Ray Fisher stories, Page 14

Stonehill College is a private Catholic institution founded in 1948 and located in Easton, Mass. It has an undergraduate enrollment in the 2,500 range, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 384 acres. The campus is located on the original estate of Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr., with 29...

The Quaker Valley hockey team started 2024 similarly to 2023. With a win. The Quakers edged Shaler, 3-2, on Jan. 4 at Alpha Ice Complex to improve to 11-0-1. The only blemish on the QV schedule is a 3-2 defeat in OT to Indiana on Dec. 7 at S&T Bank...

Patience and perseverance finally prevailed for the Quaker Valley girls basketball team, as the Quakers kept plugging away through the first four weeks of the season. With a team comprised of three freshmen, six sophomores two juniors and one senior, the QV girls found it difficult to attain their first...

Sewickley Academy’s boys basketball team closed out the month of December most impressively. The Panthers won four consecutive games and six of seven down the month’s home stretch. Their only loss during this time was a tense one-point decision Dec. 8 to Serra Catholic. The Panthers followed up with victories...

Notebook items from Quaker Valley and Sewickley Academy athletics: Quaker Valley’s Bruce Anderchak (107 pounds) and Jack Kazalas (139 pounds) were ranked first in their weight divisions in the WPIAL 2A individual wrestling rankings for the week of Dec. 25. Anderchak, a sophomore, ended the month with a 15-1 record;...

Quaker Valley’s Emily Connors is widely recognized as one of the blue-ribbon swimmers in the WPIAL. She was coached at QV for three years by John Nemeth, who resigned following the 2022-23 season and has been succeeded by former Oakland Catholic/Central Catholic coach Merci McCarthy. “I started coaching Emily as...

Quaker Valley wrestlers Aris Haniotes and Trey Dunlap had a night they soon won’t forget. Both freshman athletes joined the QV wrestling program as varsity starters Dec. 6 at Avonworth in the Quakers’ first match of the season. QV won by a convincing 64-12 final score. Haniotes competed against Tyler...

Time to kick-start another winning streak. Quaker Valley’s hockey team didn’t experience a loss in the first two months of the PIHL season, posting a 9-0 record through Nov. 30. The Quakers outscored their opponents by a 44-10 margin, allowing 1.1 goals per game and logging three shutouts. No team...

Two Quaker Valley girls — Annica Kagle and Vanessa Pickett — were chosen to the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association all-state team in the Class 2A division. Kagle is a senior right-side hitter and a two-time all-state selection. Pickett is a junior setter. “I was honored to be chosen again,” Kagle...

Adam Morrison had a Sunday to remember last month. Morrison, head professional at Diamond Run Golf Club in Sewickley, participated Nov. 5 in the world famous TCS New York City Marathon. The 34-year-old Morrison was part of a team of PGA of America golf professionals that ran in the 26.2-mile...

There’s only one direction the Sewickley Academy boys basketball team wants to go in 2023-24. That is up. After finishing 3-18 last year, first-year coach Jim Dudas said the Panthers have been adjusting well while learning a new system. “I am optimistic we will show significant improvement on both sides...

Talk about a landslide vote. Eight members of the Quaker Valley girls volleyball team were honored as all-section selections in 2023. Two seniors, right-side hitter Annica Kagle and middle hitter Katelyn Clark, and two juniors, outside hitter Molly MacDonald and setter Vanessa Pickett, were named to the first team. Kagle...

Oumou “Mimi” Thiero is a still-growing 6-foot-4 sophomore guard/forward who was an all-section selection last year. Thiero was named by Trib HSSN as a 4A player to watch “who has perhaps the highest ceiling of any player in WPIAL girls basketball.” And she showed why with her two-game production in...

Joe Coyle is back for his senior year in the Quaker Valley boys basketball program. And what a splash he made to start the season. A talented 6-foot-1 guard, Coyle was the Quakers’ leading scorer and a first-team all-section selection last year. Much is expected of him this season; he’s...

Went up to the attic and pulled this column idea out of the dusty cedar chest: Did you know that? • Nora Hammond is a two-sport athlete at Quaker Valley, competing in girls volleyball and softball. A 5-foot-6 junior outside hitter, she was all-section selection and boasts a 4.22 GPA....

Libby Eannarino is a preeminent three-sport standout at Sewickley Academy. She is a senior guard in basketball and a midfielder in lacrosse and soccer. SA’s second-year hoops coach Jill Capozzi sees big things for the 5-foot-9 Eannarino on the basketball floor in 2023-24. “Libby will play a huge leadership role...

The strong just keep getting stronger. Quaker Valley’s wrestling team compiled a 15-6 record in 2022-23 that included a section title with a 6-0 mark. And the Quakers have eight wrestlers — including WPIAL Class 2A champion Jack Kazalas — back from last year’s winning group. “We expect to be...

Let’s tag them as sophomore sensations. Through two months of PIHL action, the Quaker Valley hockey team — led by an all-sophomore top line of Jace Vasbinder, Max Modrovich and Colin York — was undefeated at 8-0 in the Varsity A Gold Division. “Obviously, record-wise we are quite satisfied,” coach...

There will be several new players in the Quaker Valley girls basketball lineup this season. However, two returning starters will be instrumental to any success experienced by the team, which was placed fifth in Class 4A in the Trib HSSN preseason rankings. Oumou “Mimi” Thiero is a dynamic, 6-foot-4 sophomore...

One of the team leaders for the TJ girls basketball team is 5-foot-9 senior guard/forward Laekyn Flinn, who will continue her career after high school at Frostburg State. Frostburg State is a member of the NCAA Division II Mountain East Conference. “I chose Frostburg because it had everything to offer...

Thomas Jefferson’s boys basketball team has experience on its side for 2023-24. “We have four out of the five starters back from last year and several good young players that need to step up for us,” coach Dom DeCicco said. “We expect to be competitive. “For us to have success,...

The Brentwood girls basketball team’s recipe for success includes a little height mixed in with a solid dose of experience. Experience-wise, the Spartans have three returning starters in Mia March, Jessica Yee and Paige Boehm, along with last year’s top reserve, Ay’Maree Henry. As for frontcourt height, March is a...

The 2022-23 season was an anomaly for the Brentwood boys basketball program. A regular WPIAL playoff participant — Brentwood qualified for postseason action for a fifth consecutive season in 2021-22 — the Spartans sat out last year’s playoffs thanks to a 5-16 record and only minimal success against section opponents....

Baldwin boys basketball wrapped up the 2022-23 season above .500 with a 12-11 record. The Highlanders lost a tough 80-75 decision to eventual WPIAL champion Central Catholic in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs. Coach Jeff Ackerman and his players are expecting better results in 2023-24. “I think...

Nine members of the Bethel Park wrestling program have been WPIAL qualifiers in their careers. It’s an impressive list: Mason Kernan (139 pounds), Ethan Higgins (145), Landon Hartman (215), Jaden Palombine (107), Aiden Bench (127), Aden Stout (133), Hunter Goelz (172), Seth Miller (127) and Maksim Miller (160). A.J. Tomaino...