State champion girls basketball, softball, spirit teams lift Neshannock to Trib Cup in Class 2A
After finishing second in the HSSN Trib Cup standings a year ago, Neshannock used a perfect season to claim the top spot. It was another strong school year athletically for the seven Lawrence County schools inside the WPIAL, but none compared to the overall resume put forth by Neshannock in...
A-K Valley teams adjust to changes in basketball alignment
Basketball in the A-K Valley will have a bit of a different look next winter. The WPIAL board of directors approved section alignments for the next two-year cycle in boys and girls basketball on June 13. Several A-K Valley teams were impacted. Here’s a look at some of the changes:...
Deer Lakes’ Justin Brannagan named 2022 Valley News Dispatch Baseball Player of the Year
2022 Valley News Dispatch Baseball All-Stars Player of the Year Justin Brannagan Deer Lakes, Sr., P/INF Justin Brannagan had a propensity this year for coming up big in clutch playoff scenarios. In February, Deer Lakes trailed Blackhawk by one point in the final seconds of a WPIAL Class 4A first-round...
Riverview runners cap special season at PIAA meet
Riverview’s boys 3,200-meter relay runners stood on the medals stand at last year’s PIAA Class 2A championships having just completed a strong performance on the track at Shippensburg University. Parker Steele, Amberson Bauer, Ty Laughlin and the now-graduated Mason Ochs ran to a time of 8 minutes, 16.58 seconds and...
After quarterfinal loss, Riverview baseball looks forward to next season
Riverview baseball players had winning playoff experiences under their belts as they began this year’s WPIAL Class A tournament with a first-round matchup against Bishop Canevin. The Raiders, hoping for a second straight run to the WPIAL finals, checked in as the No. 10 seed, but coach Bill Gras knew...
Deer Lakes’ Carson McCoy celebrates another come-from-behind win at PIAA championships
SHIPPENSBURG — Carson McCoy apologized after his latest come-from-behind victory, knowing he’d just ruthlessly dashed the hopes of the same opponent for the third time. But McCoy wasn’t really sorry. The Deer Lakes senior used his strong kick to surge ahead in the final stretch and win the boys 800...
Deer Lakes’ Carson McCoy defends 1,600-meter title at PIAA championships
SHIPPENSBURG — Carson McCoy maybe isn’t a front runner, yet the Deer Lakes senior usually crosses the finish line first. His patient, wait-for-your-moment strategy worked again Friday as he surged down the stretch to defend his PIAA Class 2A title in the boys 1,600 meters at the state track championships...
Alle-Kiski sends plenty of track athletes to PIAAs
Deer Lakes senior Carson McCoy doesn’t have to wait long to run at the PIAA track and field championships at Shippensburg University. He will be on the track at 9 a.m. Friday morning in defense of his Class 2A boys 1,600-meter title. It is the first of many events on...
Riverview runners take aim at state medals
Riverview junior Amberson Bauer and senior teammates Ty Laughlin and Parker Steele were a part of last year’s boys 3,200-meter relay which set a school record and brought home WPIAL gold. Freshman Chris Barnes came on board this season, replacing the graduated Mason Ochs. The quartet made a strong run...
Union baseball ousts Riverview in title-game rematch
Thursday’s Riverview-Union Class A baseball quarterfinal was a rematch of last year’s championship game. While Union didn’t get a no-hitter like it did last season from Jake Vitale, Tyler Straub tossed a gem for the Scotties. Straub only struck out one, but Union picked up three early runs and Straub...
A-K Valley WPIAL playoff baseball preview capsules for May 19, 2022
WPIAL baseball playoffs Class 3A Quarterfinals 1-Hopewell (14-6) vs. 8-Deer Lakes (10-11) 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Burkett Field Winner plays: Winner of 4-Mohawk (14-4) vs. 5-Yough (11-7) on Monday in semifinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Anthony LaSala, Hopewell; Justin Brannagan, Deer Lakes Extra bases: Justin Brannagan doubled in...
Riverview’s Bauer hopes to build on school-record time in 800 at WPIAL meet
Amberson Bauer qualified, along with several of his Riverview track and field teammates, for the WPIAL Class 2A championships at Slippery Rock University. The junior middle distance and distance specialist built up a great deal of momentum leading up to the meet with times that put him in contention for...
