Michael Love stories, Page 12
‘A long way to go’: Despite strong start, Gateway baseball focused on staying hot
The Gateway baseball team won its fifth game of the young season, 3-2 over McKeesport in its Section 4-5A opening series March 25. The Gators, who upped their record to 5-1 with the victory, won four games all of last season. First-year coach Andy Hoover said hard work in practice...
Riverview’s Katerina Tsambis named Valley News Dispatch girls basketball player of the year
Katerina Tsambis 5-4, Sr., G, Riverview The Riverview girls basketball team won 14 games this past season and lost just five. Of those 14 games, a couple of them stand out for senior guard Katerina Tsambis. “I would have to say beating some of the bigger schools we played like...
Knoch’s Jackson Bauman headlines Valley News Dispatch boys basketball all-stars
Jackson Bauman 6-2, Jr., PG, Knoch When everything was on the line for the Knoch boys basketball team, Jackson Bauman shined. A heart-and-soul player for the Knights, Bauman came up big as his team faced elimination against section rival Deer Lakes in the WPIAL Class 4A fifth-place game with a...
Plum athletes hit early marks at Altoona Igloo Invitational
The Plum boys and girls track and field teams are well into their 2025 spring season, and early invitational and dual-meet results have put a smile on the face of head coach Matt Proskin. He struck a positive tone last Wednesday after a competitive section dual meet with Franklin Regional...
Foes become friends as area seniors team up for Cager Classic basketball all-star games
Carson Heinle and his Kiski Area senior teammates, Colin Keller and Jacob Musselman, went up against Armstrong’s Jacob Szep and Plum’s Will Beckner twice in Section 2-5A battles during the 2024-25 regular season. The Cavaliers got the better of the River Hawks and the Mustangs twice en route to winning...
Burrell softball clamps down in shutout win over Highlands
Burrell second baseman Sophia Gregg drew a walk to lead off Tuesday’s nonsection softball game with rival Highlands at Highlands High School. She stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and came home on a wild pitch. That early run turned out to be all Bucs pitcher Shelby Novak...
Burrell hockey team caps memorable season with strong showing at California tournament
When the Burrell hockey team hoisted the Division 2 Pennsylvania Challenger Cup championship trophy March 22 at RMU Island Sports Center, the players knew they would have a quick turnaround for a flight a few days later to sunny California Selected earlier this year to play in the Chipolte USA...
Volleyball coaches association releases Week 3 WPIAL boys rankings
WPIAL boys volleyball teams enter the second week of section play looking to make moves in the standings. A number of teams have at least one section match under their belts, while several begin section play Tuesday evening. On the cusp of numerous key matchups in both Class 3A and...
Gateway track and field athletes look toward promising 2025 season
The calendar has turned from March to April, and the leading athletes on the Gateway track and field teams are working to take that next step in their development while others are honing their talents to what they hope is a breakout 2025 season. Veteran coach Tom LaBuff and his...
Gateway flag football team looks to maintain winning run after unbeaten season in 2024
With a mix of returning talent and newcomers set to make an impact, the Gateway girls flag football team hopes to make waves in its third season in the high school division of the Pittsburgh Girls Flag Football League. “The girls are ready to go. They are excited,” Gators coach...
Fort Cherry’s Matt Sieg named winner of annual Willie Thrower Award as area’s top high school QB
Matt Sieg, a dual-threat quarterback from Fort Cherry, helped the Rangers win a second straight WPIAL Class A title in 2024. The junior and Penn State commit passed for 1,345 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 1,832 yards and 32 scores. He became the first quarterback in WPIAL history...
Behind defending section singles champion Landon Harclerode, Valley tennis off to unbeaten start
Landon Harclerode feels he is playing the best tennis of his life this spring. “In the offseason, I had to put my racket down and take a break,” said the Valley senior, who plays No. 1 singles. “I focused on getting stronger and faster to improve my game.” Those improvements...
Riverview off to strong start in quest to advance in WPIAL baseball playoffs
The Riverview baseball team made the WPIAL Class A championship game in 2021. The Raiders, the No. 7 seed in the tournament, ran into a hot pitcher that day at Wild Things Park and fell 3-0. It has been the team’s mission since then to return to the title contest,...
