Other Local category, Page 9
West Point softball wins U12 state championship
Don’t look for Tina Madison to schedule any more trips to Wellsboro very soon. Even though West Point has won consecutive Pennsylvania State Little Major Division state titles there, Wellsboro is a hike. It’s in the north-central part of the state near the New York state line. The closest city...
Trafford wins Junior title; West Point advances to finals
Dom Delio took a perfect game into the seventh inning Tuesday to lead Trafford to a 6-1 victory against 14th Ward (Woodland Hills) in the Westmoreland Junior League Championship. Jason Peyton led off the top of the seventh inning with a single to center. He came around to score on...
Murrysville, Latrobe set to battle for District 31 American Legion baseball title
With the Pennsylvania American Legion Region 7 tournament beginning Saturday, how do Murrysville coach Bob Bozzuto and Latrobe coach Jason Bush handle Wednesday’s District 31 championship game, set for 5:30 p.m. at Greater Latrobe High School? Both coaches are taking the same approach by agreeing with former New York Jets...
Nathan Smith receives exemption in U.S. Mid-Amateur
Brookville native and Pittsburgh resident Nathan Smith received an exemption into the 43rd U.S Mid-Amateur. The tournament is Sept. 21-26 at Kinloch Golf Club in Manakin-Sabot, Va., and Independence Golf Club in Midlothian, Va. The five-time USGA champion and 2025 USA Walker Cup captain is the only player to win...
Luft twins lead West Point to win, spot in Pa. Little League Softball final
Jayelyn Luft tossed a no-hitter, twin sister Jocelyn Luft drove in four runs and West Point moved into the Pennsylvania Little League Softball Major Championship with a 12-1 win Monday against Pittston. West Point will face unbeaten Indiana at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Wellsboro. If West Point wins, the two...
Deer Lakes grad Madeline Boulos hoping to have breakout season for Mount Union women’s soccer
When the Mount Union women’s soccer team gathers for preseason camp in a few weeks, Deer Lakes alumnae Madeline Boulos will be entering her third season with the Raiders. But, in many respects, Boulos feels like she is just getting started and just scratching the surface of her potential at...
Sanctuary Boxing’s Makya Wade claims gold at national boxing competition
For the third summer in a row, Sanctuary Boxing Club in New Kensington took boxers to USA Boxing’s national competition in Wichita, Kan. This time around, the group returned with gold and bronze medals. Makya Wade, 10, joined Sanctuary Boxing Club one year ago and quickly became a national champion...
West Point girls stay alive; Latrobe, Murrysville sweep District 31 series
Pitcher Lexi Stabiles tossed a two-hit shutout, and Jocelyn Luft smacked a two-run single in the fourth inning to lead West Point to a 2-0 victory against Caln Township on Sunday in the Pennsylvania Little League Softball Major Division state tournament at Wellsboro. Stabiles struck out 12 and didn’t walk...
Trafford Junior American Legion baseball looking to stay hot, make state playoff run
The Trafford Post 331 Junior American Legion team would love to repeat what the 2021 Penn-Trafford squad did, winning a state title. That team featured eight starters from this year’s WPIAL Class 5A champion Penn-Trafford high school team. Trafford reached the finals of the Westmoreland County Junior League by defeating...
Gateway youth track and field athletes heading to AAU Junior Olympic Nationals
Last year in its inaugural season, the Gateway Gators Youth Track and Field club began with 60 athletes ages 7 to 18 before that number tailed off somewhat as the season progressed. But both the coaches and athletes were able to draw a lot of positives from that first season,...
3 Pittsburgh Elite teams headed to NFL’s flag football national championships
The Pittsburgh Elite flag football team will be well-represented at the NFL Flag National Championships on July 18-21 in Canton, Ohio. Three of the organization’s travel teams, the 9U, 12U and 13U teams, all won regional championships. The organization, which runs an in-house league that plays at Linton Middle School,...
Pine Creek Journal notebook: Pine-Richland grad racks up eagles to win at Nemacolin
A unique round of golf helped Pine-Richland grad Mike Van Sickle defend his title at the Falling Rock Classic at Nemacolin Woodlands on July 9. Van Sickle eagled all four par-5s in the final round of the two-day event to finish 5-under par and win by one stroke over Eddie...
