John Grupp stories, Page 12
Red-hot Hampton boys basketball surges out of the gate
The Hampton boys basketball team is hoping a season that began with a memorable win ends with a whole bunch more. The Talbots headed into their Section 1-4A showdown with No. 3 Highlands on Jan. 3 with a 7-2 record, the program’s best start to a season since going 12-0...
Hampton senior Ava Vitiello tracks down D-I scholarship
For the longest time, Hampton’s Ava Vitiello believed a Division I scholarship was out of her reach. But she kept running and eventually caught up to one. “I never really thought I was going to be D-I athlete,” she said. “It was never a dream of mine. It kind of...
Ex-Hampton lineman Dawson Dietz named 1st-team all-PAC in debut season at W&J
Because Hampton’s Dawson Dietz was a sophomore first-year starter at Washington & Jefferson, opposing quarterbacks and running backs probably didn’t know too much about him. So he introduced himself. After playing only two games as a freshman on a senior-stacked depth chart, the 6-foot, 245-pound defensive tackle burst onto the...
Ex-Hampton standout Anastasia Russ thrives in debut season at Maryland
Former Hampton volleyball star Anastasia Russ has come out of her shell. After three years at Pitt as an underused backup, Russ transferred to Maryland in January and flourished in her first season with the Terrapins. The 6-foot-5 redshirt junior middle blocker emerged as one of the best defensive players...
After busy offseason, top scorer Meghan Murray ready to lead Hampton girls
The best player on the Hampton girls basketball team spent this summer getting even better. Junior point guard Meghan Murray, a first-team all-Section 2-5A pick last season, devoted countless hours to putting up thousands of shots to improve her perimeter game. “I had problems last year with the 3s,” Murray...
Coach’s milestone win just the 1st step for Hampton boys
At some point early this winter, Hampton boys basketball coach Joe Lafko will achieve something “that’s been a career goal with me forever.” The WPIAL Hall of Famer will earn his 500th victory spanning 32-plus seasons, including the past 26 at Hampton. Lafko, 56, will celebrate with his players, his...
Roster depth, move to Class 2A boost Hampton wrestling team
For the first time in program history, the Hampton wrestling team can try to pick on someone its own size. The Talbots will compete against similar-sized schools after being dropped to Class 2A during the offseason WPIAL enrollment-based realignment. This is the first season since the program formed that Hampton...
Hampton boys swim team in search of WPIAL 3-peat with new-look roster
The Hampton boys swimming team will need to take a different lane to a third consecutive WPIAL Class 2A title. The Talbots are without much of the star power they used to win each of the past two WPIAL crowns. Instead, they will rely on one standout Division-I bound swimmer...
Plenty of highlights for Hampton volleyball despite quick WPIAL playoff exit
The Hampton girls volleyball team made history during a season that turned into the past sooner than anyone expected. Hampton rolled to its first undefeated regular season and brought home its first outright section title before suffering a deflating 3-1 upset loss to No. 10 seed South Fayette in the...
Hampton football team racks up postseason accolades
Hampton senior defensive lineman Gabe Harris was surprised to earn all-Greater Allegheny Conference honors, but maybe he shouldn’t have been startled at all. “There were a lot of nights where my friends were going out to eat or hang out,” he said, “and I just decided to keep lifting.” The...
Hampton football looks ahead following heartbreaking loss
Hampton senior Eric Weeks has replayed the final moments of the Talbots’ 34-33 gut-wrenching last-second WPIAL Class 4A playoff loss to Montour over and over again. But the ending never changed. “I’ve watched that play probably 50 times, thinking of anything I could have done better,” the wide receiver/defensive back...
Bittersweet ending for seniors on Hampton girls soccer team
Hidden beneath the emotional hugs following Hampton’s first-round playoff loss was a sense of pride and accomplishment. The Talbots finished 14-4 and reached the girls soccer playoffs for the seventh consecutive season, losing to No. 11 seed Montour, 2-1, on a late goal in the WPIAL Class 3A opener Oct....
