Josh Rizzo stories, Page 41
Penn Hills’ Angelo Allen carries momentum into spring track season
Angelo Allen laid the groundwork for what could be an outstanding spring with a strong winter track and field season. Everything the Penn Hills junior has done far has shown the winter was a preview of what is to come. Allen won the shot put with a throw of 50...
Early season win shows potential for Penn Hills softball
Kiern Mack sent a pitch left hanging over the plate solidly over the fence April 19 at Milltown Field in Penn Hills. The home run was a first in varsity competition for the junior outfielder. Mack’s grand slam helped propel the Indians to a 13-1 win over St. Joseph, snapping...
Penn Hills sports notebook: Indians’ Allen medals at South Hills Classic
Angelo Allen took advantage of the 17th annual South Hills Classic being hosted closer to home. The Penn Hills thrower finished second in the shot put with a throw of 49 feet, 6 1/2 inches and seventh in the discus with a throw of 118-7. While Baldwin was the event...
Big Red Rugby’s debut a smashing success
Ethan Payne-Hawkins and his teammates had plenty of assistance during the Big Red Rugby club team’s debut match against Central Catholic. There were coaches on both sides to help guide the program through the rigors of a rugby 7s match. The referee also stopped the match several times, with the...
Shaler track and field athletes getting up to speed after missed season
Shaler Area track and field coach Shawn Ryan had a nice return to competition for the Titans’ girls track team. Shaler beat North Hills, 87-60, in its first dual meet, collecting its first victory since Ryan took over the program in 2019. In a season where many athletes will be...
Shaler’s Szazynski is 1st in at least 17 years to reach WPIAL singles tourney
Shaler Area senior Cameron Szazynski wanted to keep punishing the second serve of Fox Chapel’s Cooper Friday last Wednesday. Szazynski saw an opening during their Section 3-AAA quarterfinal match and worked to exploit it. The seventh-seeded Szazynski kept scoring points with strong returns and broke second-seeded Friday twice in the...
Shaler boys volleyball lacks varsity experience but ‘stacks up well’ with top teams
Ian Weber stepped on the court last Thursday against North Allegheny in an unfamiliar spot. The Shaler Area junior middle blocker is the only returning starter from the Titans’ 2019 boys volleyball season. That season marked a landmark one. The Titans finished third in the WPIAL and won their first...
Shaler girls lacrosse team looking to develop chemistry on the fly
Missing a season due to the pandemic hurt the Shaler girls lacrosse program in a number of ways. Seniors didn’t have the opportunity to close their careers, and those who return for this year’s team missed out on time to develop. Titans coach Ali Nicholas believes that development this season...
Senior Logan Parker leads deep, talented Plum track team
Logan Parker made the most out of his winter competitions. The Plum senior built momentum heading into his senior season by placing 13th in the shot put at the Adidas Indoor Nationals in late February. Parker’s best throw of 53 feet, 9 inches placed him 13th overall and second of...
Hard-hitting lineup to lead the way for Shaler softball
Tom Sorce cackled at the idea of using a designated player to hit for Shaler pitcher Bethany Rodman. The Shaler coach wants to utilize Rodman in every capacity. “If I did that, they’d run me out of here,” Source said. “She did well this summer. We’ve played two scrimmages, and...
Shaler sophomore’s early season win shows tennis team’s depth
Shaler sophomore Josh Jashinski was happy to be the last player on the tennis court. Dragged into a battle while playing No. 1 singles for the Titans against Plum on March 17, Jashinski needed a little extra support. Jashinski dropped a self-described error-filled second set in a tiebreak and would...
Scrappy Plum softball eager to repeat 2019 success
Melanie Mienke was set to take over as the workhorse of Plum’s pitching staff last spring. Losing a year because of the pandemic means Mienke, now a senior, steps into a much different situation. The Mustangs will have three new starters in the infield. This is a Plum squad that...
Riverview softball laying groundwork with inexperienced roster
Jim Ashbaugh isn’t sure what to expect from the Riverview softball team this season. He’s not alone in that concern among WPIAL softball coaches. Having an inkling of what could occur is difficult to ascertain because of the effects from the coronavirus pandemic. Missing a season guaranteed there will be...
