Michael Love stories, Page 123
Deer Lakes girls break into win column with double-digit triumph
Something had to give Monday between the Deer Lakes and Burrell girls basketball teams after both had suffered a pair of losses in tip-off tournaments over the weekend. Led by the 1-2 punch of senior Makayla Blair and sophomore Reese Hasley, the Lancers were the ones to get into the...
Deer Lakes’ Morrison leads strong cast of returning A-K Valley swimmers, divers
Adam Morrison is the hunted. The Deer Lakes senior swimmer made his mark last March at the WPIAL Class AA championships at Pitt’s Trees Pool by winning the boys 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4 minutes, 40.05 seconds. He followed the WPIAL gold in the 500 with a third...
Highlands boys basketball storms past GatewayVideo
For the second time in as many nights, the Highlands boys basketball team defended its home court in dominating fashion. On Friday, the Golden Rams raced past Armstrong for a 21-point victory. It was more of the same Saturday as Highlands built a 15-point lead early in the second quarter...
Starting 5: A guide to the A-K Valley girls high school basketball season
STORYLINES 1. New leadership A trio of teams – Apollo-Ridge, Cheswick Christian and Fox Chapel – hope to make playoff runs again this season under the direction of new head coaches. Jacque Willis, 22, takes over a veteran Cheswick girls program. Mike Montstrola, a Plum graduate who most recently coached...
Burrell’s Allie Vescio named Valley News Dispatch Girls Soccer Player of the Year
Valley News Dispatch Girls Soccer Player of the Year Allie Vescio Burrell, senior, forward Versatility is a calling card for Allie Vescio. The Burrell senior entered 2019 preseason practices as a defender with a mind for creating offensive opportunities. A change in the team’s on-field structure during the preseason moved...
Playoff near-misses motivate Riverview girlsVideo
The Riverview girls basketball team suffered heartbreak two seasons ago with a buzzer-beating, one-point loss to Serra Catholic in the first round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs. The Raiders were the No. 12 seed that day, but they came within an eyelash of pulling off the upset. Last season,...
With struggles behind them, Riverview boys again thinking playoffsVideo
The Riverview boys basketball team last earned a trip to the WPIAL playoffs in 2015. The Raiders have experienced their share of hard times since then. But the team made strides in the win column last year, and with several players with starting experience back, the optimistic expectation that Riverview...
A-K Valley campus clippings: Apollo-Ridge graduate shines for Carlow basketball
Megan Ost is making the most of her early-season opportunities for the Carlow women’s basketball team. The Apollo-Ridge graduate and sophomore forward with the Celtics owns six double-digit scoring efforts through eight games. Ost had a season-best 23 points to go with 10 rebounds in Tuesday’s 63-39 victory over Penn...
IUP men’s basketball moves up to No. 6 in national poll
The Indiana University of Pennsylvania men’s basketball team is undefeated through five games, and it moved up two spots to No. 6 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II poll released Tuesday afternoon. IUP is the only Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference team ranked in this week’s poll. The...
Cal (Pa.) women’s basketball No. 9 in latest national poll; IUP moves up to No. 15
The Cal (Pa.) women’s basketball team has moved into the top 10 of the latest Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 Coaches’ Poll released Tuesday afternoon. The Vulcans, 7-0 overall and 2-0 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, ticked up four spots to No. 9. They have been featured in...
Robert Morris coach Bernard Clark Jr. finalist for national award
Robert Morris announced Monday that Colonials football coach Bernard Clark Jr. is a finalist for the STATS Eddie Robinson Award. The honor is presented annually to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision’s Coach of the Year. A national group of more than 150 writers, broadcasters and others will select the winner,...
Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons finalist for Butkus Award
The Butkus Award is presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate linebacker, and Penn State sophomore Micah Parsons is one of six finalists for this year’s honor. The finalists were announced Monday, and Wisconsin’s Zack Baun, Texas Tech’s Jordyn Brooks, Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons, California’s Evan Weaver and Wyoming’s Logan Wilson...
A-K Valley residents fare well at annual karate championship tournament
It was a celebration of martial arts throughout Pennsylvania and beyond as hundreds of competitors from across the state and throughout the country descended on Valley High School earlier this month for the 47th annual Pennsylvania Karate Championships. Frank Caliguri, event co-organizer, said he was pleased with the spirit of...
