Michael Love stories, Page 35
Plum swimmers add WPIAL cut times as competition heats up
The WPIAL performance lists for individual swimmers, relays and divers were released for the first time Jan. 9, and it was a welcomed sight for Plum competitors. It gave them a chance to see where they ranked in several events in Class 3A (girls) and Class 2A (boys) after the...
Off to strong start, Mareana Pilyih, Plum bowlers chasing WPIBL success
Plum senior Mareana Pilyih came into the season with clear goals, both for her own game and the fortunes of her team. They are being in the mix for Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Bowling League titles next month and also finishing off her decorated varsity career at states in March. So...
Gateway wrestlers look forward to county tournament
The youthful Gateway wrestling team is on the cusp of a midseason measuring stick known as the Allegheny County Wrestling Tournament, and coach Ryan Sula said he hopes to see his wrestlers make the most of the opportunity to see where they stand. It is the Gators’ third tournament of...
Gateway swimmers getting healthy ahead of key stretch of meets
Gateway swim coach Glenn Raymer said getting healthy and staying healthy is a main focus for team members as they move into the heart of their section meet schedule. Raymer said it’s been a grind the past couple of weeks as several have missed practices or meets recovering from illnesses....
Plum girls keep focus, rout Kiski Area to stay undefeated in section
With a monster battle for first place in Section 1-5A looming against Indiana on Monday, the Plum girls basketball team hoped to stay focused Friday at Kiski Area against a Cavaliers team seeking a win to stay even with three other teams in the race for the WPIAL playoffs. The...
Burrell girls overcome hiccup in rout of Apollo-Ridge
Ahead by 15 points in the second quarter of Thursday’s Section 3-3A matchup at Apollo-Ridge, the Burrell girls basketball team had designs on widening its lead and running away with a victory. The Vikings didn’t make it easy on the Bucs and rallied to within three in the early stages...
Highlands wrestling routs section rival Knoch
Highlands maintained its unblemished record in Section 5-2A Wednesday with victories in nine of the 13 contested bouts with rival Knoch at a packed Highlands Middle School gym. It all added up to a 45-24 triumph for the Golden Knights, which lifted them to 11-4 overall and 4-0 in the...
A-K Valley high school notes: Four reach 1,000 career points in basketball
A quartet of the Alle-Kiski Valley’s top basketball scorers this season reached the 1,000-point milestone. Kiski Area senior Isaiah Gonzalez and Plum senior Megan Marston accomplished the feat in games Jan. 2. Marston delivered a 3-pointer in the second quarter of the Mustangs’ 53-43 victory at Woodland Hills to hit...
2024 PIHL all-star rosters released
Big games and big performances have filled the first three months of the PIHL regular season. Now, many of those standout players will have the chance to come together at the end of this month to show their stuff in a series of all-star games. The 2024 PIHL all-star rosters...
Kira Schrecongost leads way for Freeport swimmers
Kira Schrecongost again was an iron woman at the WPIAL and PIAA swimming championships. The Freeport junior last season swam four events — two individual and two relays — on the first day of the WPIAL Class 2A meet at Pitt’s Trees Pool. She earned four medals that day —...
Before heading to Cincinnati, South Park’s Katie Jackovic aims for more WPIAL, PIAA success
Like many elite swimmers at the high school level, Katie Jackovic is versatile in what she can do in the water. That again is evident by the fact that the South Park senior already has qualified for WPIALs in every individual event. What she will swim at WPIALs in early...
West Virginia-bound Patton Graziano an all-around performer for Penn-Trafford Water Warriors
Patton Graziano gained a second home in November as he signed a national letter of intent to swim at Division I West Virginia. His first home, Penn-Trafford, is where he hopes to continue to make his mark in a senior season filled with high expectations. The defending WPIAL Class 3A...
Former Gateway coach Daryn Freedman leads Penn State Greater Allegheny to No. 1 ranking
Daryn Freedman entered his fourth season as Penn State Greater Allegheny men’s basketball head coach in the fall, and his team had its sights set on making its mark in the Penn State University Athletic Conference and beyond. So far, things have gone well for the former boys head coach...
