John Grupp stories, Page 10

Seven Hampton athletics teams will be getting new scenery for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 sports seasons. The PIAA enrollment-based parameters, released earlier this month, will drop the programs down one classification, including boys basketball, baseball and wrestling. Four girls teams — softball, tennis, cross country and swimming — will also...

The Hampton girls basketball team was perfect in December by letting no opposing teams win and by barely allowing them to breathe. On the way to an 8-0 record, the Talbots sprinted out of the gate from the opening whistle, shell-shocking teams en route to the program’s second-best start in...

There is something special and unifying about the Hampton High School bocce team. The club offers students with intellectual or physical disabilities the opportunity to experience the camaraderie and competitiveness afforded by team sports through the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Unified Sports program. “The best part is seeing these kids be...

Hampton graduate Brooke Fuller was frustrated and struggling as a freshman at Waynesburg when she set an unimaginable goal. “I looked at her and said, ‘Brooke, do you realize if you don’t get any better than you are right now, you are on pace to score 1,000 (points)?’ ” Yellow...

Hampton swimming coach Morgan Zweygardt quickly spotted something about then-freshman Will Retsch. No matter what stroke the Talbots were working on at early season practices, Retsch went fast. “We realized he really had four solid strokes,” Zweygardt said. “It was very natural. As we are training, you realize, ‘Whoa, he’s...

When the Hampton football players turned in their equipment after the winningest season in program history, their coaches gave them something in return. The Talbots learned nine players were named first-team All-Greater Allegheny in voting by league coaches, the most of any team in the conference. Another six players also...

Hampton hockey coach Luke Leya figured Logan Scanlon was bound to break out one of these nights. Scanlon, a senior forward, was the team’s leading scorer through the season’s midpoint with 10 goals in eight games. But Leya didn’t see this coming. Scanlon scored seven goals in the Talbots’ 9-7...

The Hampton wrestling team is aiming to focus on quantity rather than quality. The Talbots, under first-year coach Nick Endres, have seen growing numbers at every level and are counting on the boost in participation to offset the losses of two PIAA qualifiers. Gone are Justin Hart, the 2021 WPIAL...

The reigning WPIAL Class 2A champion Hampton boys swimming team hopes deeper is better when it comes to the pool. The Talbots will look to defend their title with less top-end talent and more roster-wide balance. “I think we have a lot of depth,” junior Ben Sheets said. “Last year...

Hampton girls basketball coach Tony Howard has a good feeling entering the 2021-22 season. The seventh-year coach returns four starters, including his entire backcourt, from a 15-win Section 2-5A champion. Senior first-team all-section guard Sophia Kelly along with a pair of second-team all-section picks, senior Kayla Hoehler and sophomore Meghan...

The Hampton boys basketball team will try to bounce back from one of the worst seasons in program history with a bunch of players who have won a lot lately. The Talbots, coming off a 4-16 season, have a roster dotted with versatile athletes who enjoyed success in other sports...

One year after a pandemic rattled WPIAL athletics, something else proved to be contagious at Hampton — winning. The Talbots fall sports programs put together the most successful season in school history, claiming multiple WPIAL team titles, a PIAA championship and posting an 11-win football season. “It’s once in a...

The Hampton boys and girls cross country teams each have a lot to look forward to next season. For the boys, it’s where they have been, and for the girls, it’s where they are going. The boys will return five of their top runners from the most successful season in...

Following their WPIAL playoff loss to Thomas Jefferson, the Hampton senior football players gathered at midfield inside a quiet, emptied Fridley Field. “It was bittersweet,” senior tackle John Morris said. “We just talked about memories. Just the seniors.” They had a lot to talk about. The senior-heavy Talbots enjoyed the...

The Hampton girls volleyball team found a silver lining in its WPIAL Class 3A runner-up season. “It was amazing,” senior outside hitter Taylor Fiscus said. “I never expected this, but we worked really hard as a team. My freshman year, I didn’t even make the team. These girls are amazing,...

Hampton’s journey to the 2021 WPIAL boys soccer championship began when many of the players were still in elementary school. As 8- and 9-year-olds, they competed on the same Hampton youth soccer teams. They became close friends and grew as teammates. They went undefeated as eighth-graders and reached the 2019...

Hampton boys cross country coach Dean Longwell dyed his hair bleach blonde on Oct. 31, but it had nothing to do with Halloween. Longwell was keeping his word. The longtime coach made a bet with his young team over the summer. If they earned a top-three finish at the WPIAL...

A girls soccer season that began with the program’s most lopsided loss in a decade ended with the players’ heads held high. Hampton rebounded from a shaky start to place second in Section 1-3A and reach the WPIAL playoffs for the sixth consecutive year. The No. 7-seeded Talbots defeated No....

The No. 4-seeded Hampton Talbots remained perfect, but they used an imperfect performance to stay that way. The Talbots (11-0) overcame turnovers and penalties to edge a spirited Plum team 14-13 on Friday night on a late touchdown in the first round of the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs. Trailing for...

Each Saturday morning, the Hampton football team gathers for its weekly film study to break down the previous night’s game. After a quick workout, the players settle in, munching on bagels and other food, to watch the replay. So far it’s been two thumbs up. “It’s a different mood this...

Hampton graduate Elaina Balouris Tabb competed in the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and represented her country on five continents as a professional distance runner. But nothing compared to a Monday morning in Boston earlier this month. Balouris Tabb, running in her first marathon, finished second among all U.S. females...

Sophia Kelly had a tough decision to make this past summer. A week-and-a-half at the beach, or basketball and soccer practices? She made the unusual choice. “I didn’t go on vacation this year,” said Kelly, a senior at Hampton. “I opted out.” Kelly is a rare three-sport female varsity athlete...

Michael Berarducci’s first collegiate punt traveled 59 yards, and the memory will carry on much further. The Duquesne freshman from Hampton made his unforgettable debut at TCU’s Amon G. Carter Stadium in front of nearly 36,000 fans, including his mom and dad. “Punting in TCU’s stadium, a packed stadium, first...

Hampton’s Kevyn Fish proudly held out her left hand and showed her dad the “6:22” written on her palm. Fish had just completed a mile run as part of the school’s sixth-grade Greek Olympics and wanted to remember her time. So she jotted it down. “I was like, ‘I think...

Hampton’s Jacque DeMatteo has sought two traits in his middle linebacker during 22 seasons as a WPIAL football coach. “You have to be physical and intelligent,” DeMatteo said, “and that’s both adjectives and qualities that describe Jayden right now.” Senior middle linebacker Jayden Resch is the anchor of an improving...