Penn-Trafford Star category, Page 4
Penn-Trafford notebook: P-T grad Dylan Grabowski stars for Patrick & Henry
Dylan Grabowski is having a strong season at Patrick & Henry Community College, both at the plate and on the mound. The 2023 Penn-Trafford grad, who signed on to continue his career next season at Division I Liberty, is batting .425 with 48 hits, 38 runs scored, 12 doubles, two...
Penn-Trafford boys lacrosse showing improvement amid 5-game winning streak
The Penn-Trafford boys lacrosse team has reached the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals in the past two seasons. Can they make it three in a row with a young team? Warriors coach Charlie Hach thinks they have a shot if they continue to improve. The Warriors have won five consecutive games...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of April 13, 2025
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Churchill Estate of John Connor sold property at 16 Barton Drive to AWW Homes LLC for $140,000. Sarah Christine Amos Jimm sold property at 33 Barton Drive to Pinakin Pandya and Nishtha Trivedi for $241,000. Estate of Michael Schlossberg sold property at 3216 Nottingham Drive to Schlossberg Nancy...
Penn Township to vote on hiring recreation director in place of volunteer board
The Penn Township commissioners will vote next week on hiring a recreation director to replace its former volunteer recreation board. The commissioners voted in December to advertise the recreation director position with a salary between $45,000 and $65,000 depending on qualifications, said township Secretary/Manager Mary Perez. She said four people...
Penn-Trafford student raises more than $18K for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
Penn-Trafford sophomore Abby Rayman and her team of fundraisers generated more than $18,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, exceeding the $10,000 goal she set in February. A national nonprofit with a branch in Pittsburgh’s South Side, the society supports advocacy, families facing cancer diagnoses and research for a cure....
Penn-Trafford junior named ‘High School Sports Journalist of the Year’ during Point Park’s Myron Cope Awards
Penn-Trafford High School student Annabelle Aquino grew up playing sports with her brothers, Joey and AJ, in the sprawling backyard of her family’s Harrison City home. “My mom always wanted us to go outside,” said Aquino, 17, a junior. “All my neighbors are guys, so we just played sports all...
Contagious hitting sends Penn-Trafford past Latrobe
When Giuliana Youngo saw Cam Ponko’s home run sail over the fence in center field, she wanted in on the action. “When one of us starts hitting, it makes everyone else better,” Youngo said. “We focus a lot on our hitting.” Ponko and Youngo, both seniors, blasted back-to-back solo shots...
Driver run over by own garbage truck sues Penn Township, property owner for negligence
A garbage truck driver has filed a lawsuit against Penn Township and a resident, claiming he was run over by his own truck after it struck a leaning and overhanging tree. Tyler Spade of Uniontown, a driver for Republic Services, which provides garbage removal services in Penn Township, claims he...
Plum plays ‘clean’ game, rides big 4th inning past Penn-Trafford
Plum baseball coach Carl Vollmer described his team’s performance Monday against Penn-Trafford as a “clean win.” The Mustangs got a good start from junior right-hander Braden Kemmerer, timely hitting and solid defense in their 4-1 Section 1-5A first-place victory over rival Penn-Trafford at home. The game was moved to Plum’s...
Penn Township resident seeks volunteers to create county database of veteran graves
Penn Township resident Bill Bray plans to spend the bulk of his free time this year walking through cemeteries. An Army veteran who served from 1984 to 1993, Bray is looking for volunteers to help him survey all 291 of Westmoreland County’s cemeteries to document every military grave. The county...
Penn-Trafford eager to compete with WPIAL track elite
When competing in a track and field section with Norwin and Hempfield, the chances of making the WPIAL Class 3A team playoffs are slim. The Penn-Trafford boys team has defied that logic that the past two seasons by qualifying for WPIALs and last year reached the finals. But if the...
Penn-Trafford notebook: Pair of seniors up for scholar/athlete award
Derek Carr and Kylie Anthony are this year’s candidates from Penn-Trafford for the Westmoreland County Scholar/Athlete Excellence Award. The duo are outstanding athletes and solid students. Carr played football and basketball for the Warriors. He ranked 47th of 303 in his class with a 4.2 cumulative GPA. Anthony played volleyball...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of April 6, 2025
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Chalfant Sandra Jenkins sold property at 147 Wilkins Ave. to Jonathan Alden for $91,500. Churchill Chris Allwein trustee sold property at 2013 Beulah Road to Mina Niknam Esfahani for $205,000. Edgewood Owen Vandivier sold property at 220 Dewey St. to Pasadena Partners LLC for $230,000. Tuan Ahn Do...
