Other Local category, Page 16
North Huntingdon native Austen Swankler enters transfer portal, alleging hazing at Bowling Green
Austin Swankler, a native of North Huntingdon who was the fifth-leading scorer in NCAA men’s hockey last season with Bowling Green, has entered the NCAA’s transfer portal, alleging he was the victim of hazing at the school. “I came out about everything that happened to stop future incidents from occurring,”...
Top distance runners among field for City of Pittsburgh Great Race
Jennifer Bigham won the City of Pittsburgh Great Race in 2016, 2017, 2019 and last year, and she hopes to add win No. 5 on Sunday. Bigham has become one of the fastest masters runners in the country, winning the 2022 USA Masters Half Marathon Championship and USA Masters One...
Former West Allegheny student Tanner Rosborough, 15, signs MLS NEXT Pro contract
Tanner Rosborough already has made a number of professional appearances. He had 28 goals during the MLS NEXT regular season and won an MLS NEXT Cup, scoring the game-winning goal in the final. Be that as it may, Rosborough is only 15 years old. It’s quite obvious, this kid is...
Hempfield girls golf coach Katie Miller Gee wins 1st match at U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur
Katie Miller Gee advanced through stroke play and never trailed in her opening match at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Stonewall Golf Club in Elverson. Gee, the girls golf coach at Hempfield, where she is one of the school’s most celebrated champions, cruised past Marissa Mar of Palo Alto,...
Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League teams post victories in Week 3 games
The Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League is well into its 2023 season as teams in all four classifications completed Week 3 games Sunday. This fall marks the 10th anniversary of the WPYFL, the largest youth football league in Pennsylvania with 44 member organizations in 43 school districts covering seven counties....
At Battleground Baseball, Knoch grad Chase Rowe using cutting edge tech with human touch
Chase Rowe has spent the majority of his life around baseball. As he rose through the player ranks to various coaching positions both collegiately and professionally, he developed a critique of how the game was being taught to up-and-coming players. “Baseball, probably like most other sports, there’s a huge level...
Plum Kick-Off Classic youth soccer tournament to welcome 309 teams
For a quarter of a century, the Plum Kick-Off Classic youth soccer tournament has hosted competitive matchups involving teams and organizations hoping for a successful start to their seasons. One of the region’s largest youth soccer events is back this weekend. The 26th annual tournament begins Friday and runs through...
Ligonier Valley grad Maddy Grimm helps Texas Smoke win 1st championship
After two years away from high-level softball, Maddy Grimm returned to the game she loves and won a championship. The Ligonier Valley alum helped lead the Texas Smoke to the first championship in the Women’s Professional Fastpitch league. The power-hitting shortstop out of Kent State stretched out her career a...
Reese Memorial Fund accepting grant applications from youth recreation groups
Following their third successful 5K fundraiser, officials from the Mike Reese Memorial Fund will be accepting grant applications through the end of August. The annual Mike Reese Memorial 5K Roast, Run & Family Fun event began in 2021, in memory of Reese, 42, who served as state representative in the...
Sanctuary Boxing Club’s Katie Kerecz takes part in USA Boxing women’s championships
Last summer, Sanctuary Boxing Club in New Kensington took five female boxers to a national competition in Kansas. Katie Kerecz, 12, returned to the national stage last month, this time for the first USA Boxing women’s championships. Since the last tournament, Kerecz relentlessly went to work in the gym. Rich...
Quaker Valley’s Mya Eshenbaugh relishes experience at USSSA All American Softball Games
Mya Eshenbaugh enjoyed a unique summer sojourn. The Quaker Valley Middle School student participated in the USSSA All American Softball Games during the week of July 31 through Aug. 5 in Viera Beach, Fla., at the USSSA Space Coast Complex. “It was a great experience for me,” Eshenbaugh said. “I...
Kiski Valley Legion restarting team after 2-year hiatus
The Kiski Valley American Legion baseball team has been inactive for the past two seasons. But if the Montgomery brothers — Denny and David — have anything to say about it, the two-year hiatus will end in time for the 2024 season. The Montgomerys, both Pennsylvania American Legion Hall of...
Central Catholic grad Neal Shipley reaches U.S. Amateur semifinals
Central Catholic graduage and Ohio State grad student Neal Shipley has reached the semifinals of the 123rd annual United States Golf Association’s Amateur Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club in New Jersey. Shipley, 22, won his fourth consecutive match play round when he defeated Andi Xu of the People’s Republic...
