John Grupp stories, Page 13
Tough breaks test Aquinas Academy boys soccer team
Aquinas Academy left the field following last season’s WPIAL Class A boys soccer playoff loss to Sewickley Academy with bright hopes for 2022. But little has gone right since then. Expected to return 10 starters from the second-winningest team in program history, Aquinas Academy has instead dealt with one setback...
Hampton cross country team working on encore after historic season
The Hampton boys cross country team is learning how to run with a target on its back. The Talbots return four of their top five runners from the school’s first WPIAL Class 2A cross country championship and are looking to become the first Class 2A boys team to repeat since...
Runner-up finishes motivate Hampton girls volleyball to grab gold
The most successful season in program history was just the start for the Hampton girls volleyball team. Silver was nice, but they want gold. “(Last year) was such a great year and I think that placing silver twice adds fire to a lot of us,” all-state junior outside hitter Emmy...
Realignment adds tall hurdle, but Hampton girls soccer team remains optimistic
Two years ago, the Hampton girls soccer team won its first section title since 2008. That’s almost certainly not happening again this season. The WPIAL offseason realignment moved three-time undefeated PIAA champion Mars into the Talbots’ section, leaving the rest of Section 1-3A likely fighting for second place. Mars went...
Defending WPIAL boys soccer champion Hampton embarks on extensive rebuild
The reigning WPIAL and PIAA champion Hampton boys soccer team faces a massive rebuild this season. But maybe not as much as anyone might expect. “It’s not a total melt-the-walls-down-and-rebuild-the-castle kind of thing,” coach Matt McAwley said. “It’s a younger group, but it’s all very talented players who are looking...
Realignment gives Hampton tennis team high hopes
The tennis courts at Hampton Community Park haven’t changed since last year. They are still 78 feet long by 36 feet wide. But they should seem a little more level this season. After decades of playing in Class 3A against some of the WPIAL’s biggest schools, the Talbots girls tennis...
After roster shuffle, Hampton golf team has young but talented lineup
Hampton lost its top golfer to a prep school in New England but gained a No. 1 golfer from a private school in Fox Chapel. Junior Peter Kramer, a Shady Side Academy transfer, has helped ease the sting of losing 2021 WPIAL Class 3A qualifier Dan Venture, who left Hampton...
Hampton’s Ryan Apaliski commits to James Madison after strong audition at summer camp
Hampton senior left-hander Ryan Apaliski needed only two innings to help secure a home for the next four years. Apaliski caught the eye of the James Madison coaching staff at a baseball camp in late June at the Harrisonburg, Va., school and showed enough during a brief two-inning audition in...
Hampton remains hungry after 11-win season
No one needs to tell Hampton first-year coach Steve Sciullo about the importance of an offensive line. The former NFL lineman knows the front five is the anchor of any offense. “It’s super important,” Sciullo said, “for those guys to jell.” Hampton enters the 2022 season with the challenge of...
North Catholic embraces new challenge in Class 4A
North Catholic enters the 2022 season in a new classification with a different home field, a new offensive coordinator, a new quarterback and many new starters. But the Trojans bring back one familiar, time-tested objective — winning football. “I think ultimately (rebuilding) is a realistic word,” coach Patrick O’Shea said....
Hampton infielder finds pop over summer
During his first two seasons as Hampton’s starting second baseman, Anthony Bucci was known as a flashy fielder without much pop in his bat. He has gone hardcore to change that. Bucci, who is entering his senior year, turned himself into a more formidable presence at the plate this summer...
Hampton wrestler performs on national stage
Hampton’s Isabella McNutt only started wrestling a year ago, but that didn’t stop her from reaching the nation’s biggest event this summer. McNutt, who will be a junior at Hampton in the fall, qualified for the 2022 USA Wrestling 16U and junior nationals July 16-22 at the FargoDome in Fargo,...
Ex-Hampton golfer’s game heats up during successful summer
Former Hampton golfer Justin Griffith is getting two more swings at his first state title. Griffith, 23, qualified for the 109th Pennsylvania Amateur Championship, scheduled for July 25-27 at Llanerch Country Club outside Philadelphia, and the 106th Pennsylvania Open Championship, set for Aug. 8-10 at Longue Vue Club in Penn...
