Michael Love stories, Page 45
Leechburg hires Angela Franke as new athletic director
Angela Franke said the past couple of days have been a whirlwind since the Leechburg School Board voted to officially hire her as athletic director Wednesday evening. “I am really excited to have this great opportunity at Leechburg,” said Franke, who served the past two academic years as the athletic...
Freeport softball standout Sydney Selker headed to Akron after recruiting plans change
St. Francis’ loss is Akron’s gain. Freeport senior Sydney Selker verbally committed to the Red Flash softball team in January, but a coaching change in June restarted the recruiting process for the Yellowjackets standout. After a whirlwind three-week process to find a new collegiate home, Selker settled in with the...
Former Valley player Carlisle will coach Vikings boys soccer team, which returns this fall
Ben Carlisle is no stranger to the experience of representing the Valley boys soccer team. He enjoyed a standout career with the Vikings before graduating in 2015. For the past several seasons as a coach with the Valley junior high co-ed program, he has shared the frustration of not having...
Monroeville Junior Legion team completes best season in program history at state tournament
After league and regional tournaments where it won six of nine games, the Monroeville Junior Legion team set its sights on making some noise at the Pennsylvania state tournament in Berwick. Things started well with a win in its first game, but a pair of losses in the double-elimination event...
Plum grad excited to take over alma mater’s hockey program
Jon Gratton’s first foray into ice hockey coaching came three seasons ago when the 2009 Plum graduate accepted a varsity assistant coaching position on college teammate Cam Raidna’s staff at Fox Chapel. “I can’t say right off the bat that coaching was a goal of mine,” said Gratton, a four-year...
Summer youth basketball program enlivens New Kensington
There have been shoot-arounds and pickup games on the new basketball courts at the Barnes Street Playground for a couple of months since they officially opened in the spring. Ian Benson said he believes the current Kings & Queens of the Court summer youth basketball program at the park is...
2023 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Central Catholic’s Cole Sullivan
Cole Sullivan received several dozen Division I offers during the college recruiting process. In the end, Michigan won out as he verbally committed to the Wolverines in May. “I am really happy with my decision,” Sullivan said. “I did what’s best for me. Now, it’s great to see a bunch...
International field lined up for PONY League World Series in Washington
Eight teams have qualified with two more to be decided this week as anticipation grows for the 71st Dick’s Sporting Goods PONY League World Series on Aug. 11-16 in Washington, Pa. The world will be watching as four U.S. Zone winners, the host team from Washington County, the host area...
Weather can’t cloud success of Freeport International; 2024 plans already in works
The Freeport International Baseball Invitational wasn’t immune to Mother Nature’s adverse weather conditions as lightning Friday and rain Saturday dampened the momentum of a week’s worth of youth baseball at a half-dozen fields in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Chuck Sarver, president of the Freeport International, said despite the temporary rough weather,...
Gateway grad Jaquan Brisker gives back to community before beginning 2nd NFL season
Jaquan Brisker and his Chicago Bears teammates opened training camp July 26 with hopes of putting all the pieces together for a run at a return to the NFC playoffs in 2023. Brisker, a Gateway High School and Penn State graduate, begins season prep with his eyes on team goals...
Community rallies to help send New Kensington youth Adrionna Foster to national track meet
Adrionna Foster qualified for the USA Track and Field Junior Olympic National Championships in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes last summer. But the considerable cost associated with making the trip prevented her from attending and competing on the biggest stage in the country. This year, however, Foster is on...
Old-Timer’s game continues tradition at Freeport International Baseball Invitational
With three days of youth baseball games in the books at James E. Swartz Sr. Memorial Field in Freeport Boro and at five other fields throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley, an older generation again gathered at Swartz Field on Thursday for the annual Sonny Westerman Old Timers game. Winning the game...
2023 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Fort Cherry’s Matt Sieg
To say Matt Sieg broke out in his first varsity football season would be an understatement. The Fort Cherry rising sophomore quarterback threw for more than 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and 33 scores. He added 36 tackles on defense. “I was really happy...
