Michael Love stories, Page 82

The Penn State New Kensington softball team is set to compete in the final four of the Penn State University Athletic Conference playoffs May 9 and 10 at Heindl Memorial Park in DuBois. The Lions (13-12) advanced to the double-elimination tournament with a 9-0 victory over West Division rival Penn...

Will Ernharth likes where the Fox Chapel boys tennis team is positioned heading into Monday’s WPIAL Class AAA first-round matchup with Sewickley Academy at the Fox Chapel High School courts. “I definitely think we have a good draw (as the No. 6 seed),” said the senior, who has played No....

Hunter Raymer will be a freshman on the Gateway varsity boys swim team for the 2021-22 season, and in building toward that time, he has been making the most of his recent in-pool opportunities. Representing the Fox Chapel Killer Whales club team, the eighth grader posted several personal-best times and...

Two members of the Quaker Valley varsity hockey team earned a trip to the 2021 USA Hockey Youth Tier II National Championships last week with their respective North Pittsburgh Wildcat travel teams. Sophomore Luke Flowers joined the 16U team in Grand Rapids, Mich., and freshman Will Watson is representing the...

The Gateway boys volleyball team has been looking for consistency to its 2021 spring season, but with covid stoppages and postponed games, it has been a challenge. But junior setter Ryan Bozicevic sounded positive and optimistic recently as the Gators, who had played just two matches through April 29, hope...

Brayden Thimons, a Highlands graduate and junior defensive lineman at Westminster, earned selection to the All-Presidents Athletic Conference first-team defense after a strong spring season as a pass rusher for the Titans. In five games, the transfer from Robert Morris led the PAC and tied for second in NCAA Division...

An experienced Fox Chapel girls lacrosse team hoped to do big things last year, but the PIAA’s concerns over the growing covid pandemic cut short plans for the Foxes to defend their 2019 section title, win their fourth section title overall and challenge for a WPIAL championship in Class AAA....

The Plum varsity baseball team fashioned an unblemished Section 2-5A record through a pair of victories over Penn Hills on April 26 and 27. That put the Mustangs at 6-0 heading into a scheduled home-and-home section series against Woodland Hills. Plum was to pay a visit to the Wolverines on...

Before his freshman year at Riverview, John Patsey assured himself and his teammates and coaches that he wanted to pursue both baseball and track and field at the varsity level during the spring competition season. Now, as a sophomore, the Raiders standout is making his mark in both sports with...

After three innings of Friday’s Section 3-5A matchup with Mars, the Fox Chapel softball team held a six-run lead and hoped to add on. However, the visiting Planets mounted a comeback and tied the score in the top of the seventh. But the Foxes prevailed as pitcher Mackenzie Borkovich delivered...

The Penn State New Kensington softball team needed a sweep of Penn State Fayette in its conference finale Sunday to secure its place in the Penn State University Athletic Conference playoffs. The Lions did just that as they scored 9-0 and 12-1 victories to finish the regular season 12-12 overall...

When the Highlands softball team suffered a 14-4 loss to Freeport in its Section 1-4A opener at home April 9, the Golden Rams could have looked ahead to the next matchup with the Yellowjackets. But the focus for the team, coach Jen Koprivnikar said, stayed in the short term. As...

The Apollo-Ridge softball team was on the wrong side of a perfect game Monday against Ligonier Valley junior standout Maddie Griffin. But rather than wallow in the wake of the setback, Vikings coach John Kinnamon said his team was laser-focused and ready to prepare for the next contest. Apollo-Ridge has...

The North Pittsburgh Tier II 16U boys hockey team had to battle back from an early hole in their Mid-Am District national-qualifying tournament in late March. The Wildcats lost their first game to the Pittsburgh Predators, 4-3, in a double overtime shootout. But they responded with convincing wins over the...

Fans of the West Virginia and Tennessee football teams can mark Sept. 2 on their 2028 calendars as the Mountaineers and Volunteers will do battle that day in the Duke’s Mayo Classic in Charlotte, N.C., the Charlotte Sports Foundation announced Tuesday. West Virginia will be designated the home team for...

The Apollo-Ridge softball team scored at least nine runs in all six of their wins this season, including 11 each in convincing Section 2-2A victories last week over Serra Catholic and Seton LaSalle. But the Vikings had no answer Monday for Ligonier Valley standout junior pitcher Maddie Griffin in a...

The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its Week 5 rankings Monday morning, and there is a change at the head of the Class AA Top 10. Seton LaSalle leapfrogged Ambridge and North Catholic into the No. 1 spot after a week in which the Rebels scored a 3-0 nonsection...

The WPIAL’s top Class AAA and Class AA boys doubles teams will go for gold Tuesday and Wednesday and also challenge for berths to the PIAA tournaments, slated for May 28 and 29 in Hershey. The top three teams in Class AA and the top two in Class AAA will...

Gateway senior forward Dynasty Shegog went toe-to-toe with Penn Hills’ Amoni Blackwell, Jasmyn Golden and Jayla Golden; McKeesport’s Haley Hertzer; and Woodland Hills’ Peyton Pinkney in Section 4-5A during the truncated 2020-21 season. But those opponents will become teammates the weekend of May 15 for the annual Roundball Classic all-star...

Amaya Robinson felt at home at the South Hills Classic on April 10. Baldwin hosted, but Gateway’s Antimarino Stadium provided the setting for the events. The junior sprinter collected a fifth-place medal and a season-best time of 12.75 seconds in the 100-meter dash. “I definitely feel I have room to...

After competing in a trio of Section 5-AAA meets in the early part of the season, Plum boys and girls track and field team members stepped out and tested their mettle at their first invitational of the spring April 16. Plum first-year coach Stephanie Lednak said the Lady Spartan and...

The Robert Morris softball team was 22-14 overall and 17-11 in Horizon League play heading into a conference doubleheader Saturday against Youngstown State. Senior center fielder Alaina York (Burrell) has been a key component. Starting all 36 games through Friday, York is batting .300 with 12 RBIs, five doubles and...

Mother Nature kept the cars off the track at Don Martin’s Lernerville Speedway last week in what was scheduled to be opening night for 2021. “We had much longer precipitation than what was originally anticipated,” first-year Lernerville general manager Mike Lysakowski said. “When we went to bed on Thursday night,...