Michael Love stories, Page 2

Frank Caliguri has a lot on his mind with the Pittsburgh Karate Championships just a day away. While there is so much to get done before Saturday’s annual event at the Quality Inn in New Kensington, he knows the preparations are in good hands. “Everything is on track,” Caliguri said...

The Shaler softball team had allowed just two runs over its first six Section 1-5A games. Plum got one of those runs in a loss to the Titans on April 4. The Mustangs tried to solve Shaler starter Bria Bosiljevac and gain a measure of revenge for the setback at...

Austin Lockhart leapt 43 feet, 3 inches in the triple jump at last year’s WPIAL Class 3A track and field championships at Slippery Rock. It wasn’t his best distance of the season. That was a 44-5 at a regular-season invitational. But his top jump in his WPIAL debut earned him...

When the Apollo-Ridge softball players came to practice Tuesday, coach Ashtin Kirkwood said she saw a team in good spirits despite a loss to South Allegheny the day before. The first meeting between the Section 2-2A leaders went to the Gladiators, who rallied from a two-run deficit with a big...

Jill Catanzaro stepped down Monday as coach of the Riverview girls basketball team after four seasons at the helm. The decision, she said, was a difficult one because of her love of the game, her love of coaching and love of Riverview and its athletes. But when she thought about...

Nolan Boehm is making his mark this spring for the Chatham baseball team. The Gateway graduate was third for the Cougars in hitting at .308 (20 for 65) through 20 games. He recorded two doubles, two triples, 12 runs batted in and 11 runs scored through a doubleheader split with...

The Gateway boys volleyball team has been adjusting to both a move up to Class 3A and a new lineup dynamic with the loss of a majority of last year’s squad to graduation. But Gators coach Phil Randolph likes what he sees from his players in the early part of...

Members of the Plum baseball team knew coming into the season that it would be a dogfight at the top of Section 1-5A, and the Mustangs were right there in the mix after the first two Section 1-5A series. They took care of business in the opening home-and-home section set...

The Plum girls flag football team worked out and practiced for the better part of three months to be ready for the opening weekend of its second season, a showcase event March 29 involving high school and college teams at Saint Vincent College. The Mustangs, led by a group of...

High school baseball in the All-Kiski Valley is in its fourth week, while college teams have been knocking it out of the park for nearly two months. The Pirates, despite their inauspicious start, are giving baseball fans something to talk about in the early season. While those games are in...

The Knoch softball team had won five straight games by shutout and had scored 59 runs in those games before arriving at Monday’s nonsection home matchup against North Catholic. The Knights quickly found out that the game with the Trojanettes wouldn’t turn out the same way. North Catholic broke open...

WPIAL section matches are in full swing, and the top teams in both Class 3A and Class 2A continue to establish themselves. The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association again has recognized those teams with its Week 4 top-10 polls released Monday morning. North Allegheny (Class 3A) and Shaler (Class 2A)...

Gateway senior Dino Nadarevic entered his final high school outdoor track and field season eyeing up a couple of longstanding throwing school records. Work in the offseason and in the indoor season got him ready to go after the top marks in both the discus and shot put. Building his...

The Gateway baseball team won its fifth game of the young season, 3-2 over McKeesport in its Section 4-5A opening series March 25. The Gators, who upped their record to 5-1 with the victory, won four games all of last season. First-year coach Andy Hoover said hard work in practice...

Carson Heinle and his Kiski Area senior teammates, Colin Keller and Jacob Musselman, went up against Armstrong’s Jacob Szep and Plum’s Will Beckner twice in Section 2-5A battles during the 2024-25 regular season. The Cavaliers got the better of the River Hawks and the Mustangs twice en route to winning...

Burrell second baseman Sophia Gregg drew a walk to lead off Tuesday’s nonsection softball game with rival Highlands at Highlands High School. She stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and came home on a wild pitch. That early run turned out to be all Bucs pitcher Shelby Novak...

WPIAL boys volleyball teams enter the second week of section play looking to make moves in the standings. A number of teams have at least one section match under their belts, while several begin section play Tuesday evening. On the cusp of numerous key matchups in both Class 3A and...

When the Burrell hockey team hoisted the Division 2 Pennsylvania Challenger Cup championship trophy March 22 at RMU Island Sports Center, the players knew they would have a quick turnaround for a flight a few days later to sunny California Selected earlier this year to play in the Chipolte USA...

With a mix of returning talent and newcomers set to make an impact, the Gateway girls flag football team hopes to make waves in its third season in the high school division of the Pittsburgh Girls Flag Football League. “The girls are ready to go. They are excited,” Gators coach...

The calendar has turned from March to April, and the leading athletes on the Gateway track and field teams are working to take that next step in their development while others are honing their talents to what they hope is a breakout 2025 season. Veteran coach Tom LaBuff and his...

Matt Sieg, a dual-threat quarterback from Fort Cherry, helped the Rangers win a second straight WPIAL Class A title in 2024. The junior and Penn State commit passed for 1,345 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 1,832 yards and 32 scores. He became the first quarterback in WPIAL history...

Landon Harclerode feels he is playing the best tennis of his life this spring. “In the offseason, I had to put my racket down and take a break,” said the Valley senior, who plays No. 1 singles. “I focused on getting stronger and faster to improve my game.” Those improvements...

The Riverview baseball team made the WPIAL Class A championship game in 2021. The Raiders, the No. 7 seed in the tournament, ran into a hot pitcher that day at Wild Things Park and fell 3-0. It has been the team’s mission since then to return to the title contest,...

The Plum softball team entered the season with a lot of momentum with the return of eight starters from last year’s WPIAL Class 5A playoff qualifier. All eight of them — seniors Bella Tavella and Dani Pici; juniors Jaiden Gentile, Riley Stephans, Liana Yusko, Mackenzie Marotta, and Gia Tavella; and...

North Allegheny (Class 3A) and Shaler (Class 2A) maintained their No. 1 positions in their respective classifications as the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its Week 2 WPIAL boys volleyball top-10 polls Monday morning. The WPIAL programs continue to gear up for the start of section play in the...