Michael Love stories, Page 95
Fox Chapel strikeouts specialist Borkovich exceeding expectations
Mackenzie Borkovich logged most of the pitching innings as a freshman for Fox Chapel in 2019. She hoped to make a jump last year as the Foxes sought a return to the WPIAL playoffs after a one-year hiatus. But the covid-related cancellation of the 2020 season dashed all hopes for...
WPIAL tennis season heats up for A-K Valley trio, Section 3-AA teams
The Alle-Kiski Valley will be well-represented Tuesday at the WPIAL Class AA singles championships as Highlands senior Gabe Norris and Valley sophomore Nicholas Bussard and senior Thomas Albert will take to the court at Shady Side Academy. For the 10th-seeded Norris, the No. 1 singles player for the Golden Rams,...
Ambridge takes over as Class AA No. 1 in latest WPIAL volleyball coaches rankings
The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its Week 3 boys volleyball rankings Monday morning, and for the second week in a row, there is a new team at the top of Class AA. Ambridge, on the strength of a 3-2 win over rival North Catholic in a Section 1-AA...
Clark brothers bolster lineup for Gateway tennis
David Clark loves the competition on the tennis court with twin brother, Nathan. Nathan is the No. 1 singles player for the Gateway boys tennis team, but David is not far behind at No. 2. “It’s definitely competitive, but it drives us,” said David Clark, who wrestled for the Gators...
Gateway boys lacrosse developing young roster
With 19 seniors and a high level of experience up and down the lineup, the 2019 Gateway boys lacrosse team made history. With the highest-ever playoff seed (No. 7), the Gators hosted a playoff game for the first time and rolled past Sewickley Academy before falling to No. 2 Hampton...
Pine-Richland’s Spencer wins 1st Willie Thrower Memorial Award
Chuck Curtis played football for the New York Giants in 1957 before beginning a football coaching career that lasted for 30 years. He coached as an assistant at Southern Methodist University in the mid-1960s and helped play a part in giving more black student-athletes the chance to get recruited to...
Plum, Riverview graduates shine at college level
Cal Fisher continues to produce for the Penn State men’s volleyball team. Earlier this week, the Riverview graduate was named the Off the Block National Opposite (Hitter) of the week for his play in the Nittany Lions’ weekend series at nationally ranked George Mason. Fisher led Penn State, ranked No....
Plum boys volleyball aims for success under new leadership
The Plum boys volleyball team is hopeful for a run at a berth in the WPIAL playoffs this spring, and the Mustangs will go after it in a new classification with a new coach at the helm. It is a rebirth of sorts for the team, which now calls Class...
Little things add up for Freeport softball in win over Highlands
Freeport third baseman Autumn Powell grounded out to second base for the first out of the second inning of Friday’s Section 1-4A opener at Highlands. The grounder scored catcher Natalie King, who had walked and moved to third on a pair of wild pitches. The small-ball run was a humble...
Alle-Kiski high school softball notebook: Fox Chapel-Burrell provides pitchers’ duel
Spectators at the March 29 nonsection game between Fox Chapel and Burrell were treated to a double pitching gem. Foxes junior Mackenzie Borkovich and Burrell softball Katie Armstrong dueled for 10 innings before Fox Chapel won in the bottom of the 10th, 1-0, on a throwing error. Borkovich, who shook...
Freeport’s Borghol overcomes back issues to make triumphant softball return
Maya Borghol hit a home run in a March 23 scrimmage against Kiski Area. The trip around the bases, the Freeport senior center fielder said, was confirmation the power she displayed during a breakout freshman season still was there. Lingering issues after back surgery in 2018 took away most of...
Kiski Area blanks Greensburg Salem on opening night of PIHL playoffs
The Kiski Area hockey team is headed back to the PIHL Penguins Cup Class A semifinals. For the second year in a row, the No. 2 Cavaliers will play in the final four after posting a 5-0 victory over No. 7 Greensburg Salem in a quarterfinal contest Monday at Belmont...
