Nathan Breisinger stories
WPIAL wrestlers boost Pennsylvania to 1st girls junior national duals title
North Allegheny’s Leyna Rumpler has been traveling to Tulsa, Okla. for the past four years to compete with wrestlers from around Pennsylvania in the Air Force Special Warfare Junior National Duals. This year, however, was different as it was her last trip as a high school athlete after graduating in...
After 6-0 regular season, Pittsburgh Passion enter playoffs with championship vibes
Seventeen years ago, the Pittsburgh Passion won their first national title in an undefeated season that offensive lineman Eden Pleva deemed “magical.” Nearly two decades later, that feeling is coming back. “When we won our first championship, there was something magical in the air, and you could tell that season...
Seniors help ‘make a name’ for Chartiers Valley softball
Every year, teams often live by a saying or quote that resonates. Coaches put it inside their dugouts and gyms when they work out or even on the back of a shirt. For Chartiers Valley’s softball team, this year’s designated saying on the back of its shirts read, “A dream...
After trip to WPIAL final, Chartiers Valley girls lacrosse vows to maintain winning performance
Long postseason runs produce defining moments that teams look back on for years, and for this season’s Chartiers Valley girls lacrosse team, it came down to one goal that was not even meant for the back of the net. After squandering a multi-goal lead to South Fayette in a WPIAL...
Underdogs from Seton LaSalle top Serra Catholic again to repeat as WPIAL Class 2A baseball champs
Nothing could stand in Seton LaSalle’s way of repeating as WPIAL Class 2A champion. Not the underdog tag, playing without its star player or even an hour weather delay as the Rebels took down top-seeded Serra Catholic for the second consecutive season. Mark Weber shut down the Eagles on the...
Talented underclassmen provide promising future for Knoch baseball
While the start of the season did not go the way the Knoch baseball team envisioned, the Knights still had some life near the end of April. Sitting at 2-6 in Section 1-4A, Knoch had a two-game must-win series with Hampton as its playoff hopes hung in the balance. “Our...
Chartiers Valley softball sophomore packs powerful punch
Mashing home runs has become just “another day in the office” for Chartiers Valley sophomore phenom Lily Duffill. That’s how it’s described from the perspective of senior Marta Gualazzi and her softball teammates as they watch Duffill launch sometimes not just one or two, but three home runs in a...
Chartiers Valley lacrosse comes together to support freshman’s mom’s cancer fight
On May 6, the Chartiers Valley lacrosse community came together in support of one of their own. The boys and girls doubleheader was transformed into a pinkout to raise money for freshman Jack Varnish’s family as his mother, Julie, continues to battle cancer. The idea came to life midway through...
Hitting catches up with pitching as Chartiers Valley downs Kiski Area in baseball playoffs
Throughout the regular season, Chartiers Valley has depended on its sound pitching rotation that limited teams to fewer than three runs. With the fielding holding its end of the bargain, the Colts were looking to dig into its untapped potential at the plate. That third facet came through in the...
Plum baseball defeats Fox Chapel to create WPIAL’s 1st 4-way tie for section title in 20 years
On the final day of section play, the Fox Chapel baseball team controlled its destiny for an outright title. Instead, with help coming from another section matchup, Plum’s victory over the Foxes solidified an ultra-rare four-way tie atop the Section 1-5A standings. With Plum’s 10-4 victory and Franklin Regional pulling...
Once North Catholic bats pop, they can’t stop in win over Kiski Area
It’s not something that North Catholic coach Andy Przybylek shouts often, but it might’ve been the socks he was wearing that sparked some inspiration. As his power-hitting catcher, Blake Primrose, stood in the batter’s box with a 3-0 count and the bases loaded, Przybylek yelled down the first-base line: “It...
Freeport tightens race in softball Section 1-3A with win over 1st-place Burrell
With the Section 1-3A title race heating up down the stretch, Freeport felt it was the perfect time to stir the embers a little more. As section-leading Burrell made the trip to Freeport Community Park, the Yellowjackets tightened the battle for first after defeating the Bucs, 5-2, on Wednesday. Freeport...