A-K Valley Campus Clippings: Freeport grads making splash at Allegheny
Freeport graduate Zoe Soilis, a 5-foot-7 senior guard for the Allegheny women’s basketball team, she scored a career-best 34 points Thursday to lead the Gators past Penn State-Behrend, 91-82. She hit 10 of 19 field goals, including six 3-pointers. Through five games, Solis is averaging 18.3 points and 5.5 rebounds....
Schlegel leads Plum hockey team back to playoff contentionVideo
The Plum hockey team edged Hampton in a PIHL Class AA contest Nov. 11 for its fourth win in its opening six games. The Mustangs won three games last season. Senior co-captain Logan Schlegel scored twice against the Talbots. A power-play tally early in the third period broke a 2-2...
Opportunity knocks for underclassmen on Deer Lakes girls rosterVideo
Reese Hasley is confident and focused forward. On the cusp of a new season for the Deer Lakes girls basketball team, the sophomore guard said she sees a group of players who can contend for a WPIAL playoff spot despite losing four multiyear starters to graduation. “We’re a young team,...
After a season to remember, Deer Lakes boys trying to plan an encoreVideo
The Deer Lakes boys basketball team made history last year during its school-record run to and through the postseason. The Lancers captured an outright section championship for the first time since 1992. They also won a WPIAL playoff game and qualified for the PIAA playoffs for the first time since...
Gannon hires veteran football coach to lead Knights
Gannon University has its man. Erik Raeburn, a northeast Ohio native, is the new head coach for the Knights football team. The school announced the hire at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. Raeburn is no stranger to the Gannon program as he served as the program’s offensive coordinator for the...
With new coach, veteran roster, Apollo-Ridge girls eye return trip to playoffsVideo
Mike Monstrola served as a coach for the Apollo-Ridge junior high boys basketball program last year, but he often made it a point to take in games involving the Vikings boys and girls varsity teams. So when he was hired as the new girls coach over the summer, he was...
Apollo-Ridge boys basketball looks to take one more step forward
The Apollo-Ridge boys basketball team made a leap back to prominence last year, improving by seven wins, both overall and in section play, from the year before. The Vikings were in the playoff mix until the final week of the regular season. But a pair of section losses, including one...
Freeport, Knoch volleyball teams reflect on PIAA runs
Only 16 high school girls volleyball teams were left standing last Tuesday as the four classifications moved to the semifinal round of the PIAA playoffs. Freeport and Knoch were in the mix and hoped to return to the finals where they captured gold in 2017. However, their postseason runs were...
PIAA Class AA volleyball finals primer: North Catholic vs. North Penn-Liberty
North Penn-Liberty (22-0) vs. North Catholic (22-1) 1 p.m. Saturday, Cumberland Valley High School, Mechanicsburg Coaches: Jennifer Nawri, North Penn-Liberty; Amanda Fetter, North Catholic Players to watch: Maddison Minyo, senior, middle hitter/outside hitter, North Penn-Liberty; Dominique Felix, senior, outside hitter, North Catholic. How they got here: District 4 champion North...
PIAA Class AAAA volleyball finals primer: North Allegheny vs. Bishop Shanahan
Bishop Shanahan (23-0) vs. North Allegheny (22-1) 6 p.m. Saturday, Cumberland Valley High School, Mechanicsburg Coaches: Greg Ashman, Bishop Shanahan; Heidi Miller, North Allegheny Players to watch: Abby Miller, senior, setter/opposite, North Allegheny; Cara Shultz, senior, outside hitter, Bishop Shanahan. How they got here: District 1 champion Bishop Shanahan defeated...
A-K Valley campus clippings: Plum’s Peyton Kondis excels for Houston
Peyton Kondis is off to another strong start with the Houston women’s swim team. The Plum resident and Oakland Catholic graduate was named American Athletic Conference Swimmer of the Week after winning the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke and helping the 200 and 400 medley relays win in a dual meet...
Fox Chapel’s Fitch, Sisson named A-K Valley cross country runners of year
Fox Chapel seniors Christian Fitch and Grace Sisson were selected as the Alle-Kiski cross country runners of the year as a part of the 2019 All-Star teams. The all-star recognition, which includes teams and coaches of the year, as well as first-team, second-team and honorable mention-selections, is a collaborative effort...
