Ray Fisher stories, Page 33
Decorated senior class leads Bethel Park girls lacrosse to memorable season
Four seniors on the Bethel Park girls lacrosse team were honored as all-section selections this season. Caitlyn Schultz and Riley Miller, both midfielders, were named to the first team while midfielder Tori Krapp and defender Chloe McDaniel were chosen to the second team. Miller also was voted All-WPIAL. Schultz was...
Bethel Park turns PIAA double play with back-to-back championships
The similarities are uncanny. Bethel Park advanced to the PIAA Class 5A championship game in 2022 for the second consecutive season. And for the second straight time, the Black Hawks played for the title June 17 at Penn State’s Medlar Field. The opening pitch both years was scheduled for 4:30...
Bethel Park boys lacrosse team found plenty of bright spots despite roster challenges
Bethel Park’s boys lacrosse team had big designs for the 2022 season. “Our ultimate goals (were) to bring a section championship back to Bethel and win our first WPIAL championship,” said senior midfielder Max Radcliffe in discussing the team earlier in the season. The Black Hawks did qualify for the...
Impact players made season successful for PIHL girls league runners-up
The inaugural season of the highly anticipated PIHL girls division has been completed. One of the top squads in the league was Team Central, which finished as PIHL runner-up with an 8-4 record. Coached by RMU youth hockey coordinator Joe Cummings, the Central girls won six of seven regular-season games...
Baldwin’s Cherico gains perspective, makes plans in 1st year as AD
Anthony Cherico was appointed this spring as athletic director in the Baldwin-Whitehall school district. The board of directors voted to appoint Cherico to the fulltime position in late March. He previously served as Baldwin’s interim AD throughout the 2021-22 school year. Cherico, 46, was a coach and teacher in the...
Quaker Valley boys tennis team takes pride in state semifinal berth
Quaker Valley’s boys tennis team ended its banner 2022 season on a high note coated with a bit of disappointment. QV finished 16-1 overall, winning section and WPIAL Class 2A titles and advancing to the PIAA semifinal round. The Quakers were the only WPIAL team in either Class 2A or...
Quaker Valley tennis seniors leave lasting legacy
There wasn’t a single “unsung hero” on the 2022 Quaker Valley boys championship tennis team. Instead, it was a group of players that carried the Quakers to their second consecutive WPIAL Class 2A title and an appearance in the PIAA semifinal round. “In my mind, this year’s whole senior varsity...
Sally Ackerman returns to St. Joseph, this time in a new role
Sally Ackerman coached the girls basketball team at St. Joseph for five years from 2013-14 to 2017-18. The Spartans advanced to the WPIAL postseason four times, the PIAA playoffs once and compiled a 71-48 record during that span. Ackerman, also the girls JV coach at St. Joseph from 2010-13, has...
Sewickley Academy baseball collected wins, valuable experience during strong season
Sewickley Academy approached the WPIAL baseball playoffs with a “one game at a time” attitude. The Panthers ended up playing two games, defeating Avella, 7-4, in the Class A first round before losing to Rochester, 2-0, in the quarterfinals. SA finished in second place in Section 3-A and ended the...
Coach steps down after another playoff appearance for Quaker Valley baseball
The big news circulating out of the Quaker Valley baseball program is that veteran coach Dean Owrey has resigned. Owrey was hired in 2018 and served as the Quakers’ field boss for four seasons, including the pandemic-marred 2020 campaign. He led QV to three WPIAL playoff appearances and posted a...
Quaker Valley hurdler Nora Johns 2nd to none for 2nd straight season
Quaker Valley’s celebrated three-sport athlete Nora Johns didn’t just repeat as the PIAA Class 2A girls 300-meter hurdles champion. Johns broke the school record in accomplishing the feat May 28 at Shippensburg University. The talented QV junior won the event with a time of 44.78 seconds, lowering her personal-best time...
Mental performance coach helps Sewickley Academy athletes train their brains
Donato Fanelle’s goal as mental performance coach at Sewickley Academy essentially is to work himself out of a job. “I want you to hone your mental skills to the point to where you no longer need the help,” Fanelle said. “The good thing about working at a high school is...
