Michael Love stories, Page 54
Gateway bowlers earn trip to regional championships
The youthful Gateway boys bowling team collected 2,561 pins through three games and finished 15th out of 24 teams at the WPIBL boys team championship tournament Feb. 15, at Sims Lanes in Beaver Falls. Junior Alex Keeling-Oliver led the Gators with games of 165, 210 and 168 to finish with...
No. 11 Mohawk upsets No. 6 Apollo-Ridge in 1st round, gets rematch with Neshannock
The Mohawk girls basketball team had a long ride home from Apollo-Ridge after a WPIAL Class 3A first-round game Saturday afternoon. But the nearly 90-minute trip back to the New Castle area was a joyous one. Three players landed in double figures as the No. 11-seeded Warriors came away with...
A-K Valley basketball playoff preview capsules for games of Feb. 18, 2023
WPIAL basketball playoffs Girls Class 3A First round 11-Mohawk (14-8) at 6-Apollo-Ridge (19-3) Noon Saturday at Apollo-Ridge High School, Spring Church Winner plays: Winner of 14-Charleroi (11-9) at 3-Neshannock (16-6) in quarterfinals Wednesday (site and time TBD) Players to watch: Erynne Capalbo, Mohawk; Brinley Toland, Apollo-Ridge Layup lines: Mohawk is...
Plum girls oust Montour in preliminary round, advance to face No. 1 South Fayette
Before the Plum girls basketball team could focus on No. 1, it had to make sure it took care of business against No. 17. The 16th-seeded Mustangs got double-figure scoring performances from juniors Megan Marston and Pascale Olczak as they punched their ticket to a first-round matchup against top seed...
Senior grabs starting spot, makes impact in paint for Highlands girls
Ava Nitowski scored 14 points and added 11 rebounds Jan. 4 as the Highlands girls basketball team topped rival Freeport by 11. The double-double was a memorable performance and a strong start to the new year for the 6-foot senior first-year starter, who helped the Golden Rams win 14 games...
A-K Valley basketball playoff preview capsules for games of Feb. 16, 2023
WPIAL basketball playoffs Boys Class 4A Preliminary round 17-West Mifflin (9-12) at 16-Knoch (8-14) 7 p.m. Thursday at Knoch High School, Saxonburg Winner plays: 1-Lincoln Park (21-1), 7 p.m. Monday at Lincoln Park Players to watch: Jordan Lucas-Johnson, West Mifflin; Teegan Finucan, Knoch Layup lines: West Mifflin tied for fourth...
Plum hires former Mars football coach, athletic director Scott Heinauer as interim AD
The Plum School Board on Tuesday appointed former Mars athletic director and football coach Scott Heinauer as interim athletic director and coordinator of student activities. Heinauer is expected to begin his duties soon and work with outgoing athletic director Brian Miller to guide the Plum athletes still involved in the...
Freeport Area swimmers in good position to make waves at WPIALs
The Freeport Area girls swim team earned a fifth-place finish at last year’s WPIAL Class 2A championship meet at Pitt’s Trees Pool. A major piece from that team, Alexis Schrecongost, graduated and now is swimming for Division I Toledo. But many of the other key members of the team return...
Handful of A-K Valley basketball teams get No. 5 seeds in WPIALs
The WPIAL boys and girls basketball “second season” now is set as the 12 brackets were revealed Monday afternoon. The Highlands and Deer Lakes boys and St. Joseph and Knoch girls lead the Alle-Kiski Valley qualifiers as all four drew No. 5 seeds in their respective tournaments. “We definitely have...
Allderdice teams, Shady Side girls wrap up spots for high school fencing league playoffs
The Shady Side Academy and Allderdice girls and the Allderdice boys all clinched playoff spots as the Pittsburgh Interscholastic Fencing League hosted matches Friday at Allderdice High School. In the first round Friday, the top-ranked Allderdice boys beat Fox Chapel, 5-4, with sophomore Jake Burgos earning the winning team point...
Plum girls basketball team excited to earn playoff spot
It was quite the roller-coaster final week of section play for the Plum girls basketball team. A 49-35 loss at Kiski Area last Monday — the Mustangs’ third section setback in a row — put them at 5-6 in the section standings and put a dent in their postseason chances....
With section championship behind them, Gateway boys eye WPIAL playoff goals
The Gateway boys basketball team again is a section champion, claiming its first such crown since 2017. While that was a major goal for the Gators this season, coach Alvis Rogers said it’s just one step on their journey to their ultimate championship destinations. “The guys are excited,” Rogers said....
