Success across sports spectrum leads Greensburg CC to Trib Cup in Class A
The battle for the HSSN Trib Cup in Class A in 2021-2022 turned into one of the closest and most unique battles where overall success won out. In the end, it was Greensburg Central Catholic hoisting the cup aloft again, this despite the school only winning one district championship all...
A-K Valley teams adjust to changes in basketball alignment
Basketball in the A-K Valley will have a bit of a different look next winter. The WPIAL board of directors approved section alignments for the next two-year cycle in boys and girls basketball on June 13. Several A-K Valley teams were impacted. Here’s a look at some of the changes:...
Deer Lakes’ Justin Brannagan named 2022 Valley News Dispatch Baseball Player of the Year
2022 Valley News Dispatch Baseball All-Stars Player of the Year Justin Brannagan Deer Lakes, Sr., P/INF Justin Brannagan had a propensity this year for coming up big in clutch playoff scenarios. In February, Deer Lakes trailed Blackhawk by one point in the final seconds of a WPIAL Class 4A first-round...
Burrell’s Katie Armstrong earns 2022 Valley News Dispatch Softball Player of the Year honors
2022 Valley News Dispatch Softball All-Stars Player of the Year Katie Armstrong Burrell, Jr., P If the regular season didn’t already show it, then a WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal game against Belle Vernon proved just how dominant Burrell junior pitcher Katie Armstrong was throughout the spring. Armstrong held a potent...
2022 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Leechburg’s Braylan Lovelace
Editor’s note: 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 15 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. When coach Randy Walters talks about Leechburg football star Braylan Lovelace, he...
Still-growing Leechburg senior Braylan Lovelace commits to Pitt
Randy Walters saw the flash plays on defense, the long runs on offense. And that athleticism — it was a sight to behold. But a little more than two years ago, Leechburg’s football coach noticed something else about Braylan Lovelace, who made a verbal commitment Saturday to enroll at Pitt...
After brilliant junior year for Leechburg football, Braylan Lovelace still has more in store
Junior running back Braylan Lovelace and the Leechburg football team never had a problem getting fired up for games as the team made its first playoff appearance in 32 years last season. The Blue Devils can thank Phil Collins and his 1981 hit, “In the Air Tonight,” for that. “When...
A-K Valley Senior Spotlight: Leechburg’s Bella Vozar
The majority of softball players get out more than they get on base. Not Leechburg’s Bella Vozar, who is batting .545 in her senior season. Vozar hit safely in nine of 11 games at the tail end of the regular season and has helped the team significantly behind the plate...
Greensburg CC gets past Leechburg to make 1st semifinal trip in a decade
The Greensburg Central Catholic softball team will play in a WPIAL semifinal game for the first time in 10 years. The Centurions got back-to-back run-scoring doubles from sophomore Macee Magill and junior Isabella Marquez in the bottom of the eighth to rally past No. 6 Leechburg, 9-8, in a Class...
A-K Valley High School Athletes of the Week: Brianna Thompson and Will Siegel
Brianna Thompson Class: Senior School: Springdale Report card: The senior catcher had a productive week for the Dynamos as she had a clutch RBI single during a key two-run sixth inning against Leechburg. Springdale won the game 3-1 and earned the section 3-A title outright. In her next game, Thompson...
A-K Valley WPIAL playoff softball preview capsules for May 19, 2022
WPIAL softball playoffs Class 3A Quarterfinals 3-Deer Lakes (11-4) vs. 6-Waynesburg (13-4) 5 p.m. Thursday at West Mifflin Winner plays: Winner of 2-South Allegheny (12-3) vs. 10-Keystone Oaks (10-10) on Tuesday in semifinals (site, time TBD) Players to watch: Reese Hasley, Deer Lakes; Kendall Lemley, Waynesburg Extra bases: The Lancers...
Westmoreland County WPIAL softball playoff preview capsules for May 19, 2022
WPIAL softball playoffs Capsule previews Class 5A Quarterfinals 10-Shaler (16-3) vs. 2-Penn-Trafford (16-2) 5 p.m. Thursday at Plum Winner plays: Winner of 11-Chartiers Valley (14-4) vs. 3-Trinity (16-2) on Tuesday in the semifinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Mallor Moran, Shaler; Kylee Picconi, Penn-Trafford Extra bases: Shaler was a...
