Jerin Steele stories, Page 9

Madison Zavasky joined elite company Jan. 8, becoming just the fourth player in Pine-Richland girls basketball history to reach 1,000 points. She joined Rams all-time leading scorer Amanda Kalin, Carrie Walker Kelly and Kristen Wisse. Zavasky is the first girls basketball player to hit the 1,000-point plateau since 2017 when...

Nathaniel Moore found out Tuesday night he’d be in the starting lineup for the first time this season. He responded by scoring 16 points and, along with Wayne Love, dominated the glass to help Deer Lakes end the first half of Section 3-3A play undefeated with a 62-47 win Wednesday...

Zarian Finucan sat on the bench and watched his younger brother, Teegan, hit shot after shot Tuesday night. “I was talking to myself and saying, ‘I used to do this to him in the driveway growing up and beating him,’ ” Zarian said. “He’s great and he’s just going to...

It was another successful trip to the WPIAL meet for the Pine-Richland competitive spirit team. The Rams fell a little short of winning the Class 3A small squad division title Jan. 6 at Chartiers Valley, but they scored well enough to secure yet another bid to states. Pine-Richland has qualified...

Zach Howard often picks up Cullen Campbell and drives him to Pine-Richland hockey practices and games. Now they can take a trip together to the PIHL All-Star game. Howard and Cullen, along with teammates Douglas Van Meter and Logan Kozak, were named to the PIHL Class 3A All-Star game, which...

The majority of Highlands girls basketball’s opponents have focused their attention defensively on Kate Myers. That’s understandable because Myers is a 1,000-point scorer. In fact, there was a ceremony to commemorate her achievement before Thursday’s game with Greensburg Salem. What the Golden Rams have proven lately is they have plenty...

Alan Bauman and his coaching staff at Knoch knew they had the talent. Starting four sophomores and a junior, it was a matter of proving to themselves that they can turn talent into wins. With a 10-2 record and victories over Quaker Valley, Mars, South Fayette and Deer Lakes, the...

Ryan Cory officially signed his letter of intent with Wisconsin on Dec. 20, becoming the latest NCAA Division I offensive line prospect to come out of Pine-Richland. Cory joins Jalen Klemm (Kansas State/Washington), Mike Katic (Indiana), Andrew Kristofic (Notre Dame) and Harrison Hayes (Liberty) as former Rams linemen who have...

In 1998, Jodi Chmielewski was one of only a few women in Western Pennsylvania coaching high school soccer and over two decades later, she’s still making history. Chmielewski amassed over 300 wins, two WPIAL championships and a state title coaching Pine-Richland girls soccer. Now she’ll be the first female coach...

All week, Deer Lakes boys basketball coach Albie Fletcher used the phrase “up tempo” when preparing his players for their matchup with Burrell. Usually that term is designated for offense, but the Lancers love speed on defense, and they used it to frustrate the Bucs and get them in extreme...

Shady Side Academy girls basketball coach Jonna Burke said her team is at its best when it plays good defense and turns that into offense. With a stout press, that’s exactly what the Bulldogs did Thursday night against a young, up-and-coming Burrell team. The Bulldogs caused nearly a dozen turnovers...

Burrell and Deer Lakes are separated by 12 miles. They are even closer in the Trib HSSN boys basketball rankings. The Lancers are ranked first in Class 3A, and the Bucs are second, so an already-intense rivalry has an extra ingredient this year. Each team will have a chance to...

With two wins this weekend at the Aquinas Academy holiday tournament, the Springdale boys basketball team can equal its win total from last season at nine before ringing in the new year. It’s been a great start for a senior-heavy Dynamos team with a 7-1 record, with all those wins...

Corey Smith always has believed in making the nonsection schedule as difficult as possible, and that’s what he has done at Kiski Area. He wants his team to be battle-tested before section play. This year, his team has proven it belongs in the discussion among the best. The Cavaliers have...

For Tommy Campanella and Ellisyn Mularski, watching the Pine-Richland girls wrestling team make their debut at the Butler tournament Dec. 9 invoked some emotion and pride. The duo has teamed up to coach the Rams in their inaugural season and have seen an impressive turnout. So much so, they have...

Pine-Richland swimming coach Pete Barry can see the fire inside Sarah Anne Shaffer. Shaffer won the WPIAL Class 3A gold in 100 breaststroke last year but isn’t resting on her laurels. She also made the A final at states and finished seventh. A title defense at WPIALs and an improved...

For the current, senior-laden group of Burrell boys basketball players, this is the last ride. And they hope it’s a long one. The Bucs (4-0) are loaded with experience. Even the one junior in the lineup, Tucker Bitar, has started since he was a freshman. They made their presence known...

Drew Griffith is a multi-time WPIAL and state champion and the Pennsylvania cross country record holder for fastest time, but even with all of those accolades, he still has times when he doubts himself. Going into the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championship this weekend, he wanted all negative thoughts...

Levi Wentz has found his home in more ways than one. A raw prospect who played just one year of high school football at Pine-Richland, Wentz signed with Old Dominion to play defensive back. But three years later, he’s a wide receiver at Albany and the change of school and...

Vaughn Spencer went undefeated through the first 28 matches of his varsity career until an injury derailed his shot at his first state title last year. Spencer, a junior, still won a WPIAL title and leads a formidable group of Pine-Richland wrestlers. Bouncing back from injury is nothing new for...

Positive progress was the theme for Pine-Richland girls basketball in Gabby Baldasare’s first season as coach. The Rams made the playoffs for the first time on merit since 2017-18 and finished in a tie for third in the Section 1-6A standings. With IUP recruit Madison Zavasky back to lead the...

The Pine-Richland boys basketball team is in a position to surprise some people, and it’s an opportunity that’s being embraced. After a rare playoff miss last year, a young Rams team is energized, hungry and ready to get back on track in what should be an extremely competitive Section 1-6A....

There’s a fresh, new banner in the Burrell gymnasium for Cooper Hornack’s state championship last year. Hornack would love to put another one right beside it. If he can win a second consecutive state title, he’d be only the second Bucs wrestler to do so, joining Joe Makara, who did...

It was a banner year for Plum wrestling, literally. For the first time in three decades, the Mustangs won a section title, ending Kiski Area’s six-year run as section champ in the process, and won their first ever Allegheny County championship. Almost all the wrestlers who played a part in...

There’s a lot to like about Pine-Richland hockey’s start to the season. The Rams were 5-2 entering the Thanksgiving break and have been a strong team closing out games, allowing only two goals in the third period. That’s put them in a logjam near the top of the uber competitive...