Ray Fisher stories, Page 6

Tanner Pfeuffer eclipsed 6,000 yards passing in a distinguished three-year career as Bethel Park’s starting quarterback. The 6-foot-6, 195-pound senior completed 156 of 260 tosses for 2,656 yards and 31 touchdowns in 2024, giving him 6,044 yards and 66 TDs in his career. “I am super happy what our team...

Dante Calabria coached the Bethel Park boys basketball team for two years. In July, Calabria informed his players and the Bethel Park School District that he was resigning to take a position as head coach of Pistoia Basket 2000 of the Lega Basket Serie A in Europe. Calabria is a...

No fewer than 14 players on the Sewickley Academy girls basketball team this season are underclassmen. Sewickley’s third-year coach Jill Capozzi is unfazed. “After only six practices, I can see the effort of this very young squad,” Capozzi said. “We will take it one game at a time and give...

Mike Iuzzolino is head coach of the Sewickley Academy boys basketball team. To basketball fans, his name rings a bell. Iuzzolino played college basketball at Penn State and St. Francis (Pa.). He competed scholastically at Altoona and was a high school teammate of Doug West, who went on to have...

The Quaker Valley wrestling program keeps winning — and growing. “This is the biggest roster we’ve had in program history with 24 wrestlers,” QV coach Austin Heinl said. The leaders of the pack are the returning starters, which consist of seniors Jack Diemert (160 pounds), Marcus Richey (172) and Sebastian...

A soccer legacy has been initiated in the Quaker Valley girls soccer program. It was actually kicked off four years ago when Rachel Loudermilk and Maggie Behun took over as co-head coaches, but the legacy took a giant leap in 2024. “We are so proud of the girls and what...

She’s an attention-getter, for sure. Mimi Thiero is a 6-foot-4 junior guard/forward and third-year starter on the Quaker Valley girls basketball team. “When you have a dynamic player like Mimi, you know that she will get a lot of attention every night,” QV coach Ken Johns said. “I really like...

The recipe for success for the Quaker Valley boys basketball team in 2024-25 appears to be a substantial blend of youth and experience. The Quakers’ master chef is veteran floor boss Mike Mastroianni. “We have a unique mix as we are still a very young team but have a good...

The 15th annual WPIAL Summit on Sportsmanship took place Nov. 13 at the Senator John Heinz History Center and Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum. Student-athletes from the schools in attendance listened to keystone speakers discuss topics related to the importance of sportsmanship in athletics, and the league recognized Cornell and Moon,...

Quaker Valley’s girls soccer team finished with a splendid 19-3-2 overall record in 2024 that included a 6-1 mark in the postseason. The Quakers ran the table at 4-0 in winning the WPIAL Class 2A championship, then went 2-1 in the PIAA playoffs to reach the state’s final four. “Throughout...

Quaker Valley has jumped to the top of the PIHL gold division as well as the entire Class A thanks to its early 8-0 record. The Quakers racked up 56 goals while allowing just six. “I have been pleased with our start,” QV coach Kevin Quinn said. “We have played...

The Quaker Valley girls soccer team gave up just one goal in three PIAA Class 2A playoff games. But the second-half tally by Erie Cathedral Prep cost the Quakers a chance to participate in the state championship game. Instead, Cathedral Prep advanced to the finals thanks to its 1-0 victory...

It appears Eden Christian Academy senior Grant Brauer has the ideal build to begin his college rowing career next year. Brauer, 17, will take his 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame to upstate New York in 2025 as a freshman member of the Syracuse men’s rowing team. “Yes, I am a very good...

The numbers just kept piling up for the Thomas Jefferson football team this season. The top-seeded Jaguars took a perfect 12-0 record into the WPIAL Class 4A championship game with former conference rival McKeesport, the No. 3 seed. And TJ’s legendary Bill Cherpak was going for his 10th district championship...

Baldwin seniors Avery Barrett and Kaylee Smolko hardly could wait for Nov. 13 to finally arrive. Both were scheduled to officially commit that day to Pitt-Johnstown where they will continue their athletic and academic careers. They were the only two seniors on the Baldwin girls volleyball team in 2024. “I...

Cecilia Montagnese’s high school legacy in cross country is firmly in place. The Quaker Valley senior was the gold medalist at the WPIAL Class 2A girls individual championship race Oct. 24 at White Oak Park in McKeesport. Montagnese’s time was a career-best 17.56.2 as she ran at a 5:46 mile...

The groundwork for the 2024 Quaker Valley girls WPIAL Class 2A soccer championship was laid back in 1991-92. Maybe even earlier. “Soccer runs deep in Sewickley,” said 1994 QV graduate Ashley Miko. “Most of the girls and boys grew up playing Sewickley Area Soccer, which has been around for 50...

Lily Baker is only a freshman at Quaker Valley, but she played like a savvy veteran in the WPIAL Class 2A championship game. Baker knocked in the shot that gave the QV girls soccer team its first WPIAL crown in 32 years. The No. 2-seed Quakers hung on to beat...

Mike Mastroianni, athletic director at Quaker Valley, undoubtedly had an extra-wide smile on his face on the first weekend in November. And no, it wasn’t because he was counting down the hours to Election Day. Mastroianni was gleeful over the performances of so many of the Quaker Valley athletes and...

It was a whirlwind of a season for Cami Fisher, Bethel Park’s sophomore tennis whiz. “I was really happy with my performance this season,” Fisher said. “I had a few goals that I wanted to accomplish at the beginning of the year, and I was able to achieve those.” Fisher...

Bethel Park’s boys soccer team almost ran the table in the WPIAL playoffs this season. The section-winning Black Hawks finished as semifinalists in the Class 3A tournament as the final four consisted of No. 1 Moon, No. 5 Bethel Park, No. 6 Mars and No. 7 Franklin Regional. “I was...

The Quaker Valley girls volleyball team has a handle on this history-making thing. The Quakers have been able to rack up historic seasons in 2023 and 2024. Last year, QV ended up third in the WPIAL Class 2A tournament, qualified for the PIAA playoffs and finished 17-4. The Quakers lost...

One of the youngest players on the Quaker Valley girls soccer team made the shot that reverberated throughout the Leetsdale Borough area. Freshman defender Lily Baker found the back of the net against Burrell in the 71st minute of the WPIAL Class 2A championship game Nov. 2 at Highmark Stadium....

Cecilia Montagnese’s outstanding postseason run in cross country stretched all the way to Hershey, site of the PIAA championships. A senior at Quaker Valley, Montagnese placed third in the PIAA Class 2A girls race Nov. 2 with a time of 18 minutes, 49 seconds on the Parkview cross country course....

There haven’t been too many more dominant performances in the WPIAL girls volleyball tournament than Quaker Valley’s this year. The top-seeded QV girls did not lose a set in Class 2A, sweeping past No. 16 Keystone Oaks, No. 8 Ellwood City, No. 5 Southmoreland and, in the final at Peters...