Michael Love stories, Page 51
Plum boys volleyball ready for new challenge in Class 3A
The Plum volleyball team’s final Class 2A match last year was a close five-set contest against Thomas Jefferson in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. The No. 8 Jaguars edged the No. 9 Mustangs, 3-2, to advance to the quarterfinals. Suddenly, Plum’s season was over. The Mustangs left Class...
Valley News Dispatch girls basketball all-stars: St. Joseph’s Julie Spinelli sparks run to PIAA tournament
Here are the 2022-23 Valley News Dispatch girls basketball all-stars: Player the year Julie Spinelli St. Joseph, 5-11, Jr., G/F In St. Joseph’s season opener against Belle Vernon at the Play For Mae Tournament at Woodland Hills, Julie Spinelli went off for 29 points to lead her team to a...
Plum adds roster depth to track and field teams
Plum track and field coach Stephanie Kennedy saw a growth in numbers for both the boys and girls teams from last year to this spring, and the mix of veteran and new talent has her excited for what can be accomplished between now and the championship events in the latter...
Friendships put aside as fighters collide at Western PA Golden Gloves finals Saturday
Michael Williams and Brian Mowry know each other well as boxers who train at Boyce Gym in Plum. On Saturday, they will put friendship and camaraderie aside for 15 to 20 minutes as they face each other for the 203-plus pound open division championship as part of the Western PA...
Valley softball sets tone early, brings home win over Highlands
Valley jumped on Highlands for three runs in the first inning of a nonsection softball game Tuesday. The Vikings scored just one more run in the matchup, but the early outburst proved to be the difference in a 4-2 victory over the Golden Rams. “This is a nice win for...
Led by trio of divers, North Allegheny girls win program’s 8th team title at PIAA swim meet
LEWISBURG — The North Allegheny girls swimming and diving team had a distinct points advantage even before the swimming consolation and championship finals began Friday afternoon at the PIAA Class 3A championships Bucknell University. Christina Shi, Lola Malarky and Juliet Hood placed first, third and seventh in the diving completion...
Fox Chapel girls relay squad takes home silver at PIAA
LEWISBURG — Talia Bugel couldn’t contain her excitement after she and her Fox Chapel teammates finished the 400-yard freestyle relay final Saturday afternoon at the PIAA Class 3A championships at Bucknell. The Foxes quartet — Bugel, sophomore Sarah Pasquella and seniors Payton O’Toole and Sophie Shao — was second after...
Franklin Regional’s Thomas shines in PIAA 100 backstroke
LEWISBURG — With only eight-tenths of a second separating the No. 1 and No. 8 seeds in the championship final of the boys 100-yard backstroke Saturday evening at the PIAA Class 3A championships, predicting the final order of finish was a little more difficult than one might have originally thought....
Seneca Valley’s Isaiah Clerkley takes silver as 3 from WPIAL earn PIAA diving medals
LEWISBURG — Isaiah Clerkley hit his sixth and final dive – an inward 1½ somersault pike with a 2.4 degree of difficulty – to move into first place in Saturday’s PIAA Class 3A boys championship meet at Bucknell University. The Seneca Valley junior and WPIAL champion finished with 302.95 points....
WPIAL swimmers set for championship heats on 2nd day of PIAA Class 3A meet
LEWISBURG – WPIAL swimmers in Class 3A are gearing up for consolation and championships heats Saturday afternoon and evening on the final day of the PIAA state meet from Bucknell University. Mt. Lebanon sophomore Sylvia Roy, second Friday in the 50-yard freestyle, has positioned herself as the top seed for...
Franklin Regional relay sets school record, wins state title
The Franklin Regional boys 200-yard medley relay team had some unfinished business as it arrived at Bucknell for the first day of the PIAA Class 3A swimming championships. The Panthers quartet of junior Holden Thomas, senior Aiden Bunker, junior Ben Holm and senior Jason Tosh swam a time of 1...
Franklin Regional boys relay team makes jump from 3rd at WPIALs to state gold
The Franklin Regional boys 200-yard medley relay team had some unfinished business as it arrived at Bucknell University for the first day of the PIAA Class 3A swimming championships. The Panthers quartet of junior Holden Thomas, senior Aiden Bunker, junior Ben Holm and senior Jason Tosh swam a time of...
PIAA meet brings ups, downs for Fox Chapel standout Sophia Shao
Sophie Shao and the 100-yard butterfly go hand in hand. The Fox Chapel senior closed out her four-year run in the event as a four-time WPIAL champion, the WPIAL Class 3A record holder and a two-time state champion. Shao, an Ivy League commit at Brown University, added her second straight...
