Ray Fisher stories, Page 37
Freeport bowlers look to defend section titles
Freeport bowling is synonymous with winning, as both the girls and boys teams captured section titles last year. The girls posted a 10-0 record in 2020-21, placed fourth at the WPIBL championships, won the regional team championship and finished fourth at the state tournament. The Yellowjackets are 3-0 this season...
Slippery Rock’s Chad Kuhn caps college career as one of Division II’s top defensive linemen
Slippery Rock’s Chad Kuhn fit the mold. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound high-energy defensive end was one of eight national finalists for the 2021 Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award, presented annually by the Manheim Touchdown Club. Kuhn’s strength, speed, mobility and ruggedness on the gridiron, along with a...
Led by 3-sport standout Cutchember, Quaker Valley wrestling sets goals high
Quaker Valley’s wrestling goals for 2021-22 are three-fold. The Quakers aim to win another section title, qualify for the PIAA team tournament and have multiple individual state qualifiers. With 11 returning starters and four Division I prospects, coach Mike Heinl believes all three are attainable. “We want to stay healthy,...
Quaker Valley swimmers excited to carry on last season’s success
The 2020-21 season proved to be a banner year for the Quaker Valley swimming and diving program. The QV girls team won its second consecutive section title and finished 7-0 overall, breaking several team records in the process. And coach John Nemeth is looking for matching results in 2021-22. “We...
Kiski Area runner Miller caps season with All-American honors at Nike meet
Kiski Area’s Eliza Miller capped her successful cross country season with a bold exclamation point. The talented sophomore athlete placed eighth at the Nike New York/Northeast Regional Championships held Nov. 27 at Bowdoin Park, Wappingers Falls. “This was my first year running at Nike for high school,” Miller said. “I...
Inexperience, early road games to present challenge to Sewickley Academy boys basketball
Sewickley Academy’s road gear is firmly in place. The SA boys basketball team is not slated to play its first home game until Jan. 7 in a section test with Springdale. It’s the exact opposite of last year when SA did not compete in an away game until mid-January. Of...
With new coach, revamped lineup, Quaker Valley girls basketball looks for smooth transition
Last season, the Quaker Valley girls basketball team, seeded No. 2, qualified for the WPIAL finals for the first time before losing to No. 1 Beaver, 44-29. Will the Quakers be able to take that next step forward in 2021-22? Well, first things first. Quaker Valley is aiming for a...
North Allegheny girls basketball team reloads after epic season
Lizzy Groetsch and Paige Morningstar led North Allegheny’s girls basketball team to a season for the ages in 2020-21. It easily could be labeled the best girls basketball season in school history. The Tigers captured their first PIAA championship, won a fourth WPIAL title in five years, stormed through Section...
Hempfield spirit team starts strong with 4 1st-place finishes
Hempfield’s competitive cheerleading team appears to be a heavy favorite to repeat as WPIAL Class 3A Large Division champion in 2021-22. The Spartans have participated in four events this season with spectacular results — four first-place finishes — and are looking forward to the WPIAL championships set for Jan. 8...
Highlands grad Brayden Thimons named PAC Defensive Player of the Year
Brayden Thimons has been a stalwart in his short time in the Westminster football program, culminating in a sensational 2021 fall season. A rock-solid 6-foot-4, 235-pound senior lineman, Thimons was named Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. “I am shocked and honored to...
With new starting lineup, Sewickley Academy girls look to return to WPIAL semifinals
Sewickley Academy girls basketball advanced to the WPIAL semifinal round the past two seasons. Although the Panthers may be hard-pressed to replace five senior starters from a year ago, they do have a talented group of athletes looking to make some noise this season. This year’s team is built around...
Thiero, Frank among veteran returning starters set to lead Quaker Valley
The Quaker Valley boys basketball team has two important characteristics: The Quakers are talented and experienced. That should lead to some difficult times for opponents this winter. Adou Thiero, Markus Frank, Jack Gardinier and Wil Dunda are returning senior starters. All are 6-feet tall or taller. “We return four seniors...
Thomas Jefferson outside hitter honored for ‘outstanding’ season
Thomas Jefferson captured the Section 3-3A championship with an unblemished 12-0 record this season. Nine members of the TJ squad were lauded as section all-stars. Junior OH Delaney Concannon, junior libero Cate Galioto, senior setter Caitlyn Chalovich and sophomore outside hitter Mia Fox were voted to the first team. The...
