John Grupp stories, Page 4
Hampton baseball determined to return to playoffs
Missing the WPIAL playoffs last season for the first time in eight years left a frustrated feeling with Hampton baseball. The players took it out on the offseason. The Talbots devoted themselves to conditioning and weightlifting and played in a fall league for the first time in coach Kellen Wheeler’s...
New coach has high hopes for youthful North Allegheny softball team
North Allegheny first-year softball coach Bill Aguglia worked magic at his previous job by guiding Upper St. Clair to the WPIAL playoffs for the first time in two decades. His new gig offers some challenges right off the bat, but he feels good about it. “I think we’re going to...
Reloaded rotation makes North Allegheny baseball a WPIAL contender again
The North Allegheny baseball team is armed and dangerous. Despite losing a trio of Division I pitchers, the defending WPIAL Class 6A champion Tigers will again be trotting out a deep and talented staff. “I love our depth on the pitching end,” coach Andrew Heck said. “It’s amazing on paper,...
Controversial loss ends North Allegheny wrestler’s bid for states
North Allegheny junior Gus Stedeford couldn’t believe his eyes. Leading 7-0 and on the verge of qualifying for the PIAA Class 3A wrestling championships, Stedeford was called for an illegal slam on State College’s Nicholas Berrena and lost by injury disqualification in the 133-pound fifth-place match. The controversial ruling at...
North Allegheny boys tennis ready to defend WPIAL title
The North Allegheny boys tennis team snapped a 15-year WPIAL title drought last spring. The Tigers’ wait for another championship should be much shorter. Led by reigning WPIAL Class 3A singles champion Advaita Sircar, North Allegheny welcomes back five of its top seven players from last year’s 18-1 PIAA semifinalist....
NA girls basketball looks ahead after rough season
On paper, the North Allegheny girls basketball team had its worst season in 37 years. On the court, it was a different story. “I think there are other ways to win outside of the wins and losses on paper,” said first-year coach Gabby Baldasare, whose Tigers (9-14) lost to top-seeded...
North Allegheny junior divers make ripples at WPIAL championships
North Allegheny’s latest WPIAL champion divers took different paths to the top. Junior Ethan Maravich is a converted swimmer who picked up diving two years ago because the boys team needed help on the boards. Junior Maggie Lapina is a former standout gymnast who started diving 18 months ago after...
North Allegheny’s Grant Regule looks to add another gold medal to collection
North Allegheny’s Grant Regule already owns one state championship in the pool as a senior, and now he’s searching for more gold in the water. A member of NA’s 2024 state champion water polo team, Regule is poised to defend his WPIAL Class 3A title in the 50 freestyle and...
Hampton boys rebound from slow start to earn 21st straight playoff berth
The Hampton boys basketball team is sticking to its New Year’s resolution. After opening the season with a 3-6 mark, the calendar turned to 2025 and the Talbots started winning, putting together an impressive run that vaulted them into the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. “I always kept a realistic grasp...
North Allegheny inline hockey team coming together after season of ups, downs
North Allegheny inline hockey coach Dominic Manz figured this season would be a rebuilding year for his perennial power Tigers. He just had to roll with the changes. “It was a big challenge,” said Manz, who lost most of his roster from last season’s 17-4 league runner-up. “The kids that...
‘Heartbreaking’ season fuels North Allegheny wrestler Griffen Reid
North Allegheny wrestler Griffen Reid entered last year’s postseason with a knee swollen “larger than a baseball.” He gutted out a win in his first match at sectionals, but painful bursitis forced him to withdraw, ending his sophomore season with three straight forfeit losses. “It just totally ruined my season...
Former North Allegheny water polo star counts blessings after California wildfires
Becca Melanson looked out the window of her apartment near the UCLA campus, gasped and grabbed her cellphone. “It was insane,” said Melanson, the top girls water polo player in North Allegheny history. “I have a few photos from my apartment, and I see flames. … I was scared. We...