North Catholic takes over Class AA top spot in latest WPIAL coaches boys volleyball rankings
The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its Week 2 boys volleyball rankings Monday morning, and there is a change at the top in Class AA. North Catholic, No. 3 in last week’s top 10 poll, has taken over the No. 1 position, unseating Seton LaSalle. The teams went head-to-head...
BMC Cheer Team Rampage wins national championship
The BMC Cheer Team Rampage based out of Brandy Marie Gymnastics in Sarver captured a national championship title at the Encore Championships Pittsburgh Division I and II event March 20 and 21 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The team performed routines for judges both days in the L2...
Renewed hope takes over for Gateway track and field athletes
Gateway track and field head coach Tom LaBuff is used to spending the spring coaching Gators athletes to top finishes at meets and invitationals. So, it took some time for him, his fellow Gateway coaches and the athletes to process last spring’s season cancellation by the PIAA amid growing covid...
Valley News Dispatch Girls Basketball Player of the Year: Plum’s Kennedie Montue
Valley News Dispatch Girls Basketball Player of the Year Kennedie Montue, Plum 5-11, Sr., Forward In Plum’s season-opening win over Mars, Kennedie Montue scored 29 points. Two nights later, she scored 30 as the Mustangs nearly upended Upper St. Clair. Montue then hit for 30 as Plum rolled past Kiski...
Riverview track and field athletes aim to maintain section success
After being denied an opportunity to compete and defend section championships last spring, members of the Riverview boys and girls track and field teams got back to competition March 27 at the Altoona Igloo Invitational. It was the first glimpse of what Riverview coach Dave Illnicki hopes are productive seasons....
Infusion of young talent boosts Valley softball
While there are many things Valley softball coach Carrol Perroz is concentrating on this season, planning a senior-day ceremony isn’t one of them. A youthful Vikings squad will take the field made up primarily of sophomores and freshmen. There are no seniors and just one junior is on the 17-player...
Valley baseball builds momentum with experienced lineup
When looking for silver linings in what was an otherwise frustrating turn of events with the sudden cancellation of high school sports last spring, Valley baseball coach Jim Basilone knew that he would have nine players returning with varsity experience gained in either 2018 or ’19. Now, with the 2021...
PIHL sets brackets for Penguins Cup playoffs
After a most unprecedented regular season with more changes and ups and downs than one can count, the PIHL has reached the Penguins Cup varsity playoffs. The brackets for the Class AAA, Class AA and Class A and Class B tournaments have been revealed, and quarterfinal games throughout the region...
Senior duo excited to lead young St. Joseph softball squad into battle
Seniors Kelsey DuVall and Kassandra O’Hara own varsity starting experience, and that experience, along with their leadership, is being called upon to help guide a group of eight freshman on a roster of 11 for the St. Joseph softball team this spring. “We kind of know how each other works...
St. Joseph baseball ready to cut loose after canceled season
Only one senior was lost from the 2019 St. Joseph baseball team that finished 8-8 overall and suffered a heartbreaking 7-6 loss to Union in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class A playoffs. Expectations were high for the Spartans entering last season, but all of the hopes and goals were...
Springdale baseball eager to ‘meet any challenge’
After winning just two games in 2019, the Springdale baseball team had high hopes to move up the ladder last year with an experienced group. But the covid pandemic squashed those hopes before they had the chance to be realized. Now back on the field, the Dynamos are working to...
Springdale softball looks to build on success of breakthrough season
There was a great deal of excitement surrounding the Springdale softball team after a rather youthful group posted 13 wins in 17 games and made the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class A playoffs in 2019. That run came after the program posted 15 wins in the previous nine seasons combined....
Volleyball coaches association releases WPIAL Week 1 poll
Several WPIAL boys volleyball teams kicked off the 2021 spring season with matches Friday and Saturday. Picking up wins were North Catholic, Hopewell, Mars, Butler, South Fayette, Seton LaSalle and Seneca Valley. Seven nonsection games are on the docket this evening, and section play for Class AAA begins Tuesday. The...