Aquinas Academy field hockey gains ground with wins over rival, trip to WPIAL finals
The Aquinas Academy field hockey team last year became the school’s first team to reach the WPIAL finals in any sport. The Crusaders lost to Shady Side Academy, 1-0, in that unprecedented Class A final, but this season they gained a measure of revenge. Actually, it was revenge times three....
Hampton wide receiver Benny Haselrig catching eye of colleges
The struggle was real last season for Hampton all-conference wide receiver Benny Haselrig. It was his junior season, by far the most important for potential college recruits, and while the Talbots were rolling to one of the best seasons in program history, Haselrig was rarely targeted in the run-first offense....
Hampton boys soccer team’s WPIAL reign ends suddenly
Hampton boys soccer coach Matt McAwley is practical enough to know this season wasn’t going to end anything like last season. “It’s very, very rare that a (player’s) last moments on a soccer field is a moment of winning everything,” McAwley said. “We were fortunate last year to experience that...
Rebuilding Hampton hopes to overcome smallest roster in PIHL
The Hampton hockey team will be skating uphill this season. With only 14 players, the Talbots have the thinnest roster in the 56-school PIHL under first-year coach Buck McKee. But the Talbots have shown no quit in the early going of the 20-game season. After being routed by Indiana, 9-0,...
Hampton’s Joey Mayer makes ‘remarkable’ return
Hampton senior quarterback Joey Mayer climbed into an ambulance in mid-September with a dislocated left elbow and a broken heart. “The whole night, the whole ambulance ride to the hospital, I thought my season was over,” he said. “They initially said, ‘You are not going to be playing again.’ “...
Hampton boys soccer team braces for title defense
The defending WPIAL and PIAA champion Hampton boys soccer team is ready to try to make another postseason run. Most of the names are different, but the goal remains the same. “These boys have worked very hard to put themselves in a position to be successful,” coach Matt McAwley said...
Hampton golfer Joey O’Donnell caps long road with WPIAL bid
Hampton senior Joey O’Donnell’s disappointing 23-over 94 at the WPIAL Class 3A individual golf semifinals was only a letdown if one ignores how far he came just to get there. “He didn’t do real well (at WPIALs),” Hampton coach Bruce Steckel said. “But that doesn’t make the whole season. …...
Aquinas Academy junior Alexis Abbett proving to be hard to catch
When Aquinas Academy junior Alexis Abbett was a toddler, she loved to run. She would dart around, with her parents trying to stay hot on her heels. “I would run away,” Alexis said, “a lot.” Abbett is still running, and she still has a lot of people trying to catch...
Libero Avery Koontz gets her digs in for Hampton girls volleyball
As libero for Hampton’s No. 2-ranked girls volleyball team, Avery Koontz is not allowed to jump above the height of the net or attack the ball. Instead, she does her best work much closer to the ground. Koontz, a 5-foot-3 junior, is a defensive specialist and energetic fireplug for the...
Sets of siblings fill Hampton soccer rosters
Hampton girls soccer coach Bill Paholich learned early this season he needed to be on a first-name basis with his players. If he wasn’t, chaos broke out. “It’s crazy,” Paholich said. “You can’t really call anybody by their last name anymore. You say, ‘Zebrine,’ and you got three of them...
Hampton sophomore serves up WPIAL tournament bid
Moments after Hampton’s Grace Stitt lost in her section singles semifinal match Sept. 14, coach Sara Longo reminded her of what was at stake the following day. “I was like, ‘Well, tomorrow is a must-win,’ ” Longo said. “She goes, ‘Oh, I’m getting to WPIALs. Don’t worry. I’m getting there.’...
Hampton football opens up passing attack
The Hampton football team has gone airborne this season. One year after mashing opponents with a pair of 1,000-yard rushers, the Talbots have unveiled a potent passing attack under first-year coach Steve Sciullo. “We came into the season with the goal to pass more,” said senior quarterback Joey Mayer, who...
Confidence growing for Aquinas Academy girls soccer
The smallest school in WPIAL girls soccer is starting to think big. “This year, I’d really like to see us make it to the second round of playoffs,” Aquinas Academy senior midfielder Isabella Hite said, “and, hopefully, go all the way.” The Crusaders, in only their third season as a...