Greensburg Central Catholic beats Leechburg for elusive 1st-round win
Last year, the Greensburg Central Catholic baseball team earned the No. 2 seed for the WPIAL Class A playoffs and secured a first-round bye. But the Centurions met a quick and frustrating end to the season with a quarterfinal loss to Riverview. This time around, the Centurions made sure there...
Westmoreland County WPIAL baseball playoff preview capsules for May 17, 2022
WPIAL baseball playoffs Capsule previews Class 5A First round 12-Thomas Jefferson (13-6) vs. 5-Latrobe (12-7) 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hempfield Winner plays: Winner of 13-Chartiers Valley (9-11) vs. 4-Mars (14-5) on Thursday in quarterfinals Players to watch: T.J. Bucy, Sr., Thomas Jefferson; Logan Short, Sr., Latrobe Last year’s finish: Thomas...
A-K Valley Senior Spotlight: Leechburg’s Tommy Burke
Tommy Burke spent his four years in high school balancing numerous activities, including baseball, football, academics and musical theater. Despite the hefty workload, the Leechburg senior managed to become the school’s valedictorian. Burke excelled on the gridiron last fall as the Blue Devils’ starting quarterback, throwing for 2,207 yards and...
George Guido: Leechburg softball heading to playoffs for 35th straight season
Spring is upon us. The flowers are blooming, the lawn mowers are humming and Leechburg is in the WPIAL softball playoffs. The Blue Devils clinched their WPIAL record 35th consecutive Class A softball berth Friday with a doubleheader victory over The Ellis School, 15-0 and 12-1. Leechburg is 6-1 in...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Leechburg’s Anna Cibik, Plum’s Silvio Ionadi
Anna Cibik Class: Junior School: Leechburg Sport: Softball Report card: Leechburg junior pitcher Anna Cibik capped a busy week by throwing a pair of one-hitters Friday in a doubleheader sweep over Ellis School. The Blue Devils won 15-0 and 12-1. On Monday, she threw a four-hitter with 10 strikeouts in...
Springdale softball takes advantage of Leechburg miscues, holds off late rally
The Leechburg and Springdale softball teams ended long weather-related layoffs Monday with the resumption of a Section 3-A rivalry that has produced its fair share of close and competitive outcomes. The contest at Leechburg-Gilpin Park — the first this season between the Dynamos and Blue Devils — was no exception....
Construction, weather, youth can’t keep Leechburg baseball from solid start
Several weeks ago, the Leechburg High School baseball team was searching for a place to play its home games after the renovation timetable at the West Leechburg field slowed. Now, the Blue Devils are just looking to get a game in anywhere. Leechburg’s game with Riverview was postponed for the...
Fox Chapel’s Eli Yofan takes Valley News Dispatch Boys Basketball Player of the Year honors
Eli Yofan Fox Chapel, 6-2, Sr., Guard Eli Yofan averaged 19.3 points throughout the 2021-22 boys basketball season, but he was limited for most of Fox Chapel’s WPIAL Class 6A title game against North Hills early last month at the Petersen Events Center. But as he did all season, the...
Former Cager Classic MVP Corey Smith now coaching in all-star basketball game
Kiski Area coach Corey Smith has come full circle with the Cager Classic. He was the East MVP in 2002, an assistant under Greg Hutcherson and now the head coach for the East as the Cager Classic returns after a two-year hiatus brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The event...
2022 WPIAL Class A softball preseason breakdown
Last spring was a celebration as district athletes returned to the diamonds after the 2020 season was canceled because of the covid-19 shutdowns. Softball was a success throughout as the WPIAL crowned four new champions while Laurel and West Greene remained on top in 2A and A. District softball squads...
2022 WPIAL Class A baseball preseason breakdown
Last spring was a celebration as district athletes returned to the diamonds after the 2020 season was canceled because of the covid-19 shutdowns. Baseball thrived throughout the WPIAL as six new champions were crowned, some in dramatic fashion. That success carried over to the state playoffs as WPIAL teams captured...
New-look Leechburg softball still expects deep postseason run
For 30 years, it’s been lather, rinse, repeat for Leechburg softball. The only real change has been the faces. The standard has always stayed the same. Coming off a solid postseason run last season, the Blue Devils arereplacing more than half of their starting lineup going into the 2022 season....
Leechburg baseball team loaded with pitching, bursting with enthusiasm
Hard work, positivity and optimism. Spend any length of time with first-year Leechburg baseball coach Heath Shimer and it’s obvious a new era of Blue Devils baseball about to begin. “I got an awesome group of kids right now,” said Shimer. “I am surprised that I have them where I...
