Ray Fisher stories, Page 34
Sewickley Academy boys tennis looks forward to WPIAL playoffs
Sewickley Academy coach Whitney Snyder had not met freshman Severin Harmon before this season. Snyder did not know Harmon and would not have recognized him. And he surely had not seen him in competition on a tennis court. Well, Harmon made a great first impression on the Panthers’ veteran coach....
Young Quaker Valley softball team gaining experience in limited action
Quaker Valley’s softball team hopes the 2022 season ends up being a good learning experience. The Quakers are a young club with five freshmen and three sophomores on its 12-player roster. “This year, QV softball has quite a few newcomers,” coach Nicole Olson said, “and we expect to utilize our...
Thomas Jefferson tennis player aces academic competition, wins Saint Vincent scholarship
Thomas Jefferson senior Anthony Sparta doesn’t necessarily cause a racket on the tennis court. He makes his most noise in the classroom with an impressive 5.0 GPA this year and a cumulative GPA of 4.65. Sparta was one of five students awarded a scholarship to Saint Vincent in Latrobe as...
St. Gabriel’s comes together to win Diocese of Pittsburgh girls hoops crown
St. Gabriel’s girls CYO basketball team peaked at the perfect time. The Gators advanced to the Diocese of Pittsburgh playoffs as the No. 1 seed then rolled to the league championship. St. Gabriel’s defeated St. Bede’s, 61-39, in the semifinal round before cruising past Our Lady of Hope, 60-27, in...
Quaker Valley’s Mike Sirianni navigates tough draw to make 2nd straight WPIAL final
Quaker Valley senior standout Mike Sirianni repeated as a silver medalist at the WPIAL Class 2A boys singles tournament held April 12-13. Similar to last year, Sirianni, a four-year No. 1 singles competitor at QV, lost to North Catholic’s Nicolas Scheller in the WPIAL championship round. “I was very pleased...
Cappa looks to build on ‘solid foundation’ with Quaker Valley football
It’s time. Actually, it’s his time. Jason Cappa is ready and focused. After serving as a Quaker Valley football assistant as the offensive and defensive line coach, Cappa is primed to step up as the Quakers’ new head coach. And it’s all systems go for the 45-year-old Cappa. He was...
Bethel Park girls lacrosse aims to defend section championship
More of the same. Bethel Park’s girls lacrosse team last year won its first section championship since 2012. And it was a junior-driven squad. The Black Hawks, with nine seniors on this year’s team, aim to make another strong push for a section title in 2022, followed by a deep...
Senior-heavy Bethel Park boys lacrosse ready to make postseason run
Bethel Park’s boys lacrosse team placed third in Section 1-3A at 6-2 last season, behind only Mt. Lebanon (8-0) and Upper St. Clair (7-1). The Black Hawks edged Fox Chapel, 5-4, in the WPIAL first round before losing a 14-7 decision to North Allegheny to finish 10-6 overall. “I think...
Adin Zorn, Sewickley Academy tackle baseball season with confidence
Heightened optimism reigns in the Sewickley Academy baseball program. “The team is excited for the 2022 season as we have a strong core of new and returning baseball players,” SA coach Andrew Petruska said. “We are returning a ton of game experience from last year. The team is returning the...
Quaker Valley baseball team works to contend in tough section
Quaker Valley’s baseball team advanced to the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal round a season ago. QV coach Dean Owrey is looking for another playoff run just as strong — if not stronger — for the Quakers in 2022. “I expect to see QV baseball in the mix of this difficult...
A-K Valley Sports Hall of Fame inductee was top Fox Chapel wrestler before PSU football career
Rich Kriston is recognized as one of the best heavyweights in the storied history of the Fox Chapel wrestling program. Kriston won three consecutive section titles from 1970-72 and was the first of 25 section champions at Fox Chapel in the ’70s. After two years of covid-related postponements, Kriston, who...
Moon boys volleyball searching for playoff berth
The Moon boys volleyball team is focused on one purposeful goal. “We are hoping to earn a playoff spot this year,” coach Steve Nicola said. “We have improved over the past couple years but have not been to the playoffs for a while. “We have had people playing a lot...
Quaker Valley write final chapter in storybook careers
The Quaker Valley boys basketball team made a gallant effort in its quest to win a PIAA title, taking a 27-0 record into the state finals. After capturing section and WPIAL championships, QV finished as the PIAA Class 4A runner-up. “Like all high school basketball teams in 2020-21, we dealt...
