Jerin Steele stories, Page 5

Drake Troutman and his group of young helpers are teens living out a dream. Troutman, 19, has been going up and down the road following the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model tour with a crew of kids the same age or younger than him, and there have been some humbling...

There’s little doubt Jordan Wiegand loves soccer. So much so that he’s willing to tackle a rare coaching double. Already established as a WPIAL champion boys soccer coach at Pine-Richland, Wiegand now will lead the Rams’ girls program as well. He was hired as girls soccer coach at Pine-Richland’s school...

With tears in his eyes, Drake Troutman shook his head while he was standing in victory lane. The moment was washing over the 19-year-old native of Hyndman in Bedford County. He was a Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Dirt Series winner. Troutman took the lead for good on lap 9...

Every time Alex Ferree is on a racetrack, he helps carry on multiple legacies. There’s the legacy of his last name, which he shares with his hall of fame father Ed. There’s also the prestige of the #1 Cochran car he drives, which once was piloted by another hall of...

Ricky Thornton Jr. picked up right where he left off. The defending Firecracker 100 champion and current Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series points leader led flag to flag to claim one of the Twin 25-lap preliminary races Thursday night at Lernerville Speedway in Buffalo Township. Jonathan Davenport won the...

At 14 years old, Brock Pinkerous is much younger than most of the competitors he races against, but he’s already making his presence known. In his first super late model race last Friday at Lernerville Speedway, the teen from Ellenville, N.Y., led the first 17 laps of the feature. The...

The same issues are cropping up match after match for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. They can’t score, and they give up untimely goals to their opponents. Over the weekend, it was two early goals against Hartford that put them in a hole. On Wednesday, it was an early second-half tally that...

Michael Norris has had some excellent years at Lernerville Speedway, but what he’s done so far this year may be his most impressive run yet. There have been six super late model races contested at the Buffalo Township track this year, and he has won five of them, including four...

Hailey Zeise spent the last year coaching in college at George Washington, but in her heart, she knew high school basketball was where she wanted to be. Seven years ago, Zeise helped lead North Allegheny to a WPIAL title and now she hopes to do the same as a coach...

TJ Squib’s motocross racing career started with his mother Tracy by his side in the pits at every race. Now every time he puts his helmet on and enters the starting gate, he does so to honor her memory. Tracy died in 2020, a little over a year into Squib’s...

South Fayette couldn’t have dreamed of a better start to Tuesday’s PIAA Class 2A boys lacrosse semifinal, but Mars got the ending it wanted. After seeing the Lions score the first five goals, Mars stormed back to squelch any upset hopes and earned a 20-10 victory at North Allegheny to...

Four wins in Section 2-3A might not seem like a lot to those that do not follow WPIAL boys volleyball closely, but for Pine-Richland, it signaled a gigantic leap in the right direction. Coming off a year in which the Rams went winless, they narrowly missed the playoffs, finishing fifth...

Calise Czekanski brings a boombox to the field so she and her Armstrong softball teammates can listen to music and get pumped up before every game. “They love their music, and they love it loud,” Armstrong coach Keith Shaffer said. “I know sometimes it irritates opponents, but our girls certainly...

For about 25 minutes following Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Indy Eleven, Pittsburgh Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley stood on the field at Highmark Stadium with his team huddled around him. Lilley said there were some pointed words, in what was very much a one-way conversation, because some of the same problems...

There’s been plenty of heartbreak over the last three years, but this time, Shelby Telegdy and the Elizabeth Forward softball team were not going to be denied. The top-seeded Warriors showed why they’ve been the favorite in WPIAL Class 4A softball all season. Their strong hitting, pitching and defense were...

After hitting a one-out triple in the second inning, North Catholic’s Josef Safar flexed his right bicep and pointed at it while staring at his teammates in the dugout. Safar said it was a light-hearted moment and that he was just having fun, but it also symbolized the power to...

Eliot and Reid Duncan are brothers who play on the Pitt ultimate frisbee team, where they are joined by former Pine-Richland teammate Aiden Landis. Landis, however, has a younger brother, Ethan, who plays for Penn State along with longtime friend Luke Gochis. What they all have in common is that...

Miles Halter broke his stick in the first quarter, so he had to borrow one from Mt. Lebanon assistant coach Connor Brumfield. He certainly didn’t have any problem adjusting to the new equipment and went on to score six goals. “I guess that stick was magic,” Halter said. Halter was...

Mt. Lebanon girls lacrosse coach Brian Kattan joked he didn’t want his team to become the Buffalo Bills. “No offense to Buffalo, but I didn’t want to lose four in a row,” Kattan said. “We wanted to stay away from that.” The Blue Devils can rest assured they won’t have...

Being a double-digit seed and winning in the playoffs has become a theme for Burrell this school year. The Bucs boys basketball team made a run to the WPIAL finals as an 11 seed, and after pulling off an upset over No. 3 Mt. Pleasant in the first round, the...

The Pine-Richland girls lacrosse team got a step closer to defending its WPIAL Class 3A title with a 17-7 win over Canon-McMillan in the quarterfinals May 15. Cate Gentile had five goals and six assists in the win over the Big Macs. Madeline Mill added four goals and two assists,...

The first and second halves couldn’t have been much more different at Highmark Stadium on Saturday night. A sharp, determined Pittsburgh Riverhounds team spent almost the entirety of the first 45 minutes possessing the ball and looking to break down a North Carolina FC team that was forced to sit...

Almost every time Avonworth pitcher Alivia Lantzy received the ball from catcher Rylee Gray, she bounced it three or four times before returning to the circle. It’s a routine she only does on turf, and the explanation is simple. “It’s fun,” Lantzy said. What else is fun for her is...

Pine-Richland girls lacrosse coach Shannen Drennon said her team is firing on all cylinders. She admitted it’s a phrase that’s cliche, but it’s also the truth. The Rams hadn’t lost since March heading into one final regular season test against Mt. Lebanon on May 9. They won the Section 2-3A...

Boasting an 11-game winning streak, the Valley baseball team certainly is rolling at the right time. A team filled with experienced upperclassmen, the Vikings won their first section title since 2018 and now will look to make their mark in the postseason. The Vikings were awarded the No. 5 seed...