Josh Rizzo stories, Page 26

Sydney Lang enjoyed having an opportunity to ease into being a member of the Shaler varsity bowling team. Watching and learning and learning from a deep Titans team that qualified for states last season gave Lang, whose primary sport is softball, time to learn. That eagerness to learn hasn’t faded...

Eddie Daniels met South Fayette freshman point guard Nate Deanes at mid-court, quickly sliding his feet into better defensive position before seizing an opportunity. The Penn Hills senior guard punched the ball away from Deanes before gliding for a layup late in the third quarter. “I notice a lot of...

Lydia Nebiolo knew every meet would matter. Qualifying for the WPIAL Class AAA swimming championships would require having one of the 16 fastest times because of the covid restrictions in place. During the Shaler senior’s final home meet Feb. 22 against Pine-Richland, Nebiolo swam her best time in the 200...

Shaler bowling coach Shawn Pilyih gave freshman Braden Scott a quick hook in the Titans’ final regular-season match. Pilyih was “average watching” and knew after Scott threw a 220, his cumulative mark was over the 170 threshold that would qualify for the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Bowling League championships last Wednesday...

Filling time between the final regular season game and the start of the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball playoffs required some guesswork for Shaler coach Cornelious Nesbit. The Titans can’t improve their seed because the team was shut down for covid-19 related issues in the school district. Shaler’s last game...

Developing chemistry after a long layoff won’t be such a foreign concept for Shaler junior guard Dylan Schlagel. In preseason, the Titans’ boys basketball team would have benefited from having name tags on their jerseys with the number of freshmen vying for varsity playing time. Seven freshmen have played for...

Jack Keenan didn’t seek an opportunity to follow in his dad’s footsteps. When the Shaler Area junior hurdler landed on the hurdles as his primary event in middle school track and field, the idea was to try and exceed his dad’s accomplishments. “I started in middle school because my dad...

Lexi Pilyih doesn’t dwell on what could have been. The Shaler Area sophomore was a major cog of a Titans’ girls bowling team that made school history by qualifying for the state bowling championships as a team. Days before states were scheduled to commence, the Titans saw their first trip...

Lydia Nebiolo always did a little bit of everything when competing in Allegheny Mountain Swimming meets. Since starting high school meets, the Shaler senior has primarily specialized in distance events. But with the schedule setting up differently, the Titans have been moving Nebiolo around. She’s adapted well, hitting secondary WPIAL...

Shaler girls basketball coach Cornelious Nesbit believes for the Titans to be successful, they need to value the ball and limit their opponents’ possessions. Thus far, Shaler still is searching for a way to take care of the basketball. Before the Titans’ squared off with North Hills last Thursday, Shaler...

Stopping and starting the basketball season hasn’t made for an easy personnel situation for Shaler coach Rob Niederberger. Since the Titans’ resumed play Jan. 8, they have had four games postponed and had seven players miss time with various injuries. Having so many people coming in and out of the...

Eloise Facher lined up at the starting line, peering down at a black shirt and shorts before the start of her 60-meter sprint at Youngstown State University. Competing as an unattached runner meant Facher couldn’t be fitted in her typical blue-and-red Shaler Area track attire. “It was definitely weird,” Facher...

Ryan Callahan enjoys the Shaler bowling team having two matches a week. The pandemic-forced, compact section schedule keeps the Titans sophomore on his toes. In a normal year, Shaler would have one match a week. So far, the boys are off to a 1-3 start. Shaler’s girls team is 3-1....

There was no perfect way for the Shaler swim team to restart its season following the state-mandated three-week layoff for covid-19 precautions. But having a meet on the road against Chartiers Valley on Jan. 13 gave Titans coach Abi May a good way to ease back into competition. The Colts’...

Shane Ciganik never planned on seeing so much time on the varsity team. The Shaler freshman netminder expected to ease into the high school level. But Ciganik has seen more than his share of minutes for the school’s hockey team. He’s appeared in eight games and was named the starting...

Shaler Area junior wrestler Brad Yeager isn’t deterred by the road ahead. Even with low numbers and the pandemic restrictions, the 106-pound grappler is excited to have another season on the mat. Yeager, whose club closed once the pandemic started, has had his opportunities limited. “We’ve been working hard and...

Shawn Ryan sees the challenges ahead of him for the Shaler indoor track team. Keeping a positive attitude will be difficult. The Titans are training hard, but their ability to compete will be largely left to the whims of the number of coronavirus cases. All high school sports in Pennsylvania...

Marching into the WPIAL Class 4A volleyball championship game allowed the Shaler girls volleyball team to turn some heads. Along with compiling a 14-3 record before falling in four sets in the district final to four-time defending state champion North Allegheny, the Titans had two players named to the all-state...

Sophomore center Mackenzie Barr expects the Shaler girls basketball team to dig in and defend on every possession. The Titans can count on tough defense entering this season but will be searching for ways to score. Shaler graduated two players, Emily Cavacini and Megan Lacy, who were a big part...

Logan Bernesser’s role on the back of the press for the Shaler boys basketball team is to survey the court. The 6-foot-6 junior forward is in the best spot to protect the rim and help direct his teammates on defense. When he peers out at the Titans this season, he...

Tre Junker was surprised when Shaler hockey coach Cory Sakolsky handed him a playbook. Junker, a senior forward for the Titans, has been playing hockey since he was 5. Before Shaler started its new era, Junker had questions. “I wasn’t trusting it at first,” Junker said. “It was new to...

Planning improvements for the Shaler Area swimming program will need to be a dynamic plan for first-year coach Abi May. WPIAL officials still have many decisions to make on where the championships will be held, how many athletes will qualify and what the qualifying times need to be. All of...

Bishop Canevin senior outside hitter Gillian Golupski didn’t love how the season ended. The Lady Crusaders fell to District 9 champion Clarion Area, 25-14, 25-15, 25-14, Tuesday night in the PIAA Class A semifinals at home. But Golupski, who finished with a team-high nine kills, was happy Bishop Canevin had...

Tyler Paszkowski positioned himself perfectly during the WPIAL Class AAA championship race Oct. 29 at White Oak Park. The Shaler junior was in the lead pack, positioned around 10th place, alongside a runner from Butler. Everything was going as Paszkowski hoped. “Right off the start, I felt super strong and...

Mia Schubert’s furious third set showed the Shaler girls volleyball team wasn’t ready to melt. The Titans junior outside hitter put away seven of her team-high 16 kills during the third set, ensuring the WPIAL Class 4A championship at Chartiers Valley High School would last a little longer. While undefeated...