Michael Love stories, Page 90
North Allegheny grad Rick Mihm reaches finals in 200 IM at U.S. Olympic trials
The U.S. Olympic Swim Trials continued Thursday morning and local products Zoe Skirboll, Bailey Bonnett and Rick Mihm took to the pool in preliminary events in Omaha. Mihm, a North Allegheny graduate and freshman on the men’s team at Stanford University, is off to Thursday evening’s semifinals in the men’s...
Highlands softball savors triumphs during historic season
A weird feeling came over Jen Koprivnikar on Tuesday. For the first time since February, the Highlands softball coach didn’t have a practice to run or a game to plan. The Golden Rams’ historic season came to a close Monday with a 4-0 loss to Beaver Area in the PIAA...
Central Catholic grads Michael Grady, Alex Miklasevich ready to row in Olympics
Michael Grady and Alex Miklasevich have been rowing together since their freshman year at Central Catholic in the fall of 2011. They have grown together in the sport through their four years together with the Vikings program, through respective collegiate careers, with opportunities at high-level camps, and at competitions both...
Oakland Catholic grad Leah Smith qualifies for finals of 200 freestyle at U.S. Olympic Swim Trials
Oakland Catholic and Virginia grad Leah Smith finished eighth in the semifinals of the women’s 200-meter freestyle Tuesday evening at the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials in Omaha. Her time of 1 minute, 58.22 seconds helped clinch a spot in Wednesday evening’s finals with a pair of Olympic berths on the...
Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame finds home in Tarentum
The Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame has enshrined and celebrated area athletic greats for 50 years, and now the signature plaques and photographs of past inductees have a permanent display in Tarentum. The record of local sports history is housed in a gallery at the renovated G.C. Murphy Building...
Franklin Park teen Sophia Gentile among nation’s top powerlifters
In only 16 months of competition, Sophia Gentile has made a name for herself as one of the nation’s top teen powerlifters. The Franklin Park resident’s efforts have translated into competition victories and both national and world records, and she is excited to keep pushing forward in the sport. “This...
Upper St. Clair’s Josh Matheny, Oakland Catholic grad Leah Smith earn top 5 finishes at U.S. Olympic Trials
Josh Matheny made a push for a top-two finish and a spot on Team USA on Monday evening in the finals of the men’s 100-meter breaststroke at the Wave II U.S. Olympic Swim Trials in Omaha, Neb. The Upper St. Clair grad and Indiana commit swam slightly faster than his...
Smerick, River Hawks topple North Hills, advance to PIAA championship game
For Emma Smerick, the softball field at Mars is out of this world. In the WPIAL Class 5A semifinals against Fox Chapel on May 25, Smerick bunted twice for singles and scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh. Smerick, back at Mars for Monday’s PIAA semifinals against...
List dominates as Beaver bests Highlands in PIAA Class 4A semifinal
Runs and hits were at a premium when Highlands and Beaver met for the WPIAL Class 4A softball championship June 2. It was shaping up the same way through five innings of Monday’s rematch in the PIAA semifinals at Mars. Bobcats junior pitcher Payton List and her counterpart, Golden Rams...
Upper St. Clair’s Josh Matheny to swim in 100 breaststroke finals at U.S. Olympic Trials
Upper St. Clair’s Josh Matheny kicked off his first U.S. Olympic Swim Trials competition Sunday night with a pair of top-eight swims in the preliminaries and semifinals of the Wave II men’s 100-meter breaststroke. Those finishes propelled him to Monday evening’s finals and a chance to earn a spot on...
Hard-hitting Highlands gets rematch with WPIAL champ Beaver in PIAA Class 4A semifinals
Jess Cekada was mobbed by her Highlands teammates as the junior shortstop crossed home plate after hitting a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning of Thursday’s PIAA Class 4A quarterfinal game against Bishop McDevitt under the lights at Central Cambria High School. An inning earlier, senior second...
A-K Valley PIAA playoff preview capsules for June 14, 2021
Class 4A Semifinals Highlands (18-5-1) vs. Beaver (19-0) 2 p.m. Monday at Mars Coaches: Jen Koprivinikar, Highlands; Amy Haggart, Beaver Winner plays: Winner of 11-1 Bethlehem Catholic (16-8)/2-1 Tunkhannock (22-2) Thursday at 1:30 p.m. in the finals at Beard Field, Penn State University. Players to watch: Jess Cekada, Jr., SS,...
