Michael Love stories, Page 23

The WPIAL swimming championship meet at Pitt’s Trees Pool is fast approaching, and Gateway freshman Aliya Rassiane’s excitement for her first opportunity to compete against the best in the district grows with every workout in the pool. Rassiane has produced times this season to put her among the top competitors...

The Gateway boys basketball team came within one win of claiming a Section 3-5A co-championship. But the Gators had to settle for second to Franklin Regional as the regular-season concluded and they transitioned to preparation for the WPIAL playoffs, which began Monday against a familiar foe in Penn Hills. Rogers...

With a No. 4 seed and a bye to the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals, the Riverview girls basketball players knew they were going to face a familiar foe as soon as the playoff brackets were released Feb. 12. It will be 12 days between their final regular-season game, a low-scoring...

At the start of the season, Plum boys basketball coach Justin Walther said he felt his team was a playoff contender in Class 5A out of Section 2. While the Mustangs were competitive in a number of section games, a section win didn’t come until the section finale at Armstrong...

Michelle Kropelak-Brownback, a standout track star at Springdale in the mid to late 1990s, is one of seven athletic greats who make up the 15th Athletics Hall of Fame class at Pitt-Johnstown. The six-time WPIAL champion and four-time PIAA place-winner showed her versatility at Pitt-Johnstown by competing in as many...

Keystone Oaks will get another shot at No. 1 The Eagles, runners-up to Avonworth in Section 2-3A, got a game-best 15 points from junior Alayna Wagner and 12 more from senior Bailey Rieg in a 49-34 WPIAL first-round victory over Burrell on Saturday at South Park. Keystone Oaks, which improved...

Kiski Area’s Mark Gray made his season debut last Saturday at the Pine-Richland Duals. The junior wrestled just one out of a planned schedule of three matches in his return from a torn labrum in his left shoulder suffered in a match at the Tussle Duals in West Virginia in...

WPIAL basketball playoffs Girls Class 3A First round 9-Burrell (16-4) vs. 8-Keystone Oaks (15-6) Noon Saturday, South Park High School Winner plays: Winner of 16-Apollo-Ridge (8-13)/1-Avonworth (19-1) Wednesday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Section finish: Burrell 2nd, Section 3; Keystone Oaks, T-2nd, Section 2 Players to watch: Julianna Fisher, Burrell;...

Ava Golding is undefeated against WPIAL opponents this season. The Kiski Area sophomore, 21-4 overall, has earned the No. 1 seed at 136-pounds for the inaugural WPIAL girls wrestling championships set for Saturday at North Allegheny High School. “You never know what to expect until you see your name there,”...

There are only 18 days until the start of preseason practices for the outdoor track and field season. But many of those athletes throughout Western Pennsylvania have their sights set on indoor gold and other top finishes at one of the top meets of the indoor season. The Tri-State Track...

The Deer Lakes boys basketball team now knows its path to a defense of its WPIAL Class 3A championship. The Lancers and 167 other boys and girls teams found out their postseason fates Monday afternoon as the 12 playoff brackets were revealed on TribLive HSSN. The champion of Section 3-3A,...

Robert Morris women’s basketball coach Charlie Buscaglia resigned Monday, said Chris King, RMU vice president and director of athletics. “We thank Charlie for his efforts on behalf of RMU women’s basketball,” King said. “We wish him well personally and professionally moving forward.” In eight seasons, Buscaglia leaves RMU with an...

Pitchers and catchers report to the Pittsburgh Pirates training facility in Florida on Feb. 14, and opening day is March 28 in Miami. College baseball teams, both locally and throughout the country, begin their seasons next week. High school baseball preseason practices start March 4 with season openers three weeks...

Sarah Corrie is on a mission to bring home another Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference shot put title this winter, and the Gateway graduate is on her way to again challenging for gold. The Slippery Rock standout kicked off the indoor season Dec. 2 with a runner-up finish at the Youngstown...

Ahmad Harris’ confidence level is off the charts for his football future at Division II Wheeling in West Virginia. “They had a couple of injuries in the linebacker room, and the coaches said I have a good opportunity to go up there and compete right away to get on the...

It was another day to celebrate for Plum seniors set to continue their athletic pursuits at the collegiate level. Last Wednesday marked the first day of the regular signing period for Division I and II football players to make their decisions final, and Mustangs quarterback and punter Sean Franzi put...

The St. Joseph girls basketball team completed a clean sweep of Section 3-A on Thursday as it went into Riverview’s gym and came away with a 54-32 victory. “It felt really nice to come into their place and get the win,” said junior guard Gia Richter, who scored 18 points...

Derek Burk, Nick Rossi, Ryan Cochran and Wayne Love were among those at the center of a Deer Lakes football resurgence in 2023. The quartet helped lead the Lancers to a home playoff game and the program’s first postseason victory, a dominating 48-18 victory over Southmoreland. Despite a tough loss...

The Section 1-5A title is on the line for Plum on Thursday as it clashes with Indiana to conclude section play. The stage was set for the Mustangs on Monday as they kept pace with the Indians in a 61-49 victory over Kiski Area on senior night at Plum High...

The Plum girls basketball team took care of business Monday in a 61-49 Section 1-5A victory over Kiski Area on senior night at Plum High School. The Mustangs didn’t let the Cavaliers play spoiler as they kept pace with Indiana for a shot at the section title Thursday evening. Plum...

Drake D’Angelo soon begins service to Greensburg Salem as its next athletic director. While he is excited for the new opportunity closer to his home and where his eldest daughter, Gianna, is getting more involved in sports within the district, D’Angelo said he will miss all of the people and...

Alyssa Fritz joined the Gateway unified bocce team in its inaugural season last year and helped the team make the playoffs. One of the team’s special education members who competes in concert with general education students in the Three Rivers Region of the Special Olympics of Pennsylvania Unified Champion Schools...

Luke Padezan is ready to get going as Gateway’s new head baseball coach. The former standout player at both Elizabeth Forward and Penn State Greater Allegheny was hired by the district Jan. 29, ending a several-months process to find the next man at the top of the Gators program since...

Alaina Claassen waited nearly nine months to get back into wrestling competition. A knee injury suffered last year slowed her progress as a freshman. But when given the OK, she put on a knee brace and wrestled 17 matches, going 14-3 and finishing her season at the state tournament. Surgery...

Seventeen schools throughout the Pittsburgh region were part of a high school girls flag football league last spring. The success of the league, entering its third season in 2024, has spurred other schools to get involved. That energy and interest has grown at Plum for several years, and now a...