Greg Macafee stories, Page 26

When it comes to succeeding on a baseball field, confidence is a big thing for former Blackhawk shortstop Mike Turconi. It’s what helped him earn a Trib HSSN Player of the Year award with a .571 batting average and a 0.71 ERA as a senior, and it’s also what propelled...

Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Over the past three years, Union shortstop Nate Meeks and the rest of his senior classmates have been building toward something special. They made two straight trips to the...

As a kid, Former Upper St. Clair wrestler Jake Slinger frequently attended Pitt wrestling matches at the Fitzgerald Field House. He remembered the atmosphere, the energy in the arena and the reaction of the crowd after a Panthers victory. “I loved the atmosphere, wrestling in the Fitzgerald Field House,” Slinger...

The covid-19 pandemic has been tough for everyone to handle. It has shut down businesses and forced everyone to adapt to a new way of life over the past few months. Harness racing at the Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Washington County is no different. Covid-19 shut down harness racing...

Enzo Morlacci is looking forward to the next chapter of his high school career. On Thursday, the Kiski Area sophomore announced he will be transferring to wrestling powerhouse Wyoming Seminary. While Morlacci knows he will benefit from the talent at Wyoming Seminary, he also is looking forward to the academic...

Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. During his high school career, Mt. Pleasant senior Joe Shrum always found an extra sense of confidence when he stepped on the mound for the Vikings. “I found it...

When the Quaker Valley boys basketball team made back-to-back trips to Pitt’s Petersen Events Center for the WPIAL Class 4A finals in 2017 and ‘18, guard Coletrane Washington shined. Although the Quakers lost both games, Washington scored 16 and 18 points. Washington, now a rising junior at Drexel, hopes for...

Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Trinity senior Jax Banco remembers flying to Florida to visit his brother at college. While he was sitting in his seat, the Hillers backstop thought to himself how cool...

Former Kiski Area standout Ryne Wallace always knew he had what it takes to play baseball at the Division I level. He just needed to find the right program. In March, Wallace found that school in Old Dominion, and the 6-foot-5, 215-pound outfielder committed to continue his baseball career at...

A lot of high school athletes have been trying to find a way to keep themselves busy during quarantine. Some have started working at their summer jobs, others have decided to put a majority of their focus into training for next year and some have decided to enjoy their free...

Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. In his first varsity baseball season as a sophomore, Ringgold’s Travis Drusbasky got to experience something that most players never have the opportunity to. During that 2018 season, the...

The 24th annual Cager Classic might have been canceled this year, but the committee still handed out its annual scholarship awards. Two Highlands student-athletes went home with the hardware. Luke Cochran and Sarah Sawhook were awarded $500 scholarships after submitting essays on the topic, “Nothing Ever Ends Well in Sports,...

Baseball has been a fixture in Dom Popa’s life since he was a little kid, and even though he had his senior year taken away from him, baseball won’t be leaving his life any time soon. Last summer, Popa committed to continuing his baseball career at Pitt, following in the...

The most successful girls soccer coach in Pennsylvania history is on the move. On Thursday, Central Valley announced via Twitter that former Hopewell coach Bill Pfeifer was being hired as the new girls soccer coach for the Warriors. The Central Valley Athletic Department would like to welcome our newly hired...

The Highlands Golden Rams are making the most of their quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday, Eastbay announced the winners of its “Never Not An Athlete” promotion. It challenged schools and their athletes to take photos or videos that described how they are never not an athlete and share...

Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Vincentian Academy is set to close its doors at the end of the school year. So after senior Jared Katz watched the boys basketball team win the WPIAL Class...

Avonworth’s Trevor Faulkner was hoping to be a quarterback, but the 6-foot-5, 225-pounder made the switch to tight end last season, when the Antelopes reached the PIAA Class 2A championship game. At the time, Faulkner was focusing on the transition to his new position, not on college scholarships. He ended...

Drexel softball coach Carl Taylor remembers seeing former Canon-McMillan shortstop Linda Rush for the first time. Taylor admitted a college coach normally wouldn’t want to recruit a player based solely on a video, but that wasn’t the case for Rush. He came across her recruitment video on Youtube and while...

Editor’s note: This is the last in an 18-part series profiling nominees for the Westmoreland County Scholar-Athlete Excellence Awards. Yough seniors Steven Manon and Sara Krofcheck were no strangers to hard work. They used work ethic and determination to excel on the athletic field and in the classroom, making them...

Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. When Waynesburg senior Luke Robinson was younger, he was always playing with the older kids. His brother Hunter had started playing baseball a few years before him, so when...

Mt. Lebanon baseball coach Pat McCloskey was exchanging texts back and forth with a former player on a random Monday night. Out of the blue, that former player, who just happened to be Chicago Cubs utility man Ian Happ, asked if the longtime Blue Devils coach could set up a...

Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Logan Young was hoping to have a standout season across the board in his final year at Moon. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Carnegie Mellon football commit had already done so...

The Riverhounds are back on the field. Not fully, but the Riverhounds will take what they can get as members of the team returned to their facilities Monday in small groups while following league protocol and local health guidelines. “It’s good to have (the players) back,” Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley...

Editor’s note: This is the 15th in an 18-part series profiling nominees for the Westmoreland County Scholar-Athlete Excellence Awards. During their high school careers at Penn-Trafford, Gabe Dunlap and Corina Paszek were the definition of excellence on the athletic field and in the classroom. Dunlap went down as one of...

Alex Stobert has had quite a journey through college. The former Knoch pitcher who helped the Knights capture WPIAL and PIAA titles in 2015 — throwing 26 scoreless innings out of 27 during the PIAA postseason — has made the rounds. After playing at Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College for two...