Michael Love stories, Page 38
Kiski Area girls hold off late push by St. Joseph to bounce back from loss
The Kiski Area girls basketball team bounced back from a tough loss to Armstrong Saturday and handed St. Joseph its first loss of the young season with a 44-35 victory Tuesday in a nonsection clash at Kiski Area High School. “It was nice to come back and get a good...
Plum girls basketball team starts season with victory over Freeport
Last year’s girls basketball season opener between Plum and Freeport at the Freeport Tip-Off Tournament went down to the wire with Mustangs combo guard/forward Riley Stephans hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer in her freshman varsity debut. Plum didn’t need any late-game heroics in Friday’s rematch with the Yellowjackets at...
Burrell’s 1st girls wrestling team ready to debut
With high school girls wrestling growing at such a rapid rate in Pennsylvania and throughout the country, Burrell didn’t want to be left on the outside looking in. Burrell is the latest area school to give an affirmative vote to sponsor a girls wrestling program, having finalized the decision at...
Riverview boys basketball rolls past Valley in opener behind Jack Loughren’s 18 points
Jack Loughren missed all of last year’s basketball season with a leg injury. The Riverview senior guard felt good in his return to game action Friday at the Freeport Tip-Off at Freeport Middle School. Loughren scored 18 points and added eight rebounds to help pace a balanced effort as the...
Starting 5: A primer for 2023-24 boys basketball season in the A-K Valley
The WPIAL boys basketball season opens Friday. Here are some of the top storylines, teams and players to watch this season in the Alle-Kiski Valley 5 Storylines New faces at the top: Four teams — Freeport (Rich Macura), Leechburg (Andrew McDermott), St. Joseph (Logan Acri) and Valley (Ed Jenkins) —...
Starting 5: A primer for 2023-24 girls basketball season in the A-K Valley
The WPIAL girls basketball season opens Friday. Here are some of the top storylines, teams and players to watch this season in the Alle-Kiski Valley” 5 storylines New bench leaders: Apollo-Ridge (Jeff Zelonka), Freeport (Mallory Ketterer), Knoch (Shane McGraw), St. Joseph (Geoff Dutelle) and Springdale (Mike Dudjak) begin the season...
Loaded St. Joseph girls basketball team has eye on WPIAL finals
For the second straight year, the St. Joseph girls basketball team reached the WPIAL Class A semifinals. Two years ago, the Spartans pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent memory, taking down No. 1 Rochester, a three-time defending WPIAL champion, in the quarterfinals. Last year, St. Joseph didn’t...
Underdog status doesn’t keep St. Joseph boys basketball team from aiming high
Charlie Ross hopes to be a central figure in St. Joseph boys basketball’s attempt this season to return to the WPIAL Class A playoffs. The only player back with varsity experience from last year’s Spartans squad which went o 8-14 overall and 2-8 in Section 3-A, Ross said he sees...
Gateway wrestling team bolstered by deep collection of athletes
When Ryan Sula looked out on the mat in the Gateway wrestling room during an early-season workout, he saw more than two dozen wrestlers taking part in drills, the most in his eight years as the Gators’ coach. The numbers and the enthusiasm for Gateway wrestling encourages Sula who hopes...
Riverview’s Lola Abraham named Valley News Dispatch girls soccer player of year
Player of the year Lola Abraham Riverview, senior, forward Not often during the 2023 season did an opposing team slow down Riverview senior forward Lola Abraham. Teams thought they had the Pitt soccer commit contained, but she then would erupt and damage their chances at victory. Abraham finished her final...
Kiski Area girls raring to go after snapping playoff drought
Abbie Johns has her plans set for next season as the Kiski Area senior recently signed a National Letter of Intent to join the women’s basketball team at Shippensburg. A Section 1-5A first-team all-star and Valley News Dispatch first-team selection, Johns is one of four starters back from a team...
Kiski Area boys look to build off near-upset in WPIAL playoffs
As the No. 14 seed for last year’s WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball tournament, Kiski Area was a decided underdog against a North Hills team searching for its first WPIAL title. On paper, that is. The Cavaliers didn’t back down from the formidable challenge. They led North Hills into the...