Focus on defense fuels 8-1 start for Gateway boys basketball
The Gateway boys basketball team kicked off 2024 in winning fashion Jan. 2 with a 62-46 victory over McKeesport in its Section 3-5A opener. It continued what has been a strong start for the Gators, who improved to 8-1 overall. While coach Alvis Rogers is happy with the way his...
Recovered from offseason injury, Plum’s Antonino Walker off to strong start to senior season
Antonino Walker’s summer of wrestling competition and also his preparation for the 2023-24 high school season came to a halt when he suffered a broken ankle at a tournament with Young Guns in Nashville, Tenn. The injury required surgery and the standout Plum senior was off the mat for nearly...
Highlands girls step on gas pedal in win vs. Freeport
The Highlands girls basketball team carried a lot of momentum from a pair of wins at its holiday tournament into a Section 1-4A matchup with Freeport on Thursday at Highlands High School. The Golden Rams’ senior-laden lineup came out strong on both ends of the court and began to overwhelm...
Riverview girls basketball team rounding into form
The Riverview girls basketball team got a later jump into the season than some others as several players who enjoyed a run to the state soccer finals in mid November didn’t get onto the court until two days after official practices began. Playing catch-up in a number of areas, the...
Megan Marston scores 1,000th career point to lead Plum girls past Woodland Hills
The Plum girls basketball team entered the New Year hoping to get back on the winning track after three straight losses to close out 2023. The Mustangs got what they were looking for as they improved to 3-0 in Section 1-5A on Tuesday with a 53-43 victory at Woodland Hills....
2023 in A-K Valley sports: High school athletes make their championship dreams come true
The year 2023 will long be remembered for many monumental happenings, from a landmark announcement by the PIAA to A-K Valley athletes’ accomplishments and championship performances and teams bringing home gold at the district, regional and state levels. Athletes again were able to pay off many hours of dedication and...
Kiski Area swimmers won’t rest on laurels
Landon Seman remembers it well. The current senior and the other three members of the Kiski Area boys 400-yard freestyle relay — junior Justin Tucker and graduates Parker Sterlitz and Levi Hansen — knew what they needed to do to overtake Indiana in the Class 2A team standings and wrap...
A-K Valley girls basketball notebook: Injuries pose another challenge for Fox Chapel
Fox Chapel coach Marty Matvey said his team had a strong offseason and had designs on claiming a section championship after just missing the playoffs a year ago. But after injuries to a pair of seniors – Sarah Slember and Skye Byrnes – Matvey has retooled the Foxes lineup as...
Valley defensive lineman Ballard signs to play football at Division I Buffalo
Demetrius Ballard was a focus of many offensive game plans during his senior season on the Valley defensive line. The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder wreaked havoc in the trenches and in backfields, often garnering double and triple teams to try to neutralize his strength and quickness. The Valley News Dispatch first-team all-star...
Indiana pulls away from Kiski Area girls in 2nd quarter to win section opener
The Kiski Area girls basketball team hoped to stop a two-game losing skid, which included a one-point loss to Mars last Friday, as it opened Section 1-5A play Tuesday against defending section champion Indiana. But the visiting Indians had other plans. Senior guard Bella Antonacci, a section all-star last year,...
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC schedule set for 2024 season
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC will open the 2024 USL Championship schedule on the road at New Mexico United in Albuquerque March 9. The team then will begin the home portion of its 25th anniversary season against Orange County on March 16 at Highmark Stadium. The Hounds, winners of the 2023 Players’...
Quartet of WPIAL players selected to all-state field hockey teams
The Pennsylvania High School Field Hockey Coaches Association recently released its 2023 all-state teams, and while a majority of the players recognized are from the eastern side of the state, four from the WPIAL were honored with spots on the lists for both Class 2A and Class 3A. Penn-Trafford senior...
