John Grupp stories, Page 7

Someone forgot to tell the Aquinas Academy field hockey team that this was supposed to be a rebuilding year. Despite many losses to graduation and a freshmen-heavy roster under new coach Erin Queen, the Crusaders are moving toward a third consecutive trip to the WPIAL Class A championship game. The...

Hampton’s Lilly Muczinski knew early on what position she wanted to play in volleyball. When her youth coaches tried to make her a hitter in sixth grade, she spiked the idea. “I was really tall for my age at the time,” she said. “That’s why they put me as a...

Talk about two peas in a pod. When Hampton junior midfielders Olivia Hoffman and Sara Kenst were asked if they got along when they met in grade school, the two best friends reacted the exact same way. They looked at each other, laughed and said, “No!” Fierce athletic rivals as...

Hampton teammates Matt Erka and Tyler Schmitt took different paths to reach the 2023 WPIAL Class 3A individual golf championships. Erka punched his ticket by shooting a no-doubt 3-over 75 at the Section 8-3A qualifiers Sept. 19 at Pheasant Ridge, while Schmitt needed a pair of round-saving shots on the...

Former Hampton three-sport standout Joe Raimondi saw the letter from the school’s athletic hall of fame and was unsure what to believe. Raimondi had suffered a torn ACL in a 2009 WPIAL football semifinal loss, denying him his senior seasons in wrestling and lacrosse, and, as the years went by,...

The Hampton football team could blame its dreadful start this season on a number of factors. There was the loss of senior quarterback Adrian Midgley to a torn ACL on the first day of training camp, followed by a demanding nonconference three-game stretch to open the season. But second-year coach...

Hampton girls cross country star Kevyn Fish figured her team might be swimming upstream this season. The Talbots graduated half of an already thin roster from last year’s historic section champion, including two athletes who are running in college. But an influx of new runners and promising freshmen has provided...

The two-time defending WPIAL Class 2A champion Hampton boys cross country team is aiming to take another step forward. “The WPIAL is something that we definitely want to win again, but the big focus is improving the placing at the state meet,” said senior Dale Hall, the Talbots’ top runner...

The Hampton girls volleyball team looks so promising this season that winning a section title would hardly qualify as a goal. It’s more of a given. Led by returning two-time all-state senior outside hitter Emmy Schrom and a deep, talented supporting cast, the Talbots will be defined by what happens...

During the second day of Hampton girls tennis tryouts in mid-August, four upperclassmen playing doubles argued over whether a serve was in or out. Coach Grant McKinney stepped in to settle the dispute — “That was clearly in, ladies” — and the fiery Talbots resumed their practice at Hampton Community...

The seniors on the Hampton boys soccer team have felt euphoria and agony over the years. As sophomores, they were part of a memorable run to the WPIAL and PIAA championships, while last season ended with a one-and-done playoff dud. They are working to make sure this season they land...

The Hampton girls soccer team lost two all-WPIAL players to graduation and then lost another one to something nobody saw coming. Three-time all-WPIAL midfielder Madison Hurst will miss her senior season after suffering a torn ACL in November playing Cup soccer. With a recovery timeline of eight to nine months,...

Every time Northgate players walked into the weight room this offseason, they were confronted with the same reminders. Whether it was “75-19” or “69-20” or maybe “49-0” or “51-6,” there it was, day after day. “I’ve had all of the blowout scores up on the wall in the weight room...

The Hampton boys golf team is looking to turn experience into exultation. The senior-ladened Talbots return five of their top six golfers from a 6-11 team and entered the 2023 season with lofty expectations. The nine-player roster consists of eight seniors and one junior, making it the most seasoned group...

North Catholic first-year football coach Chris Rizzo traveled about 2,000 miles to take over a program that’s not too far from where it wants to be. “It was time to get back,” said the Bethel Park native, who spent the past four seasons as head coach at Glendale (Ariz.) Ironwood....

Something is catching on with Hampton football. The Talbots return a handful of starters on both sides of the ball, led by back-to-back 1,000-yard rusher Brock Borgo, in their bid to reach the WPIAL playoffs for the fourth consecutive season and further distance themselves from the disheartening days of 2016-19,...

The video replay revealed what Hampton’s Benny Haselrig already knew. The freshman wide receiver at Pitt had made the wrong read during an option route in the opening days of football training camp, and the film review didn’t lie. “You have to read the defense and decide which direction to...

When Hampton two-time all-state volleyball player Emmy Schrom began looking at colleges, proximity was a priority. “I just didn’t want to go that far away,” she said. “I feel like I owe it to my parents, and everyone else that has helped me, to be able to come and watch...

July 4 was Earth’s hottest day on record at the time, but something very cool happened to a family of runners from North Huntingdon. Five female members of the Dansak family — a mom, three daughters, and an aunt ranging in age from 11 to 48 — brought home a...

Mike Gavlik has formed a straightforward philosophy during his two decades as a high school athletic director. It’s all about the kids. “At the end of the day, the decisions that are made should be about the student-athletes,” Hampton’s new AD said. “I think that applies across the board. As...

Hampton’s Chris Belch put on a display on the Fourth of July. The 17-year-old won the 18th Hampton Rotary Firecracker 5K, holding off his older brother, Michael, in the 3.1-mile, 126-runner race. “That’s probably the biggest race that I’ve ever won,” the younger Belch said. “I had a lot of...

Making the 1,100-mile trek from Pittsburgh to Fargo, N.D., is becoming an annual summer trip for Hampton’s Isabella McNutt. McNutt placed fourth at the USA Wrestling Northeast Regional Championships in mid-May in Atlantic City, N.J., to punch a return ticket to the Junior Nationals on July 15-23, in Fargo, ND....

Construction of the new softball/multipurpose field at Hampton High School is rounding second and — slowly but surely — heading for home. Part of the district’s $17.4 million Phase One renovation, the field is expected to be ready for general multipurpose use in the summer of 2024 “at the earliest”...

Hampton graduates Casey and Cam Marshalwitz have played baseball for most of their lives, but they’ve never had a season like this one. For the first time, the brothers were full-time teammates, sharing the field at Division I Youngstown State. “It was fun,” said Casey, a senior relief pitcher at...

Hampton failed to reach the WPIAL girls lacrosse semifinals this season for the first time since 2015, but the journey was worth the while. “To get as far as we did for a predominantly young roster — only two seniors — is a great success in my opinion,” coach Kelsey...