Jerin Steele stories, Page 28

Jack Lorence Class: Senior School: Fox Chapel Sport: Cross country Report card: Lorence placed first at the Gateway Invitational on Sept. 4, finishing 22 seconds ahead of the field. He helped the Foxes win the overall title. Lorence also was the male lead in the 2020 high school musical at...

There will be a major change to one of Lernerville Speedway’s marquee events next year. Officials at the Buffalo Township track announced Monday they will be switching from the World of Outlaws Late Model Series to the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series as the sanctioning body for the 2022...

Angela Seman was a big part of Pitt volleyball’s resurgence, helping the Panthers win back-to-back ACC titles in 2017 and ’18 as the starting libero. Now, as a first-time head coach, she’s hoping to build a sustainable culture with Pine-Richland’s volleyball team. Seman, who ranks second all-time at Pitt with...

Donna Stephenson started the Pine-Richland field hockey program in 2004, literally from scratch. She posted a signup sheet in the athletic office and didn’t have a home field secured or any nets to practice with, but she did have a vision of building a program that would one day become...

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds did what they needed to do Saturday night against last-place Loudoun United, earning a lopsided 5-0 victory at Highmark Stadium, but coach Bob Lilley feels his team needs to be better from start to finish. After a somewhat sloppy first half, the Riverhounds scored four times in...

A week ago, Brandon Ross said Seneca Valley can’t win every game on the last play. It wasn’t the last play Friday night at North Hills, but for the second week in a row, the senior wide receiver came through in crunch time. Ross caught a screen pass from Graham...

Kalli Grine has been the tallest girl in her class dating to elementary school, so she always has been an intimidating presence on the volleyball court. Now, she has a confidence in her game that matches her physical tools. With the experience she’s gained and the belief instilled in her...

The Apollo-Ridge girls volleyball team will be a sister act this fall. Three sets of sisters — Brinley and Kylar Toland, Isabel and Cheryl Gerheim and Morghan and Maeggie Wysocki — are on the team, giving a unique twist to a squad that ended a 10-year playoff drought a season...

Nina Busch Class: Senior School: Fox Chapel Sport: Golf Report card: Busch was the medalist for Fox Chapel, shooting 38 in a nonsection win over Shaler and posting another 38 in a tri-match with Mt. Lebanon and North Allegheny in the opening matches of the season. She placed third in...

Because the covid-19 pandemic delayed fall sports in 2020, the St. Joseph girls volleyball team had one practice and went right into games. Needless to say, a more normal schedule this year was welcomed. The Spartans got some summer work in and had about three weeks of open gyms, and...

Campbell Curry Class: Senior School: Kiski Area Sport: Golf/Soccer Report card: Curry carded a 41 to help Kiski Area edge Freeport, 246-249, in the Section 1-3A opener at Willowbrook Country Club. He also shot 42 against Butler. Curry is a forward on the Cavaliers’ soccer team, making him a unique...

It wasn’t the start the Leechburg football team hoped for Saturday afternoon, with three turnovers in the first quarter, but once it settled down, it found a rhythm. The Blue Devils shook off the early mistakes and scored six touchdowns from the second quarter on to pull away for a...

The Pine-Richland girls cross country team is hoping to set a gold standard this fall. With the top eight runners returning from a team that finished as the WPIAL runner-up in Class 3A a season ago, the Rams aspire to win the program’s first WPIAL and PIAA titles. “All of...

The adrenaline still was running at maximum for Brandon Ross moments after catching the winning touchdown pass in the final 10 seconds to propel his Seneca Valley Raiders to a 24-20 win over Pine-Richland. “I might have blacked out a little,” Ross said. “I just remember catching it, running on...

Listed at 6-foot-5, Jelani Peters is the tallest player on the Riverhounds, so every time there’s a corner kick, he knows he is going to be in the box near the front of goal. Peters has been posted there all year, but the Riverhounds hadn’t found the execution they’d like...

When Jordan Wiegand took the Pine-Richland boys soccer coaching job in 2019 he came to a program that had graduated 16 seniors who were major contributors since their sophomore season. Wiegand knew it would be a process to build the team back up into a playoff contender, but it was...

Entering her second season as the Pine-Richland girls soccer coach, Rachelle Dixon has some spots to fill in the lineup. Not only did the Rams lose several key seniors like standout goalkeeper Katherine Kelly and midfielder Megan Donnelly, who’s now at Villanova, but three key juniors are not coming out...

Aaron Smith felt some nerves heading into training camp, and at the first practice he could sense his Deer Lakes boys soccer players had some, too. It’s natural to have anxiousness in a new environment, but as the practices went on the nerves have started to subside. After coaching the...

Moments after shaking hands with their opponents from Mars, the North Hills players raced over to their sideline to greet a packed and raucous student section waiting for them in the visitor’s grandstand. “The student section and the atmosphere were crazy,” North Hills running back Liam Tracey said. “It makes...

For West Greene, the 2020 season was a mission to forge an identity after the Ben Jackson and Kolin Walker era of running through opponents. The Pioneers lost three of their first four games but won three straight to close the season, and with 11 starters returning on offense and...

For Avella coach Ryan Cecchini, last year’s run to the playoffs showed that even if his program doesn’t always have the biggest roster, it can compete in the WPIAL. The Eagles surprised a lot of people by finishing second in the Tri-County South and earning their first playoff berth since...

With covid-19 restrictions prohibiting fans from attending the Olympics in Tokyo, Christian Hartford was one of the few spectators in attendance for the women’s beach volleyball gold medal match. Hartford, a Kiski Area graduate, was there in a working capacity as the performance director for USA beach volleyball, but when...

When asked about senior wide receiver/defensive back Logan Brooks, Plum coach Matt Morgan said that he is one of the most underrated players in all of the WPIAL. That’s fine with Brooks. He’s not concerned about where he ranks and instead will prove his value with his play. What Brooks,...

After a rare down year in which New Castle saw its seven-year playoff streak snapped, Red Hurricanes coach Joe Cowart said his players better have a chip on their shoulder and a desire to get back on the right track. New Castle went 1-5 last year in a season shortened...

After having his penalty attempt stopped two minutes into the game, Russell Cicerone was left shaking his head with a look of disappointment on his face. Little did he know at the time he would be in store for a big night on the scoresheet. Two minutes after the missed...