Other Local category, Page 41
‘Hidden gem’ Longue Vue Club gears up to co-host U.S. Amateur
Nestled high above the Allegheny River Valley in Verona and on the border of Penn Hills is a challenging golf course that is relatively unknown. “A hidden gem” is how president David Gilpatrick described Longue Vue Club, which, when built in 1920, was known as as the “Millionaires Club.” The...
Liam Ponsonby, 7, ascends in world of motocross racing
Liam Ponsonby just turned 7. He has been riding motorcycles for about a year, but he sure knows his way around the mini machine and the tracks on which he competes. Forget about being able to reach the handle bars. Ponsonby is reaching for championships. Ponsonby, who is going into...
Hampton’s Hoolahan raises bar at USA Weightlifting youth national finals
Standing 5-foot-2 with pony-tailed blonde hair and a cherubic smile, Kendall Hoolahan has a difficult time convincing anyone she’s a competitive weightlifter. Sometimes she just has to flex her muscles. Hoolahan, 14, of Hampton placed seventh in the clean and jerk in her division at the 2021 USA Weightlifting National...
Latrobe grad Zach Kokoska looks forward to starting pro career with Rockies
Nervous moments kept tapping Zach Kokoska on the shoulder as he watched names slide across his television screen during the MLB Draft earlier this week. His cellphone sat quiet in his palm. The power-hitting outfielder recalled having similar feelings a year ago during a condensed version of the draft, when...
Western Pa. hockey players selected in NAHL entry draft
Saxen Robertson made his mark this past hockey season for the South Kent Selects Academy 16U team in South Kent, Conn. The Cranberry native scored 21 goals and added 21 assists over 36 games, adding to an already stacked on-ice portfolio. Robertson, 17, a defenseman, hopes to continue making his...
Greensburg YWCA field hockey registration set
The Greensburg YWCA girls field hockey program is registering girls now through Aug. 30, for a season that resumes after being canceled last year because of the covid pandemic. The practices and home games will be played at Hempfield Park, 222 Forbes Trail Road. Beginners and returning players in grades...
Career move out of this world for former Baldwin volleyball player Chris Rampolla
Chris Rampolla has graduated from all-state to all-universe status. Rampolla, a former standout volleyball player at Baldwin, is employed as a robotics software engineer for a company called Astrobotic Technology Inc., with headquarters located on Pittsburgh’s Northside. Astrobotic is the world’s leading lunar logistics company. It specializes in developing space...
Tanner Johnson rallies to win West Penn Amateur
Tanner Johnson didn’t look at the leaderboard during the final round of the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association’s 121st Amateur Championship on Tuesday. His focus was on playing well and better than first-day leader and good friend Louis Olsakovsky, with whom he was paired. Olsakovsky held a one-shot lead over Johnson...
Jeannette announces latest hall of fame class
Jeannette announced its 2021 Jayhawk Athletic Hall of Fame class on Tuesday. The class, selected by the the Jeannette Educational Foundation in conjunction with the school district, will be recognized during a home football game on Sept. 17 against Riverview. A banquet will follow on Sept 18. The latest inductees...
Louis Olsakovsky leads tight West Penn Amateur field
There is a tight leaderboard after Day 1 of the 121st Annual West Penn Amateur. Ten golfers shot under par during the two rounds Monday at Indiana Country Club. The field was paired down to the Top 30 and ties for Tuesday’s final round. Leading the pack is McMurry Golf...
Oakmont membership eager to host another U.S. Amateur
If there is one thing the membership at Oakmont Country Club enjoy the most, it’s putting on a major golf event. They love to see the best golfers in the world tackle one of the toughest courses in the country. They don’t mind if it’s hard for them to score....
South Greensburg mayor Kevin Fajt wins 4th Westmoreland County Amateur title
Kevin Fajt knew if he wanted to win his fourth Westmoreland County Amateur on Sunday, he had to be aggressive. He followed his gameplan to a T. On the putting green, Palmer Jackson, who shot a 74 on Day 1, asked Fajt what he needed to shoot to catch him....
