Michael Love stories, Page 116
Riverview, Freeport girls basketball ready to knock off rust
The Riverview and Freeport girls basketball teams saw their stay in the WPIAL playoffs end with quarterfinal losses Feb. 20. But after two weeks away from competition, the Raiders and Yellowjackets have new life in their respective PIAA tournaments. Riverview begins state playoff action Friday against District 5 champion Everett...
Plum senior Cocca raring to go for regional bowling championships
Vincent Cocca knows all about bowling at the state championships. The Plum senior qualified for the singles tournament as a sophomore in 2018 after placing fifth at the Western Regional championships. He also moved on with the Plum boys team in 2017 and last season as the Mustangs were regional...
Fox Chapel, Knoch girls basketball see state playoff dreams fall short
The Knoch and Fox Chapel girls basketball teams gained rooting interests in their respective WPIAL playoff tournaments after both lost in the quarterfinal round Feb. 20 and 21, respectively. The Knights and Foxes, along with several other boys and girls squads in the six classifications, waited in limbo for a...
Several A-K Valley swimmers earn spots in PIAA meet
The PIAA released its preliminary psych sheets Sunday morning for the state swimming and diving championships March 11-14 at Bucknell, and the Alle-Kiski Valley is well represented. Each event will consist of 32 entries. In Class AAA, automatic bids went to 10 district champions, with the other 22 going to...
PIAA releases preliminary psych sheets for state swimming and diving championships
After two days of championship swims and other top performances at Pitt’s Trees Pool, WPIAL individuals and relays now are preparing for the PIAA Class AAA and AA meets March 11-14 at Bucknell. The PIAA released the preliminary psych sheets for both swimming and diving Sunday morning. They contain both...
Belle Vernon’s Shahan edges 100 freestyle rival to highlight WPIAL Class AA meet
Both Belle Vernon’s Ian Shahan and Neshannock’s Conner McBeth surpassed Shahan’s 100-yard freestyle WPIAL record from last year when the rivals swam neck-and-neck through Friday’s race at the WPIAL Class AA swimming championships at Pitt’s Trees Pool. Only one could end up with his name in the record books and...
Deer Lakes’ Morrison stays atop 500 freestyle mountain at WPIAL meetVideo
Adam Morrison was the hunted in the Class AA boys 500-yard freestyle at the WPIAL swimming championships Friday at Pitt’s Trees Pool. The Deer Lakes senior captured the event last year, topping club teammate and friend Andrew Pierre from Mars for the title. Indiana junior Kyle Thome and Lancer teammate...
Fox Chapel girls place 3rd at WPIAL Class AAA swim championships
The Fox Chapel girls 200-yard medley relay kicked off the WPIAL Class AAA swimming championships Thursday with a school record and a third-place medal. The Foxes’ 400 free relay closed things out with another top swim. The quartet of freshman Talia Bugel, senior Grace Gackenbach, junior Vivian Shao and senior...
Deer Lakes swimmers take second, third in hotly contested 200 free at WPIAL meet
There weren’t any floats or marching bands at Thursday’s WPIAL Class AA swimming championship meet at Pitt’s Trees Pool, but there was a sizable parade of Alle-Kiski Valley individuals and relay teams to the medal podium in the session’s six events. Deer Lakes seniors Adam Morrison and Noah Loper led...
Fox Chapel freshman brings home WPIAL swimming goldVideo
Sophie Shao was full of energy and smiling from ear to ear when she came off the podium after receiving her gold medal in the WPIAL Class AAA girls 100-yard butterfly Thursday at Pitt’s Trees Pool. About 20 minutes earlier, the Fox Chapel freshman swam to a winning time of...
Buerger’s triumph helps North Allegheny girls to Day 1 lead at WPIAL Class AAA swimming championships
Butler’s Laura Goettler was going after a four-peat in the Class AAA girls 200-yard individual medley on the first day of the WPIAL swimming championships Thursday at Pitt’s Trees Pool. But North Allegheny senior Torie Buerger had golden goals of her own. In the end, the versatile Tigers standout stood...
East Allegheny, Seton LaSalle girls clinch spots in PIAA Class 3A tournament
A pair of Class 3A girls basketball teams clinched spots in the PIAA playoffs Wednesday based on results of WPIAL semifinal matchups at West Allegheny. Seventh seed East Allegheny (13-11) and No. 8 Seton LaSalle (15-8) advanced with wins by No. 2 Mohawk over No. 3 Carlynton and No. 1...
