
Springdale tops rival Riverview to remain undefeated in section play
Throughout the 2019-20 basketball season, the Springdale boys basketball team has been carried by a high-paced offense that has averaged 65.5 points a game, which is the third-highest in WPIAL Class 2A. But on Tuesday evening at Donald G. McGhee Fieldhouse, the Dynamos (13-1, 7-0) were led by an intense...
A-K Valley wrestling notebook: Starting lineups starting to round out as postseason approaches
As the postseason approaches, teams are mixing and matching weight classes in order to have their optimal starting lineups come section tournament time. This past week was a crucial one for the defending WPIAL Class AAA state champion Kiski Area Cavaliers. They went 3-0, earned big section victories over Plum...
Seven returning champs looking for more Allegheny County mat gold
On Friday morning, teams from around Allegheny County will travel to Fox Chapel for the annual Allegheny County wrestling tournament. Seven defending champions return, including South Park’s Joey Fischer, Elizabeth Forward’s Ryan Michaels, Thomas Jefferson’s Mike Zacur, North Hills’ Sam Hillegas and Pine Richland’s Nathan Lukez, as well as Mt....
Burrell’s Seth Fischbach, Freeport’s Ricky Hunter play in All-Star game at NFL stadium
Every kid dreams of playing in an NFL stadium, whether it’s for one game or an entire career. On Jan. 4, Burrell’s Seth Fischbach and Freeport’s Ricky Hunter had the opportunity to do that. As a part of the Blue-Grey All-American game, the two first-team Valley News Dispatch All-Star selections...
Trib HSSN wrestler of the week: Trent Schultheis, Freedom
Junior Trent Schultheis went on a run last weekend at the 2020 Mid-Winter Mayhem tournament at IUP. In the 170-pound weight class, Schultheis won all five of his matches, four of them via pin. His first pin came in 1 minute, 13 seconds over North Allegheny’s Nick Caruso. Then he...
Trib HSSN Wrestling Team of the Week: Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson won the Burgettstown tournament during the weekend with three first-place finishers, a runner-up, three third-place finishers and a fifth-place. Kale Buckiso, who wrestles at 138 pounds, defeated Pottsville’s Bryce Gonzalez by a 7-6 decision in the championship of his weight class. Brendan Finnerty defeated Daiveon Slay of Grove...
Around the A-K Valley, sophomores are playing big roles
Successful high school teams often rely on older players, normally seniors or juniors, to lead, play primary roles and help the group reach its maximum potential. That’s normally the case. But sometimes teams come along that rely on a young player or even a young core to carry them. This...
After two losses, Apollo-Ridge gets back on track with section win over Winchester ThurstonVideo
After losing two straight games, the Apollo-Ridge boys basketball team was in need of a win Friday night when it hosted section opponent Winchester Thurston. Thanks to a 20-point performance from junior Jake Fello, along with 17 apiece from Keighton Reese and Klay Fitzroy, that’s exactly what the Vikings got....
A-K Valley boys basketball notebook: Despite injuries, illness, Fox Chapel still finding ways to win
Fox Chapel is one of only two teams remaining in the WPIAL that has an undefeated record and they’ve been doing it in all the right ways. They’ve been putting up the numbers offensively, averaging 57.6 points per game, while only allowing 43.9 points per game. From their four seniors...
Knoch boys basketball flying high after signature win over Highlands
Heading into the season, the Knoch boys basketball team had high hopes. While it still is early, the Knights are living up to expectations. Earlier this week, the Knights (8-1, 3-0) knocked off Trib HSSN WPIAL Class 4A No. 1 Highlands, 74-69, as they limited a team that has averaged...
Knoch shocks top-ranked Highlands in section showdown
Tuesday night’s meeting between WPIAL Class 4A No. 1 Highlands and No. 4 Knoch was one of the most anticipated matchups of the season, and it didn’t disappoint. The teams went back and forth like two heavyweight contenders battling for a championship belt. One would throw a punch and the...
With newfound confidence, Kiski Area’s Sammy Starr is seeing success
Kiski Area’s Sammy Starr came away from the 67th annual Westmoreland County Coaches Association tournament with an individual title in hand. With the type of talent that filled out the 152-pound bracket this weekend at Kiski Area, some may have been surprised by how Starr worked his way through the...
A-K Valley wrestling notebook: Burrell, Kiski Area set for annual showdown
Two of the top wrestling teams in the WPIAL will converge on Thursday at Kiski Area as the three-time defending WPIAL Class AAA champion Cavaliers will host the 13-time defending WPIAL Class AA champions, Burrell. The teams, which are among the top in their classification, get together each year for...
Trib HSSN Wrestler of the Week for week of Jan. 6, 2020
Kiski Area’s Sammy Starr entered the Westmoreland County Coaches Association tournament this past weekend in his home gym and came away with a first-place finish. Starr (16-3) was the No. 4 seed at 152 pounds and earned a 1 minute, 40-second pin over Belle Vernon’s Jerome Gilliam in his first-round...
Trib HSSN Wrestling Team of the Week for week of Jan. 6, 2020
For the fifth straight year, Kiski Area captured the Westmoreland County Coaches Association tournament title, and this time the Cavaliers did it in front of a hometown crowd. With 263 team points, the Cavaliers defeated Hempfield (224.5), Norwin (179.5) and Latrobe (179) for the top spot in the tournament. Four...
Burrell dominates Highlands in section matchup
Heading into Monday night’s Section 3A-AA wrestling match between Burrell and Highlands, both teams were undefeated in their section. Burrell was looking to protect its legacy. Highlands was out to prove that it belonged. On a night where the Bucs were celebrating their seniors and the Golden Rams were down...
Highlands’ Luke Cochran reaches 1,000-point career milestone in win over Freeport
Before Friday night’s game against Freeport, Highlands coach Tyler Stoczynski and senior guard Luke Cochran had a conversation about the section matchup. Cochran needed 21 points to become the 10th player in program history to score 1,000 points in his career. Cochran was averaging 18.9 points, so the mark was...
Highlands overcomes first-half shooting slump to beat FreeportVideo
It wasn’t Highlands’ cleanest game of the season, but the Golden Rams escaped from Freeport with a key section victory on Friday night. Led by Luke Cochran’s 24-point performance — the senior guard also eclipsed 1,000 career points during the game — the Golden Rams (9-1, 2-0) shook off a...
Highlands boys sharing spotlight, climbing WPIAL rankings
When Highlands takes the court, most eyes in the gym usually drift straight toward the play of forward Johnny Crise and point guard Luke Cochran. Over the past few years, the pair of childhood best friends have helped Highlands (8-1, 1-0) jump into the upper echelon of WPIAL boys basketball....
Alle-Kiski Valley boys basketball notebook: Marquee matchups set for Tuesday
Basketball fans looking for a big game to check out Tuesday will be in luck as a few of the Alle-Kiski Valley’s top teams face off against some of their toughest opponents yet. Trib HSSN Class 6A No. 1 Fox Chapel (9-0, 1-0) plays Norwin (8-1, 0-1) in a Section...