Quaker Valley boys tennis aims to defend WPIAL Class 2A title
Quaker Valley’s boys tennis team is the defending WPIAL Class 2A champion. And with a senior-laden roster this spring — including the top three players from last year, Mike Sirianni, Will Sirianni and Henry Veeck — the Quakers covet their chances of repeating. The QV netters are coached by Christi...
Talented young goalie backstops Quaker Valley hockey to memorable season
Landon Buterbaugh stepped in as Quaker Valley’s starting goalkeeper from Day 1 of his freshman year. It doesn’t happen often in high school hockey. But QV coach Kevin Quinn didn’t hesitate to station the 5-foot-9, 130-pound Buterbaugh in front of the net this season. He responded with an all-star performance....
Quaker Valley swim teams seeing results
John Nemeth recently completed his second season as Quaker Valley’s swim coach. Nemeth, a physical education teacher at QV’s middle school, was an eight-time All-American at Denison. Nemeth coached at Chartiers Valley from 2015-20 and is a coach with Pittsburgh Elite Aquatics. He previously coached at Centerville High School in...
Altavilla leaves legacy in Baldwin girls basketball program
Athleticism is deeply rooted in her family. It’s in the genes. Senior hoopster Morgan Altavilla, 17, carried on the athletic tradition established in recent years at Baldwin by her older brothers, Doug and Nick. Baldwin’s second-year basketball coach Jamal Woodson labeled Altavilla as one of the top female players in...
Sewickley’s Skowron caps college career with strong season for Chatham women’s basketball
Julianna Skowron ended her college basketball career in a big way. After a successful four-year stint at Allegheny College, Skowron, a 6-foot-1 forward, competed at Chatham as a graduate student in 2021-22. The Oakland Catholic product led the Cougars to their all-time winningest season in women’s basketball, netted her 1,000th...
Quaker Valley swimmers, divers produce medal-winning performances
Quaker Valley swimmer Emily Connors ended her superb sophomore season as a triple medalist at the PIAA Class 2A girls championships held at Bucknell. Connors placed sixth in the 100-yard freestyle in 52.22 seconds and eighth in the 100-yard butterfly in 57.16. She finished third in both events at the...
Quaker Valley’s Gardinier garners career-high 36 in PIAA second round
One of the most impressive performances of the year was turned in by Jack Gardinier in the PIAA Class 4A second round. A 6-foot senior guard and the Quakers’ third-leading scoring threat this season, Gardinier scored a career-high 36 points to spark QV past Belle Vernon, 86-75. “Everyone on the...
With PIAA title, Thomas Jefferson’s Finnerty finishes 44-1
Thomas Jefferson’s wrestling team didn’t have a great season, but it was a good year for the Jaguars. TJ’s Brian Finnerty didn’t have a good senior season; it was great. In fact, Finnerty ended his brilliant career as the best of the best in the TJ wrestling program. A Kent...
Thomas Jefferson’s Lekse looks to past for inspiration
Joe Lekse, this year’s Breisinger Award winner, had his eye on the prize throughout his entire varsity career. He explained. “In my four years playing football at Thomas Jefferson, I aspired to be like each winner of the Breisinger Award,” said Leske, a senior quarterback/defensive back. “My freshman year, Gabe...
Bethel Park softball has reason for celebration, confidence
Bethel Park’s softball team reveled in a banner 2021 campaign, winning a WPIAL title and outright section crown for the first time in school history. Ohio State recruit Reagan Milliken led a talented eight-player senior class last spring. Milliken was named Class 6A Player of the Year by Trib HSSN...
Defending baseball champ Bethel Park looks formidable
Bethel Park won the big prize in Class 5A last season, defeating Red Land, 4-2, in the PIAA baseball championship game at Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. “Words still cannot express the pride I feel for this special group of young men,” coach Pat Zehnder said afterward. “They...
Quaker Valley wrestling enjoys sweet finish to season with 4 medals in Hershey
Quaker Valley wrapped up the best wrestling season in school history with four individual medalists at the PIAA Class 2A championships March 12 at Giant Center in Hershey. “We qualified five kids to compete in arguably the toughest wrestling tournament in the country,” QV coach Mike Heinl said. “We won...
