Ray Fisher stories, Page 47

Slowly but surely, the Baldwin hockey program is climbing up the ranks in the PIHL. “Last season, when we moved up from A to AA, we missed the playoffs by a point,” coach Justin Glock said. “This year, we made the playoffs and won our first playoff game. “Next season,...

It sounds like a distinguished law firm: Shaw, Weber & Co. Max Shaw and Alex Weber certainly have enjoyed distinguished seasons and careers with the Thomas Jefferson wrestling program. The two senior matmen advanced to the PIAA Class AAA tournament in Hershey off their performances at the recent WPIAL championships....

The Gateway softball team enjoyed a “turnaround season” of sorts in 2018. The Gators finished with a winning record, going 8-7 overall and 8-6 in Section 1-5A, tying for third place with Kiski Area. What can coach Scott Lewis do for an encore in his second year? “There is a...

The Gateway baseball team is seeking a quadfecta, as the Gators are looking to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. Gateway ended up 12-6 overall and finished third in Section 3-5A last year. The 12 victories were the most in a season since the 2009 squad...

With the Carlow women’s basketball season completed, Seton LaSalle graduate Delaney Daly has her sights on her summer schedule. Daly, a 5-foot-7 junior and NAIA All-American guard for the Celtics, averaged 11.5 points, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals this season. Her focus now is on her impending trip to Europe....

Thomas Jefferson’s senior-laden boys volleyball team ended up 5-5 in section play last season. The Jaguars are aiming to improve on that record in 2019. “Our main goal is to fight for the section championship,” coach Frank Staffen said. “We lost a lot of starters (10) from last year, but...

Brentwood’s baseball team was hit hard by graduation last spring. Only one senior and two other starters return. “I guess you could say this is a rebuilding year,” coach Greg Perdziola said. “We are very young and inexperienced at the varsity level. With that being said, I still feel we...

Gabe Dominick hopes to be a key member of the Thomas Jefferson boys volleyball team this season. A first-year defensive specialist/outside hitter, Dominick also made his mark as a starter on the Jaguars’ football team. The TJ senior recently was presented with the Breisinger Award at the football team’s postseason...

Franklin Regional posted a solid 15-5 record last season with a young team. The Panthers lost only two seniors to graduation and have a lot of returning talent this year. Expectations are high. “We have been focusing on pitching and hitting throughout the course of the offseason,” said Bob Saddler,...

Franklin Regional has strung together four consecutive winning seasons in softball. Last year, the Panthers tied for first with rival Penn-Trafford in Section 1-5A, landed the No. 4 seed for the WPIAL playoffs and drew a first-round bye. After an 11-day layoff, Franklin Regional lost on a no-hitter to fifth-seeded...

The Thomas Jefferson and Chartiers Valley basketball teams clashed March 2 in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game at Pitt’s Peterson Events Center. It wasn’t the first time TJ senior guard Shaylor Williams stepped onto the court at The Pete. “When I played AAU in sixth grade for the Bruins,...

The bubble finally burst for the surging Thomas Jefferson girls basketball team. The Jaguars lost to Section 1 rival Chartiers Valley, 64-48, in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game March 2 at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center. Thomas Jefferson (19-7) went into the final confidently riding an eight-game winning streak, and...

The 60th annual Thomas Jefferson football banquet took place Feb. 24 at Georgetown Centre. The Jaguars’ success over the past four years was duly noted, as coach Bill Cherpak started off the post-dinner program by lauding the efforts of the senior class on and off the field. Over the past...

Does winning spark good team chemistry, or does good team chemistry enhance winning? While talent is an integral part of any winning program, team chemistry certainly can be important. Take, for example, the Thomas Jefferson girls basketball team. The Jaguars reached the WPIAL finals this season for the first time...

The Chartiers Valley girls basketball team held a love­fest March 2 at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center. Actually, it took place spontaneously in front of the CV bench area following the WPIAL Class 5A championship game. The CV girls swarmed to coach Tim McConnell’s side when his name was announced at...

Playing for a WPIAL championship at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center was a dream-come-true for the Brentwood girls basketball team. “It has been my dream forever,” said senior guard Anna Betz, the Spartans’ leading scorer with a 14.8 ppg average. “We talked about playing at the Peterson Events Center since the...

Goal No. 1 was achieved by the Gateway girls basketball team. The Gators won the Section 2-5A championship, squeaking past Franklin Regional atop the standings. “We had good year thus far,” said Curtis Williams, who is in his fourth season as Gateway’s coach. “We did a lot of good things...

Zach Skrinjar has been coaching at Fox Chapel for a decade. The Foxes have qualified for the WPIAL playoffs seven times in the past 10 seasons, including six of the past seven years. This year’s team is 16-8 and advanced to the Class 6A quarterfinal round. The Foxes are led...

Laurel went into the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals Monday night riding a school-record 14-game winning streak. Brentwood had won 12 games in a row, and 14 of its past 15. Something had to give. Brentwood defeated Laurel, 50-37, at Moon to advance to the Thursday’s WPIAL finals at Petersen Events...

All they do is win. You name it. They’ve won it. In just three years, Thomas Jefferson has emerged as a powerhouse in girls gymnastics. TJ captured its third consecutive section title this season, and the Jaguars were undefeated all three years. And as a prelude to the WPIAL championships,...

Dom Serapiglia will continue his football career 1,000 miles away from home. Serapiglia, a 6-foot-2, 285-pound senior and four-year varsity lineman for the Jaguars, has committed to play at Tulsa. Tulsa competes in the American Athletic Conference. “I really just fell in love with the campus,” Serapiglia said, “and it’s...

Strong senior leadership is a trait of the Thomas Jefferson swimming and diving team. On the girls’ side, seniors Elena Savikas, Grace Pletz and Maura Gdovic were WPIAL Class AA qualifiers a year ago as were junior Breanna Smith and sophomore Hallie Findlan. “The six (senior) girls and two (senior)...

Baldwin’s Alaina Wodarek said it’s every cheerleader’s dream to finish among the top three teams nationally. “And it doesn’t happen often,” she said. Baldwin’s competitive cheerleading mat squad did just that, placing third in the Large Varsity Division 2 at the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship held Feb. 8-10...

Kim Klinger jumped back into the pool and immediately was faced with a somewhat daunting task. Klinger has been involved in Baldwin swimming in various capacities since 1989. She coached the varsity swimmers until 2004, retired briefly, became an assistant in 2014, and took over as head coach again this...

Thomas Jefferson’s competitive spirit cheerleading squad experienced several “firsts” this season. The girls recently returned from their first trip and first appearance in the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship in Orlando, Fla. The Jaguars competed in the large varsity division and super game day division at Walt Disney World,...