North Allegheny hockey looking forward to important tournament at Notre Dame
An upcoming road trip for the North Allegheny hockey team could pave the path for another long playoff journey. The Tigers (6-6-2-0) are returning to the prestigious Hoosier Cup on Feb. 8-10 in South Bend, Ind., where they will face a rugged schedule that last season helped catapult them into...
Loaded with fresh faces, North Allegheny bowling teams exceeding expectations
North Allegheny boys bowling coach Bill Jorden welcomed many new faces this season. But a lot of the same smiles. “We are starting with a brand new team, so considering that, I think we are doing a great job,” Jorden said. “The fact that we are putting five new guys...
Big stage awaits North Allegheny junior gymnast
A gymnastics trip to Las Vegas prevented North Allegheny junior Sarah Patterson from competing at last season’s WPIAL individual championships. This season she left nothing to chance. Patterson, a Level 9 gymnast and one of the program’s top all-around performers, will take part in the WPIAL individuals this season after...
North Allegheny’s dominant 2012 championship team goes down in WPIAL history
During North Allegheny’s undefeated run to the 2012 PIAA Class 4A football championship, the players often visited a local pizzeria the day after games. “We’d go to eat at Cenci’s,” all-state quarterback Mack Leftwich said. “We’d be 40 deep in there on Saturday mornings after we watched film.” Now those...
North Allegheny grad Leyna Rumpler rolling in college wrestling debut season
Former North Allegheny wrestler Leyna Rumpler’s first year in college is starting to look a lot like her last year in high school. The three-time Pennsylvania state finalist is off to a sizzling debut for the Baldwin Wallace women’s wrestling team, going 16-4 for the first-year Division III program with...
North Allegheny’s Leah Skweres breaks through as 1st-year starter
As a 5-foot fifth-grader, North Allegheny’s Leah Skweres never even considered playing basketball. Then it kind of grew on her. “I really just didn’t pay attention to it as a sport,” she said. “In sixth grade, I shot up height-wise. I went from being 5-foot in fifth grade to 5-6...
Young Hampton wrestlers up for the challenge in Class 3A, making strides
Hampton wrestling has no seniors on its 17-man roster, but the Talbots are aging well. During a season in which they moved up to Class 3A and lost nine seniors from a WPIAL playoff team, the youthful Talbots have witnessed a group of wrestlers take big strides this season. “We...
Small Hampton swimming roster out to make big splash in postseason
The Hampton girls swimming team is counting on quality over quantity this season. With a shorthanded but gifted roster of only a dozen swimmers, the Talbots are looking to move up at the WPIAL Class 2A championships after last season’s seventh-place finish. “We are a high-quality team in terms of...
WPIAL champion North Allegheny competitive spirit squad ‘not done yet’
The North Allegheny competitive spirit team has a lot to cheer about. Having already clinched a berth to the national championships, the Tigers won the WPIAL Class 3A Large Squad title for the first time in nine years Jan. 4 at Hempfield. “We’re not done yet,” said senior Aly Corna,...
North Allegheny’s Carter Melzer steps up into go-to scoring role
North Allegheny senior Carter Melzer learned at an early age how to defend himself on the basketball court. The youngest of five brothers, he grew up in an athletic environment in which “nothing came easy.” “Being the youngest one, I always got bullied and picked on,” he said. “In basketball,...
Roster smaller but hopes high for North Allegheny gymnasts
The North Allegheny gymnastics team hopes to prove good things come in small packages. The Tigers’ roster has dropped from 22 gymnasts last season — by far the biggest team in coach Nicole Bova’s 12 years — to just 11 this winter. The departures included a class of 11 seniors...
North Allegheny swimmers in position to extend WPIAL championship streak
The North Allegheny swimming team ordered T-shirts for this season that paraphrase a famous Vince Lombardi quote. “If you chase perfection, you can land among the stars of excellence,” said Tori Tieppo, part of a loaded junior class at NA. “You strive for the most you can, and you will...
Hampton girls basketball enters season of unknowns
The Hampton girls basketball team graduated its all-time leading scorer, but that’s only part of the change. From the roster to the schedule, just about everything is different. The Talbots must replace five starters, including all-state guard and all-time scoring leader Meghan Murray, and have moved from Class 5A into...
