Other Local category, Page 23
Hundreds of competitors registered for Pittsburgh Karate Championships
The Pittsburgh Karate Championships made a triumphant return last year after a nearly decade-long hiatus. More than 300 competitors of all ages flocked to the Quality Inn in New Kensington to compete and celebrate a myriad of martial art styles and practices. Event organizers, led by Caliguri’s Academy of Martial...
Washington Wild Things to host 3rd celebrity softball game
The Washington Wild Things baseball club, in conjunction with The Coury Firm, will host its third Three Rivers Celebrity Softball Game on July 15 at Wild Things Park. Dorin Dickerson, who will be inducted Saturday into the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, will host the event. A portion of...
Desire to work, learn helps Penn-Trafford grad Anthony Sherwin blossom for Bucknell baseball teamVideo
Bucknell baseball coach Scott Heather remembers watching Penn-Trafford’s Anthony Sherwin at a recruiting showcase. It was during batting practice, and Sherwin was in the outfield shagging balls with several other players. Though it wasn’t really a drill designed for fielding grounders, anytime one came to the outfield, Sherwin, Heather said,...
Lower Burrell author Girardi takes up cause of girls sports in her works
Tamara Girardi writes fictional sports stories that are based on her observations of the sometimes polarizing, always changing landscape of female sports. Things she has seen, heard about and even experienced are woven into the fabric of seven books the Lower Burrell author has published in the last year. The...
Plum JO wrestlers place at state tournaments
A trio of Plum youth wrestlers — Nicholas Pifer, AJ Pifer and Ethan Schwartz — qualified for and took part in the Keystone State Tournament March 17-19, at IUP’s Kovalchick Center. AJ Pifer and Schwartz also qualified for the Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling State Tournament March 25-26, at Pitt’s Petersen Events...
Battle of Pennsylvania martial arts competition returns this weekend in Beaver Falls
Angelo Marziale began his journey in martial arts competition more than 40 years ago, and, since those early days, the 50-year-old Creighton resident and fifth-degree Shorin Ryu black belt has captured many championships near and far. A former student of Lower Burrell martial arts legend Frank Caliguri, Marziale continues to...
District 31 American Legion expands with addition of Somerset, Blairsville
Pennsylvania American Legion baseball in Westmoreland County this summer starts May 18 with a new look: The league has expanded to 12 teams. The league, one of the largest in the state, added two teams: Blairsville, which gives the league three teams from Indiana County; and Somerset, which formerly competed...
With eye toward MMA career, Greensburg native Mataeo Garner makes pro boxing debut
When Mataeo “Top Ape” Garner, 26, of Greensburg, competed in his first jiu-jitsu tournament at 21, he knew his future would be in combat sports. “My favorite part of the process was just learning, I guess I would say, like learning about my game,” Garner said. “Knowing that I have...
At age 35, Springdale’s Jordan Zlacki making strides in professional boxing career
As the middle child in a family of nine brothers and sisters, Jordan “The Croatian Warrior” Zlacki, 35, of Springdale always needed to be tough. Whether in Springdale or Florida, where he moved before high school, he would always get into scraps. “I got into my fair share of street...
West Mifflin native Logan Cooley one of 3 finalists for Hobey Baker Memorial Award
University of Minnesota forward Logan Cooley, a native of West Mifflin, was named one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, an honor that recognizes the top men’s player in college hockey. Joining him are fellow Minnesota forward Matthew Knies and Michigan forward Adam Fantilli. The award’s foundation...
Vandergrift native, GCC grad Warren Schaeffer rises into role as Rockies 3rd-base coach
If Vandergrift’s Warren Schaeffer keeps this up much longer, he will be able to say that literally half his life has been spent in professional baseball. Since summer 2007, Schaeffer has been employed by the Colorado Rockies organization. That’s a lot of games — and a lot of Opening Days....
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...
Plum’s Austin Soboslay relishes experience at inline world championships
It’s not every day a roller hockey player gets the chance to play in an international tournament, but Plum’s Austin Soboslay earned that opportunity. A forward for Inferno Travel Hockey, based in Mt. Pleasant, he has played in multiple pro inline hockey leagues and tournaments and even competed in Toronto....
