Michael Love stories, Page 37
Megan Marston scores 1,000th career point to lead Plum girls past Woodland Hills
The Plum girls basketball team entered the New Year hoping to get back on the winning track after three straight losses to close out 2023. The Mustangs got what they were looking for as they improved to 3-0 in Section 1-5A on Tuesday with a 53-43 victory at Woodland Hills....
2023 in A-K Valley sports: High school athletes make their championship dreams come true
The year 2023 will long be remembered for many monumental happenings, from a landmark announcement by the PIAA to A-K Valley athletes’ accomplishments and championship performances and teams bringing home gold at the district, regional and state levels. Athletes again were able to pay off many hours of dedication and...
Kiski Area swimmers won’t rest on laurels
Landon Seman remembers it well. The current senior and the other three members of the Kiski Area boys 400-yard freestyle relay — junior Justin Tucker and graduates Parker Sterlitz and Levi Hansen — knew what they needed to do to overtake Indiana in the Class 2A team standings and wrap...
A-K Valley girls basketball notebook: Injuries pose another challenge for Fox Chapel
Fox Chapel coach Marty Matvey said his team had a strong offseason and had designs on claiming a section championship after just missing the playoffs a year ago. But after injuries to a pair of seniors – Sarah Slember and Skye Byrnes – Matvey has retooled the Foxes lineup as...
Valley defensive lineman Ballard signs to play football at Division I Buffalo
Demetrius Ballard was a focus of many offensive game plans during his senior season on the Valley defensive line. The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder wreaked havoc in the trenches and in backfields, often garnering double and triple teams to try to neutralize his strength and quickness. The Valley News Dispatch first-team all-star...
Indiana pulls away from Kiski Area girls in 2nd quarter to win section opener
The Kiski Area girls basketball team hoped to stop a two-game losing skid, which included a one-point loss to Mars last Friday, as it opened Section 1-5A play Tuesday against defending section champion Indiana. But the visiting Indians had other plans. Senior guard Bella Antonacci, a section all-star last year,...
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC schedule set for 2024 season
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC will open the 2024 USL Championship schedule on the road at New Mexico United in Albuquerque March 9. The team then will begin the home portion of its 25th anniversary season against Orange County on March 16 at Highmark Stadium. The Hounds, winners of the 2023 Players’...
Quartet of WPIAL players selected to all-state field hockey teams
The Pennsylvania High School Field Hockey Coaches Association recently released its 2023 all-state teams, and while a majority of the players recognized are from the eastern side of the state, four from the WPIAL were honored with spots on the lists for both Class 2A and Class 3A. Penn-Trafford senior...
Plum girls wrestlers continue growth in 1st year as PIAA sanctioned sport
When the Plum school board voted to sponsor a girls wrestling program in June 2022, it got the ball rolling for new opportunities in a district rich with wrestling tradition. Eighteen months on, 12 girls represent the Mustangs in the newly sanctioned PIAA sport. Coach Dave Miller said progress was...
Gateway sports year in review: Boys tennis team makes program history
Paced by singles standouts in sophomores Adam Memije and Zidan Hassan and freshman Logan Memije, the Gateway boys tennis team captured the program’s first WPIAL team title in 35 years with a victory over North Allegheny in the Class 3A finals May 10 at Washington & Jefferson College. The No....
A-K Valley all-time leading passer Derek Burk of Deer Lakes wins Valley News Dispatch offensive player of the year honors
Offensive player of the year Derek Burk Deer Lakes, QB, sr. When Derek Burk stepped on the field against rival Freeport in the Allegheny 6 Conference finale, he had his sights set on doing what he could to help Deer Lakes clinch a spot in the playoffs for the second...
Hard-nosed linebacker Luke Bombalski of Highlands named Valley News Dispatch defensive player of the year
Defensive player of the year Luke Bombalski Highlands, RB/LB, sr. Before Highlands’ 2023 season started, Luke Bombalski was asked what his goals were for the season. The senior two-way standout didn’t point to any type of personal success. It was team accomplishments he was focused on. A playoff win was...
