Jerin Steele stories, Page 32

Before the PIAA tournament started, Michael Mosbacher and his North Allegheny boys volleyball teammates knew if they were going to play for a third consecutive state championship, they would likely have to beat Seneca Valley for a fourth time. Like the three previous meetings, the Raiders proved to be a...

Carson Verszyla got an early birthday present Monday morning when he saw himself on “SportsCenter.” Verszyla, who turned 13 Monday and is a sixth-grader in the Pine-Richland School District, scored a highlight-reel spin-o-rama goal Sunday that was featured as the top play on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” top 10. “It was honestly...

Sewickley Academy led for only 4 seconds Saturday, but it was the last four. Elsa Gordon scored off a pass from Emma DiSantis for what proved to be winning goal to give the Panthers their only lead of the game in an 18-17 comeback victory over Mt. Lebanon in the...

A quartet of Pine-Richland girls lacrosse players spent Memorial Day weekend playing alongside some of the best high school players in the country and came home with an enjoyable and worthwhile experience. Caroline Gentile, Mary Dziubek, Zoe Katres and Erica Hudock played for Team Pittsburgh at the USA Lacrosse Women’s...

Gabrielle Krieger and Abbi Altman grew up on the same street, but their paths didn’t cross until they met while taking novice rowing lessons at Pine-Richland. From there, a friendship started that has grown immensely through the years even though the pair ended up competing at rival schools, Alabama and...

Because of her small stature, Gianna Rotelli feels she is overlooked sometimes when she enters track and field events. After her second-place finish in the javelin at the WPIAL championships, it’s going to be hard for opponents to underestimate her anymore. Rotelli, a sophomore at Pine-Richland, threw a personal- best...

Maddie Griffin threw her 11th no-hitter of the season Thursday, but it wasn’t enough to keep Shenango from making history. The Wildcats used heads-up baserunning to score three runs on two Ligonier Valley errors on the same play Wednesday before heavy rains forced a suspension of the game in the...

Coming into the season, Pine-Richland baseball had injuries to its top two starting pitchers in West Virginia recruit Tommy Beam and Gabe Mustovic and added a couple more to the injured list just a few games in with shortstop Kyle Kimoto and first baseman Chase Vrabel going down against Seneca...

A power failure in the left field light tower at North Allegheny’s baseball field forced Friday’s Class 5A WPIAL quarterfinal between top-seeded Franklin Regional and No. 8 Mars to be suspended with the score tied 5-5 with two outs in the top of the fifth inning. The game will resume...

Jack Kiefer never saw his golden goal hit the back of the net. What he did see was a mob of teammates running at him, which gave him assurance he had propelled Franklin Regional to victory. Kiefer scored with 51.2 seconds remaining in overtime to give the eighth-seeded Panthers an...

Thomas Zbezinski first realized he had a no-hitter going in the fourth inning of Penn State Behrend’s AMCC quarterfinal game with Pitt-Greensburg on May 8. It was a fleeting thought. He went right back into his routine. A couple of innings later, however, the reality of the situation started to...

Angelina and Elizabeth Hunkele love to compete. Growing up in a running family with their dad, Mark, who is the Pine-Richland track coach, the sisters have been on plenty of family runs. They basically have been training together their entire lives. Sometimes they have to race against each other, and...

Members of the Pine-Richland girls lacrosse team knew they had built something special during a seven-game winning streak in April and they wanted to prove it in their much anticipated showdown with Fox Chapel on May 4. The Rams got everything they bargained for in an 8-7 victory that reaffirmed...

Coming into this season Pine-Richland boys lacrosse coach Kevin Welty budgeted for adversity. He expected there to be postponements, some injuries and for it to take time to build chemistry on the field after the canceled 2020 season. In some form or fashion each one has happened, but Welty said...

For the second consecutive year the Alle-Kiski Sports Hall of Fame banquet had to be cancelled because of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, but board members wanted to organize an event to honor local athletes for their accomplishments. On Saturday at the Quality Inn in New Kensington, the board hosted a...

Troy LaNeve doesn’t like to put much weight into an at-bat that’s good or bad, but after his first collegiate home run for Vanderbilt in late March at Oklahoma State, he soaked in the moment. “After the game was over and I was able to check my phone and read...

As Pine-Richland softball geared up for the stretch run in the regular season coach Gary Shepard was looking for was consistency at the plate. The Rams (6-6, 4-3 Section 2-6A) had a stretch of games in mid-April where they scored double digit runs three times, but they mustered only one...

For two periods Indiana kept West Chester East’s powerful offense at bay and had the lead with 17 minutes to play. But two goals less than 30 seconds apart early in the third opened the door for the Vikings to earn another state hockey championship. West Chester East scored four...

The Pine-Richland track and field coaches had a premonition that senior Ella Rottinghaus was going to set a new school record in the 400-meter run prior to the Rams’ April 14 meet with Seneca Valley, but she didn’t share the same belief. After all it was her debut in the...

A few years ago Chase Lavezoli taught himself how to do a front flip by using a trampoline. The curiosity that came from that experience sparked a fast track to becoming one of the top young male gymnasts in the region. Lavezoli, an eighth grader at Pine-Richland, won the all-around...

Gabriella Aughton showed up to Pine-Richland’s game at Hempfield on April 9 with a secret weapon. She debuted a drop ball pitch, and with the new addition to an already strong repertoire, she proved difficult to hit. Aughton struck out 12 batters and the Rams got a two-run homer from...

When the 2020 spring sports season was canceled because of the covid-19 pandemic, it brought a sudden end to the careers of a dozen Pine-Richland boys volleyball players. It was a season the Rams were building up to, and losing it impacted the program several ways. Normally Rams coach Shawn...

Jacob McGuire walked off the mound after the final out of Pine-Richland’s 11-0 win in five innings in the season opener against North Catholic happy with his performance. He had no idea, though, that he had thrown a no-hitter in his first varsity start. “I found out at the end...

Gateway boys volleyball coach Phil Randolph has plenty of fresh faces on his team this season who bring athleticism from playing other sports. That’s a positive considering the Gators only had a few players return after losing a large senior class that had its 2020 season canceled due to the...

After the 2020 playoffs were suspended and eventually canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, the PIHL is ready to crown Penguins Cup champions once again. The 2021 version of the playoffs are set to get underway with quarterfinal games in each classification scheduled for Monday. There’s intrigue in each class....