Riverview baseball ready for another playoff run
Riverview and Springdale are rivals in every sport, and baseball this spring is no exception. So, you can’t blame the Raiders players for being a little excited when they finished off a two-game Section 3-A sweep of the Dynamos last week. Game 1 went down to the wire, and Game...
A-K Valley Sports Hall of Fame inductee Terry Preece was 3-sport standout at Oakmont
For Terry Preece, there was nothing better than growing up in a small town in the 1960s, not far from the big city. Preece excelled in athletics for that small-town school — Oakmont High School — serving as a team captain in football, basketball and track. In football, he set...
Riverview runners working toward more WPIAL success
Parker Steele has high hopes the Riverview boys 3,200-meter relay can defend its WPIAL Class 2A title from a year ago. With three of the four runners back — Steele, a senior, along with junior Amberson Bauer and senior Ty Laughlin — and a mix of veterans, including senior Lucas...
Quaker Valley football hires former Riverview coach Jason Cappa
Quaker Valley has hired Jason Cappa as its new football coach, the school announced Thursday. Cappa has worked at Quaker Valley since 2019, serving as offensive and defensive line coach for the football team, middle school softball coach and a paraprofessional in the life skills classroom at the high school....
Track and field notebook: Riverview athletes excel at Bedford meet
Riverview’s Parker Steele won the 800-meter run at Bedford Giant Eagle Classic Invitational on April 9. Amberson Bauer finished second in the 1,600-meter run, and teammate Christopher Barnes placed third in the 3,200. Ty Laughlin finished fourth in the 1,600, and Holden Deasy placed sixth in the 3,200. Lily Bauer...
Former Cager Classic MVP Corey Smith now coaching in all-star basketball game
Kiski Area coach Corey Smith has come full circle with the Cager Classic. He was the East MVP in 2002, an assistant under Greg Hutcherson and now the head coach for the East as the Cager Classic returns after a two-year hiatus brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The event...
Riverview softball program seeking rebound
Until the pandemic came, Riverview softball was on a roll. The Raiders had made the WPIAL playoffs the first five seasons of coach Jim Albaugh’s tenure. After the pandemic wiped out the 2020 season, Riverview struggled to an uncharacteristic 0-9 record last year. Now, the challenge is to rebuild the...
Riverview baseball team hungry for more after title-game run
Even though Wild Things Park in Washington is 44 miles away, the Riverview baseball team wants to spend as much time at that facility as possible. The Raiders made an unexpected run to the WPIAL Class A title game last season at Wild Things Park, losing to Union. Riverview returned...
Riverview grad Cal Fisher spearheads NCAA title drive for Penn State men’s volleyball teamVideo
Once in a while, Penn State men’s volleyball coach Mark Pavlik likes to tease a couple of his players by comparing them to their more-accomplished mothers. When sophomore Will Kuhns registered his first collegiate kill against Princeton in February, for example, Pavlik announced to the team after the match that...
Playoff berth shows how far young Riverview girls basketball team came
Maddie Deem looked around during the preseason and quickly realized her role for the Riverview girls basketball team was going to be different. In the past, the 5-foot-6 senior guard had plenty of other players to look up to. But this year, the Raiders were looking up to Deem, who...
A-K Valley WPIAL basketball playoff capsules for Feb. 21, 2022
Monday’s games Boys First round Class 5A 9-Kiski Area (15-7) at 8-Hampton (12-10) 7 p.m. Monday Winner plays: Winner of 1-Laurel Highlands (21-0)/16-Woodland Hills (8-14) on Thursday in quarterfinals Layup lines: Kiski Area already tripled its win total from a year ago under first-year coach Corey Smith, who played for...
Westmoreland WPIAL basketball playoff capsules for Feb. 21, 2022
Monday’s games Boys First round Class 3A 9-Ligonier Valley (12-10) at 8-Avonworth (15-5) 7 p.m. Monday Winner plays: Winner of 16-Summit Academy (7-8)/1-Ellwood City (20-2) on Thursday in quarterfinals Layup lines: Second-year WPIAL member Ligonier Valley won four of its final five games and finished third in Section 3. Senior...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Freeport’s Melaina DeZort, Riverview’s Micah Black
Melaina DeZort Class: Junior School: Freeport Sport: Basketball Report card: DeZort scored 18 points and aided Freeport in a 49-42 comeback victory over Derry in an important Section 1-4A game Monday. The Yellowjackets evened their section record at 4-4 and moved into third place by a half game with the...
