Michael Love stories, Page 13
4 WPIAL girls divers earn medals at PIAA Class 3A championships
LEWISBURG — The WPIAL was well represented on the medals podium at the PIAA Class 3A girls diving championship meet Friday afternoon at Bucknell’s Kinney Natatorium. North Allegheny senior Juliet Hood led the way with a bronze medal (450.95), Seneca Valley junior Ali Waters took fourth (384.50), Mars senior Mya...
WPIAL swimmers among top seeds for Friday’s Day 1 PIAA Class 3A finals
LEWISBURG — Several WPIAL individuals and relays will return Friday evening to swim in championship heats at the PIAA Class 3A championships at Bucknell’s Kinney Natatorium. The girls consolation and championship finals will begin at 4:35 p.m. with the boys races to follow at 6:55. All of the heats will...
WPIAL swimmers again dominate PIAA Class 2A meet, winning 8 golds, both team titles
LEWISBURG — The WPIAL again put on a show for the rest of the state at the PIAA Class 2A swimming championships at Bucknell University. Records fell as WPIAL individuals and relays took home eight more gold medals on Day 2 Thursday. Mt. Pleasant senior Lily King had a simple...
Lily King, Mt. Pleasant teammates shine brightest on biggest stage at PIAA swim meet
LEWISBURG — Mt. Pleasant senior Lily King had a simple task on her mind as she entered the 100-yard freestyle finals Thursday evening at the PIAA Class 2A swimming championships at Kinney Natatorium. She wanted to go faster in the event than she’s ever gone before. King swam fast in...
Knoch, Freeport swimmers bring home PIAA medals
LEWISBURG — Giona Lavorini had her sights set on a second consecutive PIAA Class 2A girls 100-yard breaststroke title when she took to the pool Thursday evening in the championship heat at the swimming championships at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium. The Knoch senior and Pitt commit knew WPIAL rivals in...
Derry’s Jacob Hauser medals at PIAA Class 2A boys diving finals
LEWISBURG — Jacob Hauser was right on the cusp of medal contention after the first round and semifinals Thursday afternoon at the PIAA Class 2A boys diving championships at Bucknell’s Kinney Natatorium. The Derry senior was 1.20 points away from eighth place after the first five dives. He trailed eighth...
Defending champions from WPIAL among top seeds for Day 2 of PIAA Class 2A finals
LEWISBURG — Mt. Pleasant senior Lily King swam faster than her own PIAA record in the preliminaries of the Class 2A girls 100-yard freestyle Thursday morning at the PIAA swimming and diving championships at Bucknell’s Kinney Natatorium. She swam to 48.15 seconds, faster than the state record of 48.38 she...
Lily King breaks state record, Mt. Pleasant teammates also win gold at PIAA 2A swim meet
LEWISBURG — Mt. Pleasant senior Lily King has broken records numerous times over her illustrious high school career. The N.C. State commit added to her record-breaking haul Wednesday evening in the finals of the PIAA Class 2A girls 200-yard freestyle at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium. King was unchallenged as she...
Freeport’s Kira Schrecongost climbs all the way to the top of the PIAA medal podium
LEWISBURG — Kira Schrecongost already had captured three medals in the girls 100-yard butterfly at the PIAA Class 2A swimming championships at Bucknell University. On Wednesday, the Freeport senior and Duquesne commit wanted the top prize. And in a time of 54.96 seconds, Schrecongost earned the gold medal she had...
Fox Chapel contingent seeks PIAA swimming gold
Margaret Rusche is laser focused on bringing home an individual medal in the girls 100-yard butterfly Friday at the PIAA Class 3A swimming and diving championships at Bucknell. The Fox Chapel senior, a four-year state qualifier in relay and individual events, knows it will be a challenge. But with her...
Hampton’s Gabriella Elk captures PIAA girls diving gold medal
LEWISBURG — Gabriella Elk had a great deal of motivation in her return to the PIAA Class 2A diving championships Wednesday at Bucknell’s Kinney Natatorium. The Hampton junior placed second last year to Dallas graduate Brianne Dempsey. That view from the second step of the medals podium was nice, but...
WPIAL swimmers earn top seeds in 9 events for PIAA Class 2A Day 1 finals
LEWISBURG — The Mt. Pleasant and Freeport girls 200-yard medley relay teams kicked off the first day of the PIAA Class 2A swimming and diving championships with qualifying times for Wednesday evening’s championship heat at Bucknell. The Vikings quartet of Kiersten O’Connor, Lainey Brown, Maddie Barrick and Lily King led...