Olympians provide karate instruction at USA Elite Training Camp in Sewickley
The Pennsylvania Shotokan Karate Club welcomed two Olympians for the 19th annual USA Elite Training Camp in Sewickley June 18-20. Brian Irr and Tom Scott, who will compete for the U.S. in the Tokyo Olympics, were featured instructors for the event, hosted by PSKC chief instructor Dustin Baldis. Irr (+75...
For Norwin grad and long-drive pro Justin Moose, round of golf is a different animal
The broad-shouldered man with a moose on his hat and anti-gravity in his golf drives is just glad he got the phone call. Maybe even more glad that he answered it. Justin Moose was sitting behind a desk in 2018, working as a site manager at a distribution center for...
Baldwin grad Sean Kealey getting chance to shine in Cardinals organization
After much deliberation, Baldwin graduate Sean Kealey decided to leap into the financial business world with BNY Mellon following a stellar baseball career at Allegheny College. That is, until fate steered him onto a different path with the independent Washington Wild Things. As it turns out, Kealey’s professional baseball aspirations...
Neil Christopher tops among locals again at Brentwood Firecracker 5K
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...
Annual Brentwood Firecracker 5K returns with a bang
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,...
Kevin Fajt leads Hannastown-heavy Westmoreland County Amateur
It should be no surprise to know someone from Hannastown Golf Club is leading the Westmoreland County Amateur. Hannastown Golf Club has earned the distinction of having one of the strongest memberships in Western Pennsylvania. Seven of the top 10 golfers in the field at the Westmoreland County Amateur call...
Burrell grad Tiger Hubbard polishing game on tour geared toward minority golfersVideo
“Can you hold on a second?” Tiger Hubbard politely asks for a pause in mid-interview and sets aside his phone. There is silence for a few seconds until the faint swat of a cleanly struck golf shot is heard. “OK, I’m good now.” Anyone who knows the Burrell grad isn’t...
Paul Ajak III, Sean Knapp tired but triumphant at Tri-State Amateur
Paul Ajak III and Sean Knapp played in the 36-hole U.S. Amateur qualifier Wednesday at Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown, so they were dragging a bit when they teed it up Thursday at the Tri-State Amateur. Their bodies had to catch up with their mental acceleration. “It was really hot...
Young Township jumps on Murrysville in American Legion playoffs
Young Township struck for seven runs in the fourth inning, and then lightning struck. Rain soon accompanied the lightning, and the inclement weather eventually forced a suspension of Thursday’s District 31 American Legion quarterfinal with No. 4 Young Township leading No. 5 Murrysville, 7-1, in the bottom of the fourth...
Plum’s Scott McGough honored to don red, white, blue for U.S. Olympic baseball team
Scott McGough has been a Mustang, Duck, Raptor, Loon, Marlin, Hammerhead, Zephyr, Tide, Isotope and Swallow, among other things, throughout his high school, college and professional careers that have spanned nearly 15 seasons. The Plum native now has added one more title: Olympian. McGough, a third-year member of the Tokyo...
Top local golfers survive test of nerves to qualify for U.S. Amateur at Oakmont
JOHNSTOWN — Yes, it was nerve-racking for some of the golfers Wednesday at Sunnehanna Country Club participating in the U.S. Amateur qualifier. There was more pressure than usual because there were only five spots available for the prestigious tournament, which will be played at historic Oakmont Country Club from Aug....
Riverhounds rally for draw in Charleston
Tommy Williamson scored in the waning moments of the second half, giving the Pittsburgh Riverhounds a 1-1 draw with the Charleston Battery on Wednesday night in South Carolina. The Riverhounds (6-4-3) are 4-1-1 in their last six games, good for second place in the USL Championship’s Atlantic Division. The game...
Previewing Thursday’s Tri-State Amateur golf championship
Tri-State Amateur golf championship 8 a.m. Thursday, Hannastown Golf Club, Greensburg Format: 36 holes of stroke play. Second round will begin around 1 p.m. Defending champion: Brent Colella Divots: Champions will be recongnized in the amateur and senior amateur divisions. … The event was not played from 2009-19 before it...
