Bill Hartlep stories, Page 23

A fifth WPIAL Week 4 football game was canceled Friday morning, just hours before the contest was scheduled to begin. Burgettstown was forced to forfeit its Class A Big Seven Conference game at Rochester due to covid cases and quarantine within the Burgettstown program. In a statement, Burgettstown Superintendent Stephen...

Here are four WPIAL high school football players to watch in Week 4: Shane Cornali Fort Cherry, Fr., DB/K Cornali scored on interception returns of 61 and 50 yards, made seven tackles and also kicked five extra points in last week’s 35-7 victory over Shenango as the Rangers improved to...

Saturday was special for Springdale soccer standout August Tabacheck, but it had nothing to do with his talents on the pitch. The senior center midfielder saw more than a year’s worth of hard work on display with the opening of the Daniel R. Tabacheck Memorial Dog Park in Agan Park...

Here are four WPIAL high school football players to watch in Week 3: Brad Birch Gateway, So., QB Birch, who transferred from Jeannette, completed 11 of 19 passes for 222 yards as Gateway defeated Penn Hills, 41-13. Next up for the Gators will be a nonconference test at Bethel Park...

Logan Smith Ligonier Valley golf Logan Smith spent a lot of time on golf courses this summer. Whether he was playing in junior tournaments around the region or working at Rolling Rock Club, he immersed himself in the game he loves. It’s paying off in a big way. Smith is...

Caroline Dynka Burrell tennis To be the best, you have to beat the best. Burrell’s Caroline Dynka faces that challenge every time she takes the court. As the Bucs No. 1 singles tennis player, she has the tough task of facing each opponent’s top player. She’s coming off a 6-4,...

Here are four WPIAL football players to watch for during Week 2: Lorenzo Jenkins Blackhawk, Sr., WR A two-time all-conference performer at Fox Chapel, Jenkins (6-4, 175) transferred to Blackhawk last winter and has made an immediate impact for the Cougars. He had nine catches for 73 yards and two...

Kylie Smith Greensburg Salem Senior First-year Greensburg Salem girls soccer coach Jessica Melodia rattled off numerous strengths for senior forward Kylie Smith, an all-section honoree in 2020. Among them was her ability to be a team player. That skill was honed the past several years while working at her family’s...

Dan Thimons knows the importance of his position on the football field. The play can’t physically start until he says so. Highlands’ senior center takes pride in his work, making sure the ball gets in the hands of his cousin, junior quarterback Chandler Thimons. He also works to keep his...

Here are four WPIAL football players to watch for during Week 1: Ryan Angott Canon-McMillan, Sr., RB/LB Angott opened his senior season with a bang against neighborhood rival Trinity. He rushed for 163 yards and three scores on 17 carries as the Big Macs won 48-0. Last season, he rushed...

Some of the top football prospects in Western Pa. will display their talents on the Cupples Stadium turf this season, and plenty of eyes will be on the City League. Perry’s Tyreese Fearbry and Brashear’s Ta’Mere Robinson are highly regarded four-star prospects, but many other elite players are set to...

Tanner Garry enjoyed the offseason. It almost felt normal. After enduring a rocky, covid-impacted first season as head coach at his alma mater in 2020, Garry led Fort Cherry through a full offseason program. Now, he’s excited to see the results. “Even though it’s my second year as a head...

Competing against perennial WPIAL title contenders Thomas Jefferson and Belle Vernon is a challenge. And that challenge usually is decided in the trenches. Trinity coach Jon Miller hopes improved line play will help the Hillers go toe to toe with the top teams in the Class 4A Big Eight Conference...

Mt. Lebanon’s Ashleigh Connor, one of the top scorers in WPIAL girls basketball, announced a commitment to St. Louis on Monday. The senior guard averaged 21 points and guided Mt. Lebanon to the WPIAL Class 6A semifinals last season. Connor, a 5-foot-10 guard, also had offers from Xavier, Cleveland State,...

One of the WPIAL’s most experienced varsity football players made his college decision over the weekend. Serra Catholic senior defensive back Pharoh Fisher made a verbal commitment to Navy via his Twitter account. COMMITTED⚓️???? #beatarmy @wpialsportsnews @SerraCatholicFB @Cover3_ATH @SportsByBLinder @210ths @recruitgfx pic.twitter.com/rYL6Fyzjpf— Pharoh Fisher (@fisher_pharoh) August 22, 2021 He thanked...

Chartiers-Houston has quite a luxury this season. The Bucs have experience returning at all the skill positions, on both sides of the line and each level of the defense. The key for 17th-year coach Terry Fetsko will be turning that experience into victories in the Class 2A Century Conference. “As...

Fran Ramsden hadn’t really thought about being a head football coach. He spent the past nine years as an assistant coach with stops at his alma mater, North Catholic, as well as Allderdice and the past four seasons at Riverside. Last summer, Riverside coach Ron Sciarro informed Ramsden, his offensive...

A pair of Sewickley Academy graduates took part in last week’s U.S. Amateur tournament at Oakmont Country Club and Longue Vue Club. Ian Bangor, a 29-year-old golfer who graduated from Sewickley Academy (2010) and Carnegie Mellon (2014), finished the 36-hole stroke play portion of the tournament at 7-over par. Bangor...

Brayden Thimons’ debut football season at Westminster lasted just five games, but he made the most out of each snap. The Highlands product was among the nation’s leaders in sacks and tackles for a loss and was recognized for his stellar performance late last month when he was tabbed a...

Jacob McCaskey is spending the summer in sunny Palm Springs, a popular vacation spot in the Sonoran Desert of Southern California. Thousands of tourists might be there to enjoy the hot springs, golf courses and spas or maybe some hiking or horseback riding. McCaskey is there to work. A recently...

Positivity wasn’t the easiest character trait to maintain over the past year. The plights of the coronavirus pandemic tested even the most jovial high school student-athletes. Still, many persevered and went above and beyond the call of duty in leading their teams and making an impact in their school and...

Baseball Class 3A 1-Hopewell (16-5) vs. 3-South Park (15-4) 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Wild Things Park, Washington Road to the finals • Hopewell — The top-seeded Vikings faced a challenge from No. 8 Deer Lakes in the quarterfinals, earning a 5-2 victory. They also shut out No. 16 Waynesburg, 4-0,...

North Hills junior thrower Alec Apodaca earned a silver medal in the javelin at the WPIAL Class AAA championships May 19, at Slippery Rock University. Seeded 10th entering the meet, he unleashed a toss of 168 feet, 4 inches to qualify for the PIAA championship meet Saturday. Butler’s Landon Kretzer...

The North Hills softball team fell just short of a section title last week after falling to Shaler, 9-8, on May 11. In the bottom of the seventh, Shaler’s Cam Murphy hit a two-run home run, and Natalie Spears delivered a two-run double for the walk-off win. North Hills belted...

The Pirates announced Friday that fully vaccinated fans will no longer need to wear a face mask at PNC Park. On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased public health guidelines for mask wearing, allowing people to safely stop wearing masks inside in most places as well as...