Ted Sarneso stories, Page 6

When the Freeport girls volleyball team faced off with Mars on Oct. 16, the team thought it would be without senior setter Grace Beach. Fifteen minutes before the bus was set to leave, Beach’s grandfather died. Coach Tom Phillips heard the news and told Grace to stay with her family....

If anyone was looking for an evenly matched contest with a marvelous display of skill, the WPIAL Class 3A field hockey final was the game to watch. Goals? That would be a luxury the crowd at Cameron Stadium at Washington and Jefferson College would have to wait for. The match...

If seven is heaven, eight must be something spectacular. One thing is for certain: What Penn-Trafford coach Cindy Dutt has produced as the field hockey coach is nothing short of remarkable. The Warriors attack proved too much for Fox Chapel as Penn-Trafford won its eighth consecutive WPIAL Class 2A championship...

After neither team scored in the first overtime of the WPIAL Class A field hockey championship game Saturday at Washington & Jefferson, Shady Side Academy senior Alexa Karet stepped into the spotlight. Karet worked hard to get the ball down into Aquinas Academy’s circle and as her team kept possession,...

Mohawk’s offense was quick and efficient in its 42-0 first-round win over No. 12 Burrell in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs. On each of their scoring drives, the Warriors ran four plays or less. “Really?” said senior running back Justin Boston. “We’ve been pretty explosive all year,” said senior quarterback...

After struggling in recent playoffs, the South Park boys soccer team is WPIAL champion again for the first time since 2014. “It’s never easy to get out of the semifinals,” said Eagles coach Jon Cantwell. “We had been the No. 1 seed the last few years, we just fell short...

Emma Swierczewski and her fellow seniors have seen and done a lot as volleyball players at St. Joseph. This year is the best work they have done, and it propelled the Spartans to the playoffs for just the second time ever and the first time in 10 years. “A lot...

Franklin Regional junior midfielder Tyler Pipon scored both goals for the Panthers, including the golden goal about four minutes into the second overtime Wednesday night, to propel the Panthers to a 2-1 win over Moon and into the next round of the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs. “Very surreal. It didn’t...

The Hempfield hockey team hasn’t forgotten the way last season finished. “Losing the number of games we lost, with the roster we had and getting blown out in the playoffs the way we did is still in the back of our minds,” second-year coach Cory Myers said. “We talk about...

Freeport’s Jayden Diehl is extremely dedicated to the game of golf. Whether he’s playing for the Yellowjackets, competing in summer tournaments, going to a teaching pro to tweak his game, going to simulators once a week in the winter or staying at courses after matches to practice chipping and putting,...

Playoff fates were on the line when Highlands faced Armstrong in a Class 4A Greater Allegheny Conference battle Friday, and the game came down to the last second as Highlands (5-4, 2-3) survived a late drive by Armstrong (5-4, 2-3) to emerge with a 17-15 win. Coming out for the...

It was deja vu in Class 2A girls tennis as Knoch squared off against Sewickley Academy for the seventh consecutive year. Knoch emerged with a 3-2 win at Janet L. Swanson Tennis Center at Washington & Jefferson College, giving the school three WPIAL championships in four years. Senior Lindsey Greb...

The 2023-24 season is one of change for the Latrobe hockey team. The IceCats have a new coach after Josh Werner stepped down after nine years. He will serve as an assistant coach this year. The new man behind the bench is a familiar face. Adam Ferguson played at Latrobe...

Plum boys soccer coach Raf Kolankowski doesn’t subscribe to the notion the coach should select the captain of his teams. “I usually let the players pick the captains,” he said. “After tryouts, I usually have them make those decisions. The kids know who the leaders are.” This year, his players...

It was a must-win game for Kiski Area and Highlands when the two squared off Friday night. Every time these two have played, the winner has made the playoffs. Kiski Area (3-5, 2-3 Class 4A Greater Allegheny) came in with the slimmest of playoff hopes and left with a 36-21...

Latrobe girls volleyball has something to prove this season. Last year, the Wildcats went undefeated and made it to the WPIAL semifinals before bowing out to South Fayette in four sets. Then, in the first round of the PIAA playoffs, they lost to North Catholic. “We were on track to...

Kiski Area’s Ambur Orowitz keeps realistic expectations when it comes to tennis. No matter how she plays or how far she advances in the WPIAL playoffs, she is proud of what she has accomplished along the way. She was happy to finish fourth in the section singles tournament this year,...

Those looking for the Gateway and Penn-Trafford offenses to light up the scoreboard had to wait a while Friday night. The Class 5A Big East Conference rivals traded touchdowns in the final minutes and combined for 24 fourth-quarter points as Gateway beat Penn-Trafford, 31-27, in the “Battle of the Bell.”...

Top-seeded Emily and Lindsey Greb of Knoch added to their already overflowing trophy cases Thursday at the WPIAL Class 2A girls tennis doubles finals. The Greb sisters, both seniors, played a clean, mistake-free match and took both sets 6-1, 6-0 to defeat the 15th-seeded team of Sasha Hoffman and Stella...

If there was any pressure going into the second and final round of the WPIAL Class 2A individual golf championship, Frazier’s Nixen Erdely wasn’t showing it. On the one hour, 20 minute drive with his dad from Frazier to Butler Country Club, Erdely wasn’t thinking about the round ahead of...

Brooke Kostyak is an unconventional goalkeeper of sorts. Typically, soccer goaltenders need to be vocal to communicate with their defense to help prevent goals, but Kostyak is of a quiet nature and her coach believes it doesn’t hurt Deer Lakes in the slightest. “We’ve gotten used to it. She has...

Kiski Area’s girls soccer team came into this season knowing it would go through some growing pains. Any outfit that graduates 10 seniors and watches all that experience leave is going to have a tough following year. Coach Dave Anderson and his staff came into the year with a young...

For a cross country runner such as Burrell’s Grace Nesko, a hip injury might be the toughest to endure. The senior three-sport athlete — soccer, cross country and track and field — suffered the injury last year and took the necessary steps to get back to form for her senior...

On paper, the nonconference game between Norwin and Woodland Hills seemed like an even matchup. Both teams came into Friday’s game with the same records (2-2, 1-0) and nearly identical points for and points against numbers. The numbers were a harbinger as the Wolverines (3-2, 1-0) held on for a...

On a clear, cool night, Peters Township kept the South Fayette homecoming crowd quiet and blanked the Lions to open play in the 5A Allegheny Six Conference. Peters Township (4-0, 1-0) defeated the Lions, 35-0, and did so with a dominating defense and a potent offense. Peters, the No. 2-ranked...