Michael Love stories, Page 71
Alle-Kiski Valley well represented at WPIAL track and field championships
Greg Klingensmith owns the Apollo-Ridge boys school record in the discus at 156 feet 9 inches recorded in placing third at last year’s WPIAL Class 2A track and field championships at Slippery Rock University. The William & Mary football recruit has his sights set on improving both numbers as he...
Optimistic Plum girls lacrosse team seeks 1st playoff victory
Heading into this season, the Plum girls lacrosse team already had experienced the WPIAL playoffs three times in its young history. The first trip came in 2018 in only its second full season in the WPIAL. As the No. 10 seed for the Class 2A playoffs, the Mustangs lost to...
Gateway savors elusive section volleyball title
The 36-year wait to put another number on the boys volleyball section-title banner in the gym at the Gateway Furrie Sports Complex has ended. Head coach Phil Randolph and his players couldn’t be more excited. Gateway clinched its first section title since 1986 with a 3-0 win over Mars on...
Riverview’s Bauer hopes to build on school-record time in 800 at WPIAL meet
Amberson Bauer qualified, along with several of his Riverview track and field teammates, for the WPIAL Class 2A championships at Slippery Rock University. The junior middle distance and distance specialist built up a great deal of momentum leading up to the meet with times that put him in contention for...
Plum notebook: Softball team grabs final berth, earns trip to Class 5A playoffs
It has been an up and down season for the Plum softball team, but last Tuesday against Penn Hills, the Mustangs were able to enjoy a victory which clinched a spot in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. Plum controlled its own destiny for the fourth and final spot from Section...
Deer Lakes, Plum expect tough matches in 1st round of WPIAL boys volleyball playoffs
Last year, the Plum boys volleyball team was the No. 9 seed for the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs, and it defeated No. 8 Trinity in the first round before a matchup with eventual champion Seton LaSalle in the quarterfinals. The Mustangs hope for a similar first-round outcome as they again...
Seneca Valley, North Allegheny take top 2 seeds in Class 3A WPIAL volleyball bracket
Seneca Valley and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart are the No. 1 seeds in Class 3A and 2A for the WPIAL playoffs as both brackets were revealed Friday afternoon. The Raiders and North Allegheny, the No. 2 seed, finished tied at the top of the Section 2 standings and...
Alle-Kiski Valley trio rewarded with WPIAL playoff byes
Three Alle-Kiski Valley softball teams — Burrell, Deer Lakes and Springdale — earned byes into the quarterfinals as the WPIAL playoff brackets and pairings were released Thursday at Triblive HSSN. All three section champions will open tournament play Thursday against opponents yet to be determined. Deer Lakes (11-4) drew the...
Former Gateway gymnast Olivia Miller sets high bar athletically, academically at Pitt
Olivia Miller went from misfortune to good fortune this spring as her collegiate academic and athletic tenure at the University of Pittsburgh came to a close. The Gateway graduate saw her 17-year gymnastics career come to a sudden end at the Eastern Atlantic Gymnastics League championships March 19 at George...
Apollo-Ridge overcomes obstacles, eager for WPIAL Class 2A playoffs
Eric Kowalczyk saw promise in his young Apollo-Ridge softball team when the season started in late March. Despite just one senior, several freshman getting their first taste of the varsity game and other returnees continuing to grow, the first-year Vikings coach has seen growth in his team through a playoff-qualifying...
Gateway boys volleyball fends off Plum challenge, finishes undefeated in section
The Plum boys volleyball team hoped to play spoiler and prevent visiting Gateway from finishing its Section 2-2A slate undefeated as the teams met in the section finale Tuesday at Plum. But the Gators, No. 6 in this week’s Western PA Volleyball Coaches Association Class 2A top 10, had other...
Deer Lakes’ McCoy riding high after Baldwin win
Carson McCoy just missed out on gold in the 800-meter run at last year’s Baldwin Invitational. The Deer Lakes senior returned to the track at Baldwin High School in the wind and rain Friday and didn’t let the 800 title slip from his grasp. He ran a personal-best time of...
No changes in final WPIAL Boys Volleyball Coaches Association top-10 polls
WPIAL boys volleyball section play concludes Thursday evening, and the playoff brackets and pairings are scheduled to be released Friday. Several playoff spots, section titles and playoff positioning will be determined over the next four nights. With that, the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its final spring 2022 Class...
