Michael Love stories, Page 92
Alle-Kiski Valley WPIAL softball playoff capsules for May 24, 2021
Class 4A quarterfinals Monday 1-Elizabeth Forward (15-2) vs. 8-Knoch (10-7) 5 p.m. at Plum Coaches: Harry Rutherford, Elizabeth Forward; Gary Coe, Knoch Winner plays: Winner of 4-Montour (12-5) vs. 5-Highlands (14-4-1) on Wednesday (site, time TBD) in semifinals Players to watch: Kailey Larcinese, Sr., P, Elizabeth Forward; Olivia Vissari, Sr.,...
A-K Valley campus clippings: Another top honor for Knoch grad Jordan Geist at Arizona
Jordan Geist enjoyed another banner season in the throwing events for the University of Arizona. The Knoch graduate and Wildcats junior picked up his third Pac-12 postseason award, earning Men’s Field Athlete of the Year for the second time (also in 2019). Geist also was named Men’s Freshman of the...
Gateway’s Jenkins, Robinson claim medals at WPIAL championships
Clear, sunny skies and temperatures in the low to mid 80s greeted Gateway track and field athletes as they competed at last week’s WPIAL Class AAA championships at Slippery Rock. Senior Jayson Jenkins and junior Amaya Robinson picked up a medal as Gateway was represented in 11 events overall. Robinson,...
Gateway caps roller coaster season with playoff loss to Mars
As the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A baseball playoffs, Mars and Gateway were expected to play a close and competitive game. That’s just what happened May 19 at North Allegheny. The contest ended in a walk-off as JJ Wethereholt singled...
Riverview’s distance relay looks forward to PIAA meet
Mason Ochs knew he had another long race ahead of him — the individual 3,200-meter run — at Wednesday’s WPIAL Class AA championships when he anchored the 3,200 relay in the morning’s heated temperatures under sunny skies. But the Riverview senior didn’t take it easy and rolled through his 800...
After upset loss, Plum softball turns attention to promising future
The Plum softball team hoped for a long stay in the playoffs as it kicked off the WPIAL Class 5A tournament against Fox Chapel in the first round May 18 at Gateway. The Mustangs, the No. 3 seed in the bracket, came into the game winners of nine in a...
3-run, walk-off homer propels 14th-seeded Fox Chapel softball past Franklin Regional
Fox Chapel’s Brynn Palmer came up in the bottom of the seventh of Thursday’s WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal against Franklin Regional with the game on the line. The Foxes third baseman/shortstop already had driven in two runs, and with one out, two runners on base and her team down a...
Riverview relay team, Apollo-Ridge’s Weightman claim WPIAL gold
Mason Ochs knew he had another long race ahead of him - the individual 3,200-meter run - at Wednesday’s WPIAL Class AA championships when he anchored the 3,200 relay in the morning’s heated temperatures under sunny skies. But the Riverview senior rolled through his 800 split and brought home gold...
North Catholic’s Trevor Paschall wins 4 gold medals at WPIAL Class AA track and field championships
Temperatures under sunny skies climbed throughout the morning Wednesday as the top athletes competed at the WPIAL Class AA track and field championships at Slippery Rock University. As the final events concluded, thermometers had readings in the low to mid 80s. But that didn’t stop the cream of the crop...
Alle-Kiski Valley WPIAL softball playoff capsules for May 20, 2021
Today’s games Class 5A Quarterfinals 11-Franklin Regional (10-6) vs. 14-Fox Chapel (12-6) 2 p.m. at Plum Coaches: Jim Armstrong, Franklin Regional; Chris Olbrich, Fox Chapel Winner plays: Winner of 15-Indiana (11-7)/7-Armstrong (13-4) on Tuesday in semifinals Players to watch: Sydney Jackson, So., C/OF, Franklin Regional; Neena Pietropaolo, Sr., Fox Chapel...
Penn-Trafford softball stomps Hampton in 1st round
The Penn-Trafford softball team scored four runs in the bottom of the first during Tuesday’s WPIAL Class 5A first-round playoff game against Hampton at Gateway. The top-seeded Warriors rolled from there to a 10-0 victory halted after five innings. “We got hits and did a lot of the little things,”...
Fox Chapel stuns Plum in first-round pitchers’ duel
The Plum and Fox Chapel softball teams met in late March to open the 2021 season. The Mustangs scored a five-run victory in the matchup. The teams rematched Tuesday in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs, but this time, the result was different. The 14th-seeded Foxes scored...