North Allegheny’s Christina Shi captures 3rd straight PIAA diving title
LEWISBURG — The WPIAL populated the medals podium Friday afternoon at the PIAA Class 3A girls diving championships as all four entries from the district earned medals. North Allegheny senior Christina Shi led the WPIAL quartet with her third straight state championship. Latrobe senior Hannah Polosky was second, North Allegheny...
WPIAL swimmers position themselves for finals at PIAA Class 3A championships
LEWISBURG — WPIAL swimmers are positioned for several championship finals swims on Day 1 at the PIAA Class 3A championships at Bucknell. Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny, Fox Chapel and Upper St. Clair are seeded second through sixth, respectively, in the girls 200-yard medley relay. North Allegheny senior Lexi Sundgren is...
WPIAL swimmers rack up 14 gold medals at PIAA Class 2A meet
WPIAL swimmers didn’t slow down Thursday as the PIAA Class 2A swimming championships continued at Bucknell University. They won seven more state titles, bringing the WPIAL’s total gold-medal haul to 14 for the two days of competition. Indiana sophomore Preston Kessler captured two of the championships as he added the...
Mt. Pleasant girls swimmers finish off PIAA team championship in style
LEWISBURG — After receiving their PIAA Class 2A championship trophy Thursday at Bucknell, the coaches and swimmers of the Mt. Pleasant girls team jumped into the water to celebrate. It was a repeat of the plunge they made at WPIALs as the Vikings swept both postseason team accolades. “So many...
Kiski Area athletes swim to glory at PIAA meet
Parker Sterlitz finished outside the top 16 in last year’s Class 3A boys 500-yard freestyle at the PIAA swim championships at Bucknell. What a difference a year makes. Sterlitz, the WPIAL Class 2A champion in the 500 and the No. 1 seed after a successful preliminary swim Thursday morning, captured...
A-K Valley softball preview: Realignment freshens local matchups
To Katie Armstrong, it seems like just yesterday the Burrell softball team was making its run in the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs en route to a 14-3 final record. “It was so cool to see what we did because we were so young to start the season with a number...
WPIAL trio claims PIAA Class 2A boys diving medals
A trio from the WPIAL took their places on the medal podium at the conclusion of the PIAA Class 2A boys diving championship meet Thursday afternoon at Bucknell University. WPIAL champion Brecken Finkbeiner, a junior from Blackhawk, led the WPIAL contingent with a fourth-place finish with 219.35 points, 15 points...
Mt. Pleasant’s Lily King breaks state record in 100 freestyle in PIAA Day 2 preliminaries
LEWISBURG — After a strong opening day of the PIAA swimming championships Wednesday, WPIAL Class 2A boys and girls swimmers returned to Bucknell on Thursday morning and carried the momentum into some top preliminary swims in the 100-yard freestyle, 500 free, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke and 400 free relay ....
WPIAL swimmers claim 7 state titles on 1st day of PIAA Class 2A swim championships
WPIAL swimmers had a banner day Wednesday to open the PIAA Class 2A championships at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium. The WPIAL came away with seven state titles – two relays and five individuals – and earned numerous other top medal-winning performances. Southmoreland senior Henry Miller went 2 for 2 Wednesday...
Southmoreland’s Henry Miller rocks PIAA competition with pair of gold-medal swims
A perk of being the No. 1 seed for a PIAA swimming finals heat is getting to pick the walk-up music that is played while the eight finalists make their way to the starting blocks. Southmoreland senior Henry Miller had that opportunity twice Wednesday evening as he was the top...
Freeport’s Kira Schrecongost, other A-K Valley swimmers face best, score medals at PIAA meet
Freeport sophomore Kira Schrecongost and South Park junior Katie Jackovic know the power of Bedford junior Leah Shackley. Schrecongost placed third in the girls Class 2A 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.16 seconds Wednesday at the PIAA swimming championships at Bucknell. Jackovic was second in a time of 55.51....
North Catholic’s Maggie Foley collects 3rd silver medal in PIAA Class 2A girls diving
North Catholic senior Maggie Foley had gold on her mind Wednesday afternoon at the PIAA Class 2A girls diving championships at Bucknell University. She finished runner-up the past two years to Marple Newtown graduate Alexandra Pastris. But the Pitt commit’s rise to the top of the podium was cut off...