It’s My Show the favorite for The Meadows’ 57th Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids
It’s My Show dazzled last Saturday in the eliminations for the 57th Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. The winning time of 1 minute, 47.4 seconds set a world record for a 3-year-old gelding on a five-eights-mile track and put It’s My Show...
Members of Oakmont Martial Arts earn awards in world competition in Phoenix
Clarissa Tinkey was on the doorstep of a medal at the American Taekwondo Association’s Songahm World Championships earlier this month in Phoenix, Ariz. The Verona resident and rising sophomore at Redeemer Lutheran High School in Verona competed for bronze in combat sparring for the Girls 13-14-year-old 2nd and 3rd Degree...
Monroeville Junior Legion set to compete at state tournament
Monroeville Junior Legion is headed to the state playoffs after a run in the Western Regional tournament which saw the team automatically qualify by making the championship game. The state tournament, an eight-team, double-elimination format, will begin Friday in Berwick and continue through to the title game next Wednesday (Aug....
French team making memories at Freeport International Baseball Invitational
Diane Simon turns 13 Saturday. She is celebrating in America — more specifically, in Freeport, as part of the Freeport International Baseball Invitational — while playing the sport she loves with teammates and friends by her side. For the second year in a row, a team known as the Hawks...
Annual Freeport International Baseball Invitational gets underway in FreeportVideo
Under clear skies with a game-time temperature of 80 degrees, the Hawks 13-14 age team from France took to James E. Swartz Sr. Memorial Field in Freeport Borough on Monday evening for a game against the Backyard Bucs, a similar-age travel team with players from communities including Fox Chapel, Natrona...
Gateway, Cal (Pa.) grad Jae’Len Means joins elite runners at national championships
Jae’Len Means’ list of collegiate sprint accomplishments during his time at Cal (Pa.) is long and illustrious. The Gateway graduate was a multi-time All-American who won eight individual Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference titles while with the Vulcans through the spring of 2019. Means said while he was proud of all...
Park Sharks capture 2023 Monroeville Invitational swimming championship
The Haymaker Hammerheads had ruled the roost in recent Monroeville Invitational swim events at Garden City Pool. Haymaker won five in a row through last year and six of the previous seven. But the Park Sharks didn’t allow Haymaker to extend its streak to six straight and captured the 53rd...
Final preparations underway for opening of annual Freeport International Baseball Invitational
When last year’s Freeport International Baseball Invitational wrapped up, plans already were in the works for this year’s event, the 29th installment of the Alle-Kiski Valley summer tradition. Meetings, phone calls, emails and other planning sessions over the past 12 months have come down to just a few days left...
2023 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Penn Hills’ Julian Dugger
As a sophomore, Julian Dugger helped Penn Hills win the Northeast Conference Class 5A title and make it to the WPIAL semifinals. The dual-threat quarterback threw for more than 1,300 yards that season. But 2022 was a tough year for the entire Penn Hills program as the team missed the...
Faith Remich hits ground running as Burrell’s new cross country coach
Faith Remich has come full circle. The running standout got her start as a freshman at Burrell and was member of the Bucs cross country team when the program was started in the fall of 2015. Remich, who enjoyed a stellar career in both cross country and track and field...
3rd annual ‘Pack the Park’ game to open volleyball season with celebration of the sport
Dakoda Fickes knows all about the feel of playing an outdoor volleyball match on a grass court. The new head coach of the Kiski Area girls volleyball team also is involved with a sports recreation business that puts together and runs outdoor grass tournaments. So there is no doubt he...
2023 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Gateway’s Brad Birch
The Gateway football team’s 2022 season ended sooner than expected with a close WPIAL Class 5A first-round home loss to Upper St. Clair at Antimarino Stadium. While the returning Gators players, including senior quarterback Brad Birch, said they learned a lot from that game and from the season overall, they...
