Josh Rizzo stories, Page 25

Penn Hills baseball got the offensive jolt it needed during its final Section 2-5A series of the season. Facing rival Woodland Hills, the Indians plated 20 runs in two games to close the section schedule on a positive note with 14-4 and 6-3 victories. The 14 runs in the first...

Alain Tamo-Noche picked up volleyball as a sophomore looking to build skills for basketball season. The 6-foot-1 Penn Hills senior outside hitter is now considering playing in college. Learning the sport has been a fun process for Tamo-Noche, who learned from veteran players when he started and is now part...

Every match the Big Red Rugby club team plays is a learning experience. After opening against a few clubs that were newer programs like Penn Hills’ squad, the Big Red took one on the chin against West Allegheny. At an event hosted by Moon, the Big Red Rugby club fell...

Stephanie Sipple’s boyfriend would be on dry land holding bungee cords, while she would take 20 butterfly strokes in Edinboro Lake. The Edinboro junior swimmer and Penn Hills graduate didn’t want to fall behind. With the school enforcing tight covid-19 restrictions, Sipple wanted to stay in shape. With few organized...

Jordan Sullivan Jr. didn’t sit around and pout when the pandemic forced the Penn Hills baseball team to have last season canceled. Tommy John surgery would have kept him sidelined either way. The junior catcher for the Indians felt when he returned, he didn’t feel any ill effects. “I feel...

Angelo Allen laid the groundwork for what could be an outstanding spring with a strong winter track and field season. Everything the Penn Hills junior has done far has shown the winter was a preview of what is to come. Allen won the shot put with a throw of 50...

Kiern Mack sent a pitch left hanging over the plate solidly over the fence April 19 at Milltown Field in Penn Hills. The home run was a first in varsity competition for the junior outfielder. Mack’s grand slam helped propel the Indians to a 13-1 win over St. Joseph, snapping...

Angelo Allen took advantage of the 17th annual South Hills Classic being hosted closer to home. The Penn Hills thrower finished second in the shot put with a throw of 49 feet, 6 1/2 inches and seventh in the discus with a throw of 118-7. While Baldwin was the event...

Ethan Payne-Hawkins and his teammates had plenty of assistance during the Big Red Rugby club team’s debut match against Central Catholic. There were coaches on both sides to help guide the program through the rigors of a rugby 7s match. The referee also stopped the match several times, with the...

Shaler Area track and field coach Shawn Ryan had a nice return to competition for the Titans’ girls track team. Shaler beat North Hills, 87-60, in its first dual meet, collecting its first victory since Ryan took over the program in 2019. In a season where many athletes will be...

Shaler Area senior Cameron Szazynski wanted to keep punishing the second serve of Fox Chapel’s Cooper Friday last Wednesday. Szazynski saw an opening during their Section 3-AAA quarterfinal match and worked to exploit it. The seventh-seeded Szazynski kept scoring points with strong returns and broke second-seeded Friday twice in the...

Ian Weber stepped on the court last Thursday against North Allegheny in an unfamiliar spot. The Shaler Area junior middle blocker is the only returning starter from the Titans’ 2019 boys volleyball season. That season marked a landmark one. The Titans finished third in the WPIAL and won their first...

Missing a season due to the pandemic hurt the Shaler girls lacrosse program in a number of ways. Seniors didn’t have the opportunity to close their careers, and those who return for this year’s team missed out on time to develop. Titans coach Ali Nicholas believes that development this season...

Logan Parker made the most out of his winter competitions. The Plum senior built momentum heading into his senior season by placing 13th in the shot put at the Adidas Indoor Nationals in late February. Parker’s best throw of 53 feet, 9 inches placed him 13th overall and second of...

Tom Sorce cackled at the idea of using a designated player to hit for Shaler pitcher Bethany Rodman. The Shaler coach wants to utilize Rodman in every capacity. “If I did that, they’d run me out of here,” Source said. “She did well this summer. We’ve played two scrimmages, and...

Shaler sophomore Josh Jashinski was happy to be the last player on the tennis court. Dragged into a battle while playing No. 1 singles for the Titans against Plum on March 17, Jashinski needed a little extra support. Jashinski dropped a self-described error-filled second set in a tiebreak and would...

Melanie Mienke was set to take over as the workhorse of Plum’s pitching staff last spring. Losing a year because of the pandemic means Mienke, now a senior, steps into a much different situation. The Mustangs will have three new starters in the infield. This is a Plum squad that...

Jim Ashbaugh isn’t sure what to expect from the Riverview softball team this season. He’s not alone in that concern among WPIAL softball coaches. Having an inkling of what could occur is difficult to ascertain because of the effects from the coronavirus pandemic. Missing a season guaranteed there will be...

Duquesne assistant coach Jeff Gibson went scooting toward the finish line of the Atlantic 10 Championship course March 5 at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, Va., to deliver good news. Brianna Schwartz and her fellow Dukes were surprised at what he had to say. Duquesne coach Jim Lear told the...

Throughout the season, the Shaler girls bowling team demonstrated its depth. At the Western Regional Championships, the Titans were once again led by a different competitor. Megan Schwab bowled an 847 series with a high game of 204 to place a team-high 17th at the event. Due to the pandemic,...

Shaler girls basketball coach Cournelious Nesbit believed Bethel Park’s Olivia Westphal provided a valuable lesson for his Titans. Westphal, a Duquesne recruit, established her presence early and poured in 33 points to lead the Black Hawks to a 64-37 win in the first round of the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs...

Twenty-one days of waiting followed by a playoff game felt how Shaler coach Rob Niederberger believed it would. “It was weird,” Niederbeger said of the Titans’ 85-64 win over Ringgold in the preliminary round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. “It was a home game, and there was no atmosphere....

Lizzy Groetsch’s pass to the perimeter allowed Jasmine Timmerson to snap a cold spell midway through the first quarter for the North Allegheny girls basketball team. Timmerson knocked down a 3-pointer that pulled the Tigers within one and stopped a string of four team misses from the perimeter. Even when...

Bishop Canevin coach Gino Palmosina avoided giving any history lessons before the Crusaders’ WPIAL Class A semifinal playoff game Tuesday night at home. Having the opportunity to earn a trip to the district final for the first time since 2006 wasn’t a major motivator. Palmosina was more worried about Union’s...

Cory Sakolsky knew a 19-day break was going to make things difficult for the Shaler hockey team. The Titans’ chances of making the PIHL Class AA playoffs were slim even if they had a chance to play out the regular season as previously planned. Shaler dropped a 6-1 decision to...