Michael Love stories, Page 67

Dakota DesLauriers was on hand Friday at Burrell High School to watch the current crop of Bucs wrestlers take on Kiski Area in the annual nonsection matchup of neighboring rivals. As he watched the match unfold, he paused several times to think about his own contributions to those series of...

The Gateway girls basketball team tasted victory for the first time this season Jan. 11 with a 49-39 victory over Section 4-5A rival Penn Hills in the friendly confines of Gateway’s Furrie Sports Complex. It was a win long sought after following five losses to open the season and also...

The Gateway varsity boys bowling team entered a rebuilding mode at the start of the season after all five starters from last year’s WPIBL playoff squad graduated. But coach Joe Bowman said that with sophomore Alex Keeling-Oliver and senior Heath Chase, both JV players last year, leading the way, the...

Plum ice hockey players knew what it felt like to be in a close game as they skated against Chartiers Valley on Jan. 10 at Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center. In the previous three contests, the Mustangs were right there down the stretch only to fall by one goal to Blackhawk...

Covid wreaked havoc with last year’s winter sports season, and the annual wrestling clash between Alle-Kiski Valley rivals Burrell and Kiski Area was one of the big events which fell victim to cancellation. But the match returned Friday night in front of a spirited crowd at Burrell High School. The...

Brock White Jr. knows what it is like to suit up for a football game at Dallas’ AT&T Stadium, nicknamed “Jerry World” after Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. The Highlands senior played in the Bret Cooper Junior Academic All-American Bowl as an eighth grader in late 2017. Now, four years...

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Wednesday released their 2022 USL Championship schedule. The Riverhounds will face a mix of new and familiar foes throughout the 34-game slate. Highlights include four road trips to face Western Conference teams. It will be the first time Pittsburgh will play in the Mountain or Pacific...

Nina Shaw went off for a career-high 26 points in Knoch’s 50-33 victory over Section 1-4A rival Highlands on Monday. The junior guard scored 19 in the first half as the Knights established their tempo and took control with a 15-point halftime advantage. But while the team hit its season...

Todd Wharton’s brief career with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has come to a close. The veteran midfielder announced Tuesday via his personal Instagram account that he is retiring from professional soccer. Wharton, 27, joined the Riverhounds prior to the 2021 season and appeared in all 32 matches. He scored four...

The lead in Section 1-4A was on the line Monday as 3-0 Knoch and 3-0 Highlands did battle at Highlands High School. The visiting Knights established themselves early and gradually were able to pull away for a 50-33 victory. “We wanted to come out quickly and establish ourselves and make...

Reese Hasley Deer Lakes basketball Whether it’s a pull-up jumper, a drive to the basket or a floater in the paint, Reese Hasley has shown a propensity for putting points on the board for the Deer Lakes girls basketball team. That started right out of the gate as a freshman when...

Ahmad Matour’s focus at last month’s National Physique Committee National Championships was clear. Weeks of weight training and a proper diet regimen fueled the Monroeville resident’s goal of earning his International Federation of BodyBuilders pro card at the Dec. 18 contest in Orlando, Fla. Mission accomplished. Matour, 28, one of...

The Gateway boys and girls swimming and diving teams have entered the Section 3-3A portion of their schedules, and coach Sherry Sonetti hopes that a strong series of practices over the holiday break will pay dividends. “I beat them up a little bit with wanting them to get that yardage...

After many years of high-level contests in WPIAL Class 2A, including five seasons that resulted in WPIAL championships, the Freeport girls volleyball team made a move to Class 3A two years ago. But the winning didn’t wane as the Yellowjackets posted co-section championships this past fall and in 2020. The...

Early last month, as the Plum girls basketball team was going through its final paces in practices and scrimmages to get ready for the 2021-22 season, first-year coach Rich Mull said patience and hard work would be key components in the improvement of a young group with just one senior...

Gwyn Fichte has had quite the year so far in terms of sports success. In October, the Riverview sophomore placed 16th overall in the Class A girls race at the WPIAL cross country championships at Cal (Pa.). The finish also earned Fichte a berth to the state meet in Hershey....

With two regular starters out of the lineup Monday for a Section 1-4A matchup against Burrell, Ava Soilis set out to lift up her youthful Freeport teammates. The junior guard, a second-year starter for the Yellowjackets and currently the team’s leading scorer, came through with a career-best 26 points and...

The Burrell girls basketball team was not able to taste the thrill of victory over its first eight games. But as the Bucs turned the calendar to January, they were able to put one in the win column. Senior Hope Clark scored a team-best 18 points, and junior Addy Landowski...

As 2021 opened, high school sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and throughout the region and state were on hold because of ongoing covid-19 uncertainties. Games, meets and matches eventually went ahead, and individual and team champions were crowned. The spring sports season returned after it was canceled in 2020 at...

Nina Shaw loves to put the ball in the hoop. But the junior guard also gets excited when she and her Knoch teammates are able to play strong defense. That was on display again Wednesday evening against Kiski Area at the Kiski Area Holiday Classic. For the second time in...

In a game featuring several scoring runs, the Fox Chapel girls basketball team had the biggest one at a crucial point to take control of its Peter Sauer Memorial Tournament matchup with Deer Lakes on Wednesday afternoon at Shady Side Academy. Ahead by just two points with a little more...

The Highlands girls basketball team came into their holiday tournament game against Mars on Tuesday afternoon undefeated through six games. But the visiting Planets ended up being too much for the Golden Rams to overcome. Three players scored in double figures for Class 5A Mars (7-1) as it handed Highlands...

Allison Fisher’s senior season was full of promise. The Burrell guard and multi-time section and Valley News Dispatch all-star had her sights set on leading the Bucs to a strong season and a WPIAL playoff spot in Section 1-4A. But her on-court goals were dashed just days before the start...

First-team all-stars Luke Bombalski Highlands, RB/LB, so. The Golden Rams’ offensive standout had a breakout season with 210 carries for 1,276 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also caught six passes for 51 yards and a score. He made 71 tackles and produced seven sacks. Logan Brooks Plum, WR/DB, sr....

Alle-Kiski Valley Defensive Player of the Year Brayden Dunmire DE/LB, Senior, 6-2, 230 pounds, Kiski Area When recalling positive moments from his 2021 football season, Kiski Area senior defensive stalwart Brayden Dunmire’s thoughts were drawn to a Sept. 3 nonconference matchup against rival Franklin Regional. The Cavaliers came into the...