John Grupp stories, Page 11

Hampton’s Isabella McNutt only started wrestling a year ago, but that didn’t stop her from reaching the nation’s biggest event this summer. McNutt, who will be a junior at Hampton in the fall, qualified for the 2022 USA Wrestling 16U and junior nationals July 16-22 at the FargoDome in Fargo,...

Former Hampton golfer Justin Griffith is getting two more swings at his first state title. Griffith, 23, qualified for the 109th Pennsylvania Amateur Championship, scheduled for July 25-27 at Llanerch Country Club outside Philadelphia, and the 106th Pennsylvania Open Championship, set for Aug. 8-10 at Longue Vue Club in Penn...

Summer basketball leagues are built around staying in shape and building team chemistry. But bringing home a championship doesn’t hurt. Hampton used a late basket by Andrew Butler to defeat North Catholic, 38-37, on June 30 at Montour to win Pittsburgh Basketball Club summer league freshman championship. “Even though it’s...

Former Hampton cross country coach Tom Tobin knows all about Halls of Fame. He was a member of the first North Hills Athletic Hall of Fame class in 1995, and three years ago joined the WPIAL Hall of Fame as a part of North Hills’ dominant 1979 WPIAL and PIAA...

Hampton didn’t have to look far to find its new girls volleyball coach. And they don’t have to look far to see where their old coach ended up. Dainen Holler, the district’s middle school coach, was promoted to the Talbots’ top spot after Annie Bozzo departed following two seasons at...

The Hampton boys basketball team will get some excitement this upcoming season when coach Joe Lafko collects his 500th career coaching victory. The Talbots this summer received some other exciting news. Peter Kramer, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who last March helped Shady Side Academy to its first WPIAL boys basketball...

If Hampton left-hander Ryan Apaliski improves this summer as much as he did last summer, Talbots coach Kellen Wheeler may start running out of superlatives. Apaliski, who recently completed his junior year, used a strong summer of 2021 as a springboard to a first-team All-Section 2-5A performance this past season....

Hampton brought back one state medal, one personal-best time and a vanload of memories from the PIAA Class 3A track and field championships May 27-28 at Shippensburg. Senior Matt DeMatteo placed eighth in the 300-meter hurdles to win his first PIAA track medal, and junior Ava Vitiello ran the fastest...

The Hampton girls lacrosse team entered the 2022 season with tepid expectations after graduation losses decimated last year’s WPIAL Class 2A semifinalist. “Honestly,” senior captain Hannah Acquafondata said, “I kind of came into this season with my head down.” The Talbots ended the spring with their heads held high. Hampton...

Hampton boys lacrosse coach Andy DeMichiei and his wife, Kristen, welcomed their first child, Owen, on May 10. The former high school All-American also watched his Talbots program make some baby steps during his first season as coach at his alma mater. “I think they showed positive signs and movement...

Hampton baseball coach Kellen Wheeler said he “couldn’t even sleep that night” after the Talbots’ controversial WPIAL playoff loss to Penn-Trafford. Senior left-hander Cam Marshalwitz called it “a terrible way to go out” and “the worst way” to end a game. A questionable seventh-inning call brought the Talbots’ 2022 season...

The Hampton softball team will return almost everyone from this year’s WPIAL Class 5A playoff qualifier, but one loss is going to sting. Senior catcher Bella Henzler played her final high school game in the Talbots’ 11-5 loss to top-seeded Armstrong on May 17 at Mars in the opening round...

Memorial Day weekend should be a memorable one for Matt DeMatteo. And a very eventful one. The Hampton senior will compete in the PIAA Class 3A track and field championships May 27-28 at Shippensburg University before heading to Harrisburg to play for Team Pennsylvania in the prestigious Big 33 All-Star...

Hampton first-year football coach Steve Sciullo likes what he sees from his new view atop the program. “We’re rolling right now,” he said. “We’re pretty happy with how things are looking.” With offseason weightlifting and conditioning in high gear and his staff of assistants in place, Sciullo has settled in...

The Hampton boys lacrosse team expected to take some lumps this season as it tried to replace 13 seniors. “Look at every article, every person who follows Hampton lacrosse,” first-year coach Andy DeMichiei said. “Everyone is talking about how this team doesn’t have it, and it’s going to be a...

Hampton sophomore Mackenzie Reese was looking for an inside pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning against Seneca Valley on April 22. She got it, and with one swing of the bat, she did something Ron Fedell had never experienced in 24 seasons as Hampton softball coach. Reese drove...

Qualifying for the WPIAL Class 3A track and field championships this spring won’t be enough for Ava Vitiello. The Hampton junior is in the running for much more than just an invitation. “I’m hoping that it goes really well,” she said, “and I think it will.” Vitiello was content to...

Hampton three-sport athlete Matt DeMatteo has committed to attend Duquesne on a track scholarship. The senior was also considering Penn State (track) and James Madison (football). DeMatteo is a two-time all-conference selection in football and a two-time all-section pick in basketball, but his best offers were for track and field....

When Luke Staggers picked up a baseball bat for the first time in five years, what happened was just about what anyone would expect. Not much of anything. “I don’t think I touched a ball at all in the first workout,” the Hampton senior said. “I was worried after my...

Hampton’s Rachel Dolan rode a stationary bike on the track at Fridley Field during girls lacrosse practice in mid-April. Wearing a large black walking boot on her left foot, she wasn’t moving anywhere, but she is hoping to get somewhere soon. “I’m just trying to stay positive that I will...

Hampton sophomore Sean Sullivan felt a range of emotions after the Steel City Ice Renegades won a 2022 USA Hockey 16U national championship earlier this month. “It was crazy,” he said. “It was awesome.” Sullivan was part of the Harmarville-based travel team that topped the Chicago Hawks, 2-0, in the...

A banner year for Hampton athletics just got even more special. Hampton volleyball standout Kai Herchenroether and state champion swimmer Will Retsch were among 20 WPIAL student-athletes to be named James Collins Scholar-Athlete award winners April 13. The seniors were selected from a pool of 142 nominees from 80 schools,...

Sophia Kelly’s answer was exactly what Mercyhurst women’s basketball coach Brooklyn Kohlheim wanted to hear. Kelly, a senior three-sport star from Hampton, was on a recruiting call with the Division II school when Kohlheim posed a question. “I said, ‘You’re really, really good at soccer. You’re really, really good at...

Hampton boys tennis coach Grant McKinney peeked outside on a wintry Monday in late March and figured practice was a long shot. “It was really cold, and it was snowing,” McKinney said. “I texted the guys and said, ‘We may not have a chance to practice.’ Both Ethen and the...

The Hampton girls lacrosse team will try to fill the shoes of one All-American with the hands and feet of many. “Megan Cook is irreplaceable,” coach Kelsey (Viets) Burke said of her graduated record-breaking star midfielder. “I don’t know if we will have one person score 60 goals. But I...