Michael Love stories, Page 59
Gateway wrestlers aim for postseason success
Arontay Heningcamp broke out last year for the Gateway wrestling team. After winning just five of 11 matches as a sophomore, he rose to the occasion and went 25-11 at 113 pounds and qualified for WPIALs where he produced a 2-2 mark. Now, as a new season ramps up, the...
Gateway’s Hunter Raymer ready to defend WPIAL swimming title
Hunter Raymer entered his high school freshman season last December already experienced in a number of high-level club swim meets. So when it came time to deliver at the WPIAL championships in early March, he was ready. And he was golden. Raymer, also a prominent member of the local Racer-X...
Deer Lakes’ Ryan Hanes named 2022 Valley News Dispatch Boys Soccer Player of the Year
Postseason honors have been piling up for Deer Lakes senior Ryan Hanes. The WPIAL Class 2A Player of the Year was selected to the All-WPIAL team for a second straight year and picked to the all-state team last week. Now, he can add another postseason award to the list. The...
Plum’s Kaitlyn Killinger named 2022 Valley News Dispatch Girls Soccer Player of the Year
Kaitlyn Killinger works with a girl in her neighborhood, a member of the Plum youth soccer program, on several aspects of the game. “She tells her mom all the time about me and how she looks up to me,” said Killinger, who recently completed a standout four-year varsity career with...
Freshman Stephens banks in 3-pointer at buzzer to lift Plum girls to win over Freeport
The bank was open late for Riley Stephens, and the Plum freshman made a deposit she won’t soon forget. Stephens’ 3-point shot at the buzzer deflected off glass and went in to give the Mustangs a come-from-behind 49-48 victory over Freeport on Friday in the second game of the Freeport...
Starting 5: A primer for high school hoops season in the A-K Valley
The WPIAL basketball season opens Friday. Here are some of the top players, teams and storylines to watch this winter in the A-K Valley. Boys 5 players to watch Mackey Bennis, Jr., G, Burrell: With four starters lost to graduation, including VND first-team all-star Brandon Coury (21.9 points per game),...
Kiski Valley 10U Knights celebrate Super Bowl victory
It was a productive fall season for the Kiski Valley Lancers youth football teams as three of the four made the Big East Youth Football League playoffs and the 10U Knights captured the championship of their division. The Knights defeated Penn-Trafford, 24-8, in the Super Bowl Nov. 5. Kiski Valley...
After 4 years of success, Plum senior soccer players cap careers in PIAA playoffs
Only one team had scored a goal against the Moon girls soccer team before the Tigers faced Plum in a PIAA Class 3A quarterfinal Nov. 12 at Peters Township’s Confluence Financial Partners Stadium. The Mustangs were up for the challenge and put the first goal on the board within the...
Gateway hockey selects trio for 2022 Honor Roll
The 50th anniversary year of the inaugural season of Gateway hockey will culminate Dec. 26 with the program’s annual alumni event at Palmer Imaging Arena in Delmont. Alumni president Stefan Biancaniello said the organization is proud to welcome three former Gators players to the Gateway Honor Roll in 2022. The...
Gateway football players earn postseason honors
The Upper St. Clair football team was to take on Pine-Richland at Norwin on Saturday for the WPIAL Class 5A title. In its journey to the championship game, the No. 5 Panthers survived a razor-thin quarterfinal game against No. 4 Gateway on Nov. 4 at Gateway’s Antimarino Stadium. The Gators...
Freeport sweeps York Catholic to claim PIAA Class 2A girls volleyball crown
MECHANICSBURG — Josie Russo celebrated her 17th birthday Saturday, and she couldn’t have asked for a better gift. The Freeport junior middle hitter’s block at match point against District 3 champion York Catholic closed out a 3-0 sweep of the Fighting Irish at Cumberland Valley High School and gave the...
Freeport’s run to PIAA volleyball finals gives junior middle hitter chance to get back on court
Autumn English was a key part of the Freeport girls volleyball team’s early-season surge and its rise to the No. 1 spot in the Class 2A state rankings. It then all came apart for the junior middle hitter. English broke a bone in her foot near her ankle during warmups...
