Jerin Steele stories, Page 27

Angela Seman played for four years in Section 1-4A with Seneca Valley, and now as the coach at Pine-Richland, she is getting a different perspective. One thing that remains the same? It is uber-competitive. The section features the top two teams in Class 4A, Shaler and North Allegheny, as well...

When describing how Pine-Richland field hockey was able to grind out a 1-0 win over Peters Township earlier this year, midfielder Fiona Kortyna said her team has the ability to keep going no matter what. That’s true in the micro sense of one match, but it’s also apt for the...

Yumiko Kuo Class: Senior School: Knoch Sport: Cross Country Report card: Kuo posted a time of 22 minutes, 13 seconds and won by 7 seconds at a tri-meet with Riverview and Freeport on Sept. 28, in Oakmont. She helped the Knoch girls win the tri-meet and move to 8-0. She...

Missions to Mars had not been successful for the Kiski Area boys soccer team in recent years. The last three times the Cavaliers had played at Mars Athletic Complex, two against the Fightin’ Planets and a playoff game, they were unable to score. That changed Sept. 21. The Cavaliers trailed...

Isaac Wetzel Class: Junior School: Freeport Sport: Soccer Report card: Wetzel scored a pair of goals to lead Freeport to a 2-0 win over Highlands last Wednesday. Through nine games, Wetzel had a team-leading 10 goals and five assists. He recently joined the Yellowjackets’ football team as a kicker. How...

The Knoch boys soccer team entered this season as a rather inexperienced group, but what they lack in seasoning they have made up for with effort. That’s put the Knights in a lot of close games. Entering Saturday’s match with Highlands, six of Knoch’s 11 games were decided by one...

Last year, PIHL Class 3A featured a lot of parity with the top five teams separated by four points at the end of the regular season and No. 7 seed Mt. Lebanon making a run in the playoffs to the championship game. Pine-Richland coach Jordan Yoklic expects more of the...

Dating to their youth football days, Cole Boyd and Alex Gochis said they’ve always had chemistry as a quarterback and receiver combo. Through the years, they’ve continued to build on it through work both in practice and on their own time. They’ve had to wait their turn to showcase what...

There is a litany of players with NCAA Division I offers on the Central Catholic defense, and those players showed why they are going to play at that level Friday night. The Vikings forced four turnovers in the first quarter that led to four touchdowns in a 35-0 rout of...

Over the last couple of weeks Highlands girls volleyball coach Caroline Bain could sense her team was on the cusp of breaking through. When her players walked into the gym Thursday night with a confident look in their eyes it affirmed her belief. “They just came in and said they...

Lola Abraham Class: Sophomore School: Riverview Sport: Soccer Report card: Abraham scored four goals and had three assists to lead Riverview girls soccer to its first victory of the year in a 7-0 win over Jeannette on Sept. 20. Abraham trains at the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy and had an opportunity...

Cam Reigard Class: Sophomore School: Highlands Sport: Soccer Report card: Cam Reigard scored twice, including the winning goal, to help Highlands secure its first Section 1-3A win of the year in a 3-2 victory over Armstrong. They were Reigard’s first two goals of the season. He also has one assist....

As Tyler King was going through his recruiting process, the thing that stood out about Stony Brook was the coaching staff’s transparency. “They didn’t beat around the bush in anything with what they were telling me,” King said. “They were very straight forward.” The message was that hard work pays...

The red clay at Lernerville Speedway again was covered by Gravel on Saturday night. David Gravel passed current points leader and two-time defending series champion Brad Sweet on a Lap 22 restart for what proved to be the winning move and earned $10,000 at the Commonwealth Clash World of Outlaws...

The sixth time turned out to be the charm for Kiski Area. After failing to score the first five times they reached West Allegheny territory, Brock Wilkins made sure the final trip was worth it for the Cavaliers. Wilkins broke free for a 37-yard score midway through the fourth quarter,...

Eden Richey Class: Senior School: Valley Sport: Tennis Report card: Richey became the first Valley girls tennis player since 2012 to win Section 1-2A singles Friday, defeating teammate Rachel Schrock in the final 6-3, 6-1. She was the runner-up at sectionals in 2020, losing to Mt. Pleasant’s Mary Smithnosky in...

Now in her 36th year at Knoch, Diane Geist is the longest tenured girls volleyball coach in the WPIAL. What keeps her coming back to the gym year after year is the process of getting the best out of every player she has. Two years ago, it was about managing...

Lucas Pittman Class: Junior School: Plum Sport: Soccer Report card: Pittman scored four goals for Plum in a 9-0 win over Obama Academy on Sept. 13 and had an assist in a 3-0 win at Penn Hills on Sept. 15. Through the first six games, Pittman had six goals and...

In Dick Logan’s 28 years as a PGA professional, this summer coaching the Rolling Fields Golf Course 17-and-under PGA Junior League team was the best experience of his entire career. The enjoyment came from being around six kids he said have the utmost respect for the game, their opponents, and...

Colin Zvejnieks’ parents told him that he has always been a runner. So much so, they claim he learned to run before he could walk. Needless to say Zvejnieks is energetic, and that trait comes out even more when he’s on the soccer field. A varsity player since his freshman...

As a tennis coach, Jirakorn “Dang” Siriprasert concentrates more on the process than the result. Sometimes the two can go hand-in-hand. With a largely new varsity roster this year, the Pine-Richland girls team won its first four section matches of the season and is on track to contend for a...

Laurel needed a spark, and Luke McCoy provided it. After a touchdown that put Beaver Falls up by 11 in the third quarter, McCoy fielded the ensuing kickoff at the 20 and raced down the sideline for an 80-yard touchdown. From there the Spartans became a buzz saw. Laurel scored...

Grace Gent Class: Junior School: Springdale Sport: Soccer Report Card: Gent got off to a strong start by scoring five goals in a 7-2 season-opening win over Deer Lakes. She added two more goals in an 11-1 victory over Highlands on Wednesday. Gent had a pair of goals in Springdale’s...

On the eve of the first match, Kiski Area girls volleyball coach Jodie McCartney told her team that every time it takes the court in section play there is potential for a five-set match. The next day, that came to fruition. Kiski Area played a tight five-set match with Greensburg...

The Highlands boys soccer team opened camp with 15 players, but that number became smaller heading into the season-opening tournament at home. Contact tracing from covid cases within the school forced four players into quarantine, leaving the Golden Rams with only 11 players and no subs for games on back-to-back...