Former Gateway soccer standout Sam Alexander set to cheer on Nittany Lions
Sam Alexander fashioned one of the top varsity careers in the history of Gateway boys soccer as a lockdown goalkeeper who earned numerous all-star honors for his play. His athletic endeavors continue at Penn State but in a slightly different direction. Last month, Alexander, a freshman on the University Park...
Ford City grad Lizzie Suwala-Sheaffer ‘honored’ to take spot in A-K Valley HOF
Lizzie Suwala-Sheaffer could hit a shot from anywhere on the basketball court. With a layup, a mid-range jumper or a 3-pointer, the Ford City and Clarion University graduate often frustrated opposing defenses while energizing her teammates, coaches and fans of the teams she represented. Suwala-Sheaffer probably is best known for...
Plum resident Allison Polesnak runs Pittsburgh Marathon in wedding outfit
Allison Polesnak knows all about running marathons and half-marathons, especially the one closest to home in Pittsburgh. The Monroeville native, 2007 Gateway High School graduate and Plum resident ran the Pittsburgh Marathon for the fifth time on May 1, her 33rd birthday, while also putting the finishing touches on wedding...
Riverview baseball ready for another playoff run
Riverview and Springdale are rivals in every sport, and baseball this spring is no exception. So, you can’t blame the Raiders players for being a little excited when they finished off a two-game Section 3-A sweep of the Dynamos last week. Game 1 went down to the wire, and Game...
Alle-Kiski Valley campus clippings: Heilman comes up aces at Merychurst
Jarrett Heilman (Freeport) has been a steady force for the Mercyhurst baseball team. The sophomore crafted a 7-0 record in 10 games — eight starts — through a complete-game 14-2 victory over Seton Hill in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference action April 29. In seven innings that day, Heilman gave up...
Rain again cancels Friday evening racing at Lernerville Speedway
Rain has yet again forced Lernerville Speedway officials to cancel Friday night racing. The announcement came Friday morning after steady precipitation began to fall late Thursday and continued to drench the area. The forecast calls for additional showers well into the day Saturday. Racing is scheduled to resume next Friday,...
Burrell’s Armstrong outduels Freeport’s Selker as Bucs softball team earns 1-0 win
Second verse, same as the first. The first Section 1-4A meeting between the Freeport and Burrell softball teams last Friday was a pitchers’ duel between Burrell’s Katie Armstrong and Sydney Selker. Each struck out 19 in the 1-0 Bucs victory. Both pitchers again were solid in Thursday’s rematch at Bon...
Valley softball enjoying continued renaissance
Morgan Dunkel was ready to take the ball, toe the rubber in the pitching circle and have a breakout freshman season for the Valley softball team. But the early stages of the growing covid pandemic snuffed out the 2020 spring campaign. “It was difficult. I was looking forward to the...
Highlands knocks off Burrell, heating up race for section softball title
The Burrell softball team had an outright Section 1-4A championship in its sights as it hosted Highlands on senior night Monday evening at Bon Air Field in Lower Burrell. The Golden Rams had other ideas. Highlands broke through for four runs in the fourth inning — taking advantage of four...
OLSH returns to top of Class 2A in latest boys volleyball coaches’ rankings
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is back on top of the Class 2A rankings as the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its Week 6 WPIAL boys top-10 polls Monday morning. The Chargers defeated No. 5 Ambridge, 3-1, in Section 1 play last week and also toppled No. 4...
Pittsburgh native Nicole Hilton wins women’s full marathon in event’s in-person returnVideo
Nicole Hilton’s first full marathon finished in victory and with an American flag around her shoulders. The 2011 South Fayette graduate soaked in all the cheers from the thousands of spectators while rain showers soaked her for much of the race Sunday as the Pittsburgh Marathon returned with much celebration...
Plum softball team making final playoff push
Despite a sometimes-rocky trip through the Section 1-5A schedule this spring, the Plum softball team still was alive for a WPIAL playoff spot as it entered its home stretch of games. “It’s been a progression throughout the season, and the girls have dealt with a lot, from injuries to a...