Plum’s Jamie Seneca helps Gannon soccer advance in PSAC Tournament
The Gannon women’s soccer team’s potent offense was on display in a 4-2 victory over Slippery Rock in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference quarterfinal game Nov. 6, and Plum graduate Jamie Seneca played a big part in the Golden Knights’ victory. Seneca, a junior midfielder, capped off the scoring for...
Gateway girls ready to turn corner after challenging seasons
Senior Anayla Jordan had an optimistic tone when asked about the prospects for this year’s Gateway girls basketball team. The lone starter back from a team that fought through challenges last year and finished with a 4-18 overall mark and an 0-12 record in Section 1-5A, Jordan said the players...
Gateway boys aim to continue trend of PIAA playoff appearances
Members of the Gateway boys basketball team were outdoors on the football stadium track last week for a series of conditioning runs just a couple of days before the start of official preseason practices. Gators coach Alvis Rogers said endurance in games will be key for his players as they...
Plum, Riverview athletes ink plans for college careers
For many high school seniors throughout the WPIAL, Nov. 8 was the culmination of years or hard work, dedication and determination. It also was a celebration as those athletes were able to finalize their decisions to continue on in their chosen path to the next level. National letter of intent...
Delco Christian stops Charleroi in Class A state title game
Something had to give when Charleroi and District 1’s Delco Christian met to decide the PIAA Class A boys soccer championship Saturday afternoon at Cumberland Valley’s Eagle View Middle School in Mechanicsburg. Both the Knights and the Cougars came in seeking their first state title. The teams also reached the...
Riverview settles for silver after falling to Dock Mennonite in PIAA Class A girls soccer final
MECHANICSBURG — The Riverview girls soccer team’s history-making postseason run ended one win short of PIAA gold. District 1 champion Dock Mennonite (21-1-2) scored twice in the in the first half and three more times over the final 40 minutes to finish off a 5-1 victory in the Class A...
Riverview girls soccer team ready for ‘last hurrah’ in PIAA championship game
Of the 140 PIAA schools to sponsor girls soccer at the Class A level, only two are left standing. Riverview is one of those two, and the Raiders are one win away from adding the final golden chapter to an already history-making story. Playing in its first state championship game,...
Riverview keeper Brun used trip to Belgium to expand her game, help Raiders reach state final
Chiara Brun spent last season taking classes and playing club soccer in Belgium. She would keep tabs on her Riverview soccer teammates, following their path through the section games to the WPIAL Class A playoffs. When she came back to Riverview for her junior year and her second season with...
Deer Lakes wants to build on last season’s breakthrough
Albie Fletcher was no stranger to coaching Deer Lakes boys basketball when he took over as coach last year. He knew the pieces were in place for the Lancers to make a deep run in the playoffs. They proved him so very right. Deer Lakes captured WPIAL Class 3A gold...
Deer Lakes girls working hard to build winning culture
Despite winning just five games last year, Deer Lakes was in contention for a WPIAL playoff spot in Section 3-3A down to the final day of the section schedule. A sweep of Ligonier Valley and an upset of playoff qualifier Mt. Pleasant put the Lancers in a winner-take-all game at...
Players announced for 2nd annual We Serve First All-Star Classic girls volleyball event
After a successful inaugural We Serve First Foundation all-star girls volleyball event last year, many involved in the sport locally are gearing up for this year’s festivities Dec. 2 at Kiski Area High School. Seniors from throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley and other schools in the region have been selected to...
Lola Abraham does it again, scoring 4 to send Riverview to state championship game
The Riverview girls soccer team’s second trip to the Johnstown area in a week’s time was just as successful as the first. Senior Lola Abraham tallied all four goals for the Raiders in a 4-1 victory over District 6 champion Bishop Guilfoyle on Tuesday in a PIAA Class A semifinal...
Apollo-Ridge boys basketball relishes health this season
The Apollo-Ridge boys basketball team hoped to be in the Section 3-3A mix last year, but injuries before and during the season quickly scuttled those plans. The injury bug bit the team a couple of months before the season as then-junior Karter Schrock, who started for the Vikings as a...