Deer Lakes grad Makayla Blair won’t slow down for West Liberty despite shoulder injury
A lot of coaches say they have players who will run through a wall for them. Few coaches have players who actually have done it. West Liberty softball coach Herb Minch has one who (almost) ran through a wall. Last season during a game at Concord, Deer Lakes grad Makayla...
Yough’s Odelli, Penn-Trafford’s Lichota helping to lead turnaround for John Carroll softball
Jess Lichota and Kaylyn Odelli grew up playing softball in Westmoreland County. Their paths occasionally crossed during scrimmages, and they had heard each other’s names mentioned. But it wasn’t until they were 150 miles from home that they formed a connection. Lichota (Penn-Trafford) and Odelli (Yough) are among the players...
Sewickley Academy grad coming into her own with Swarthmore lacrosse team
The Swarthmore College women’s lacrosse team was on spring break recently in Clearwater, Fla. The Garnet took anything but a break, however, from their hot start to the 2023 season. And one of the team leaders for Swarthmore is Sewickley Academy graduate Elizabeth Zack, a 5-foot-7 sophomore attacker. In the...
Ohio toxic train derailment upends school baseball, track
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — On the surface, everything looks normal. There’s the East Palestine High School baseball team learning the finer points of baserunning at one edge of Reid Memorial Stadium. At the other, a handful of sprinters dart through the mild March air, the blue parachutes attached to their...
Allegheny Valley YMCA sets records at district championships
The Allegheny Valley YMCA wasn’t just well-represented at the district championship. The team made waves in the meet with record-breaking performances. Brody Petrak, 12, headlined the Allegheny Valley YMCA as he captured the 200-yard breaststroke title in the 11- and 12-year old division March 10-12 at the Pennsylvania YMCA West...
Valley grad Tyler Santucci settling in as new defensive coordinator at DukeVideo
Tyler Santucci was going to play in the NFL. He was sure of it. His standout career at Valley segued into AP All-American status as a linebacker at Stony Brook, and that, naturally, would lead to a regular gig on Sunday afternoons in the fall. But somewhere along the way,...
Iowa’s Spencer Lee sees quest for 4th NCAA wrestling title end in semifinal shocker
Spencer Lee’s bid for a fourth NCAA championship ended in one of the biggest upsets in college wrestling history Friday night. The Iowa senior and Franklin Regional grad was pinned by Purdue redshirt sophomore Matt Ramos, the fourth seed, with 1 second left in the 125-pound semifinals. The loss ended...
Pitt associate athletic director Chris LaSala to speak at Westmoreland Sports Club
The next featured speaker for the Westmoreland Sports Club will be Chris LaSala, the associate athletic director for football administration at Pitt. LaSala, who will tackle the ever-changing college landscape that now allows athletes to make money and transfer freely with the use of a portal, will talk March 21...
West Mifflin native Logan Cooley named finalist for Hobey Baker Memorial Award
University of Minnesota forward Logan Cooley, a native of West Mifflin, has been named as a finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, an honor that recognizes the top men’s player in college hockey. A total of 10 finalists were announced by the award’s committee on Wednesday. All 61 NCAA...
Lower Burrell’s Austin Aikins casting off to professional fishing career
Fresh off competing in the collegiate national championships, Lower Burrell’s Austin Aikins is taking the next step in his fishing career. “I’m going to try to pursue it on a professional level right now,” said Aikins, who represented Bethel University in the Major League Fishing (MLF) College National Championships, Feb....
Norwin grad hits ground running with Chatham women’s basketball team
Aside from simply knowing where she was going to college, Alyssa Laukus was surrounded by unknowns when she arrived at Chatham. How would she adapt to her class schedule and student life? She was even more inquisitive as far as basketball went. “I didn’t quite know what to expect coming...
Greensburg’s Mark Goetz finishes second at PGA Tour Canada Q-school event
He used to have long hair that curled out from beneath his hat and covered the back of his neck. But Mark Goetz has been wearing his hair shorter since he turned professional. While his barber will await his return for another trim, Goetz’s livelihood will soon be about cuts...