WPIAL swimmers dominate at Class 2A state meet, winning 7 golds
The WPIAL made quite an impact on Day 1 of the PIAA Class 2A swimming and diving championships at Bucknell University, winning seven state titles. Indiana senior Preston Kessler completed a sweep of the 200-yard freestyle over his four years at Bucknell. He lowered his time every year to this...
Freeport contingent, 9 swimmers strong, ready for PIAA Class 2A meet
Isabelle Barton didn’t expect to swim an individual event at last year’s PIAA Class 2A championships at Bucknell University. Barton was at the meet set to swim relays with her Freeport teammates. But after the first day of the two-day meet, someone scratched out of the girls 500-yard freestyle, and...
Coaches association releases WPIAL preseason boys volleyball rankings
The WPIAL boys volleyball season begins Friday, and in advance of the opening matches and tournaments, the Western PA Volleyball Coaches Association on Monday released its preseason top 10 polls for both Class 2A and Class 3A. North Allegheny, last year’s Class 3A runner-up and the owner of 22 WPIAL...
Freeport para swimmer Isaac Barton excited to compete at PIAA championships
Isaac Barton is used to swim meets with big crowds. Just last June, Barton, at age 15, was one of the youngest competitors at the U.S. Paralympic Trials. He swam the 50 and 100 freestyles at that meet in Minneapolis, Minn. Barton also achieved a number of personal bests at...
Gateway notebook: Gators swimmers earn berths to PIAA championships
Members of the Gateway boys and girls swim teams fared well at the WPIAL Class 3A championships Feb. 27-28 at Pitt’s Trees Pool and earned berths in four events to the PIAA meet Friday and Saturday at Bucknell. Only the champion in each individual and relay event at WPIALs secured...
Gateway baseball seeks improvement under 1st-year coach
When Andy Hoover was hired in August as the next varsity head coach of the Gateway baseball team, he had a vision for what the team and the program could become in the following months. Meetings with players led into fall evaluation workouts which, in turn, bled into winter work...
Plum notebook: Mustangs swimmers advance to PIAA championships
Members of the Plum girls swim team fared well at the WPIAL swim championships Feb. 27-28 at Pitt’s Trees Pool and earned berths in five events to the PIAA championships at Bucknell University. The Class 3A state meet starts Friday morning and concludes Saturday evening. The girls 200-yard medley relay...
St. Joseph girls fall to Farrell in PIAA tourney after refs clear gym in 4th quarter
FARRELL — With 4 minutes, 31 seconds left in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s PIAA Class A girls basketball game between District 10 champion Farrell and WPIAL No. 5 seed St. Joseph, game referees, in response to what they deemed excessive abusive language and yelling from some spectators, cleared the...
St. Joseph girls hope for extended stay in 4th straight trip to PIAA playoffs
The St. Joseph girls basketball team began the season with just one returning starter — senior guard Gia Richter — and a host of others stepping up into starting roles or increased roles in the rotation. With changes throughout the lineup, some might not have thought the Spartans would be...
Friends, players remember coach Rick Tatrn, who guided Deer Lakes volleyball to 4 WPIAL, 2 state titles
Whether he was playing or coaching, Rick Tatrn made a lasting impact in athletics in the A-K Valley. Tatrn, who coached Deer Lakes boys volleyball for 44 years through the 2014 playoff season, died Feb. 18 at the Concordia retirement home in Cabot. He was 77. Tatrn was a standout...
A-K Vally campus clippings: Kiski Area grad Miller swims to gold for Edinboro
Eliza Miller originally began her collegiate career on the new Duquesne women’s triathlon team. But a change was made to a new environment as Miller, a 2024 Kiski Area graduate, returned to a familiar sport. She has made the most of her inaugural season with the Edinboro women’s swim team....
Highlands fixture Eddie Teorsky to receive Courage Award from A-K Valley Sports Hall of Fame
Harrison native Eddie Teorsky was a fixture at Highlands High School athletic events for nearly 40 years before his death at age 57 on Jan. 15. Born with Down syndrome, Teorsky’s popularity within the community led Golden Rams followers to dub him “Mr. Mayor” among other complimentary monikers. With that...
Mt. Pleasant’s King headlines list of WPIAL swimmers to receive top seeds for PIAA meets
The PIAA on Sunday released a list of the qualifiers — automatic (district champions) and at-large (time) — for the boys and girls state swimming and diving championships March 12-15 at Bucknell. The WPIAL owns numerous top seeds in Class 3A and Class 2A. As expected, Mt. Pleasant senior Lily...