Sewickley’s Joseph Maroon takes 2nd in triathlon at National Senior Games
Dr. Joseph Maroon doesn’t just walk the walk and talk the talk. The UMPC neurosurgeon, who recently celebrated his 82nd birthday, has been a triathlete for most of his life and a proponent of a healthy lifestyle. He’s a staunch advocate of the “sound body, sound mind” way of life...
Quaker Valley athletes shine at WPIAL team, individual track championships
Quaker Valley’s girls track and field team offered cogent proof as to why it was able to claim its first WPIAL title since 2007. The QV girls reeled in medals in 10 events at the WPIAL Class 2A individual championships May 18 at rain-soaked Slippery Rock University. “I am very...
Baldwin, TJ players among trailblazers in PIHL girls hockey league
Team Central of the PIHL is playing not only for today but for the future as well. Coached by Joe Cummings, Central is one of six teams participating in the inaugural PIHL girls division this year. The history-making season was supposed to start in 2020; however, those plans were put...
Quaker Valley boys tennis, girls track teams celebrate WPIAL daily double
It’s being acclaimed as “Championship Wednesday” at Quaker Valley. Two teams at QV reeled in WPIAL championships on Wednesday, May 11, and did so in impressive fashion. The girls track and field squad won its first WPIAL title since 2007, defeating Greensburg Central Catholic, 83-67, Riverside, 85-65, and Shenango, 89-61,...
PIHL girls league’s West team coming together, racking up wins
One social aspect of the newly established PIHL girls division is the camaraderie among the teams. “Girls hockey is the largest growing sport right now. The timing could not have been better,” West coach Jeff Tindall said. “I think it is an amazing opportunity for these girls and girls hockey...
Baldwin baseball team showed potent offense
The Baldwin baseball team was an offensive juggernaut this spring. Baldwin hit .305 for the season with 16 home runs and 25 doubles. The Highlanders finished 10-10 overall. “The calling card for this team was its offense,” coach Steve Bucci said. “We had a really solid season. We didn’t qualify...
Bethel Park senior makes impact during inaugural Western Pa. girls high school hockey season
Bethel Park’s Cameran Evans is making the most of her chances in the inaugural season of the PIHL girls division. Evans, a senior forward, was the leading scorer for the Southwest team in games played through mid-May with seven goals and three assists. “Cam is a very skilled hockey player,”...
Bethel Park baseball, softball teams strive to reach programs’ high standards
The Bethel Park baseball team had a tough act to follow. The Black Hawks entered 2022 season as the reigning PIAA Class 5A champions who also finished as the WPIAL runners-up. Bethel Park won the Section 4-5A title with a 10-0 record in 2021 and racked up a 22-4 overall...
Quaker Valley boys lacrosse gears up for playoffs coming off dominant regular season
Quaker Valley’s performance this season in boys lacrosse has been off the charts. It’s been the case of 12 up and 12 down in games played through May 8. The perfect 12-0 record vaulted the Quakers into first place in Section 1-2A. They were the only undefeated team in the...
Sewickley Academy baseball meets lofty expectations with solid season
The Sewickley Academy baseball team had a firm foundation to build upon this season. Junior shortstop Adin Zorn, senior third baseman Sajen Schuchert, sophomore first baseman Jordan Smith and juniors Nick Straka (catcher), Bennett Spencer (infield) and Nick Madison (outfield) were returning starters. Zorn, Schuchert, Smith and Spencer bolstered the...
Quaker Valley runners collect medals during strong season
Kadin Johnson is the fastest athlete at Quaker Valley this school year. A senior sprinter on the QV boys track and field squad, Johnson was a medalist in three spotlight events at the recent MAC Invitational at Shenango. Johnson won the 400-meter dash in 51.02 seconds and placed second in...
Sewickley-area players thrilled to compete in PIHL girls league
Elizabeth Bowers is honored to be playing for the West team in the newly formed PIHL girls division. The history-making season was supposed to start in 2020, but those plans were put on hold in the early days of the pandemic. Surely, the 15-year-old Bowers’ demeanor reflects each member of...
Will Kromka aims to cap family’s legacy at Gateway with volleyball success
The Gateway Gators have adopted many of the principles of the “Kromka-way.” Will Kromka, a 6-foot-4 senior outside/middle hitter on the Gateway boys volleyball team, led the Gators to a 4-0 section record at the halfway point of their schedule. “As the season plays out, I expect Will to do...