Alle-Kiski Valley WPIAL softball playoff capsules for May 19, 2021
Wednesday’s games Class 4A 6-Burrell (7-5) vs. 11-Belle Vernon (10-9) 2 p.m. at Plum Coaches: Rick Nealer, Burrell; Tom Rodriguez, Belle Vernon Winner plays: 3-West Mifflin (15-4) Monday (time, site TBD) in quarterfinals Players to watch: Katie Armstrong, So., P, Burrell; Maren Metikosh, So., OF, Belle Vernon Extra bases: Burrell...
Burrell relay team, other Class AA medal hopefuls gear up for WPIAL meet
As sophomores in 2019, Burrell’s Brayden Callahan, Jake Guerrini and Ryan Wurzer, along with the now-graduated Kaleb Seibert, finished 12th in the 1,600-meter relay at the WPIAL Class AA championships at Slippery Rock. Despite the finish outside of medal contention, the group, with everyone back in 2020, had their sights...
Alle-Kiski Valley WPIAL softball playoff capsules for May 18, 2021
Tuesday’s games Class 5A 3-Plum (13-3) vs. 14-Fox Chapel (11-6) 2 p.m. at Gateway Coaches: Phil DiLonardo, Plum; Chris Olbrich, Fox Chapel Winner plays: Winner of 6-West Allegheny (13-3)/11-Franklin Regional (9-6) on Thursday (time, site TBD) in quarterfinals Players to watch: Melanie Meinke, Sr., P, Plum; Mackenzie Borkovich, Jr., P,...
North Allegheny, Seton LaSalle earn top seeds for WPIAL boys volleyball playoffs
North Allegheny and Seton LaSalle are the top seeds in their respective boys volleyball playoff brackets as the WPIAL released the Class AAA and AA pairings Monday afternoon. The first round begins Tuesday with games in both classifications. The top five teams in each Class AAA and Class AA section...
Coaches association releases final WPIAL boys volleyball rankings
The WPIAL Class AAA and Class AA playoff brackets will be revealed Monday at noon on Trib HSSN. In advance of that announcement, the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its final rankings for the 2021 season. North Allegheny (Class AAA) and Seton LaSalle (Class AA) hold on to the...
Gateway athletes set for WPIAL championship meet
The Gateway track and field spring season was one of growth and discovery for a number of athletes breaking into varsity competition for the first time. Only a few of the Gators had experience at meets from the 2019 season before spring 2020 was wiped out because of the covid...
Tough schedule prepares Gateway for WPIAL baseball playoffs
The Gateway baseball team went through a lot during the regular season with a roller coaster of game results while overcoming a midseason covid pause. But the Gators came through on the right side and earned a spot in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. Coach Mark Wardzinski said he was...
Distance runners Carter, Miller ready for 1st crack at WPIAL girls championships
Fox Chapel’s Laura Carter and Kiski Area’s Eliza Miller first meet in competition in fall 2018 as seventh-grade cross country runners. Two years later, they were among the WPIAL’s top high school cross country runners, and they were separated by 5 seconds in the Class AAA WPIAL finals in October....
Plum softball, baseball teams turn attention to WPIAL playoffs
The Plum softball team hadn’t played a game in nearly two weeks when it came back May 10 from a covid pause to face Section 1-5A foe Armstrong in a game crucial to each team’s goal of a section title. The Mustangs didn’t show any rust as they got some...
Record 12 A-K valley schools qualify for WPIAL softball playoffs
A record 12 Alle-Kiski Valley softball teams now know their WPIAL playoff fates as the tournament brackets were released Thursday afternoon. Games begin Tuesday and Wednesday at neutral sites with the WPIAL finals set for June 2-3 at Cal U (Pa.). Leechburg, the co-champions of Section 3-A with Springdale, garnered...
A-K valley softball notebook: Leechburg not the only team with a long playoff streak
Leechburg owns the record for consecutive seasons making the WPIAL playoffs, but several teams also are building sizeable streaks of their own. Burrell, with a 7-5 overall record and a 6-3 record in Section 1-4A, enters the WPIAL postseason for the 15th season in a row, having last missed the...
Knoch softball team hoping for a deep playoff run like 2019 squad
Olivia Vissari, Marissa Melius, Brynnae Coe, Quinn Hughes, Sophie Brandon and Bailey Rickenbrode remember the 2019 postseason well. They were members of the Knoch softball team that advanced to the WPIAL semifinals and qualified for the state playoffs. They were major contributors for the team that won a section title...
Penn State New Kensington softball eliminated from PSUAC state tournament
The Penn State New Kensington softball team saw its season come to an end Monday with a pair of losses in the double-elimination Penn State University Athletic Conference playoffs in DuBois. The Lions lost to East No. 1 seed Penn State Brandywine, 9-1, in the first game and were edged...