‘Fired up’ Hampton freshmen win summer basketball title
Summer basketball leagues are built around staying in shape and building team chemistry. But bringing home a championship doesn’t hurt. Hampton used a late basket by Andrew Butler to defeat North Catholic, 38-37, on June 30 at Montour to win Pittsburgh Basketball Club summer league freshman championship. “Even though it’s...
Hampton announces latest class for Athletic Hall of Fame
Former Hampton cross country coach Tom Tobin knows all about Halls of Fame. He was a member of the first North Hills Athletic Hall of Fame class in 1995, and three years ago joined the WPIAL Hall of Fame as a part of North Hills’ dominant 1979 WPIAL and PIAA...
Hampton volleyball coach’s departure ‘heartbreaking’
Hampton didn’t have to look far to find its new girls volleyball coach. And they don’t have to look far to see where their old coach ended up. Dainen Holler, the district’s middle school coach, was promoted to the Talbots’ top spot after Annie Bozzo departed following two seasons at...
Standout guard Peter Kramer returning to Hampton
The Hampton boys basketball team will get some excitement this upcoming season when coach Joe Lafko collects his 500th career coaching victory. The Talbots this summer received some other exciting news. Peter Kramer, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who last March helped Shady Side Academy to its first WPIAL boys basketball...
Hampton ace Apaliski aims to build on breakout season
If Hampton left-hander Ryan Apaliski improves this summer as much as he did last summer, Talbots coach Kellen Wheeler may start running out of superlatives. Apaliski, who recently completed his junior year, used a strong summer of 2021 as a springboard to a first-team All-Section 2-5A performance this past season....
Hampton quartet fares well at PIAA track
Hampton brought back one state medal, one personal-best time and a vanload of memories from the PIAA Class 3A track and field championships May 27-28 at Shippensburg. Senior Matt DeMatteo placed eighth in the 300-meter hurdles to win his first PIAA track medal, and junior Ava Vitiello ran the fastest...
Hampton girls lacrosse team delights in exceeding expectations
The Hampton girls lacrosse team entered the 2022 season with tepid expectations after graduation losses decimated last year’s WPIAL Class 2A semifinalist. “Honestly,” senior captain Hannah Acquafondata said, “I kind of came into this season with my head down.” The Talbots ended the spring with their heads held high. Hampton...
Bright future for Hampton boys lacrosse
Hampton boys lacrosse coach Andy DeMichiei and his wife, Kristen, welcomed their first child, Owen, on May 10. The former high school All-American also watched his Talbots program make some baby steps during his first season as coach at his alma mater. “I think they showed positive signs and movement...
Disputed call haunts Hampton baseball team
Hampton baseball coach Kellen Wheeler said he “couldn’t even sleep that night” after the Talbots’ controversial WPIAL playoff loss to Penn-Trafford. Senior left-hander Cam Marshalwitz called it “a terrible way to go out” and “the worst way” to end a game. A questionable seventh-inning call brought the Talbots’ 2022 season...
Catcher Bella Henzler ends Hampton career with flourish
The Hampton softball team will return almost everyone from this year’s WPIAL Class 5A playoff qualifier, but one loss is going to sting. Senior catcher Bella Henzler played her final high school game in the Talbots’ 11-5 loss to top-seeded Armstrong on May 17 at Mars in the opening round...
Busy Matt DeMatteo ready to represent Hampton in Big 33
Memorial Day weekend should be a memorable one for Matt DeMatteo. And a very eventful one. The Hampton senior will compete in the PIAA Class 3A track and field championships May 27-28 at Shippensburg University before heading to Harrisburg to play for Team Pennsylvania in the prestigious Big 33 All-Star...
Steve Sciullo settles into top spot at Hampton
Hampton first-year football coach Steve Sciullo likes what he sees from his new view atop the program. “We’re rolling right now,” he said. “We’re pretty happy with how things are looking.” With offseason weightlifting and conditioning in high gear and his staff of assistants in place, Sciullo has settled in...