Players selected for We Serve First All-Star Classic girls volleyball event
The inaugural We Serve First All-Star Classic girls volleyball event will be Dec. 10 at Kiski Area High School, and the 36 seniors set to take part have been selected. They represent 16 schools in the Alle-Kiski Valley and surrounding communities: Apollo-Ridge, Armstrong, Burrell, Deer Lakes, Franklin Regional, Freeport, Hampton,...
Freeport girls volleyball team outlasts Philipsburg-Osceola, reaches state final
A pair of district champions battled for five games Wednesday at Punxsutawney High School with a trip to the PIAA Class 2A girls volleyball championship on the line. In a packed gym, a boisterous crowd saw District 6 champion Philipsburg-Osceola deliver the first shot with a dominant win in Game...
Pitt’s the pick for Riverview scoring sensation Lola Abraham
Riverview junior Lola Abraham has put together an impressive resume of on-field soccer results the past several years with her Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy club and with her high school teammates. She now hopes that she can do the same thing at Pitt. Abraham has concluded her recruiting process with a...
Experienced lineup, drop to Class 3A could spark Burrell girls
The Burrell girls basketball team was on the move in the offseason, dropping down to Class 3A. Bucs coach Shaun Reddick hopes that change can be one of a few sparks for the team as it hopes to improve on last year’s 4-15 overall record and 4-8 mark in section...
Burrell boys eye return to postseason after dropping to Class 3A
A new section with new opponents in a new classification doesn’t change the goals of the Burrell boys basketball team. That’s the view of fourth-year Bucs coach Mike Fantuzzo, who hopes to guide this year’s group to a return trip to the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs. Burrell, like all the...
With roster intact from playoff team, Apollo-Ridge girls expect big season
Not a single member of last year’s Apollo-Ridge girls basketball team was lost to graduation. The youthful Vikings capped a 16-7 overall season with a trip to the WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals and a berth in the PIAA tournament. With everyone back, energy and anticipation is high for the upcoming...
Excitement building for boys basketball season at Apollo-Ridge
The Apollo-Ridge boys basketball team started last season with three wins over its first five games. Then injury and other misfortune conspired against the Vikings, who lost 14 of their final 15 games to finish 4-18 overall and 3-9 in section play. That was then, 6-foot-4 senior guard/forward Gage Johnston...
Freeport volleyball team prepares for state semifinal matchup
Normally, team banquets are designated for the end of a high school season when the program looks back at all its accomplishments. The Freeport volleyball team held its team banquet Sunday. While coach Tom Phillips said the evening was a perfect time for fellowship and reflection on what the Yellowjackets...
Gateway’s Kefimba Cisse strong cross country season comes to close at PIAA meet
Kefimba Cisse began his cross country season by winning the Gateway Invitational in early September at Boyce Park. The Gateway junior concluded it Nov. 5 in the Class 3A boys race at the PIAA championships in Hershey. It was a season of progress and a breakout effort of sorts for...
Gateway’s Madi Jesih ready to continue soccer career at Robert Morris
Madi Jesih dreamed for many years of an opportunity in soccer beyond high school. The dream was put into action with work on and off the field and play with the Hotspurs club team and with Gateway through her senior season this fall. Now, Jesih said, the work really begins...
Riverview runners finish 5th at PIAA championships
The WPIAL represented itself well in the PIAA Class A boys cross country championship meet in Hershey on Nov. 5. All four qualifying teams, including Riverview, were near the top of the standings. Winchester Thurston was third, followed by Eden Christian, the Raiders in fifth, and Our Lady of the...
After capturing 4 section titles, Plum seniors cap high school careers in PIAA playoffs
For the first time in 17 years, the Plum varsity boys soccer team played in a PIAA tournament game. Mustangs coach Raf Kolankowski said his players gave great effort against District 10 champion Cathedral Prep, but the homestanding Ramblers made enough plays to defeat Plum, 2-0, in the PIAA Class...
Hailey Longwell’s hat trick lifts Moon past Plum, sets up rematch with Mars
In rainy and chilly conditions at Peters Township, Moon put a damper on Plum’s attempt to unseat the undefeated Tigers in a PIAA Class 3A girls soccer quarterfinal Saturday afternoon. Moon, the WPIAL champion, broke a halftime tie on a trio of goals from senior midfielder Hailey Longwell and closed...
