Ray Fisher stories, Page 22

Quaker Valley senior Jakub Pickett has made a name for himself on the football field. Opposing coaches and players have noticed. Pickett, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound wide receiver/defensive back, repeated as a first-team all-conference selection on offense this year. “Jakub has many strengths as a football player,” QV coach Jason Cappa...

Ellie Graham, a senior at Quaker Valley, has opted to extend her rowing career at Brown University of the Ivy League. “I selected Brown because of its culture of academic rigor, but also for the fact that, while it is rigorous, it does not seem to be extremely cutthroat like...

A select group of Quaker Valley athletes did some big-time wrestling over the holiday break. Freshman Bruce Anderchak (107), junior Isaac Maccaglia (114) and seniors Brandon Krul (127) and Logan Richey (145) participated in the varsity division of the nationally acclaimed Powerade Tournament on Dec. 29-30 at Canon-McMillan. Following the...

Kevin Kissel is considered a Brentwood institution, particularly in the high school football program. Kissel, 66, has been coaching football for 40 years, or much more than half his life. After working 14 seasons as an assistant (from 1983-96), Kissel has been the Spartans’ head coach for the past 26...

Basketball is a staple in the Thiero family. As is height. Oumou Thiero, aka Mimi, enjoyed a dazzling varsity debut as a freshman athlete in the Quaker Valley girls basketball program. The 6-foot-4 Thiero led QV to a 50-47 win Dec. 2 against Montour in a tip-off tournament hosted by...

When it pertains to school spirit, Sewickley Academy cheerleaders Nikki Golestan and Alex Cordle rise above the crowd. The senior co-captains promote an intensity spirit-wise that is beyond comparison. “Our captains have amazing school spirit and Panther pride,” said Lindsey Petruska, who shares the cheer coaching duties at Sewickley with...

By all indications, Quaker Valley senior Alex MacDonald is a humble guy. His actions, however, speak volumes about his academic and athletic prowess. MacDonald recently received an early decision acceptance letter to prestigious Amherst College in Amherst, Mass., where he will be a throwing specialist on the men’s track and...

Any mention of the Aquinas Academy boys basketball team starts with 6-foot-2 guard Vinnie Cugini. The senior backcourt star led the WPIAL in scoring in each of the past three seasons, averaging 34.2, 39.2 and 35 points per game. Cugini reached the 2,000-point mark in his 55th varsity game Feb....

It most definitely was a season to remember. Quaker Valley wrapped up the best wrestling season in school history March 12 with four individual medalists at the PIAA Class 2A championships at Giant Center in Hershey. “We qualified five kids to compete in arguably the toughest wrestling tournament in the...

Emily Connors has experienced much success in her two years in the Quaker Valley pool. Connors ended her outstanding sophomore season in 2021-22 as a triple medalist at the PIAA Class 2A girls championships held at Bucknell. She placed sixth in the 100-yard freestyle and eighth in the 100-yard butterfly....

Basketball season is underway. Here’s a look at the three girls teams in the South Hills Record coverage area: Baldwin Baldwin lost a big part of last year’s team when leading scorer Morgan Altavilla graduated in the spring. A highly energetic 5-foot-6 guard and four-year varsity starter, Altavilla led the...

Basketball season is underway. Here’s a look at the three boys teams in the South Hills Record coverage area: Baldwin Baldwin boys basketball coach Jeff Ackermann has lofty expectations for 2022-23. “Our goals this year are to continue to move the program forward,” Ackermann said. “We want to compete for...

The Sewickley Academy boys basketball team is a member of Section 1-2A again this season, but the section itself has a different feel to it. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart won the section title last season then went on to capture WPIAL and PIAA championships and finish with a...

The Quaker Valley boys basketball team faces a tall order in 2022-23. The Quakers are the defending WPIAL Class 4A and Section 2-4A champions. They posted a 14-0 section record and 27-1 overall mark last season after advancing to the PIAA championship game. It was a banner season to say...

Optimism is abundant in the Bethel Park girls basketball program. “The team is very excited for the season to start,” coach Samantha Loadman said. “We’ve been putting in the work for months and can’t wait to start playing some games. “We expect to show up for every game prepared and...

Seven seniors. Count ‘em, seven. That’s half a roster, and that’s how many players the Bethel Park boys basketball team lost to graduation. It’s the team that Bethel Park floor boss Dante Calabria inherited from former coach Josh Bears this season. Bears resigned after seven years with the Black Hawks....

The Sewickley Academy girls basketball team has a new head coach. She is not new to the program, however. Jill Capozzi has taken over as head coach after serving as an assistant to Mark Gaither last season. “I left teaching and coaching to raise my children and last year got...

Last season was a learning experience for the coaches and players on the Quaker Valley girls basketball team. The Quakers advanced to both the WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A playoffs in Ken Johns’ first year as floor boss. This season, QV is looking to make more noise in the section,...

Justin Walther, a familiar face around WPIAL circles, is the new coach of the Plum boys basketball team. Walther was hired at the end of June and replaces Mark Marino, who went 23-25 in three seasons as the Mustangs coach. Walther graduated from Central Catholic in 1995 as the second-leading...

Expectations have been raised for the second year of the Rich Mull coaching tenure at Plum. “I was hired at the end of last summer, so we really didn’t have an offseason to put things in place,” Mull said. “We should be more prepared with everyone knowing their roles. “We...

Thomas Jefferson’s girls volleyball team placed third in the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs, earning a berth in the PIAA tournament. The TJ netters, seeded No. 4 in the WPIAL, defeated No. 13 Indiana and No. 5 Montour by 3-1 scores before losing to top-seeded North Catholic, 3-0, in the semifinal...

The list of awards and honors bestowed upon Thomas Jefferson football coach Bill Cherpak over the years is a long one. Cherpak has won five state championships, nine WPIAL titles and 22 conference crowns. He has been named conference coach of the year eight times, AP Pennsylvania Class AAA Coach...

Sewickley Academy tennis standout Ashley Close closed out her junior season Nov. 5 in Hershey as the PIAA Class 2A runner-up. Wyoming Seminary’s Ilana Rosenthal won the Class 2A state championship, with South Park senior Nicole Kempton placing third and Knoch junior Emily Greb taking fourth. Kempton captured the WPIAL...

The exit interviews have been taking place within the Quaker Valley football program. Recordwise, it proved to be a disappointing 2022 season for the Quakers. After starting out 2-1 under first-year coach Jason Cappa, QV lost its last six games all by wide margins. “The team’s first order of business...

Best friends Grace Lejeck and Sophie Puzausky proved to be a dynamic force for the Bethel Park girls volleyball team. Lejeck, a 5-foot-10 senior outside hitter, and Puzausky, a 5-11 senior right-side hitter, were chosen second-team all-WPIAL and first-team all-section. “Sophie and Grace both started since their freshman year. They...