Gateway basketball alumni gather to celebrate WPIAL championship victories
The Gateway boys basketball program made it to the WPIAL Quad-A championship game three straight seasons from 2010-12 and won back-to-back titles in the final two years under the tutelage of the late Mitch Adams. A group of players from the two championship teams reunited Feb. 3 during the Gateway...
Recovered from neck injury, Plum’s Antonino Walker ready to make run at postseason medals
Plum junior Antonino Walker won 11 of his first 12 wrestling matches this season and hoped to add to it when the Mustangs competed at Saturday’s Pine-Richland Duals. He made it to the 172-pound championship match at the Allegheny County Tournament on Jan. 28 at Fox Chapel before coming up...
Riverview girls make 6th straight playoff appearance
The Riverview girls basketball team is in the WPIAL playoffs for the sixth year in a row and for the 13th time in 14 seasons. This year’s youthful Raiders squad, with just three seniors and a number of underclassmen contributing big minutes, hopes to rise up when the Class A...
League leaders to meet in Pittsburgh Interscholastic Fencing Association action
The Pittsburgh Interscholastic Fencing Association is just three weeks away from the playoffs, and teams in the boys and girls divisions are gearing up for the stretch run. Allderdice hosts Friday’s set of matches starting at 6:30 p.m. Teams from Allderdice, Shady Side Academy, Fox Chapel, Pine-Richland, North Allegheny and...
Burrell girls down Deer Lakes, earn section’s final playoff spot
In game that was winner-takes-all, the Burrell girls basketball team stood tall. The Bucs clinched the fourth-place WPIAL playoff spot from Section 3-3A with a 40-24 victory over Deer Lakes on Thursday during senior night at Burrell High School. “We had a pretty tough season last year, and we came...
Kiski Area girls come together to end playoff drought
The last time the Kiski Area girls basketball team earned a spot in the WPIAL playoffs was the 2011-12 season when it went 16-7 overall and finished 8-4 in section play. That streak had to come to an end, senior guard Lexi Colaianni said. And it did Monday as the...
WPIBL releases qualifiers for team, singles championship tournaments
The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Bowling League’s regular season wrapped up Feb. 1, and after examining all of the scores, stats, averages and records, the league has released who will be competing in the team and singles championships over the next two weeks. The WPIBL team championships at Sims Lanes in...
Gateway grad John Paul Kromka piling up honors in final season at Pitt-Johnstown
John Paul Kromka is in the twilight of his collegiate basketball career, but he is making the most of the time he has left. The Gateway graduate and senior forward on the Pitt-Johnstown men’s basketball team again is a leading force for the Mountain Cats, who, after a spirited Pennsylvania...
Gateway seniors sign on to continue football careers
Leonard Sherrod, Racari El, Anez Jordan and Malachi Moore shared in the celebration of senior football teammates Matt Brooks and Dallas Harper when they finalized their decisions to attend Division I Duquesne and Youngstown State, respectively, on the first day of the National Letter of Intent early signing period in...
Burgettstown wrestlers get vengeance, win WPIAL team title
Burrell had gotten the better of Burgettstown four times in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs over the past decade. That included wins in the 2020 and 2021 championship matches. But Saturday at Chartiers-Houston, Burgettstown turned the tables and captured its first WPIAL Class 2A team-tournament title 31-24. “That was a...
Plum’s Moore-Watkins, Thomas sign on to continue football careers
Needing 151 yards to become Plum’s all-time leader in career rushing yards, senior tailback Eryck Moore-Watkins exploded in the 2022 season finale against Indiana. In his final varsity game, he rushed 22 times for a career-best 356 yards and six touchdowns as the Mustangs scored a 46-27 victory. Moore-Watkins finished...
After battling injuries, Plum’s Miller relishes chance to finish high school career on the ice
Zach Miller hasn’t taken lightly the opportunity to suit up this year for the Plum varsity ice hockey team. The Mustangs senior captain led the team in goals with 11 through a tough 5-2 loss to Indiana on Jan. 30. The day before, he was one of several area skaters...
Burrell wrestling seeks revenge against Quaker Valley in WPIAL semifinals
The last time the Burrell wrestling team didn’t make it to at least the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals was in 2000. While that two-decades-long streak remains intact — Burrell is in the final four with Quaker Valley, Burgettstown and Frazier — the goal, as it always has been for the...