Bethel Park girls soccer continues resurgence with another playoff season
The turnaround began last year and continued into the 2021 season. After sitting out the WPIAL playoffs from 2015-18, Bethel Park’s girls soccer team qualified last year with a 6-4-2 section record, then continued its upswing this year. The Black Hawks went 5-1-1 in the home stretch of their schedule...
Thomas Jefferson football ends solid season with unusually short playoff run
Heinz Field had become a second home for the Thomas Jefferson football team in recent years. Not 2021. The two-time defending WPIAL and state champion Jaguars lost Nov. 19 to rival Belle Vernon, 21-7, at West Mifflin in the WPIAL semifinal round. TJ had won the past two and five...
New coach walks into great situation with talent-rich Bethel Park girls basketball program
There’s a new look to the Bethel Park girls basketball program. Samantha Loadman is in her first year as the team’s coach, taking over for longtime legendary floor boss Jonna Burke, who resigned to become a coach and physical education teacher at Shady Side Academy. Loadman is a local product....
Defense forms backbone of Quaker Valley soccer’s state title team
They say defense wins championships in football. The same could be applied to soccer. Quaker Valley’s boys soccer team entered the postseason as the Section 4-2A champion. Not only were the Quakers unbeaten at 12-0 in the section, they did not allow a goal. Remarkably, QV outscored the opposition 99-0...
Quaker Valley reflects on memorable run to another PIAA boys soccer title
Quaker Valley’s soccer legacy climbed a notch higher this season. The QV boys team rolled to section, WPIAL and PIAA championships in 2021, finishing 23-2 overall. With nine starters and five of the top six scorers back from last year’s 11-1-1 squad, the Quakers started the 2021 campaign with great...
Bethel Park football completes remarkable turnaround, sets stage for future
Bethel Park’s football team won five games this season and qualified for the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs after experiencing a rare winless campaign in 2020. “Yes, we expected to win more often,” coach Brian DeLallo said. “You have to believe you can win to make it happen. We raised our...
Strong season for Thomas Jefferson boys soccer gets milestone win for veteran coach
He is one of the esteemed deans among WPIAL soccer coaches. Michael Kulish, affectionately known as “Doc,” has enjoyed a legendary coaching career at Thomas Jefferson. At age 74, Kulish is one of the oldest soccer coaches in Western Pennylsvania, and he recently completed his 29th season in style, attaining...
Playoff win, 2nd-half surge highlight Quaker Valley girls soccer season
Quaker Valley strung together a winning record in the second half of the girls soccer season. The QV girls blanked Ambridge and Riverside at the end of September en route to a 5-4-1 mark that included five shutouts down the season’s home stretch. The Quakers achieved their season-long goal of...
Kriebel cousins make mark on Quaker Valley soccer programs
They are two of a kind. As 17-year-old athletes, both hail from long-standing soccer families, and both are super talented on the pitch. Quaker Valley cousins Rowan and Chase Kriebel displayed their senior leadership skills admirably throughout the fall soccer season. Rowan Kriebel, a 6-foot forward and captain on the...
Sister combos lead Sewickley Academy girls tennis to championship season
The Close sisters are not just close. The Sewickley Academy athletes are best of friends. “Kirsten is my best friend and my biggest competitor,” Ashley said, “and I am so grateful she was able to be a part of this season with me.” Ashley, a 16-year-old sophomore, starred at No....
Quaker Valley football builds on positive strides taken during 2021 season
Quaker Valley’s football team finished fifth in the rugged Class 3A Northern Six Conference this season, behind Central Valley (5-0), Avonworth (4-1), Keystone Oaks (3-2) and Ambridge (2-3). The Quakers played 10 games, finished 2-8 overall and 1-4 in the conference, and allowed 40 or more points five times. They...
Sewickley Academy girls tennis team caps super season with trip to state finals
WPIAL champion Sewickley Academy finished the girls tennis season with honors, ending up as PIAA runners-up. The SA girls stormed through the regular season and playoffs until losing a tight 3-2 decision to Wyoming Seminary in the PIAA Class 2A finals Oct. 30 at Hershey Racquet Club. The Panthers closed...
