Josh Rizzo stories, Page 29

Playoff prospects for the Shaler Area hockey team are bleak but still a possibility. Finding a way to join the PIHL Class AA postseason will rely on figuring out a difficult problem. Coach Steve Stayduhar said he believes Titans have hung tough for two periods for most of their games....

Playing eight or nine deep is the goal for Shaler Area boys basketball coach Rob Niederberger. For much of this season, the Titans’ health woes made that seem like an off-in-the-distance dream. In Shaler’s Section 3-5A opener against Kiski Area, Niederberger played Darin Mizgorski and Logan Bernesser, who both had...

The Shaler Area bowling team hoped to be one of the major players in the WPIBL entering the season. Thus far, the Titans’ girls squad already has shown it will be a tough out in its section. Shaler is off to a 2-1 start, and its bowlers have been leaving...

North Allegheny wrestling had a schedule set up to ease in a roster with four freshmen in the starting lineup. The Tigers were provided with an opportunity to get their feet wet. But it didn’t provide the best barometer for where North Allegheny is a group. First, the Tigers downed...

Reaching the 100-win milestone wasn’t out of the question for Washington & Jefferson senior Mike Heinl. But the Shaler Area graduate knew the math wasn’t in his favor after his freshman season. Heinl’s first go-round as a collegiate wrestler ended up with a 14-14 record in his ledger. But after...

Senior guard Meghan Lacey wants this season to be a revenge tour for the Shaler Area girls basketball. The Titans made quite a statement to open the season at the Ambridge tournament. Opening against two teams that beat Shaler by double digits last season, the Titans showed they’ve learned from...

Watching the Cincinnati Bearcats mascot wave the school’s red flag near the script Pitt logo at the end of the court was tough for the Panthers’ women’s volleyball program. For the second season, what appeared to be an ideal scenario for marching through the NCAA Tournament evaporated in front of...

Keith Simmons knows winning dual meets will be a tough task for the Shaler Area swim program this season. The Titans don’t have a deep roster. “Success will have to come from a collective group because the size of our team has gone from 35 swimmers to 22,” Simmons said....

Shaler Area girls basketball coach Cornelious Nesbit doesn’t mince words with seniors Emily Cavacini, Meghan Lacey and Claire Grunden. If the Titans are going to navigate through Section 1-6A and return to the WPIAL playoffs, those three can’t have nights off. None of them will shy away from her responsibility....

Every year is a new situation and new challenge for North Allegheny girls basketball coach Spencer Stefko. For the Tigers to adjust this year, they’ll need to bring along many new faces. North Allegheny lost seven seniors from a team that reached the WPIAL finals and PIAA quarterfinals before finishing...

Duquesne men’s basketball coach Keith Dambrot could see it in practice. The Dukes didn’t have the energy they needed to play against VMI on Wednesday night at La Roche. Sleepwalking was not the best option in getting to the program’s best start since the 1979-80 season. When the Dukes started...

Once all the pieces are in place, Shaler Area boys basketball coach Rob Niederberger has set clear goals for his team. He believes the Titans are good enough to win the section and Class 5A WPIAL titles. For a team that made a return to the state playoffs for the...

Shawn Pilyih is brimming with optimism about the Shaler Area bowling program. Not only does Pilyih think the Titans have potential for the upcoming WPIBL season, Shaler has its highest numbers in several years. The Titans have 14 boys and eight girls. Shaler also added another coach to the program,...

Keith Noftz knows this version of the North Allegheny boys basketball program may take time to grow up. The Tigers don’t return a roster long on varsity experience, but Noftz believes North Allegheny can compete. Starting at the Hempfield Tournament on Dec. 6 against Penn-Trafford, the Tigers will compensate for...

Ethan Swope knows his first head coaching opportunity will be more about development than team success. Swope, Shaler Area’s first-year wrestling coach, will take over a Titans roster with 10 wrestlers. Having low numbers will make it difficult to compete in dual meets, which feature matches in 14 weight classes....

Shawn Ryan wants everything to be on the right course for the Shaler Area indoor track team. The Titans have a number of returning state qualifiers pursuing school records and state medals. Shaler will have about 30 athletes competing during the winter season, including a travel roster of about 20....

Four Shaler Area athletes signed national letters of intent last Wednesday. Cam Mbalo, who set the Titans’ record in the triple jump and won the WPIAL Class AAA title last season, signed with Duquesne University. Mbalo, who also qualified for the indoor state championship last season, competed in the New...

Taylor Cigna didn’t expect to hear everything she wanted when she visited Colgate. The 5-foot-9 Oakland Catholic senior didn’t want the coaches there to tell her how great she was. Cigna, a Shaler Township resident, wanted a school and athletic program which would challenge her. When Colgate’s volleyball coaches were...

Jeff Capel doesn’t expect anyone to be lauding the Pitt men’s basketball program. The second-year Panthers coach knows adjustments will be necessary after losing to Nicholls State on Saturday at Petersen Events Center. Pitt looked uneasy on offense and played with a general malaise during a 75-70 loss. Any goodwill...

Shaler Area sophomore runner Tyler Paszkowski was happy to have an opportunity to run in the PIAA Class AAA cross country championships earlier this month in Hershey. For the first-time state qualifier, it was an opportunity for him to take everything in. One thing that stood out was the speed....

Once the Class 5A football playoffs started, things got ugly for the WPIAL’s Northern Conference. While the conference had the most playoff participants, as Fox Chapel snagged the wild card, only Penn Hills remained after the smoke cleared. The other five teams lost by a combined margin of 28.6 points...

Facing a team with more experience in the PIAA Class AAA playoffs wasn’t a big issue for the North Allegheny girls soccer program. If the Tigers lined up against any program, they would have approached things the same way. North Allegheny took 85 minutes, but ultimately found the back of...

Seeing a 65-match losing streak end wasn’t ideal for North Allegheny girls volleyball coach Heidi Miller. It wasn’t a crushing blow for the Tigers, either. North Allegheny, which dropped a five-set match to Canon-McMillan in the WPIAL Class AAAA finals, bounced back in the first round of the PIAA tournament...

Tyler Paszkowski, Dalton Kalbaugh and Samantha Hennen have developed into great examples for Shaler Area cross country coach Justin Eskra. Put time and effort into the sport and future Titans can follow their lead. The trio made a big splash at the WPIAL Class AAA cross country championships, turning in...

The Shaler Area girls volleyball team didn’t concede much ground to Canon-McMillan during the WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals last Tuesday night in Canonsburg. While the host and third-seeded Big Macs were able to complete a 3-0 sweep of the sixth-seeded Titans, Canon-McMillan had to work in every set. Shaler lost...