Shaler grad Brianna Schwartz has lasting impact with A-10 champion Duquesne runners
Duquesne assistant coach Jeff Gibson went scooting toward the finish line of the Atlantic 10 Championship course March 5 at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, Va., to deliver good news. Brianna Schwartz and her fellow Dukes were surprised at what he had to say. Duquesne coach Jim Lear told the...
Shaler notebook: Bowlers finish in top 20 at regionals
Throughout the season, the Shaler girls bowling team demonstrated its depth. At the Western Regional Championships, the Titans were once again led by a different competitor. Megan Schwab bowled an 847 series with a high game of 204 to place a team-high 17th at the event. Due to the pandemic,...
Shaler girls basketball team plans to build on this season’s experience
Shaler girls basketball coach Cournelious Nesbit believed Bethel Park’s Olivia Westphal provided a valuable lesson for his Titans. Westphal, a Duquesne recruit, established her presence early and poured in 33 points to lead the Black Hawks to a 64-37 win in the first round of the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs...
Playoff win shows young Shaler boys basketball team making strides
Twenty-one days of waiting followed by a playoff game felt how Shaler coach Rob Niederberger believed it would. “It was weird,” Niederbeger said of the Titans’ 85-64 win over Ringgold in the preliminary round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. “It was a home game, and there was no atmosphere....
North Allegheny handles Mt. Lebanon, advances to 6th straight WPIAL finals
Lizzy Groetsch’s pass to the perimeter allowed Jasmine Timmerson to snap a cold spell midway through the first quarter for the North Allegheny girls basketball team. Timmerson knocked down a 3-pointer that pulled the Tigers within one and stopped a string of four team misses from the perimeter. Even when...
Bishop Canevin handles Union, earns 1st trip to WPIAL boys finals in 15 years
Bishop Canevin coach Gino Palmosina avoided giving any history lessons before the Crusaders’ WPIAL Class A semifinal playoff game Tuesday night at home. Having the opportunity to earn a trip to the district final for the first time since 2006 wasn’t a major motivator. Palmosina was more worried about Union’s...
Shaler hockey shifts focus to development after missing playoffs
Cory Sakolsky knew a 19-day break was going to make things difficult for the Shaler hockey team. The Titans’ chances of making the PIHL Class AA playoffs were slim even if they had a chance to play out the regular season as previously planned. Shaler dropped a 6-1 decision to...
Shaler bowler a quick study, earns trip to regionals
Sydney Lang enjoyed having an opportunity to ease into being a member of the Shaler varsity bowling team. Watching and learning and learning from a deep Titans team that qualified for states last season gave Lang, whose primary sport is softball, time to learn. That eagerness to learn hasn’t faded...
Penn Hills relies on trademark defense to oust South Fayette
Eddie Daniels met South Fayette freshman point guard Nate Deanes at mid-court, quickly sliding his feet into better defensive position before seizing an opportunity. The Penn Hills senior guard punched the ball away from Deanes before gliding for a layup late in the third quarter. “I notice a lot of...
Shaler notebook: Senior beats clock to earn spot in WPIAL swim meet
Lydia Nebiolo knew every meet would matter. Qualifying for the WPIAL Class AAA swimming championships would require having one of the 16 fastest times because of the covid restrictions in place. During the Shaler senior’s final home meet Feb. 22 against Pine-Richland, Nebiolo swam her best time in the 200...
Shaler freshman bowler comes through in clutch
Shaler bowling coach Shawn Pilyih gave freshman Braden Scott a quick hook in the Titans’ final regular-season match. Pilyih was “average watching” and knew after Scott threw a 220, his cumulative mark was over the 170 threshold that would qualify for the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Bowling League championships last Wednesday...
Shaler girls look to regain momentum once playoffs start
Filling time between the final regular season game and the start of the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball playoffs required some guesswork for Shaler coach Cornelious Nesbit. The Titans can’t improve their seed because the team was shut down for covid-19 related issues in the school district. Shaler’s last game...
