Ray Fisher stories, Page 25
Brentwood’s Firecracker 5K celebrates 40th anniversary
The Brentwood Firecracker 5K Run always is a special event. It was extra special this year. The race, held annually on July 4 on Brownsville Road, celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2023. Well-known and longtime running enthusiast Rich Wright, who coaches cross country and track and field at Baldwin, served...
Multi-sport athletes takes home top honors for 2022-23 school year at Brentwood
The announcement of the Mark Reider award and Booster Athlete award winners is eagerly anticipated at the end of every school year at Brentwood. The awards are sponsored by the Brentwood High Athletic Boosters and are presented to the top male and female senior athletes in a school year. This...
As girls wrestling grows, Quaker Valley looks to build program
The date May 17 is historic and highly significant in the state of Pennsylvania, as well as the WPIAL. The PIAA board of directors voted unanimously on that date to sponsor girls wrestling as a sport, starting in 2023-24. “I think it’s great and long overdue to have the PIAA...
Bethel Park girls volleyball building foundation for upcoming season
Excuse the members of the Bethel Park girls volleyball team if they occasionally sneak a peek at HGTV. “We have an inexperienced varsity roster, but we have been dedicated to improving and building a solid foundation for the team in the gym this summer,” coach Brooke Muraco said. “The plan...
Senior class leaves unprecedented mark on Bethel Park baseball program
It was a tremendous three-year run for the Bethel Park baseball program, particularly for the seniors on the 2023 club. There were 14 upperclassmen — count ‘em, 14 — on the 2023 team, including seven or eight who usually were penciled into the starting lineup. Over the past three seasons,...
Sewickley Academy lacrosse defender delivers important message about mental health
Lauren Retzlaff, a sophomore defender on the 2023 Sewickley Academy girls lacrosse team, will be campaigning for a serious cause during the upcoming school year. The 17-year-old Retzlaff will serve as an ambassador for Morgan’s Message and plans to start a chapter at Sewickley in the fall. Morgan’s Message is...
Sewickley Academy 3-sport athlete eager to fill expanded role on diamond next season
Jordan Smith is filled with inspiration for his 2023-24 senior year at Sewickley Academy. Smith is a three-sport athlete, participating in baseball, basketball and golf. He will be a fourth-year starter in baseball as a pitcher/infielder. “Jordan has grown as a young man and player here at Sewickley Academy and...
Sewickley Academy rising seniors Libby Eannarino, Ashley Close look forward to promising ’24 lacrosse season
They are key midfielders on the Sewickley Academy girls lacrosse team. Both are 17; both stand 5-foot-8. In 2024, Libby Eannarino and Ashley Close will share another role as senior co-captains. “First and foremost,” Eannarino said, “I want to build upon the tradition of female success in athletics that’s such...
Senior all-section honorees helped lead Quaker Valley to boys lacrosse playoffs
A trio of seniors wrapped up their Quaker Valley boys lacrosse careers by being named all-section in Class 2A. The Section 2 all-stars for QV in 2023 were attacker Ben Thomas, midfielder Christian Brown and defender Ben Carlson. Thomas and Carlson served as co-captains this season. “They had an intense...
Quaker Valley girls volleyball looks ahead to promising ’23 season
Quaker Valley’s girls volleyball team ended up 15-3 in the 2022 regular season and won 12 times by 3-0 scores. The QV netters landed the fifth seed in Class 2A for the WPIAL playoffs and advanced to the semifinal round. Quaker Valley defeated No. 12 Burrell and No. 4 Central...
Gartley siblings find success with Quaker Valley track and field
Mia Gartley of Quaker Valley is a 5-foot-2 dynamo of an athlete. As a freshman this spring, Gartley won the WPIAL girls high jump event in Class 2A at the championship meet at Slippery Rock. She also placed fifth in the high jump at the PIAA finals at Shippensburg. QV...
Stock rising for Thomas Jefferson softball after playoff season
Thomas Jefferson’s softball team won five of its final six regular season games to clinch a WPIAL Class 5A playoff berth this spring. The TJ girls opened the season by winning eight of their first nine games, including their first four section contests. “We performed very well this year,” coach...
Quaker Valley athletes make headlines during successful 2022-23 school year
Quaker Valley has established a staunch winning tradition over the years. Propelled by another talented group of senior athletes, the Quakers stayed in the WPIAL limelight throughout the 2022-23 school year. “Our student-athletes’ dedication and work ethic both in and out of season allows us to maximize our potential in...
Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy girls lacrosse players pick up postseason awards
Several area girls lacrosse athletes have been honored with postseason plaudits. Quaker Valley’s Shannon Von Kaenel, a senior midfielder, and Lucy Roig, a freshman midfielder, were recognized as All-WPIAL players in Class 2A. “I am very honored. It is nice to be recognized for all of the hard work I...
Thomas Jefferson boys volleyball in good position after strong season with young team
Will Stewart stands out in a crowd. Stewart is a 6-foot-7 junior outside hitter and a team leader for the Thomas Jefferson boys volleyball team. He was one of five TJ players named all-section in 2023 along with Riley Burdett, a 5-11 junior outside hitter, sophomores Jaiden Wadlow, a 5-5...
Bethel Park baseball faces adversity, comes through with solid season
It didn’t end with a state championship celebration like the previous two seasons did, but Bethel Park’s baseball team was able to boast of a strong 2023. The Black Hawks soared to first place in Section 2-5A with a 9-1 record, won 13 of 14 games prior to the WPIAL...
WPIAL runner-up finish caps strong season for Quaker Valley boys track
Quaker Valley’s boys track and field team emerged from the shadow of its counterpart girls squad this season. The QV girls captured their second consecutive WPIAL Class 2A team title in 2023. The QV boys also capped a successful team season with a runner-up finish at the WPIAL championship meet....
Quaker Valley 3-sport standout Nora Johns picks Ohio Wesleyan
Quaker Valley’s loss is Ohio Wesleyan’s gain. QV graduate Nora Johns has opted to continue her athletic and academic careers at Ohio Wesleyan, where she will compete on the women’s basketball team and in the track and field program. Johns, a three-sport standout in soccer, basketball and track in high...
Successful 2nd season for PIHL girls league ends with Southeast on top
In the second season of PIHL girls hockey, the Southeast team enjoyed a playoff bonanza. Southeast entered the postseason with a 5-6-0-1 record after back-to-back losses to its East and Northeast opponents in the last two games of the regular season. The odds seemed stacked against the Southeast girls, who...
Sewickley Academy’s ‘skillful seven’ made it a tennis season to remember
It’s not Murderer’s Row. That’s an old phrase coined for the then-dreaded 1927 New York Yankees. They’re not the Fantastic Four comic book and movie heroes. There are too many of them. Call them the Skillful Seven — the starting lineup this season for the Sewickley Academy boys tennis team....
Quaker Valley runs it back with WPIAL girls team championship repeat
It was a celebratory rerun of 2022. Quaker Valley’s talented girls track and field team repeated its performance of last season by winning the WPIAL Class 2A team championship in 2023. The QV girls easily defended its WPIAL title at the finals May 9 at Peters Township, rolling past Winchester...
Westmoreland Gymnastics School’s Maddy Jesky earns Xcel Silver and Platinum States all-around title
Maddy Jesky’s strength as a gymnast is her perseverance. “Gymnastics is what I eat, sleep and breathe,” she said. “There is nothing I won’t try and nothing I’ll give up on.” Well, Jesky certainly was tenacious at the Xcel Silver and Platinum States, taking the all-around title in her division....
Sewickley Academy baseball hit stride in season’s 2nd half
A month into the WPIAL baseball season, Sewickley Academy finally found its groove. The Panthers were 3-7 and riding a three-game losing streak on April 18. Following a 16-2 section loss to Eden Christian, Sewickley exploded for seven wins in a row to enter the WPIAL playoffs. The Panthers finished...
Surging sophomore leads Quaker Valley track team at states
Sophomore sensation Jay Olawaiye made the biggest impact for Quaker Valley at the PIAA track and field championships at Shippensburg University. Olawaiye finished as the Class 2A runner-up in the girls triple jump thanks to a leap of 37 feet, 7 inches. “Jay’s performance was phenomenal,” QV coach Jared Jones...
Sewickley Academy players pleased with another successful tennis season
Sewickley Academy left little doubt as to why it was the No. 1 seed in the WPIAL Class 2A boys tennis tournament. The Panthers defeated No. 6 Winchester Thurston, 4-1, in the WPIAL finals May 10 at Washington & Jefferson’s Janet L. Swanson Tennis Center. It was the 24th WPIAL...
