Doug Gulasy stories, Page 5

The numbers Leechburg and Springdale put up through the first two weeks of the softball season created some extra anticipation for their first meeting of the season, and they created some more eye-popping statistics Wednesday. In a wild game featuring multiple rallies by both teams, visiting Class A No. 3...

Penn State junior men’s basketball star Lamar Stevens will test the professional waters, announcing Tuesday he was declaring for the NBA Draft. Stevens can opt to withdraw from the draft and return to Penn State by the NBA’s May 29 deadline. A win-win situation for one of the best ever...

The We Serve First Foundation sponsored three WPIAL players’ attendance at last summer’s Give It Back Foundation national girls volleyball camp in Anaheim, Calif. With the camp coming to Western Pennsylvania this summer, that number will quadruple. We Serve First is providing 12 WPIAL girls volleyball players with the $300...

A year ago at this time, every one of Jacob Gruden’s throws ended the same way: with the ball going straight down to the ground. He wondered if the same was happening to his once-promising baseball career. A major shoulder injury caused Gruden to go through two surgeries, months of...

Katie Gozzard is hitting just about everything in sight these days. The Penn State Behrend senior and Deer Lakes graduate extended her hitting streak to 11 games by going 3 for 3 with two RBIs in a 9-3 victory over Thiel on Sunday. The performance also gave her hits in...

Duquesne received a second player for its Class of 2019 recruiting class when Evan Buckley of Stone Bridge (Va.) High School announced his verbal commitment on Twitter. pic.twitter.com/jWOGcpeSML— Evan Buckley (@evbuck10) April 8, 2019 A 6-foot point guard, Buckley broke Stone Bridge’s career scoring and assist records and was voted...

Anna Shields has dominated the NAIA competition in track and field and cross country during her time at Point Park, and she added some more recognition for those accomplishments recently. Sports Illustrated highlighted Shields in its “Faces in the Crowd” feature in the April 8 edition of the magazine, which...

Monday Baseball — After back-to-back WPIAL playoff appearances, Valley is off to a slow start this season. But the Vikings (0-5, 0-1) have time to make up for it in Section 1-3A play, starting with a game at Freeport (4-3, 1-1), which is looking to bounce back from a section...

Already without key pieces because of graduation, Freeport’s softball team is dealing with the loss of one of its most productive returners. Sophomore outfielder Maya Borghol is out indefinitely after an injury ordeal caused her to undergo spinal fusion surgery in late August. Borghol felt pain at an Ohio Outlaws...

Robby Shymansky has a PIAA silver and bronze medal at his home, souvenirs from past appearances at the state Class AAA singles tournament. He’d like to add a gold to that collection. The pursuit of that begins Monday as Shymansky, the defending WPIAL Class AAA singles champion, opens the Section...

Already a potential Division I basketball player, Johnny Crise now can add football to the mix. The Highlands junior received his first Division I football scholarship offer Saturday from Football Championship Subdivision school Fordham. Extremely blessed and excited to have received my first division 1 scholarship offer from Fordham University!#Ramily...

Valley News Dispatch Girls Basketball Player of the Year Sidney Shemanski Jr., Guard, Freeport Sidney Shemanski does just about everything at Freeport: soccer, where she topped 20 goals in each of her first three seasons; basketball, where she’s a three-year starter; and track and field, where she finished as runner-up...

Valley News Dispatch Boys Basketball Player of the Year Johnny Crise Jr., F, Highlands Johnny Crise can be difficult to miss on the basketball court. Not only does the Highlands junior stand 6-foot-7, but he spends a significant amount of time above the rim — throwing down any sort of...

Brayden White felt motivated to win a Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling championship after losing in the finals last year. But he especially wanted to do it in the same weight class, cutting down to compete in the 95-pound bracket at the tournament last month. The Highlands seventh-grader made sure his efforts...

John Kinnamon gathered the Apollo-Ridge softball team for a pep talk after the fourth inning of its Section 2-2A game Tuesday at Shady Side Academy. At the time, the Vikings’ cause looked hopeless: a 9-1 deficit caused by early miscues, and only three innings remaining to make up eight runs....

Freeport coach Ed Carr tried to downplay the significance of Wednesday’s Section 1-3A opener against Burrell to his baseball team, but the message didn’t exactly sink in. Not with both teams eyeing a section championship, and not with the emotions that ran high in both dugouts for much of the...

After beginning the season with 12 consecutive losses, PSNK softball is on a hot streak. A doubleheader sweep of Penn State Mont Alto on Tuesday (10-2 and 8-2 victories) pushed the Lions’ winning streak to six games. Senior Brittney Wolford (Burrell) led the offense in the first game, collecting three...

Geneva College’s new women’s basketball coach knows how to do two jobs at once, but he can limit his focus to one now. Michael Grinder, both the men’s and women’s basketball coach at Pitt-Titusville, will take over the head coach position at Geneva, the university announced Tuesday. Grinder, who replaces...

Apollo-Ridge’s next mission is finding a new girls basketball coach. The Vikings are searching for a replacement for Jim Callipare, who won’t return after six seasons and five WPIAL playoff appearances. Athletic director Ray Bartha said he planned to recommend to the school board to rehire Callipare for the 2019-20...

Kiski Area faced a five-run hole as the fourth inning of its nonsection baseball game against Plum began last week, but the Cavaliers didn’t worry. After all, they had their ace — or one of them, at least — in the hole. Or, more accurately, on the hill. Senior Nick...

Enzo Morlacci experienced wrestling at the national level during his youth days, and he spent plenty of time on the mat against high-level high school competition during his freshman season at Kiski Area. He merged those elements together for a gold-medal performance in his debut at the high school national...

Former WPIAL stars Alex Kirilloff and Brendan McKay, two of the top prospects in minor league baseball, will begin the 2019 season in the same league as they continue their path to the majors. Kirilloff, a former Plum star and the Minnesota Twins’ 2016 first-round pick, was assigned Monday to...

Bo knows how it feels to get named the top collegiate wrestler in the country. Penn State’s Bo Nickal won the WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy on Monday, becoming the third consecutive Penn State wrestler to win the award, which goes to the top college wrestler. Nickal beat out...

Burrell’s run at a high school hockey national championship ended one win short. Penalties and special teams cost the Bucs on Monday as they lost 7-1 to Boulder/Monarch (Colo.) in the championship game of the USA Hockey High School Division II National Championship in Cleveland, Ohio. Burrell, the PIHL Division...

Burrell stands one win from a national high school hockey championship. Dylan Zelonka scored five goals — all in the second period — as Burrell beat the Newark (N.J.) Generals, 8-4, Sunday evening in the semifinals of the USA Hockey High School Division II National Championship in Cleveland, Ohio. The...