Palmer Jackson shoots 66, leads Westmoreland County Amateur
Palmer Jackson shot a 4-under-par 66 on Saturday to grab the first-round lead of the annual Westmoreland Golf Association’s Amateur Championship at Hannastown Golf. Jackson, the Murrysville native and graduate of Franklin Regional High School and Notre Dame, played a solid round and leads the Turowski brothers — Nick and...
Latrobe, Murrysville Legion squeeze out wins; West Point stays alive
Haden Sierocky beat out an infield single to deep shortstop that scored Erick Batista, and Latrobe edged Hempfield East, 1-0, on Saturday in Game 1 of the District 31 American Legion semifinal playoffs at Latrobe High School. Game 2 of the best-of-3 series will be at 11 a.m. Sunday at...
Runners from 30 states compete in America’s Mile on Pittsburgh’s North Shore
The America’s Mile on Friday evening on the North Shore was a new take on an annual summer running tradition. But while the name changed — it formerly was the Fleet Feet Liberty Mile — and the location moved from the Cultural District Downtown to a finish line in the...
West Point Little League falls at state softball tournament; Legion semifinals set
The West Point Little League U12 team fell to 1-1 at the state tournament in Wellsboro on Friday, losing 7-5 to Pittston Area. West Point was led by Morgan Maiers, who went 2 for 3 with three RBIs. Lexi Stabile singled, doubled and drove in a run, Jayelyn Luft had...
Golf notebook: Neal Shipley in the hunt at PGA Tour event in Kentucky
Mt. Lebanon native Neal Shipley is playing in his third consecutive PGA Tour event this weekend, and for the second time, he has made the cut. Shipley shot a 7-under par 65 Friday and is 12-under for the tournament at the ISCO Championship at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville,...
Hempfield East rallies to defeat Young Township; West Point girls open with win
Hempfield East rallied from an early deficit to defeat Young Township, 7-3, on Thursday in Game 3 of the District 31 American Legion playoffs to win the best-of-three series. The win advances Hempfield East to Saturday’s semifinals against No. 1 seed Latrobe and qualifies it for the Region 7 tournament....
A household name in local bowling, Rich Nesbit passes baton after 47-year career at lanes
Rich Nesbit had a routine he followed thousands of times. As the owner of his family’s namesake Nesbit’s Lanes in Plum, he would arrive at the facility, make sure all the machines were on, get the snack bar started, check to see if all the bathrooms were clean and do...
Head-clearing trip to Japan helped refocus Spencer Lee for Olympic bid
Frustrated with nagging injuries, Spencer Lee said he thought about putting wrestling down for a while, maybe even shelving it altogether. Had he done that, though, he wouldn’t be heading to Paris to represent his country and compete for Olympic gold. He took a break, reflected and let his body...
Hempfield East Legion forces Game 3; Latrobe, Bushy Run and Murrysville advance to semifinals
Pitchers Grayson Willis and Josh Cayer combined on a three-hit shutout, and Hempfield East forced a Game 3 in the District 31 American Legion playoffs with a 9-0 victory against Young Township. Game 3 will be played 5:30 p.m. Thursday at West Lebanon. Willis worked into the six inning. He...
Lower Burrell Legion team makes most of busy schedule
From June 5 to July 3, the Lower Burrell American Legion baseball team played 18 District 31 league games. It was a four-week sprint to the finish, and while the Post 868 Bulldogs, one of the younger teams in the 14-team league, didn’t finish with the record it had hoped,...
U.S. Open trophy visits Oakmont to begin 2025 celebrations
Members of Oakmont Country Club take pride in having one of the toughest courses in the country. When the 2025 United States Golf Association brings the Open to Western Pennsylvania for a record 10th time next June, they want the best players in the game to work for their title....
Latrobe grad Jared Kollar racking up wins for Padres’ Double-A affiliate
Jared Kollar is not considered a top 30 prospect in the San Diego Padres’ farm system, but his stock certainly isn’t falling, either. The right-hander from Latrobe who starts for the San Antonio Missions in Double-A has 15 wins in two seasons in the minors. This season, he is 8-3...
Pro wrestlers ready to ‘Brawl Under the Bridge’
As KSWA heavyweight champion, “the Face of Pittsburgh” Lou Martin has competed in hundreds of professional wrestling matches in dozens of venues. There’s something special about the Brawl Under the Bridge. “The venue for the event under the historic Homestead Grays Bridge is pretty unique for an event,” Martin said....
