Ray Fisher stories, Page 3

Sewickley Academy’s boys basketball team rolled through the first two rounds of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs, defeating No. 15 Bentworth and No. 7 Chartiers-Houston. The second-seeded Panthers faced a more formidable opponent — No. 3 Jeannette — in the semifinal round and lost a 45-24 decision Feb. 24 at...

Mt. Pleasant’s Olivia Kovach put on a picture-perfect performance at this year’s WPIAL individual gymnastics championships. Her coach indicated it was near-seamless. Kovach dethroned three-time champion Abby Rexrode from Baldwin in winning the WPIAL Advanced Division all-around title Feb. 8 at Moon. “It was something I really wanted this year,”...

Kiski Area’s Ellie Arnold recently wrapped up an unforgettable freshman season in gymnastics. The 14-year-old won the WPIAL all-around championship in the Intermediate II Division on Feb. 8 at Moon. Arnold, who also is a leading athlete in the Kiski Area girls soccer program, finished first on the vault with...

Maddox Shaw, Bode Marlow and Shep Turk are three of a kind. All three seniors are WPIAL champions and standard-bearers of the Thomas Jefferson wrestling program. And they have the highest respect from their coach, Michael Ladick. “These guys have continued to set the bar higher for the program moving...

The girls on the Thomas Jefferson gymnastics team were all smiles, beaming perhaps, following the WPIAL championships held Feb. 13 at Moon. The Jaguars edged North Allegheny for the team title, winning by a 141.975-141.425 score. The final team standings were TJ, North Allegheny, Central Valley (140.425), Baldwin (139.35), Beaver...

The Baldwin gymnastics team was led once again in 2024-25 by the talented Abby Rexrode, a senior athlete and multiple-time WPIAL titlist. After winning the past three WPIAL all-around championships in the advanced division, Rexrode placed second at this year’s WPIAL finals with a 37.9-point total — three-tenths of a...

Athletic talent overshadowed by grit and determination carried the Baldwin boys basketball team to a banner 2024-25 regular season. Baldwin defeated South Hills rival Bethel Park, 64-55, on Feb. 4 to clinch the Highlanders’ first section title since 1986 — 39 years ago. “We set goals at the beginning of...

Sewickley Academy’s boys basketball team didn’t experience any playoff jitters in its WPIAL Class 2A first-round game Feb. 17 against Bentworth. The second-seeded Panthers jumped out to a 19-2 lead after just eight minutes and won by a resounding 59-26 final score. Freshman Mamadou Kane, a 6-foot-8 forward/center, sparked Sew­ickley...

Quaker’s Valley’s dominance on the mat was on full display at the WPIAL Class 2A Northern Sectional tournament Feb. 15 at Keystone Oaks. Nine QV wrestlers finished as top-six placers, including five that advanced to the championship round. All nine qualified for the WPIAL tournament. “I’m happy with how our...

The Quaker Valley girls basketball team is a resilient group. The seventh-seed Quakers displayed their adaptability Feb. 14 against No. 10 McGuffey in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A basketball playoffs. QV defeated the visiting Highlanders, 39-35, to advance to a quarterfinal matchup Feb. 17 against No. 2...

Eight athletes assumed leading roles in the Bethel Park wrestling program this season. Seniors Ethan Higgins, Aden Stout, Michael Gibson, Seth Miller and Hunter Goelz and sophomores Pierce Reinhart, Ian Bucheli and Colton Fisher all attained 20 or more victories by mid-February. “Each of these wrestlers have had great seasons...

Career win No. 100 arrived as expected for Bethel Park’s talented senior wrestler Ethan Higgins. “It’s an incredible feeling. Honestly, I’ve worked so hard to get to this point, and when it finally happened, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment,” Higgins said. “It’s a testament to all the hours...

Bethel Park’s girls basketball team prepped for a possible playoff run in 2024-25 by playing an onerous regular-season schedule. To that end, the Black Hawks recovered from a midseason malaise to finish 11-11 with a spot in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A tournament against Franklin Regional. “An...

One of the highlights of the 2024-25 season for the Bethel Park boys basketball team was a two-game sweep of Thomas Jefferson in section play. The Black Hawks defeated TJ by scores of 52-48 and 65-63 but missed out on a WPIAL playoff berth while the Jaguars advanced as the...

Sewickley Academy’s playoff chances in girls basketball hinged on two things. The Panthers needed to win Feb. 6 and have Eden Christian lose its final section game. They got both. The Sewickley girls won a nailbiter against Leechburg, 36-35, and the Warriors dropped a 75-12 decision to Union, the Section...

The Sewickley Academy boys basketball team rolled through Section 2-2A this season with a 12-0 record, two games ahead of runner-up Northgate at 10-2. Winchester Thurston finished third at 8-4, while Brentwood and Eden Christian tied for fourth with 5-7 records. As a reward, Sewickley Academy (17-4) landed the No....

John Doucette has been the man behind the camera at Quaker Valley since 1994. “I started taking photos after spending two months traveling Europe prior to my student teaching experience in London,” Doucette said. “I moved to the Pittsburgh area in 1993 with a teaching and coaching position in the...

Quaker Valley finished as the runner-up in Section 1-3A in girls basketball with a 10-4 record. As a result, the Quakers, seeded No. 7, drew No. 10 McGuffey on Feb. 14 in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A tournament. McGuffey finished third behind co-champions Keystone Oaks and Seton...

The postseason is a familiar neighborhood for the Quaker Valley boys basketball team. The Quakers have advanced to the playoffs for 21 consecutive years. QV qualified for the WPIAL playoffs this season via a fourth-place finish in Section 2-4A. “As all teams face during a season, we really had our...

Marcus Zhan is one of a handful of Sewickley Academy students competing in the collaborative swim program at Quaker Valley this season. Zhan, a junior, is joined by his younger brother Augustin, a freshman, along with another freshman, Yourin Li, on the QV boys team. The older Zhan sibling specializes...

Quaker Valley senior Paige Juliano apparently is a fast learner. After jumping into the sport of rowing for just one year, Juliano, who has a 4.22 GPA, has landed a spot on the Michigan State women’s rowing team. “Funny story about rowing,” she said. “I have been a year-round swimmer...

The Win Palmer Memorial Classic was a two-day basketball event held Feb. 1-2 at Sewickley Academy. It was held to pay tribute to Palmer, Sewickley Academy’s former beloved coach and director of athletics. “The weekend went wonderfully,” Sewickley athletic director Mike Scerbo said. “We had 11 games over two days...

Anna Fuener is a key member of the Quaker Valley girls swim team. Like the majority of swimmers on the boys and girls teams at QV, Fuener is looking forward to taking a dip into some of the “faster” pools in the area in hopes of lowering event times across...

Quaker Valley advanced to the WPIAL Class 2A wrestling dual meet tournament as the No. 4 seed. The Quakers finished with a 2-2 record in the tournament, beating Elizabeth Forward, 54-18, and Freedom, 48-23, before suffering semifinal and consolation-round losses to No. 1 Burrell, 55-13, and No. 3 McGuffey, 44-21....

The beat goes on for the Sewickley Academy boys basketball team. The Panthers ended January with Section 2-2A wins against Leechburg, Eden Christian, Brentwood and Winchester Thurston and were scheduled to wrap up the month Jan. 31 at home against Propel Braddock Hills. “I’m just really pleased with how our...