Andrew John stories, Page 3

The Upper St. Clair football program is no stranger to the WPIAL playoffs, holding a 23-year streak of qualifying for the postseason. Last year’s appearance was a special one. The Panthers came into the playoffs as a No. 5 seed and ended up with their first appearance in the WPIAL...

The Monroeville Marlins summer swim program’s opportunity to utilize Gateway’s facilities has paid off as the organization will be well represented at a local long course championship meet later this month. The Marlins, who used to be based at the Haymaker Swim Club, have utilized the Gateway natatorium for the...

The spring sports schedule has just wrapped up, but that doesn’t mean teams aren’t already preparing for the fall season. After a heartbreaking WPIAL first-round playoff loss, the Hampton Talbots football team got together the week after Memorial Day to turn the page to the 2023 season. The Talbots are...

When Andy DeMichiei took over the Hampton boys lacrosse program, he wanted to build the culture that would restore the Talbots program to the success it had for over a decade. The Talbots have continued to build that culture as Hampton finished third in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs this...

The Leechburg baseball team gathered in early January for workouts, which coach Heath Shimer said had a lot to do with the team having its best season since 2009. The Blue Devils (13-5, 10-2) finished the regular season with an eight-game winning streak to lead them to a second-place finish...

In a season where the Shaler boys volleyball team won its first WPIAL championship, the Titans haven’t had to deal with a match that went five sets. You can check that off the Titans’ list now. After dropping their first two sets, Shaler rallied to win the final three sets...

Even though only one baseball team in each classification gets to celebrate a title at the end of the year, members of the Freeport baseball program can’t be too upset with how their season turned out. After winning only five games in each of the last two seasons, the Yellowjackets...

Heading into the season, the Gateway baseball team hoped to build off its first-round loss to Bethel Park, the eventual PIAA champions, last year. However, the Gators had to try to find a way back to the playoffs without one of their top seniors. Gateway played the majority of the...

The Allegheny Valley YMCA wasn’t just well-represented at the district championship. The team made waves in the meet with record-breaking performances. Brody Petrak, 12, headlined the Allegheny Valley YMCA as he captured the 200-yard breaststroke title in the 11- and 12-year old division March 10-12 at the Pennsylvania YMCA West...

Fox Chapel and Kiski Area had different journeys during the PIHL Class A playoffs but wound up at the same destination. They will face off Monday night to see which program will lift its first Penguins Cup. Top-seeded Fox Chapel (20-2) advanced to the championship after knocking off Norwin, the...

The Pine-Richland wrestling program never sent more than two wrestlers to the PIAA championships. This year, the Rams made history by sending three wrestlers, and they didn’t come home empty handed. Senior Anthony Ferraro finished third in the 133-pound weight class, and senior Joey Schneck finished fifth at heavyweight at...

Pine-Richland’s hockey team entered December with a 2-7-1 record and was riding a two-game losing streak. At that point, the playoffs weren’t on the minds of the Rams players and coaches. They just wanted to bring it back to the basics by doing the little things in order to build...

In a physical game that’s being closely called, free throws down the stretch become even more important. McKeesport learned that lesson the hard way Saturday as key free throws contributed to Oakland Catholic’s 60-59 comeback win in overtime in their quarterfinal matchup in the PIAA Class 5A girls basketball playoffs...

Greensburg Salem and Kiski Area are no strangers to each other on the ice. The teams will square off for the third time this season Wednesday night, with the winner earning a spot in the Class A Penguins Cup final. Their semifinal is at 9 p.m. at RMU Island Sports...

For hockey teams still competing this time of year in the PIHL, the buzz around the rink automatically is amped up a notch. This is the case for a handful of teams around Westmoreland County that are competing in the Penguins Cup playoffs. Greensburg Salem (17-3) earned the 2B seed...

The growth of girls wrestling was on display Sunday as more than 100 girls wrestlers competed in the first MyHouse Western Regional girls championships at Kiski Area. In a meet composed of wrestlers from schools in PIAA Districts 7, 8 and 10, the wrestlers from the WPIAL schools shined: 10...

On its way to the WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball championship game, South Fayette had dominated its opponents. It wasn’t exactly the same in a matchup against Oakland Catholic on Saturday. After being down at halftime, No. 1 South Fayette needed a third-quarter surge to move past No. 2 Oakland...

After capturing the program’s first WPIAL title last season, the Mt. Pleasant girls swim team hopes to defend its title beginning Thursday at Pitt’s Trees Pool. Last season, the Vikings had five titles and nine other medal-winning performances to lead them to their WPIAL title. This season, Mt. Pleasant returns...

Doing the little things can decide who wins or loses. That was certainly the case in the WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball semifinal matchup between Peters Township and Gateway. In a game that was tied at half, the No. 1-seed Indians outscored the No. 4 Gators by eight points in...

The Hampton swim team has stressed the importance of team success throughout the season. A large group of individuals and relays will lead the Talbots into the WPIAL Class 2A swimming championships Thursday and Friday at Pitt’s Trees Pool. Hampton had 14 swimmers meet the automatic qualifying standard, including senior...

The Hampton competitive spirit team was riding a high after hitting a perfect routine in the finals of the PIAA Class 2A championships. However, the Talbots had a bad break a week before the team was set to compete in the Universal Cheerleaders Association National High School Championships in Orlando,...

Olivia Cernuto School: Southmoreland Sport: Basketball Year: Junior Claim to fame: Cernuto recorded a double-double (18 points, 12 rebounds) to lead Southmoreland (19-5) to a 45-39 win over Tyrone in the opening round of the PIAA Class 4A playoffs on Mar. 9. “I was happy to see our confidence back....

Reegan Brown School: Mt. Pleasant Sport: Swimming and diving Year: Junior Claim to fame: Brown was part of Mt. Pleasant’s winning relay teams at the WPIAL Class 2A swimming championships at Pitt’s Trees Pool on Friday and Saturday. The Vikings’ 400-yard free relay capped the championship performance with a WPIAL...

As a wrestler, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done throughout the season. It matters what you accomplish during the postseason. Even though the Kiski Area wrestling program didn’t finish the way it wanted during the WPIAL team championships, the Cavaliers were well represented during the individual Section 1-3A tournament Saturday...

Ryan Appleby School: Greensburg Central Catholic Sport: Basketball Class: Senior Claim to fame: Appleby, who’s averaging 12 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2 assists this season, finished with 20 points to lead No. 4 Greensburg Central Catholic (18-3) to a 61-42 win over No. 5 Monessen (18-5) in the WPIAL Class...