Behind deep junior class, Chartiers Valley girls lacrosse vies for postseason success
When Melissa Moran was searching for what would come next in her life, after a lacrosse career at Duquesne, she decided to take a chance coaching the Chartiers Valley youth lacrosse program. A few years later, she was appointed head coach of the varsity girls lacrosse team at Chartiers Valley...
Chartiers Valley’s Brendan Hallisey chasing another WPIAL gold medal
Instead of staying on the prototypical path of competitive team sports a child takes when growing up, Brendan Hallisey decided he wanted something more extreme. Doing simple flips in his backyard gave way to a new favorite activity, parkour. As Hallisey’s passion for parkour grew, he started taking lessons at...
Freshman’s clutch home run backs Selker’s strong pitching as Freeport edges Deer Lakes
In her third plate appearance of the game, Leah Clark was still trying to fight off nerves. It was a one-run game in the bottom of the sixth inning, and she had been retired in her first two trips to the plate. Then, the freshman calmed down by reminding herself...
Seneca Valley ace Lexie Hames shines on big stage, no-hitting Hempfield with 18 Ks
The top two teams in Class 6A softball could be on a collision course to meet again a year after No. 1 Hempfield downed No. 2 Seneca Valley in the WPIAL championship game. In the first of two section matchups this season between the formidable foes, the difference was the...
Burrell uses brilliant pitching, timely small ball to beat Freeport
Flashy offense was not in the game plan for the Burrell Bucs. All they needed to do was effectively put the ball in play and execute on three separate occasions to back their starting pitcher. Thanks to an exceptional performance on the mound from Stevie Hasson and timely small ball,...
Chartiers Valley baseball maintains lofty goals despite inexperience
It might be a fresh start for the Chartiers Valley baseball team with a new coaching staff and a renovated lineup with a bevy of seniors graduating from a year ago, but the Colts don’t plan on missing a beat. After going 14-7 and sharing a section 3-4A title with...
Chartiers Valley softball aims to build on strong fall season
Chartiers Valley’s 2023 softball season came to a sudden halt when it was blanked in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals. A 10-0 loss was not the way the Colts wanted their season to end against the team they shared the section title with. Fast forward a few months and the...
Lincoln Park handles Hampton again to return to state championship game
Hershey Kisses rained down on the floor for the second straight year as Lincoln Park basked in the glory of punching its ticket to the PIAA Class 4A championship game. In a highly anticipated WPIAL championship game rematch, Lincoln Park, in dominating fashion this time, rolled past Hampton, 74-53, at...
Plum among A-K Valley teams gunning for section title as softball season begins
Vying for a title in a softball section that boasts the state runner-up can be quite the challenge. That challenge increases after graduating two all-state players, but that hasn’t deterred Plum from its goal. Mackenzie Lang and Taylor Lorish, who received Valley News Dispatch first-team all-star nods, are gone and...
Union girls fend off challenge from St. Joseph to defend WPIAL title in OTVideo
Winning a WPIAL basketball championship is hard enough. Two in a row seems improbable. Add in a double-digit deficit early in the game, and the difficulty level increases even more. But the top-seeded Union girls pulled it off Saturday, coming up clutch in overtime and securing back-to-back titles with a...
Shady Side Academy casts Spell on Avonworth, wins 1st WPIAL girls basketball titleVideo
A first WPIAL girls basketball title was on the horizon for No. 2 Shady Side Academy. All that stood in the way was the reigning champion and last year’s kryptonite, top-seeded Avonworth. Needing a superhero, sophomore star Maggie Spell saved the day for Shady Side Academy with a performance that...
Now over semifinal hump, St. Joseph girls face another challenge against defending champion Union
As the clock trickled down and showed zeroes on St. Joseph’s semifinal win against Aquinas Academy, first-year coach Geoff Dutelle stepped back and watched the celebration unfold. It was as if the Spartans toppled over a brick wall that seemed insurmountable for so long. Back-to-back devastating losses in the Class...
Imani Christian comes alive, speeds past Neighborhood Academy for WPIAL repeatVideo
The Neighborhood Academy Bulldogs entered the Petersen Events Center with the same goal in mind that their counterpart, Imani Christian, had a year prior: winning an elusive WPIAL Class A boys basketball title. In their first finals appearance, the Bulldogs got off to a high-energy start that held up through...
