Michael Love stories, Page 108

Last spring, the Plum softball team claimed a section championship, sharing the Section 2-5A title with Hampton. In the fall, the Mustangs girls soccer team split Section 3-3A gold with Oakland Catholic before finishing as the WPIAL 5A runner-up and qualifying for the state playoffs. The Plum girls basketball team...

Jared Sidwell is the leading scorer for the Harvest Baptist Academy boys basketball team. The senior at the Natrona Heights-based school surpassed a scoring milestone in a home victory over Latrobe’s Bible Baptist on Jan. 23. Needing seven points to reach 1,000 for his varsity career, Sidwell, a 6-foot-1 guard,...

Lauren Cihonski knew the feeling of producing clutch points to clinch a victory for the Knoch girls basketball team. Two free throws from the Knights senior with less than two seconds remaining in a December Section 1-4A game at Indiana lifted the Knights to a 39-37 win. On Monday against...

Both the Fox Chapel and Freeport girls basketball teams suffered close section losses Monday, and opportunity presented itself Tuesday for one of them to quickly get back in the win column as the teams went head to head in nonsection play at Fox Chapel. Yellowjackets senior Harley Holloway scored the...

The Indiana University of Pennsylvania women’s basketball team holds steady at No. 5 in the latest Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Division II Top 25 Coaches’ Poll released Tuesday afternoon. The Crimson Hawks, who own the longest win streak in program history and a 20-1 overall record, are ranked in the...

The Riverview girls basketball team honored its six seniors — Francesca Lio, Sydney McDonough, Annie Betler, Alivia Schultheis, Alyssa Cappa and Mikaela Collins — before Monday’s tip off with Section 2-2A rival Brentwood. The celebration continued throughout the key section clash. The Raiders forced 25 Spartans turnovers, controlled the boards...

As a freshman, Beth Shoop declared her independence as the only high school varsity swimmer from Riverview. She earned her WPIAL individual time cuts at designated dual meets and competed in her first WPIAL championship meet at Pitt’s Trees Pool. It was the first time a swimmer represented Riverview in...

Joshua Bogniard continues to make his move up the swim ranks in WPIAL Class AAA. The North Hills junior owns the second-fastest time in the boys 100-yard freestyle, according to the most recent WPIAL performance lists released Monday at WPIAL.org. He clocked a time of 46.83 seconds in a meet...

At last year’s WPIAL Class AA swimming championships at Pitt’s Trees Pool, Elizabeth Thomas was one of two freshmen to medal in the girls 100-yard backstroke. Quaker Valley’s Isabel Huang captured the WPIAL title, and Thomas, a Laurel Highlands product, placed fourth with a time of 1 minute, 1.58 seconds...

Over the past 14 years, teams have come and teams have gone from the WPIAL Class AA team wrestling final four. The one constant has been Burrell. And that consistency has extended to capturing the top trophy every year. The Bucs find themselves again in position to win it all....

Sidney Shemanski appreciates the ability to be on the court with her Freeport teammates. She doesn’t take that for granted. Not after injury and illness earlier this season took her away from game action. “You never know when something is going to happen to keep you from playing a game...

Deer Lakes took a seven-point lead at halftime of Monday’s Section 3-3A matchup with Steel Valley, but a 20-1 third quarter in favor of the Lancers left no doubt in the 49-32 result. “It was fun to watch and definitely something I was confident they were able to do,” Lancers...

The Indiana University men’s and women’s basketball teams both find themselves in the top five of their respective national Division II polls this week. For the first time since last February, the Crimson Hawks women are ranked in the top five as they are No. 5 in the latest Women’s...

With two weeks left in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Bowling League’s regular season, teams and individuals are jockeying for championship-tournament positioning with some still fighting to qualify for the postseason. The WPIBL team championships will be Feb. 12 for the boys at Nesbit’s Lanes in Plum and Feb. 13 for...

The Fox Chapel girls basketball team took one step closer to what it hopes is a trip to the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs with a 44-32 home victory over Shaler on Monday. The Foxes came into the game tied with the Titans and Seneca Valley for third place in Section...

The Fox Chapel girls swimming and diving team went undefeated in 2016-17 and captured a section championship. The last two years, Franklin Regional brought home the section title. But with performances from a mix of veterans and top-flight freshmen and overall depth up and down the lineup, the Foxes, 9-0...

Jake Nulph hit the ground running when he was named the football coach at Edinboro on Jan. 19. From meeting players and getting settled into his new surroundings to assembling a coaching staff and making contact in the final stages of the recruiting season, the Apollo-Ridge graduate has not had...

When Hannah Potter suffered a broken wrist in Kiski Area girls basketball’s opener, she and others thought her season would be lost because of the nature of the injury and the recovery time needed. But good news during a doctor visit Thursday gave the Cavaliers senior captain a second chance....

Hannah Potter is back. The Kiski Area senior guard and team captain returned to the lineup for the Cavaliers girls basketball team Friday after missing 15 games because of a broken wrist suffered in the season opener against Saltsburg on Dec. 6. Potter came off the bench, entering the Section...

Longtime followers of swimming at Upper St. Clair and throughout the WPIAL will remember the exploits of freestyler Merel Hommen. The multi-time WPIAL and PIAA champion graduated from USC in 1994, and in addition to her gold medals, she also left the program with a trio of school records —...

Alex May was on a mission Monday as he set out to break the Montour school record in the boys 100-yard breaststroke. The versatile Spartans junior had the established mark of 1 minute, 2.99 seconds in his sights. When he touched the wall against Central Valley and Beaver Falls, he...

Sarah Kvortek fell in love with gymnastics after being introduced to the sport during a friend’s birthday party at Gymkhana in Plum while in first grade. “It was a lot of fun,” she said. “I loved swinging on the bars and the feeling of just flying through the air.” In...

The Freeport girls basketball team hasn’t lost since a Jan. 2 setback at North Catholic. The Yellowjackets ran their winning streak to seven games Thursday with a 61-33 Section 1-4A victory at Burrell and remained on a roll heading into Monday’s rematch with the Trojanettes. “I was pleased with the...