Jerin Steele stories, Page 8

Pine-Richland swimming coach Pete Barry can see the fire inside Sarah Anne Shaffer. Shaffer won the WPIAL Class 3A gold in 100 breaststroke last year but isn’t resting on her laurels. She also made the A final at states and finished seventh. A title defense at WPIALs and an improved...

For the current, senior-laden group of Burrell boys basketball players, this is the last ride. And they hope it’s a long one. The Bucs (4-0) are loaded with experience. Even the one junior in the lineup, Tucker Bitar, has started since he was a freshman. They made their presence known...

Drew Griffith is a multi-time WPIAL and state champion and the Pennsylvania cross country record holder for fastest time, but even with all of those accolades, he still has times when he doubts himself. Going into the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championship this weekend, he wanted all negative thoughts...

Levi Wentz has found his home in more ways than one. A raw prospect who played just one year of high school football at Pine-Richland, Wentz signed with Old Dominion to play defensive back. But three years later, he’s a wide receiver at Albany and the change of school and...

Vaughn Spencer went undefeated through the first 28 matches of his varsity career until an injury derailed his shot at his first state title last year. Spencer, a junior, still won a WPIAL title and leads a formidable group of Pine-Richland wrestlers. Bouncing back from injury is nothing new for...

Positive progress was the theme for Pine-Richland girls basketball in Gabby Baldasare’s first season as coach. The Rams made the playoffs for the first time on merit since 2017-18 and finished in a tie for third in the Section 1-6A standings. With IUP recruit Madison Zavasky back to lead the...

The Pine-Richland boys basketball team is in a position to surprise some people, and it’s an opportunity that’s being embraced. After a rare playoff miss last year, a young Rams team is energized, hungry and ready to get back on track in what should be an extremely competitive Section 1-6A....

There’s a fresh, new banner in the Burrell gymnasium for Cooper Hornack’s state championship last year. Hornack would love to put another one right beside it. If he can win a second consecutive state title, he’d be only the second Bucs wrestler to do so, joining Joe Makara, who did...

It was a banner year for Plum wrestling, literally. For the first time in three decades, the Mustangs won a section title, ending Kiski Area’s six-year run as section champ in the process, and won their first ever Allegheny County championship. Almost all the wrestlers who played a part in...

There’s a lot to like about Pine-Richland hockey’s start to the season. The Rams were 5-2 entering the Thanksgiving break and have been a strong team closing out games, allowing only two goals in the third period. That’s put them in a logjam near the top of the uber competitive...

Player of the year Billy Lawrence Springdale, Sr., Forward Billy Lawrence was used to being man-marked by opponents as Springdale’s striker, but this year, he received even more attention. Lawrence saw junk defenses and, at times was harassed by opponents hoping to distract him and get him off kilter. “It’s...

Riverview boys basketball’s fortunes came down to a few possessions last year. Tight losses to Clairton, Serra Catholic, Jeannette and Leechburg left the Raiders on the outside looking in when it came to the postseason. The goal for this season is to flip the results of those tight games while...

One day after playing in a state championship, several members of the Riverview girls soccer team showed up to basketball practice. Raiders coach Jill Catanzaro implored them to take the day off, but that’s not in their DNA. “Even a day probably wasn’t enough, because that was a long (soccer)...

If the WPIAL gave out a most improved award, the Leechburg girls basketball team might have won it last year. The Blue Devils went from a winless 2021-22 season to seven victories and a playoff spot. Now the goal is to keep trending upward. “It was an exciting year,” Leechburg...

There is a lot of newness around the Leechburg boys basketball team. Andrew McDermott takes over for longtime Blue Devils coach Damian Davies, who stepped down after last season. McDermott and his staff of young coaches, including his brother Ryan, Dylan Romaniw and Caleb Orendi, are Leechburg grads. They take...

The Highlands boys basketball program has been among the elite programs in whatever classification it’s been in 10 years, and the expectation is to be a force again among an elite Class 4A crop. Having a future NCAA Division I forward certainly helps the Golden Rams’ prospects. Bradyn Foster, a...

It was quite the season for Highlands girls basketball last year. A trip to the WPIAL semifinals and clinching a spot in the state playoffs were highlights in a major leap forward. With four returning starters, the goal is to make the 2023-24 campaign a special one. “We just want...

A half dozen Pine-Richland athletes made their college choices official during the early national signing day Nov. 8. Three softball players — Mackenzie Gillis (Mercyhurst), Jocelyn Langer (Millersville) and Izzy Sulesky (Susquehanna) — girls lacrosse player Ashley Woodward (Mercyhurst), boys lacrosse player Cooper Zancosky (Oberlin) and girls basketball player Madison...

Rich Macura basically has been involved with Freeport basketball his entire life. He started as a player in third grade and was a longtime assistant coach for the Yellowjackets, so getting the opportunity to be the bench boss at his alma mater is a dream come true. “What’s exciting is...

It’s been a year of positive transition for Mallory Ketterer. She recently welcomed a new baby into the world and now is gearing up for her first season as the Freeport girls basketball coach. Ketterer spent the last four years as an assistant to former Freeport coach Fred Soilis, who...

Matt Sieg stood on the field after the game with friends, family and Fort Cherry fans asking him to take a picture with them. Everyone wanted a snapshot to remember what the Rangers and Sieg accomplished Friday night. Sieg rushed for five touchdowns, including three in the fourth quarter, and...

On a night where, not surprisingly, a tight defensive battle raged on, Sydney Felton found her moment to make an impact. And it gave Moon a chance at a state three-peat. Felton scored on a shot off a cross by Marina Mollica with 1 minute, 19 seconds remaining in regulation...

Lucas Thompson left last year’s WPIAL cross country meet with the mindset that he was going to qualify for states in 2023. It was an ambitious goal for a freshman, but one he was determined to meet. He started doing some research on how he could optimize his workouts using...

Burrell found itself in the same position Saturday as it was 12 days ago against Bentworth. Searching for a tying goal. This time, however, instead of getting that goal and sending the game to overtime, the Bearcats provided a dagger. Ryan Scott scored in the 65th minute, and Bentworth won...

In Lola Abraham’s freshman year at Riverview, there weren’t enough girls to field a soccer team, and in her sophomore and junior years, the team didn’t get a win against neighboring rival Springdale. So Saturday’s 3-1 win for the Raiders over the Dynamos in the PIAA Class A quarterfinals at...