Plum youth football community mourns, honors Keegan ClontzVideo
Keegan Clontz’s No. 40 football jersey hung from one of the goalposts during the Plum Little Mustangs 12U scrimmage Wednesday evening against Franklin Regional at the Plum Midget Football Association fields along Ross Hollow Road. His initials also were painted on the field at the 40-yard line. They were two...
Knapp claims 2nd Westmoreland County senior golf title
Oakmont native and Hannastown Golf Club member Sean Knapp continued his excellent play Wednesday by winning the Westmoreland County Golf Association’s Senior Championship for the second time in four years. His first title came in 2020 at Latrobe Elks Golf Club. Knapp, who won the West Penn Amateur last month...
Fox Chapel grad Lucy Ream ready for 1st season of women’s soccer at Lipscomb after transferring from Eastern Kentucky
Athletes are loathe to look ahead on their schedules, preferring to stick to the familiar “one game at a time” mantra. But Lipscomb women’s soccer player Lucy Ream can’t be faulted if she already has Sept. 14 circled on her calendar. That Thursday evening, the Bison open ASUN play by...
Greensburg YMCA gymnasts capture national titles, medals
Greensburg YMCA gymnasts scored big at this year’s YMCA-USA national championships in Cincinnati. Emma Rost of Greensburg captured national titles in two events. Rost claimed gold medals in the level 4 vault and floor exercises. She also won a bronze medal in the all-around and placed sixth on the bars....
Dek hockey returns to Latrobe with new rink at Legion Keener Park
Brothers Tripp, 6, and Deekin Nolan, 5, hit the dek Saturday morning to brush up on their hockey skills. They were among about 20 area kids who got to try out the new Greater Latrobe Parks and Recreation dek hockey rink that had its grand opening at Legion Keener Park...
Participation, excitement growing within Gateway Midget Football and Cheerleading Association
Last fall was a banner season for the Gateway Midget Football and Cheerleading Association. All four of its football teams — flag (ages 5-6), Termites (7-8), Mites (9-10) and Midgets (11-12) made the Big East Youth Football League playoffs. The Termites, Mites and Midgets advanced to the semifinals. “We’re not...
Author Bill Viola Jr. of North Huntingdon urges readers to ‘earn black belt in life’
From inception to completion, Bill Viola Jr.’s latest book, “Common Sensei: How To Earn a Blackbelt in Life” didn’t necessarily have a core audience. Sure, the martial arts crowd was interested because of their vast knowledge of the collective and awareness of influential people in the business, such as Viola....
District golf notebook: Katie Miller Gee wins 2nd WGAWP amateur
Hempfield alum and girls golf coach Katie Miller Gee made sure the fourth time was the charm. After three straight runner-up finishes at the Women’s Golf Association of Western Pennsylvania Amateur Championship, Miller Gee returned to the winner’s circle, capturing her second title at the event Tuesday at Sunnehanna Country...
Ross Township’s Nathan Smith to captain 2025 U.S. Walker Cup team
An exemplary amateur golfer in the Pittsburgh area for decades, Nathan Smith can cross another accomplishment off his career bucket list. And this is a big one. Smith, a Brookville native who lives in Ross Township, was selected by the United States Golf Association to captain the 2025 U.S. Walker...
Norwin’s Max McDowell promoted to Triple-A with Phillies
For the third straight season, Max McDowell will be on the doorstep of a major league call-up. A Norwin alum and eighth-year minor leaguer, McDowell received a promotion Monday when he was elevated to the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The 29-year-old catcher played...
Former WPIAL golf standouts from Fox Chapel, Plum set to play U.S. Amateur
A pair of former WPIAL golf standouts will play in a USGA event for the first time. Fox Chapel graduate Gregor Meyer and Plum alum Andrew Reynolds finished 1-2 to advance out of a recent qualifier for the 123rd U.S. Amateur Championship set for Aug. 14-20 in Colorado. Meyer, who...
Avonmore’s Ben Britton takes 2nd at powerlifting championships
Avonmore’s Ben Britton drove 16 hours to Lafayette, La., to compete in the 2023 USPA powerlifting championships last month. He certainly made the trip worthwhile. Weighing just less than 162 pounds and competing in the 165-pound weight class, Britton pulled 534.6 pounds in the deadlift portion of the championships. He...
