Michael Love stories, Page 102
Girls basketball preview: Gateway has firepower to contend in loaded section
The Gateway girls basketball team opened its season with a practice Nov. 20, the first day winter sports teams were permitted to do so in the WPIAL and throughout Pennsylvania. Then things came to a halt as Gateway suspended all athletic activities for two weeks — through Friday — as...
Riverview boys basketball expects to contend when team gets to full strength
The Riverview boys basketball team missed the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs last season, but it was within a few points of forging a different outcome. The Raiders finished section play with a 4-10 record, but three games were decided by two points or less. Learning from those experiences, veteran head...
Riverview girls basketball team hopes to build off memorable season
Last season was one to remember for the Riverview girls basketball team. With a group of six seniors leading the way, the Raiders compiled a 15-10 overall record with several key section victories down the stretch in the regular season. A high-pressure, emotional win over Burgettstown followed in the first...
Boys basketball preview: Kiski Area hopes preseason competition leads to in-season success
Opportunity was a main theme as the Kiski Area boys basketball team began preseason practices Nov. 23. Three starters from last season — 6-foot-7 forward Jason Baker (Legacy Early College charter school in South Carolina), and guards Kyrell Hutcherson (North Allegheny) and Joe Lukas (Kiski Prep) — transferred in the...
Girls basketball preview: Kiski Area forced to adapt after injury sidelines top sophomore
Lexi Colaianni made the most of her freshman season with the Kiski Area varsity girls basketball team. Colaianni averaged 8.5 points through 22 games last year, tops among all underclassmen on the team. Cavaliers coach Nick Dizon said she worked hard in the offseason with hopes of raising her game...
Highlands’ Slepak gives baseball verbal commitment to Division I Mount St. Mary’s
The day after Thanksgiving, Highlands junior Jett Slepak gave thanks for the opportunity to make a verbal commitment to the baseball program at Division I Mount St. Mary’s. “This is a great opportunity for me,” Slepak said of the Maryland school, which is a member of the Northeast Conference and...
Plum swim teams ready to navigate season
Anticipation for the Plum boys and girls swim teams always is at a high level this time of the year. The swimmers, coach Shawn Haupt said, ramp up training efforts to meet team and individual goals and expectation. Covid safety concerns delayed the start of Plum’s winter athletic seasons —...
Springdale AD Davis retiring after 21 years leading Dynamos athletics
The Springdale football team took on California to open the 1999 football season. It was the first game for any Dynamos team or individual that fall, and it also marked the first game in the tenure of athletic director Ray Davis. It was a special time for the 1977 Springdale...
Plum’s Proviano named Valley News Dispatch Girls Soccer Player of the Year
Valley News Dispatch Girls Soccer Player of the Year Gina Proviano Sr., MF, Plum Gina Proviano remained hopeful there would be a fall high school sports season amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but the Plum senior girls soccer standout knew nothing was for sure as many athletic teams throughout the...
A-K Valley cross country all-star teams announced
After a fall season like no other, area cross country coaches came together recently to celebrate the athletes who competed on some of the biggest stages in the WPIAL and beyond with the sixth edition of the Alle-Kiski cross country all-star teams. The coaches review selection criteria such as performances...
Girls basketball preview: After successful run, high expectations remain for Cheswick Christian
Cheswick Christian Academy girls basketball coach Jacque Willis said it was hard to put into words how special last season was for the program. “The girls were in the situation where their beloved head coach (Clinton Blazevich) was going through a very serious condition where he needed a heart transplant,...
Boys basketball preview: Large senior class set to guide Cheswick Christian
When veteran Cheswick Christian Academy boys basketball coach Todd Rosio assessed his team’s 2019-20 season, he saw improvement from the players but knew they were not satisfied with their record. “The team is looking to take a step forward this year,” said Rosio, who enters his 27th season at the...