2023 Valley News Dispatch high school football all-stars
Parker Anderson Knoch, OL/DL, Sr. The 6-foot-1, 260-pounder was a difference maker in the trenches for the playoff-qualifying Knights in Class 3A. He helped Knoch gain more than 3,000 total yards and collect eight victories in 11 games. Coaches in the Allegheny 6 Conference recognized him as the most valuable...
North Catholic starts section play with 20-point win vs. Highlands
With about four minutes left in the third quarter of Thursday’s Section 1-4A opener between Highlands and North Catholic, the host Golden Rams trailed by two points. Moments before, senior sharpshooter Kate Myers had drained a 3-pointer from the left wing to draw Highlands to within one possession and energize...
Burrell, Kiski Area wrestlers celebrate sport with 1st A-K Valley girls dual, latest edition of boys rivalry
The final score of the history-making girls wrestling match between Kiski Area and Burrell — the first-ever in the Alle-Kiski Valley — was won by the Cavaliers, 30-12. But the wrestlers, coaches and spectators who witnessed the match know both Kiski Area and Burrell were winners Wednesday night. “This is...
Burrell wrestling looks to start its own streak against rival Kiski Area
The Burrell wrestling team waited 10 years to get back into the win column against rival Kiski Area. The Bucs ended the decade-long losing streak to the Cavaliers in a match last season at Kiski Area High School that went down to the wire. Julian Bertucci’s pin at 121 pounds...
Gateway grad Will Kromka steps into starting lineup for Pitt-Johnstown
Will Kromka was somewhat behind the 8-ball when he began his collegiate basketball career in the fall of 2022. The Pitt-Johnstown sophomore guard and Gateway graduate suffered an ankle injury in the spring that required significant surgery. That put him on the shelf for several months and slowed his growth....
Gateway sports notebook: Boys basketball team earns pair of early-season wins
The Gateway and Allderdice boys basketball teams played close throughout their nonsection game Dec. 5 at Allderdice High School. The Gators led by three at halftime and by two at the end of the third quarter before holding on for a 56-51 victory over the Dragons. The win moved Gateway...
A-K Valley high school athletes of the week: Plum’s Megan Marston and Kiski Area’s Isaiah Gonzalez
Megan Marston Class: Senior School: Plum Sport: Basketball Report card: Marston had a hot hand for the Mustangs as they jumped out to a 3-0 start. She kicked off the season with 22 points in a 67-43 victory over Freeport at the Freeport Tip-Off. About 12 hours later, she poured...
After strong WPIAL performance, expectations remain high for Plum girls swimmers
Last year’s WPIAL Class 3A championship meet was one to remember for the Plum girls swim team. The Mustangs earned five medals — two in individual events and in all three relays — and placed 10th in a deep team standings. While seven seniors were lost to graduation from the...
Megan Marston’s hot hand helps Plum girls start 3-0
Megan Marston got off to a hot start for the Plum girls basketball team. The senior guard had a pair of 22-point efforts in wins over Freeport and Highlands at the Freeport tip-off tournament the weekend of Dec. 1. Marston then hit for 31 in helping the Mustangs (3-0) roll...
First official season for girls wrestling in Pennsylvania getting started
The date May 17, 2023, will not soon be forgotten by those who follow and have an affinity for girls wrestling locally and throughout Pennsylvania. That day, the PIAA officially sanctioned the sport, making good on its promise that if schools in the state came through and 100 or more...
Springdale continues search for new football coach
Springdale continues its search for a new football coach, and the deadline for applications, according to a post on the WPIAL website, is Wednesday. Ryan Tempalski stepped down shortly after the season concluded, ending a two-year tenure with the Dynamos. In explaining his decision, Tempalski said it was best he...
Kiski Area basketball standout finding ways to help team after 2nd torn ACL
When Kiski Area senior Isaiah Gonzalez slashed to the basket or pulled up for a mid-range jumper in Tuesday’s 58-45 victory over New Castle, Jason Flemm got excited. When Cavaliers junior Colin Keller drained one from beyond the arc or made a standout defensive play, Flemm felt the energy. When...
WPIAL well-represented on Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association girls all-state teams
WPIAL players were well-represented on the all-state girls volleyball teams released Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association. North Allegheny placed four on the Class 4A team — senior libero Avery Butcher, senior outside hitter Marin Dunaway, senior right side Jamie Frisco and senior outside hitter Kyra Schmidt. The Tigers...
