Michael Love stories, Page 35

There have been shoot-arounds and pickup games on the new basketball courts at the Barnes Street Playground for a couple of months since they officially opened in the spring. Ian Benson said he believes the current Kings & Queens of the Court summer youth basketball program at the park is...

Cole Sullivan received several dozen Division I offers during the college recruiting process. In the end, Michigan won out as he verbally committed to the Wolverines in May. “I am really happy with my decision,” Sullivan said. “I did what’s best for me. Now, it’s great to see a bunch...

Eight teams have qualified with two more to be decided this week as anticipation grows for the 71st Dick’s Sporting Goods PONY League World Series on Aug. 11-16 in Washington, Pa. The world will be watching as four U.S. Zone winners, the host team from Washington County, the host area...

The Freeport International Baseball Invitational wasn’t immune to Mother Nature’s adverse weather conditions as lightning Friday and rain Saturday dampened the momentum of a week’s worth of youth baseball at a half-dozen fields in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Chuck Sarver, president of the Freeport International, said despite the temporary rough weather,...

Jaquan Brisker and his Chicago Bears teammates opened training camp July 26 with hopes of putting all the pieces together for a run at a return to the NFC playoffs in 2023. Brisker, a Gateway High School and Penn State graduate, begins season prep with his eyes on team goals...

Adrionna Foster qualified for the USA Track and Field Junior Olympic National Championships in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes last summer. But the considerable cost associated with making the trip prevented her from attending and competing on the biggest stage in the country. This year, however, Foster is on...

With three days of youth baseball games in the books at James E. Swartz Sr. Memorial Field in Freeport Boro and at five other fields throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley, an older generation again gathered at Swartz Field on Thursday for the annual Sonny Westerman Old Timers game. Winning the game...

To say Matt Sieg broke out in his first varsity football season would be an understatement. The Fort Cherry rising sophomore quarterback threw for more than 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and 33 scores. He added 36 tackles on defense. “I was really happy...

It’s My Show dazzled last Saturday in the eliminations for the 57th Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. The winning time of 1 minute, 47.4 seconds set a world record for a 3-year-old gelding on a five-eights-mile track and put It’s My Show...

Clarissa Tinkey was on the doorstep of a medal at the American Taekwondo Association’s Songahm World Championships earlier this month in Phoenix, Ariz. The Verona resident and rising sophomore at Redeemer Lutheran High School in Verona competed for bronze in combat sparring for the Girls 13-14-year-old 2nd and 3rd Degree...

Monroeville Junior Legion is headed to the state playoffs after a run in the Western Regional tournament which saw the team automatically qualify by making the championship game. The state tournament, an eight-team, double-elimination format, will begin Friday in Berwick and continue through to the title game next Wednesday (Aug....

Diane Simon turns 13 Saturday. She is celebrating in America — more specifically, in Freeport, as part of the Freeport International Baseball Invitational — while playing the sport she loves with teammates and friends by her side. For the second year in a row, a team known as the Hawks...

Jae’Len Means’ list of collegiate sprint accomplishments during his time at Cal (Pa.) is long and illustrious. The Gateway graduate was a multi-time All-American who won eight individual Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference titles while with the Vulcans through the spring of 2019. Means said while he was proud of all...

The Haymaker Hammerheads had ruled the roost in recent Monroeville Invitational swim events at Garden City Pool. Haymaker won five in a row through last year and six of the previous seven. But the Park Sharks didn’t allow Haymaker to extend its streak to six straight and captured the 53rd...

When last year’s Freeport International Baseball Invitational wrapped up, plans already were in the works for this year’s event, the 29th installment of the Alle-Kiski Valley summer tradition. Meetings, phone calls, emails and other planning sessions over the past 12 months have come down to just a few days left...

As a sophomore, Julian Dugger helped Penn Hills win the Northeast Conference Class 5A title and make it to the WPIAL semifinals. The dual-threat quarterback threw for more than 1,300 yards that season. But 2022 was a tough year for the entire Penn Hills program as the team missed the...

Faith Remich has come full circle. The running standout got her start as a freshman at Burrell and was member of the Bucs cross country team when the program was started in the fall of 2015. Remich, who enjoyed a stellar career in both cross country and track and field...

Dakoda Fickes knows all about the feel of playing an outdoor volleyball match on a grass court. The new head coach of the Kiski Area girls volleyball team also is involved with a sports recreation business that puts together and runs outdoor grass tournaments. So there is no doubt he...

The Gateway football team’s 2022 season ended sooner than expected with a close WPIAL Class 5A first-round home loss to Upper St. Clair at Antimarino Stadium. While the returning Gators players, including senior quarterback Brad Birch, said they learned a lot from that game and from the season overall, they...

Dakoda Fickes is in his first season as the girls volleyball coach at Kiski Area, but not that long ago, he ran some memorable practices at the school’s gym. After the 2022 season, Fickes helped make the inaugural We Serve First All-Star Classic a success. Along with Kiski Area assistant...

When Riverview’s Lola Abraham committed to play soccer at Pitt last November, she said the decision was only the beginning and she couldn’t rest on past accomplishments. This summer has been crucial, Abraham said, as she not only works to stay sharp for her future with the Panthers but also...

The day before Rachel Satira graduated from Seton Hill in May 2019, she got a call from then-Plum girls volleyball coach Kelsey Bonk about coming on board as an assistant and also working with the middle school team. “I was more than happy to join,” said Satira, a standout four-year...

Tre Tipton had not picked up a pickleball paddle before Tuesday. In fact, the former Apollo-Ridge football standout who went on to play at Pitt said he didn’t even know pickleball existed before teaming up with Pittsburgh Steelers long snapper and Chartiers Valley grad Christian Kuntz and former Steeler Charlie...

Another Friday night with nearly perfect weather conditions greeted runners of all ages for the annual Fleet Feet Liberty Mile in Downtown Pittsburgh. “It was beautiful with a little breeze,” said Troy Schooley, the CEO of P3R, the local running organization charged with coordinating all aspects of the event. “It...