Gateway baseball players look forward to summer season in WPBL
Last summer, a group of baseball players from Gateway High School and one from South Fayette formed the Monroeville Gators team in the Western Pennsylvania Baseball League. The WPBL came about after the cancellation of the spring high school season because of the covid pandemic, and players from throughout the...
Monroeville’s Ritson to join Team Pennsylvania teammates at Las Vegas tournament
Beau Ritson is no stranger to high-level youth hockey as a member of the Pens Elite travel program. The 11-year-old Monroeville resident now is gearing up for play as part of Team Pennsylvania at a top-flight youth tournament in Las Vegas on July 6-9. The Kings of Vegas tournament was...
Freeport grad Brestensky gets his shot at pro baseball
Growing up, J.J. Brestensky was no different than many other young baseball players in that he had aspirations of one day playing professionally. The Freeport graduate is getting that chance for the first time this summer as a member of the Trinidad Triggers in the Pecos League, one of the...
After persevering through suspended game, Ligonier Valley softball team focused on PIAA semis
After a delay of 1 hour, 45 minutes, the Ligonier Valley softball team began Thursday’s PIAA Class 2A quarterfinal against District 5 champion Chestnut Ridge at Mt. Aloysius College. Through five innings, the Rams held a 1-0 lead. Then, in the sixth, the rain returned, and the game was delayed...
Fox Chapel softball exceeds expectations with deep playoff run
After losing 2020 to the covid pandemic, the Fox Chapel softball team entered this spring with optimism that it could get to the Class 5A playoffs and make a run. Foxes coach Chris Olbrich was confident his team would be competitive in each game it would play. Both of those...
Plum spring athletes earn postseason honors
Rayla Smith was an offensive force for the Plum girls lacrosse team this spring. The freshman attacker didn’t shy away from going to the goal, and she finished the season with more than 40 goals for a Mustangs squad that had designs on the WPIAL playoffs from the start of...
Nearly 6 hours of down time ‘worth the wait’ for Highlands softball players
Cloudy skies and rain greeted the Highlands softball team Friday afternoon as they gathered for practice in preparation for Monday’s PIAA Class 4A semifinal against Beaver. The Golden Rams, who are focused in on the WPIAL title game rematch, saw enough rain Thursday to last a lifetime in a state-tournament...
Highlands softball beats Bishop McDevitt, earns rematch with Beaver in state semifinals
EBENSBURG — The Highlands softball team had to wait through a four-hour delay from the original 4 p.m. start of its PIAA Class 4A quarterfinal game Thursday against Bishop McDevitt. It also practiced patience as the game was moved from Mt. Aloysius College to nearby Central Cambria High School. In...
Ligonier Valley moves into PIAA semifinals with rain-shortened win over Chestnut Ridge
CRESSON — The record will show Ligonier Valley secured a 1-0 victory over Chestnut Ridge in the PIAA Class 2A softball quarterfinals Thursday. That only begins to tell the story. Rain first delayed the start of the game by 1 hour and 45 minutes. The teams then started and quickly...
Defense proves invaluable to Highlands softball team
The Highlands softball bats and the players swinging them have proven themselves all season with high hit and run totals. The Golden Rams offense continued that trend Monday with 13 hits and seven runs against Clearfield in a PIAA Class 4A first-round victory in DuBois. Just as key, but sometimes...
A-K Valley PIAA playoff preview capsule for June 10, 2021
Softball Class 5A Quarterfinals 7-2 Highlands (17-5-1) vs. 3-1 Bishop McDevitt (23-2) 4 p.m. Thursday at Mt. Aloysius College in Cresson Coaches: Jen Koprivinikar, Highlands; Tim Bowen, Bishop McDevitt Winner plays: Winner of 7-1 Beaver Area (18-0)/7-3 Elizabeth Forward (18-3) Monday in the semifinals (site and time, TBD) Players to...
WPIAL products fare well at U.S. Olympic Swim Trials
North Allegheny graduate Jack Wright said he was taken aback when he entered the CHI Health Center in Omaha for the Wave I U.S. Olympic Swim Trials last week. “It is a one-of-a-kind pool that is built up, and it is unlike anything I’ve swam in before,” said Wright, a...
North Allegheny rowers fare well at national championship regatta
Several members of the North Allegheny rowing team competed at the Scholastic Rowing Association of America national championship regatta over Memorial Day weekend on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. The Tigers were represented with qualifiers for the girls varsity lightweight double and the girls varsity quad races. Charlotte Bentrim (stroke)...
