Josh Rizzo stories, Page 39

Shaler Area boys golf coach John Brough isn’t sure where some of his players heard the team was predicted to finish last in Section 3-AAA. But the perceived slight lit a fire under the Titans, who didn’t have any golfers qualify for WPIALs last season. “They’ve been motivated, and I’ve...

Growing the game is a major focus for the lacrosse community. Fostering relationships and building the sport in Western Pennsylvania has led the Shaler Area lacrosse boosters to be creative. The Titans held a camp in conjunction with Pitt’s club team coach, Zach Wilfong. Pitt does not field a varsity...

Emilee Miller needed to shore up the mental aspect of her golf game. The Shaler Area junior knew the perfect antagonist was within the same house. After a season when Miller qualified for the Class AAA WPIAL championships, she played a lot of rounds with her younger brother, Joey. “My...

Facing the rigors of Class 6A basketball was a major challenge for the Shaler Area girls program last season. While more experience won’t make a section featuring perennial stalwarts Norwin and North Allegheny less daunting, the Titans believe everything is moving in the right direction. In July, Shaler won the...

Darrelle Revis doesn’t have to draw on the experience of others for helping lead the fight for kids to be active. The Aliquippa native has to nudge his 10-year-old son to stop playing video games and go outside. That’s why Revis, 34, hosted the second Hunger & Health Fun Fest...

Choosing to play football at John Carroll provided Brennan Fugh with many opportunities for building on strong family ties. Fugh’s cousin, Alex Kline, finished his college career with more than 1,000 yards receiving at the school. In addition, when the 2019 Shaler Area graduate heads to school, a member of...

Oyinda Agbale wasn’t one of the students who thought health class was funny. While some students snickered at the topics typically discussed, Agbale became interested and found a career path. Agbale, a 2019 Shaler Area graduate, will have a busy freshman year at Shippensburg. Adjusting to playing volleyball at the...

Paige and Abby Miller had visions of what they were looking for in a college. They believe they found the right fit with their recent commitments to Division I volleyball programs. The North Allegheny sisters will be 816 miles apart, but each found what they were seeking. Abby, a rising...

Kelsey Cordera had an opportunity to do some different things during her senior year at Shaler Area. Instead of taking her usual position in center field, Cordera was asked to play first base. It was the first time in three or four years she had played the position regularly. “I...

Patrick Gumto wasn’t consistently sharp with his curveball command entering his freshman year at Cal (Pa.). Getting Division II batters out with off-speed pitches required the Shaler Area graduate to dig in his memory. Gumto, with the guidance of Vulcans pitching coach Joey Noro, worked on improving his slider, a...

James Ryan didn’t want to see any momentum the Shaler Area football team gained fade. The third-year Titans football coach was able to see tangible progress at the school’s annual football camp. Recently, the school saw 109 kids participate in a summer camp at the high school aimed at getting...

Finding a way atop the medal stand in the WPIAL Class AAA triple jump wasn’t the end of the story for Shaler Area’s Cam Mbalo. A junior season full of strong performances earned Mbalo a full schedule for the summer. When Mbalo went to North Carolina A&T on June 15,...

Tess Myers’ connection with basketball runs deep within her family. By choosing Duquesne, North Catholic’s 5-foot-10 incoming senior guard and Lower Burrell resident chose to follow in her father’s legacy. Joe Myers played in 103 games for the Dukes in the early 1980s and scored more than 1,000 points. Myers’...

Who the opponents are on the Shaler Area girls basketball team’s schedule is of no great concern to coach Cornelious Nesbit. Whatever Nesbit needs to do to keep his team prepared is of utmost importance. When it comes to what he thinks of the “Parity in Interscholastic Athletics Act,” Nesbit...

Two bumps to end the season didn’t spell doom for first-year North Allegheny softball coach Morgan Vescovi. Along the way, the Tigers finished in a three-way tie for the WPIAL Section 2-6A crown and advanced to the WPIAL championship. North Allegheny’s season came to an end with a 2-0 loss...

Trapper Crain would like, if possible, to give up his role as an outside hitter for the Shaler Area boys volleyball team. There are several tall underclassmen who the 5-foot-10 junior recognizes will give the team a more significant height advantage. Crain started at the position to help out a...

John Kerr constantly was looking to stay focused and intense. The 6-foot-6 Derry senior outsider hitter knew a lax effort wasn’t going to work during a PIAA Class AA quarterfinal Saturday at Penn Hills. Undefeated District 10 champion Meadville never planned to take its foot off the gas pedal. The...

Winning a district championship doesn’t guarantee safe harbor through the PIAA Class AAA boys volleyball playoffs. When North Allegheny coach Dan Schall saw the first-round matchup, he knew the defending state champion Tigers wouldn’t be able to coast. North Allegheny shook off a slow second set to earn a 3-1...

Billy Dadowski didn’t want the Shaler Area boys volleyball team’s first trip to the PIAA Class AAA boys volleyball playoffs to be a footnote in program history. Just by making the trip to Cochranton last Tuesday to play McDowell, this group became the first volleyball team — boys or girls...

Six straight Shaler Area players came to the batter’s box and were sent back to the dugout in an orderly fashion by Laurel Highlands pitcher Andio Vecchiolla. Senior left fielder Colin Harger broke the string with a single up the middle during the fourth inning of the WPIAL Class 5A...

Cam Mbalo was nervous but wanted to approach the WPIAL Class AAA championship meet at Slippery Rock the same way as every other meet. Mbalo, who was the top seed, had to wait until the end of the day before the triple jump started. The Shaler Area junior didn’t let...

Senior Justin DeSabato and the Shaler Area senior class aren’t ready to quit knocking down barriers. The Titans football and basketball teams snapped long droughts during this school year. Football made the WPIAL playoffs for the first time in seven years, and the basketball team snapped a drought of the...

North Allegheny’s distance runners put forward a strong performance in the 3,200-meter race at the WPIAL Class AAA championships at Slippery Rock two weeks ago. On the boys side, Zach Kinne captured the WPIAL title by finishing in 9 minutes, 13.47 seconds. Teammate Dan McGoey finished five seconds behind him...

Misfortune late in the season made the road through the postseason a little more difficult for the Shaler Area softball team. A stray pitch hit all-section shortstop Tori Martrano, giving her a concussion that forced the junior to miss the Titans’ WPIAL Class 5A playoff opener last Thursday. Results from...

Stepping away from baseball was the only recourse for Alex Ficorilli. Following the fall semester in 2018, Ficorilli’s grades weren’t where they needed to be. A lack of effort put the Clarion sophomore behind. Ficorilli decided to take a hiatus from the baseball team and focus on becoming better college...