Deer Lakes’ Morrison leads talented A-K Valley contingent into WPIAL Class AA swim meetVideo
Deer Lakes senior Adam Morrison has two main individual goals when he arrives at the WPIAL Class AA swimming championships Thursday and Friday at Pitt’s Trees Pool. One is to defend his 2019 title in the 500-yard freestyle, and the other is to claim gold in the 200 free after...
Six more WPIAL basketball teams clinch berths to states, two others stay alive
Eight WPIAL basketball teams from boys Class 5A and 2A and girls Class 6A and A punched tickets to this weekend’s championship games at the Petersen Events Center with semifinal victories Tuesday evening. The results of six of the eight contests also meant state tournament berths for teams that suffered...
Next wave of Fox Chapel freshmen set for WPIAL swimming championships
Zoe Skirboll burst onto the high school swimming scene last year as a freshman for Fox Chapel, capturing gold medals and setting records at the WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA championships. She decided not to return to high school swimming this year, opting to concentrate on training for June’s Olympic...
Baldwin, Moon claim team titles at PA Classic gymnastic championships
Baldwin and Moon brought home team titles at the PA Classic gymnastics state championship meet Saturday at Moon High School. Moon edged Thomas Jefferson for first in the Gold division. The Tigers won the beam and floor exercise and were runners-up on vault and bars, while the Jaguars won vault...
Monday’s WPIAL semifinal results clinch PIAA berths for 8 teams
With their WPIAL quarterfinal victories, 24 boys and 24 girls basketball teams kept championship dreams alive. They also secured automatic bids to the PIAA playoffs, which begin March 6-7. Under the WPIAL’s follow-the-winner format for determining additional state playoff qualifiers, eight berths also were picked up Monday by teams who...
Alle-Kiski Valley campus clippings: Houston swimmer Kondis cleans up at conference meet
Peyton Kondis felt right at home over the weekend as the University of Houston hosted the American Athletic Conference men’s and women’s swimming championships. The Plum resident and Oakland Catholic graduate won two individual titles and was a part of two relay triumphs. She captured both the 100 and 200...
Quartet of Alle-Kiski Valley girls basketball teams hopeful for PIAA playoff spot
Despite losses in the WPIAL quarterfinals, Fox Chapel, Riverview, Freeport and Knoch remain alive for the PIAA girls basketball playoffs that begin March 6. The four teams have gained rooting interests as they need help under the WPIAL’s follow-the-winner format for determining state qualifiers. Each of the six classifications has...
Bethel Park girls pull away from Fox Chapel in Class 6A quarterfinals
Bethel Park and Fox Chapel were locked in a low-scoring struggle through three quarters of Friday’s WPIAL 6A first-round game at North Hills. But the No. 1 Black Hawks made the plays and got the points they needed in the fourth quarter to pull out a hard-fought 33-29 victory over...
Plum girls learn from playoff loss to Penn Hills
With 2 minutes, 4 seconds left in the third quarter of its WPIAL Class 5A first-round game against Penn Hills at Fox Chapel, the Plum girls basketball team held a four-point lead and hoped to expand it toward the program’s first playoff victory since 2002. However, the Indians went on...
Trib HSSN girls swimmer of the week: Maeve Kelley, Winchester Thurston
Maeve Kelley has made the most of her freshman swim season representing Winchester Thurston as an independent. The distance freestyler, also a member of the Fox Chapel Killer Whales club team, made her mark throughout the season at Fox Chapel and Ellis dual meets. Kelley will be looking for big...
Trib HSSN boys swimmer of the week: Henry Miller, Southmoreland
For most of this winter high school sports season, Henry Miller pulled double duty, representing Southmoreland both as an independent swimmer and as a member of the wrestling team. “He’s driven with a great work ethic,” said Barry Miller, Henry’s father and a coaching representative for the freshman’s swimming efforts....
Bishop Canevin girls put stop to Riverview’s run
After coming from behind to pull off a mild upset of No. 7 Burgettstown in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs last week, the Riverview girls basketball team hoped to keep its winning ways intact Thursday against No. 2 Bishop Canevin at Hampton. The Raiders entered the...
Alle-Kiski Valley basketball playoff preview capsules: Games of Feb. 21, 2020
Boys Class 2A Quarterfinals No. 4 Springdale (20-3) vs. No. 12 Winchester Thurston (11-10) 8 p.m. Friday at Shaler Winner plays: No. 1 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (21-1) or No. 9 South Side Area (12-11) in semifinals Coaches: Aaron Epps, Springdale; Jordan Marks, Winchester Thurston Points scored/allowed: Springdale,...
