Michael Love stories, Page 56

Dannika Susko has taken a detour this summer in her preparation for her senior season with the Plum girls volleyball team. The 2021 All-WPIAL Class 3A honoree suffered a torn hamstring tendon during the early minutes of a WPIAL girls lacrosse playoff game against Hampton on May 18. “That kind...

When South Buffalo Township’s Debbie Daugherty and Newmarket, Canada’s Deb Butt met at the 1996 Freeport International Baseball Invitational, a friendship sparked that has stood the test of time. Their sons played on the fields throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley, and the now-longtime friends sat in the bleachers and got to...

Pebble Beach and Beach Glass have developed quite a rivalry in the 3-year-old colt pacing division this year. They last raced in the same field in June at the North American Cup, and Pebble Beach prevailed that day. Beach Glass claimed victory at the Meadowlands Pace on July 16, but...

Citing growth in his real estate career, particularly as it pertains to increased responsibilities in the spring housing market, Aaron Albert resigned Wednesday as Kiski Area head baseball coach after four seasons with the program. Albert publicly announced his decision Wednesday afternoon with a post on Twitter. In it, he...

A language barrier of varying height stood between members of the baseball team from France and those on a team consisting of players from Springdale, Highlands, Deer Lakes and Valley as they met Tuesday afternoon at Springdale High School as part of the Freeport International Baseball Invitational. Between the lines,...

The Freeport International Baseball Invitational is back this week, and dozens of games over the next five days are scheduled on fields throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley. A highlight of the 28th annual event is a team from France, which will play a series of games as part of a tour...

The Burrell wrestling team continued its high level of success this past season with a 19th consecutive section championship, another appearance in the WPIAL Class 2A title match, a trip to the PIAA tournament and several individual standout performances at the section, WPIAL, regional and state levels. Bucs head coach...

Temperatures already were making their way through the mid 70s as the first morning race went off at the annual Monroeville Invitational swim meet July 16 at Garden City Swim Club. More than 200 swimmers ages 5 to 18 from four area clubs — Haymaker, Gateway Heights, Park and Garden...

Nearly perfect weather conditions greeted runners and spectators alike Friday evening as the 11th Fleet Feet Liberty Mile showcased quick-pace competition in Downtown Pittsburgh’s only evening road race. More than 1,300 runners of all abilities, ages 2 to 85, including a group of 20 elite pro-milers, were challenged to run...

A dozen 3-year-old male pacers, including Pepsi North American Cup champion Pebble Beach, will compete Saturday in a pair of eliminations as part of the 56th Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. Pebble Beach, who will run in competition for the first time...

After several successful seasons as the head women’s basketball coach at IUP, Tom McConnell has announced he has retired from the position. The move takes effect next month. “Recently, I have been praying and thoughtfully considering my future, and with great clarity and peace, I have decided that it is...

Paul Palo didn’t need to have the Springdale boys soccer players fill out name-tag stickers when he took over as the Dynamos coach earlier this year. The Springdale graduate served eight seasons as an assistant and the JV coach under veteran Dynamos coach Cesareo Sanchez. When Sanchez decided to step...

Robbie Mertz once again will suit up and play for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. The Hounds announced Wednesday that the midfielder, Pittsburgh native, and Upper St. Clair graduate is returning through a transfer agreement with Atlanta United II. The transfer must meet USL and U.S. Soccer Federation approval before it is...

Michael Turconi is among the latest Western Pennsylvania products to be selected in the 2022 MLB Draft. The Blackhawk graduate and redshirt junior on the Wake Forest baseball team was drafted Tuesday afternoon by the Toronto Blue Jays with the No. 458 pick in the 15th round. Turconi follows a...

Preseason practices for the girls soccer season at Highlands begin in less than a month, and Matt Skoda said there is much work to be done before that first official workout. The veteran high school soccer coach recently was hired to head the Golden Rams program, and, he said, he...

When it became official last month that Plum will sanction a girls wrestling program, Saphia Davis was excited, but she was not 100% sure of the validity of the news. “When my dad told me the news, I was like, ‘Are you joking with me?’ But he was being serious,...

Matt Brooks struck up a strong connection while talking with new Duquesne defensive line coach Reggie Wells Jr. But the Gateway rising senior and two-way standout lineman said he didn’t know that Wells played in the NFL as an offensive lineman for 10 years with the Arizona Cardinals, was a...

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds have their new president. Jeff Garner, a 1999 Robert Morris graduate, returns to the Pittsburgh area to head up the organization. The Riverhounds announced the hiring of the veteran sports executive Thursday. Garner owns experience both in the USL Championship and in the Western Pennsylvania market. “We’re...

Amanda Noel is three months into her new role as Springdale athletic director, and she said she is equally as excited with what has been accomplished so far and with what is yet to come as the fall sports season begins in less than a month. “Our coaches and athletes...

For the first time in several years, an international team will join the fun for the 28th annual Freeport International Baseball Invitational. FIBI president Chuck Sarver and vice president Dave Brestensky said the arrival of a team from France will add to the excitement and anticipation of what should be...

Editor’s note: The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized July 15 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. On the heels of a breakout freshman season when he led the...

When Krista Pietropola decided to transfer out of Youngstown State’s women’s basketball program after her freshman year in 2015, Bobby McGraw was quick to reach out to the Plum graduate. Pietropola and McGraw first made a connection during Pietropola’s college recruiting process in what was McGraw’s final year as an...

Editor’s note: The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized July 15 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. Cadin Olsen passed for more yards in 2021 than every quarterback in...

Courtney Jackson broke out on the field for the Syracuse football team in 2021. The Gateway graduate and redshirt freshman receiver and kick returner appeared in all 12 games with eight starts for the Orange and led the team in receptions (37) and yards (389). He caught three touchdowns and...

2022 Valley News Dispatch Baseball All-Stars Player of the Year Justin Brannagan Deer Lakes, Sr., P/INF Justin Brannagan had a propensity this year for coming up big in clutch playoff scenarios. In February, Deer Lakes trailed Blackhawk by one point in the final seconds of a WPIAL Class 4A first-round...