Michael Love stories, Page 89

In Saturday’s 33-31 buzzer-beating win over Greensburg Salem, Kiski Area’s players saw first-hand how much every second counts in close games. The early seconds, and minutes, didn’t add up to much for the Cavaliers, who missed their first nine shots. They trailed the Golden Lions for a total of 31...

The Knoch girls basketball team hadn’t played in a week before hosting Section 1-4A rival Burrell on Monday. But the Knights showed little rust as they overwhelmed the Bucs early, led by 34 at the break and cruised to a 65-22 victory. “I told the girls that I am very...

Last season, Mark Livingston punched his ticket to the state bowling championships with an 11th-place finish in the qualifying round at the Western Regional singles event. The Freeport senior collected 1,000 pins over five games and finished with a high of 243. He went on to make the semifinals of...

Both battle-tested veterans and newcomers ready to burst onto the scene highlight the latest WPIAL Class AAA and AA swimming and diving performance lists released Monday. The lists started to take shape with top performances from several meets Dec. 11, one day before Gov. Tom Wolf’s covid-related shutdown orders went...

The Penn State men’s basketball team’s game with Ohio State, postponed from Jan. 5 because of covid-related issues, has been rescheduled for this Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network. It takes the place of the Nittany Lions’ originally scheduled game with Michigan...

Andrew Holmes was among the top swimmers in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle events at last year’s WPIAL Class 3A championship meet at Pitt’s Trees Pool. The Gateway junior earned top-eight medals and punched his ticket to the PIAA championships in both events. He also helped the 200 free relay...

Over the past three winters, Madison Herrick enjoyed traveling to different schools for rifle matches with her Plum teammates. The Mustangs senior captain, a veteran of the WPIAL individual championship meet, said though WPIAL’s move to virtual matches for regular-season competition with no travel is out of the norm, it...

Plum girls basketball coach Steve Elsier said his team has played well as it gets into the meat of its truncated season but knows there are a lot of challenging matchups ahead as the Mustangs hope to claim their first section championship and set themselves up for a WPIAL playoff...

Gideon Deasy experienced pain in his left ankle through much of his fall cross country season. The Riverview senior multi-sport athlete missed several races but was able to run at the WPIAL championships. He said despite not running his best time, it was a decent performance. Deasy, an all-section performer...

Olivia Watts is back on the road to recovery after a second ACL tear in her left knee put her on the sidelines for her entire junior season. The Burrell guard, who had surgery last Friday to repair the injury, is looking on the bright side of her situation with...

It’s been nearly 50 years since a Knoch girls basketball team has won a section championship. This year’s group hopes to change that. So far, so good with a 3-0 start, both overall and in Section 1-4A play. But the Knights aren’t resting on their laurels. “We’re trying to get...

The Knoch girls basketball team scored the first eight points in Monday’s Section 1-4A contest with rival Freeport at Freeport Middle School. The Knights, No. 3 in the latest Triblive HSSN Class 4A rankings, quickly developed a double-digit advantage in the opening stanza and didn’t let up en route to...

The West Virginia men’s basketball team received some good news from the Big 12 Conference on Monday as a game postponed because of covid issues has been rescheduled. The Mountaineers’ matchup with Baylor, originally scheduled for Jan. 12, now will be at 5 p.m. Feb. 18, in Waco, Texas. The...

Being away from the basketball court for any length of time normally is a foreign concept for Alvis Rogers. The third-year Gateway boys head coach enjoys keeping his mind and body sharp in the game he loves. But a medical issue and subsequent surgery late last month now has the...

Gateway wrestlers and their coaches were looking forward to the start of official practices Nov. 20 when the school district closed its buildings and moved to online learning for a couple of weeks to handle covid concerns and issues. As a result, all athletic activities were shut down. The team...

Experience is the calling card for the Gateway boys bowling team. A group of five seniors — Mason Servello, Cody Beckwith, Nathan Clark, Anthony Zappa and Liam Brown — front the Gators in matches as they hope for big things in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Bowling League and beyond. So...

Sam Wygonik hoped for the best when he stepped up to the block for the boys 200-yard freestyle Thursday during a dual meet between Fox Chapel and Woodland Hills at Fox Chapel High School. The St. Joseph junior, swimming in a high school meet for the first time since the...

Riverview has fewer wrestlers on its roster than normal, but coach Joe Murphy said excitement is high for those ready to test their mettle on the mat. The Raiders started their practices on time (Nov. 20) and maintained their schedule through Gov. Tom Wolf’s shutdown orders that took effect Dec....

Sarah Kvortek made her WPIAL gymnastics championship debut as a freshman last year, and the Plum athlete showed she had arrived with a fifth-place finish on bars in the Gold Intermediate I Division. “That was such a great experience,” said Kvortek, who qualified for WPIALs in all four disciplines, including...

It wasn’t the cleanest of games in the eyes of Freeport girls basketball coach Fred Soilis, but his team did what it needed to do Thursday evening to claim victory in its season opener. Sophomore Ava Soilis led all scorers with a career-high 20 points, and sophomore Melaina DeZort added...

A mix of experience and youthful talent has the Plum girls basketball team hoping to finish at the top of Section 2-5A and break a long playoff win drought. The Mustangs got off to a strong start Tuesday as they dispatched perennial Class 5A playoff qualifier Mars, 59-48. Down by...

The Penn State men’s basketball team currently is scheduled to visit Purdue in Big Ten Conference play Sunday afternoon. Now, the Nittany Lions know when they will play previously postponed conference home games against Rutgers and Wisconsin. The conference Wednesday announced an updated January schedule for Penn State, which also...

In a high school basketball season like no other, leaders are needed to help guide teams through the uncertainties that remain as schedules continue to evolve. Junior point guard Reese Hasley, a third-year starter and all-star performer, strives to be that leader for her Deer Lakes teammates. “Her freshman year,...

The Big 12 Conference on Tuesday announced the West Virginia men’s basketball team will not play home games with TCU (Saturday) and Oklahoma State (Jan. 19) because the Mountaineers were not able to meet necessary covid-19 requirements set forth by the conference. The same issue had already postponed Tuesday’s matchup...

Knoch sophomore Hattie McGraw sank her team’s first points of the season Monday with a 3-pointer just 22 seconds into a Section 1-4A home matchup against Highlands. The Knights, who played for the first time this season after games Friday and Saturday were lost to postponement, kept pouring in the...