Michael Love stories, Page 8

With the emotions of his final high school football game — a loss to rival Penn Hills on Oct. 25 — still fresh in his mind, Plum senior Darian Slaughter decided to commit to where he will play football for the next four years. “That night, I called (St. Francis,...

MECHANICSBURG — There was a mix of tears in the eyes and pride in the hearts of the members of the Springdale girls soccer team in the moments following a 4-3 loss to District 1 champion Dock Mennonite in Friday’s PIAA Class A title game in Mechanicsburg. Dynamos coach Marc...

A tradition unlike any other in the Alle-Kiski Valley or Pittsburgh region continues this weekend. The 51st Pennsylvania Karate Championships, a keystone event since the early 1970s, returns Saturday to the grand ballroom of the Quality Inn in New Kensington. It is where the event began all those years ago....

For the fourth time in program history, the Springdale girls soccer team will play for a state championship. The Dynamos scored early, led by three goals at halftime, and added one more in the latter half of the second 40 minutes to come away with a 4-0 victory over Seton...

When the final seconds of Saturday’s PIAA Class A quarterfinal girls soccer game ticked off the clock, Springdale players began to erupt in celebration. The Dynamos had just finished off a hard-fought 2-1 victory over District 6 champion Bishop Guilfoyle at Indiana High School. Junior Hailey Marchlewski scored both goals,...

The Apollo-Ridge girls basketball team experienced change several times in the offseason. The Lady Vikings had to say goodbye to a trio of starters: leading scorer and all-star Sophia Yard as well as Malea Veneziani and Jaden Mull. They also found out over the winter that they would be dropping...

Winning has been hard to come by for the Apollo-Ridge boys basketball in recent seasons. The Vikings have seven victories combined the past three years and are mired in a 29-game section losing streak. But seventh-year coach Greg Fox is sounding the bell of optimism. “The enthusiasm and the way...

The Gateway boys and girls basketball, swimming and wrestling teams have arrived at their WPIAL winter seasons as official preseason practices kick off Friday. The Gators athletes on those teams will join several thousand others in those sports on a journey that they hope will lead them to WPIAL gold...

Hunter Raymer closed out his 2024 high school swim season at the PIAA championships with a pair of medals. The Gateway senior distance specialist took eighth in the Class 3A 200-yard individual medley and came back a day later to place fifth in the 500 freestyle. The time of 4...

The Riverview boys soccer team had a breakout season in 2024 with 10 wins in the regular season and its first trip to the WPIAL playoffs since 2019. Coach Mickey Namey said his Raiders players represented themselves with a solid effort in a WPIAL Class A first-round game against No....

The Mars and Plum girls soccer teams met to decide the WPIAL Class 3A championship three straight years from 2019-21. The Fightin’ Planets won all three meetings, two at Highmark Stadium and a third at North Allegheny. The teams reunited at North Allegheny on Oct. 31 to decide this year’s...

Imani Christian is moving on. And it took a big rally for the No. 1 Saints to do it. Down 14 at halftime to No. 9 Highlands and shut out on the scoreboard, Imani came all the way back to score a 31-17 victory in a WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal...

Player of the week Jahmar Wright Highlands, jr., WR/DB Wright was right on both sides of the ball for the Golden Rams in last Friday’s WPIAL Class 3A first-round win at Southmoreland. He caught two passes from Menage Lucas for 55 yards. One of the catches was for 33 yards...

Points were at an unexpected premium when Imani Christian and Highlands met at Wilkinsburg’s Graham Field on Sept. 20. Heading into the game, the Golden Rams were averaging 51.3 points, and the Saints were putting up 41.7 a contest. But it ended up being a defensive battle the whole way....

The Conemaugh Township girls soccer team made a 90-minute trek west to Fox Chapel on Tuesday with the hopes of upending WPIAL champion Springdale. But the Dynamos didn’t allow the District 5 runner-up Indians the opportunity to come away with the PIAA Class A first-round win. In a game that...

Piper Munyon ran on the White Oak Park cross country course for the first time Oct. 17 at the Tri-State Coaches Association championships. The Gateway freshman completed her race that day in 20 minutes, 22.33 seconds and placed 36th out of all of the WPIAL runners in the Class 3A...

Woodland Hills, Franklin Regional and Penn-Trafford finished as the top three teams in the Class 5A Big East Conference, and they earned the three automatic bids from the conference to the WPIAL playoffs which began last Friday. That left the three teams tied for fourth — Gateway, Kiski Area and...

When the WPIAL football pairings for Class 3A came out last Saturday, Highlands players and coaches saw that there was the potential for a rematch with No. 1 Imani Christian in the quarterfinals. But to get that chance, they had to take care of business against Southmoreland in the first...

It had been 32 years since a Quaker Valley girls soccer team had won a WPIAL championship. The wait for the Quakers to hoist the title trophy again came to an end Saturday. Sophomore Anabel Miko and freshman Lily Baker scored goals in the second half for Class 2A No....

With one WPIAL Class A playoff victory under its belt, the Riverview girls soccer team hoped for more when it tangled with No. 2 Seton-La Salle in a quarterfinal contest Oct. 26 at Dormont Stadium. Raiders coach Sean Abraham said his team was ready for the challenge, but in the...

Wes Lorish had high hopes for his final PIAA Class 3A individual championship tournament. The Plum senior sought gold after losing out on the title in a tiebreaker last year. But despite his best efforts, he was not able to get to where he wanted to be during the two-day...

Freeport made an impactful return to the WPIAL playoffs Friday. After a one-year postseason hiatus, the Yellowjackets returned to the WPIAL quarterfinals by rolling past Mt. Pleasant, 44-20, in a Class 3A first-round matchup at Freeport Area Athletic Stadium. “I am really proud of the kids, especially from where we...

When the Fox Chapel and South Fayette girls soccer teams meet for the WPIAL Class 3A championship Saturday afternoon at Highmark Stadium, a back-to-back champion is guaranteed to be crowned. The Foxes (18-2-1) made a magical run last year as the No. 6 seed in the Class 4A bracket and...

The Burrell girls soccer team made history Tuesday with its dramatic, down-to-the-wire WPIAL Class 2A semifinal victory over South Park at North Allegheny. The 3-2 win put the ninth-seeded Bucs in the WPIAL title game for the first time in program history. Burrell (14-5-1) has the chance to add on...

Player of the week Jake Fleischer Deer Lakes, sr., QB After making his varsity starting debut in Week Zero and helping lead the Lancers to a tie for the most wins — eight — in a single season in program history, Fleischer will get his first chance to perform in...