Ray Fisher stories, Page 33

He’s still No. 1. Despite experiencing a pandemic-protocoled gap year in 2020, Brentwood’s Neil Christopher retained his title at the 38th annual Brentwood Firecracker 5K Run held July 4 on Brownsville Road. Christopher, 26, finished first among male runners from Brentwood for the fifth consecutive summer. And this time he...

Yoga enthusiast Ann Mazur from Charlottesville, Va., rambled to first place in the female division of the 38th annual Brentwood Firecracker 5K Run held July 4 on Brownsville Road. Mazur, 35, won it with an 18:35 performance, ahead of Gina Bolla, 18, of Whitehall, and Lenna Birchard, 12, of Pittsburgh,...

Yes, Bethel Park’s Abby Quickel, as her surname suggests, is quick. But as a junior outfielder on the Black Hawks’ WPIAL championship team, the versatile Quickel also displayed her altruism and selflessness. Quickel hit .380 during the WPIAL portion of her team’s schedule and ranked among the team leaders in...

Owen Peters, a junior goalkeeper on the 2021 Bethel Park boys lacrosse team, was lauded as a U.S. Lacrosse All-American following the spring season. Peters also was voted all-WPIAL and all-section in Class 3A. He made 182 saves and averaged 6.8 goals allowed. “The goalie’s job is to be the general...

Talk about a baseball phenom. Tristan Blum of the Fox Chapel Foxes 12U travel team went 10 for 12 at a recent weekend tournament in Fox Chapel, highlighted by a remarkable stretch in which he socked six consecutive home runs. Tristan, son of Damian and Valerie, finished with seven round...

Riley Brendel was not just an outstanding dual-sport athlete at Brentwood. The recent graduate also hit the books with passion. Brendel earned the Senior Scholar Athlete Award at Brentwood for the 2020-21 school year, thanks mainly to his commendable GPA of 3.97. Brendel was the male recipient. Bailey Wertz was...

There were only three seniors — Beatrice Cook, Lindsay Bonetti and Olivia Los — on the Baldwin softball team this year. Cook, a transfer from Brentwood, was a three-year starter in the outfield. Bonetti was a three-year starter at second base. Los, a first baseman/outfielder, played right field this season....

The senior class on Bethel Park’s PIAA championship and WPIAL runner-up baseball team will be well represented on college diamonds next spring. They include pitcher Eric Chalus (Kent State), catcher/infielder Sawyer D’Andrea (Bethany), pitcher Jimmy Gasper (Saint Vincent), outfielder Shane Hamel (Penn State Wilkes-Barre), outfielder Larry Kusan (Davis and Elkins)...

Eric Chalus, the winning pitcher in the 2021 PIAA Class 5A championship game, was one of three seniors in Bethel Park’s starting lineup along with center fielder Shane Hamel and first baseman Zack Sackett. Next season, the Black Hawks will have starters returning at almost every position, starting with pitcher...

The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized July 22 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. A long-standing tradition of the renowned Thomas Jefferson football program is the dominating play...

After a frenzied five-month recruiting stretch, Thomas Jefferson senior lineman Nick Bryan offered a verbal commitment to Kent State on Saturday. A dynamic 6-foot-3, 275-pound tackle, Bryan made three visits to the Kent State campus, two football related and one for academics. He projects to play on the interior for...

Bethel Park’s Eric Chalus and Evan Holewinski proved to be one of the most dynamic pitching tandems in the state this season. Chalus, a left-handed senior headed to Kent State, racked up an impressive 11-0 record and 0.97 ERA, striking out 91 in 72 innings while issuing only four walks....

The foundation of a state championship high school baseball team is an outstanding pitching corps, paced by a strong one-two punch. The club also needs solid, clutch hitting. Defensively, it must be steady. All are facets coordinated by a dedicated coaching staff. Bethel Park’s baseball squad successfully checked off all...

Catching up with some notebook items from the grounds of the Baldwin and Thomas Jefferson athletic programs: Baldwin • Lindsay Bonetti, one of three seniors on the Baldwin softball team, manned the second base position for the past three years. Bonetti foresees a bright future for the Highlanders. “We had...

Nine seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and one freshman landed individual or team honors in 2020-21 at Brentwood. A video presentation of the annual all-sports banquet sponsored by the Brentwood High Athletic Boosters was created and made available for viewing, at which time the Brentwood award winners were announced. Steven...

Marc-Andre Fleury was a popular goaltender with the Penguins, and his popularity in Pittsburgh hasn’t ceased since he moved on to the Vegas Golden Knights. Fleury undoubtedly has influenced many area youth to begin playing ice hockey. None moreso than Whitehall resident Chace Hale. “I grew up watching Marc-Andre Fleury...

Thomas Jefferson’s softball team moved up one classification — from 4A to 5A — in 2021, and seemed to pay for the price of admission. The Jaguars’ section opponents consisted of Albert Gallatin, Connellsville, Gateway, Latrobe and Penn-Trafford. TJ qualified for the WPIAL playoffs for a fifth straight year, but...

He’s a natural. • Same family dynamics. • Same first and last name. • A great fit as a student-athlete on and off the football field. Senior lineman Alby Breisinger was the recipient of this year’s prestigious Breisinger Award at Thomas Jefferson. He found out about the honor June 1...

The Joey Fabus Superhero Run Over DIPG 5K race and 1-mile walk is back and will take place at 9 a.m. Sept. 12 at Bethel Park High School. Registrations are being accepted until Sept. 11. Organizers of the event took a one-year hiatus because of covid-19 pandemic concerns. The costs...

Bethel Park product Anthony Chiccitt has determination chiseled in granite, as well a firm dose of patience. Chiccitt was presented with Courage Award at the 14th annual WPIAL Hall of Fame induction banquet May 28 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Green Tree. In February 2019, Chiccitt was diagnosed with...

Bethel Park’s softball team enjoyed a historic run through the 2021 season, winning a WPIAL title in softball for the first time ever at the school. “We couldn’t be prouder of this group of girls,” coach Heather Semplice-Scott said. “Their performance throughout the season never ceased to amaze us. They...

Nick Kwiatkoski hasn’t forgotten his roots. Not by a long shot. The Las Vegas Raiders linebacker and former West Virginia standout recently funded the costs to renovate the football locker room at Bethel Park, his alma mater. The planning process took place over a period of months; the actual physical...

Thomas Jefferson’s baseball team advanced to the WPIAL playoffs in 2021. The Jaguars finished with a 5-10 record after losing to eventual WPIAL champion Franklin Regional, 14-3, in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs. “We preach that we need to get at least a little better each day....

All in all, Baldwin first-year coach Steve Bucci termed his team’s 2021 season as successful. The Highlanders won three of their final four games to end up 2-8 in Section 2-6A and 8-12 overall. “I think this season was a success,” Bucci said. “I realize outside of the program they...

Bethel Park’s softball team ended its WPIAL season on the highest of high notes. The Black Hawks reeled in the Class 6A title June 3 with a 9-2 win against Canon-McMillan in the championship game at Cal U.’s Lilley Field. Then came the grim, unfathomable low note. Four days later,...