Boys basketball preview: Burrell confident improvement is around cornerVideo
The Burrell boys basketball team won just one game last year, although it came close to adding to the win total on several occasions. Second-year coach Mike Fantuzzo sees a bright future in a collection of returning players, including four starters, and some newcomers as the Bucs seek to turn...
Girls basketball preview: Young Burrell lineup eager to show how much it’s improved
Allison Fisher is ready. The Burrell junior guard is excited for what her team, still youthful but experienced at the varsity level, can do this season. No one graduated from last year’s team, which battled in and out of a loaded Section 1-4A and finished 3-18 overall and 2-12 in...
Boys basketball preview: After breakthrough season, Apollo-Ridge steps up in class
The Apollo-Ridge boys basketball team is moving on up. After a successful 2019-20 season that saw the Vikings earn a trip to the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs, an experienced roster will test its mettle in Class 3A this winter. Coach Greg Fox said the new section, with the likes of...
Girls basketball preview: Longtime coach returns to guide talented Apollo-Ridge roster
Ray Bartha is back on the bench for the Apollo-Ridge varsity girls basketball team. His first tenure, which ended in 2010, lasted 34 years and included 536 wins, 11 section championships, 23 appearances in the WPIAL playoffs and a WPIAL Class AA title in 1991. Now, Bartha is leading a...
PIHL juggling schedule amid covid restrictions
When the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League began its season earlier this month, league officials prepared themselves for several possible scenarios. With covid safety protocols in place sent down from the governor’s office, area school districts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, play began with the knowledge that covid...
Presidents’ Athletic Conference announces plans for spring semester competition
The Presidents’ Athletic Conference on Friday announced tentative plans for seasons affected by the coronavirus pandemic to return to competition during the spring 2021 semester. “We are planning for winter and spring intercollegiate athletic competition, including resumption of postponed fall sports. Across the conference, our teams have been training and...
North Allegheny girls volleyball hopes PIAA finals experience pays off against Unionville
North Allegheny is going after its fourth consecutive PIAA Class 4A girls volleyball championship and seventh overall in program history. District 1 champion Unionville is in the state finals for the first time. Tigers coach Heidi Miller said while her team has the advantage in experience for Saturday’s 6 p.m....
PSAC will permit swimming, cross country to stage league championships
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference on Thursday announced it will permit league championships to take place in women’s and men’s swimming and cross country. The decision comes after the recent conference board of directors votes to cancel mandated regular-season schedules and championships for all fall and winter sports. The board...
Carnegie Mellon athletics cancels winter sports seasons
Carnegie Mellon athletics announced Thursday it has canceled intercollegiate competition for the winter season because of ongoing concerns with the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement from the athletic department, Tartans athletic teams also will not resume play any sooner than March 1, 2021. The decision affects the schedules for both...
Promising season ends with one-point loss for Gateway football
Gateway’s bid for a second straight WPIAL Class 5A championship and third title in four seasons came to an end by the slimmest of margins in the semifinals Nov. 6. The Gators and Peters Township now have played two one-point games the past two years. Last year, Gateway won 21-20...
Gateway’s Emma Kennedy commits to Slippery Rock for softball
Emma Kennedy is a rock behind the plate for her high school and club softball teams. Now, the Gateway senior hopes to be rock solid for The Rock at the next level. Kennedy will soon realize a dream of playing college softball. She finalized a commitment last Wednesday to join...
Plum athletes ready to take next step in athletic careers
Each year, when the NCAA’s National Letter of Intent early-signing period for Division I and II athletes begins, Plum finds itself at the forefront with several signees. This year is no exception as numerous athletes finalized their decisions last week. Included in that were three who signed with Division I...
Plum celebrates successful fall sports season with 4 section, conference titles
Only two WPIAL schools had their football, girls volleyball, boys soccer and girls soccer teams capture section or conference titles during the fall 2020 season. Plum was one of those two, as the Mustangs squads joined North Catholic in accomplishing that feat. “I am just so happy for all the...