Penn Township physical therapist helps to fill gap in care for fast heart rate syndrome
Doctors have pitched countless theories to Irwin resident Lauren Karcher regarding the laundry list of health problems she had experienced in the past 15 years. Emergency room doctors suspected she suffered from transient ischemic attacks — also known as mini-strokes — and a rheumatologist told her she was in the...
Penn-Trafford Drama Guild to perform ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ musical
Penn-Trafford High School’s upcoming performance of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” has taken senior Isaiah Cordera back to his childhood. Having grown up watching the film, Cordera is excited to bring the character Charlie to the stage during the show’s debut weekend, April 4 to 6. “It’s a really fun...
Police seek information on Subaru that struck boy on bicycle in Penn Borough
State police are looking for the driver of a white Subaru car that hit an 8-year-old boy riding a bicycle Tuesday evening in Penn Borough and then fled. Trooper Steve Limani said the driver got out of the car, removed the bicycle from in front of it and left the...
‘We’re praying’: Riders fear proposed Pittsburgh Regional Transit cuts
Monroeville resident Shane Beachy does not want to quit his job as a cook at Trafford restaurant Veronica’s On Cavitt. But, if Pittsburgh Regional Transit follows through on a proposal to eliminate service to the borough, Beachy, 49, may have no choice. The transit agency is weighing a 25-cent fare...
Penn-Trafford softball team looks sharp in win against nemesis Armstrong
Since Penn-Trafford won the 2019 PIAA Class 5A softball title, the team that has presented the most problems is Armstrong. The River Hawks have won five of the six meetings, including a heartbreaking loss in the WPIAL semifinals in 2024. But Penn-Trafford coach Denny Little is hoping things are changing....
Family came 1st in Giannikas’ decision to resign from coaching Penn-Trafford girls
John Giannikas had been contemplating this decision all basketball season. It was not easy and gave him restless nights. But while it burdened him, he knew what he had to do. Family must come first in the case of Penn-Trafford’s girls basketball coach, who resigned after 19 seasons leading the...
Penn-Trafford boys volleyball sharpens skills vs. top opponents in early season
Penn-Trafford boys volleyball Jim Schall said he saw some encouraging things from his team from the North Allegheny tournament March 22. Despite going 3-5 against some of the top teams in the state — the likes of Central York, Manheim Central, North Allegheny and Canon-McMillan — Schall felt it was...
Penn-Trafford girls lacrosse ready to tackle tough competition in Class 3A
The Penn-Trafford girls lacrosse team is facing some stiff competition in 2025. After competing in Class 2A, the Warriors moved up to the rugged Section 1 in Class 3A. In 2024, Penn-Trafford lost in the WPIAL class 2A semis and made the PIAA tournament. So far in 2025, the Warriors...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of March 30, 2025
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Chalfant Mary Wilson sold property at 219 Greenfield Ave. to Midfirst Bank for $25,000. Harry Leeper sold property at 302 Greenfield Ave. to Tri COG Land Bank for $85,896. Churchill Prestige Property Develop LLC sold property at 2162 Garrick Drive to Derek Leung for $368,800. AV Restorations LLC...
Trafford authors to deliver talk on their literary work, small-town upbringing
Trafford authors Lori Jakiela and Dave Newman will give a talk on April 3 about the influence of their small towns on their literary works. The married couple live in Trafford, Jakiela’s hometown. Newman grew up in Irwin. They will read excerpts of their work before delivering their talks. A...
Penn-Trafford rallies from 5-0 deficit to sweep baseball series with Latrobe
Penn-Trafford was limited offensively for the first five innings Tuesday and stared down a five-run deficit for most of the game. But the defending WPIAL champion Warriors saved their best for last, rallying for nine runs over the last two innings to pull past Latrobe, 9-6, to earn a Section...
Penn-Trafford uses familiar formula to defeat Latrobe in baseball home opener
With its new WPIAL championship banner hanging on the fence near the visitors’ dugout, Penn-Trafford used some of the fundamentals that helped it win a title last season to earn victory in its home opener. The interplay of pitching and defense — and just enough offense — allowed the Warriors...