Plum softball team hopes 8 returning starters, potent offense can lead to success
The Plum softball team entered the season with a lot of momentum with the return of eight starters from last year’s WPIAL Class 5A playoff qualifier. All eight of them — seniors Bella Tavella and Dani Pici; juniors Jaiden Gentile, Riley Stephans, Liana Yusko, Mackenzie Marotta, and Gia Tavella; and...
Franklin Regional uses walk-off walk in 9th to grab wild win over Plum
Seven innings were not enough to decide a winner between neighboring rivals Plum and Franklin Regional in a Class 5A nonsection softball game Wednesday afternoon at a chilly and windy Franklin Regional High School. The Mustangs and Panthers played into the ninth inning before FR pushed a run across for...
North Allegheny, Shaler boys volleyball teams hold on to No. 1 spots in latest coaches association polls
North Allegheny (Class 3A) and Shaler (Class 2A) maintained their No. 1 positions in their respective classifications as the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its Week 2 WPIAL boys volleyball top-10 polls Monday morning. The WPIAL programs continue to gear up for the start of section play in the...
Burrell baseball team wants to build on PIAA appearance
With March weather as unpredictable as it is, the Burrell baseball team rolled with the punches at the start of official preseason practices two weeks ago with workouts the first two days on the football field before practices in the gym at Charles Huston Middle School. Warmer, dryer weather last...
North Allegheny boys take team title, 3 other WPIAL swimmers win gold at PIAA Class 3A meet
LEWISBURG — North Allegheny had already wrapped up the Class 3A boys team title before the Tigers’ 400-yard freestyle relay of Danny Lesinski, Zach Totin, Dylan Seiford, and Grant Regule took to the pool for their finals race Saturday evening at the PIAA swimming championships at Bucknell University. The quartet...
Fox Chapel’s Sarah Pasquella keeps perspective after PIAA swim meet
LEWISBURG — Sarah Pasquella entered Saturday evening’s championship heat of the 100-yard breaststroke hoping for PIAA gold to add to the state title she won in the 200 freestyle on Day 1 of the Class 3A swimming and diving championships at Bucknell University. While the end result wasn’t a second...
State meet performance leaves Latrobe swimmer optimistic
LEWISBURG — Latrobe junior Chris Heese hoped for a solid follow up to his WPIAL 100-yard breaststroke championship from two weeks ago at Pitt’s Trees Pool. While he wasn’t able to qualify for the championship heat Saturday on Day 2 of the PIAA Class 3A championships at Bucknell University, Heese...
3 WPIAL Class 3A boys divers earn PIAA medals
LEWISBURG — All four WPIAL divers entered in Saturday afternoon’s PIAA Class 3A boys championship at Bucknell’s Kinney Natatorium were in medal contention with top-eight places heading into the final round of three dives. WPIAL champion Ethan Maravich, a junior from North Allegheny, led the way in fourth after the...
Mt. Lebanon, Central Catholic, Mars swimmers earn top seeds for Day 2 of PIAA Class 3A championships
LEWISBURG — The WPIAL again will be well-represented in the gold-medal heats Saturday evening at the PIAA Class 3A swimming championships at Bucknell. North Allegheny junior Claire Bacu will swim as the No. 2 seed (4:54.85) for the finals of the girls 500-yard freestyle. Bacu’s Tigers teammate, sophomore Julia Tengowski,...
North Allegheny relay grabs gold to lead WPIAL contingent at PIAA swim meet
Grant Regule and Zachary Totin were members of last year’s North Allegheny 200-yard freestyle relay that took fourth at the PIAA Class 3A swimming championships at Bucknell University. They returned Friday evening, this time teaming with senior Gus Miller and Mason Shantz for a shot at state gold medals. From...
Latrobe’s Lauren Bell takes 8th in 100 fly at PIAA swimming championships
LEWISBURG — Latrobe senior Lauren Bell hoped for big things with one more crack at the 100-yard butterfly at the PIAA Class 3A state championships at Bucknell University. She was the only Westmoreland individual or relay to make it back for one of the championship-final heats Friday inside Kinney Natatorium....
‘Dream come true’ as Fox Chapel’s Sarah Pasquella wins state swimming gold in 200 free
LEWISBURG — Fox Chapel’s Sarah Pasquella hoped to go faster in the 200-yard freestyle Friday at the PIAA Class 3A swimming championships at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium. While she was a hair slower than her time in winning the WPIAL title at Pitt two weeks ago (1 minute, 48.79 seconds),...
