Local Sports

Riverside Relay Team Wins WPIAL, Two Individuals Qualify for PIAA Swimming

Spring sports season has officially started but for an elite few, winter sports goes on. At the WPIAL swimming competition last Thursday and Friday at the University of Pittsburgh, four Riverside girls and one boy qualified for the PIAA next week. The girls claimed one win in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:40.53. The team consists of junior Erica King, junior Alana Nulph, freshman Meghan Rosendale and senior Kelly Krechowski. It wasn’t an easy season. The team struggled with injuries and illnesses. Indeed, the qualifying relay team had only swam together as a unit once before. “We…


Ellwood, Riverside Athletes Advance to PIAA Competition

Although the winter sports season has largely concluded, local athletes are still experiencing the post-season in swimming and wrestling. Over the weekend, two Ellwood and five Riverside athletes qualified for the PIAA competition. Both schools are in Class AA. Correction: [Riverside sophomore Dean Kralic also qualified for the swimming PIAA.] Taylor Petrak- Ellwood City Swimming Ellwood City may not have a swimming pool or swimming team but that doesn’t slow down junior Taylor Petrak, who competes individually and practices at other schools’ pools. At the WPIAL competition last Thursday and Friday at the University of Pittsburgh, Petrak won the 50-yard…


CCBC Men’s Basketball Team Finds Success on and off the Court

Monaca, Pa. – With the spotlight on a new basketball team after a year-long hiatus, head men’s basketball coach Steve Brodzinski, who started at CCBC last February, took on the important task of coaching, mentoring, and preparing a team that is not only successful on the court but also in the classrooms at CCBC and beyond. With their focus on academics, scholarship, transfer, and a good balance of practice and playing time for all players, Brodzinski and his team shined on and off the court this season. “My main goal was to cultivate a winning mentality on the court and…


Riverside Loses Two Games, Still in Playoff Run

Riverside lost two playoff games on Friday and Monday against Greensburg Central Catholic and Burrell but is still in the running pending tomorrow’s game against Chartiers-Houston. Unfortunately, that run will be minus the team’s top scorer, senior Katie Stang, who averages 19 points per game. During the Greensburg game, Stang suffered a season-ending knee injury and watched the Burrell game from the sidelines on crutches. Riverside’s post-season got off to an excellent start with a comeback game against Brentwood on Feb. 18 where the Lady Panthers won 45-42 after trailing 25-15 in the first half. In Friday’s game against Greensburg,…


Four Ellwood Wrestlers Advance to WPIAL Championship

Four Ellwood City wrestlers advanced to the WPIAL championship by qualifying in the Section 1 Individual Championships on Saturday, Feb. 20. Tyler Alberts not only qualified but won his weight class of 113 pounds. In addition to Alberts, the following athletes qualified: Freshmen Donavon Chambers, 5th placed, 139 pound weight class Sophomore Tyler Baird, 5th, 113 Senior Carter MacMurdo, 3rd, 120 The top five in each weight class advance to the WPIAL championship next weekend on Friday and Saturday. “The competition will grow and we will be training hard this week in hopes of moving on to the SWR,” coach…


They Came From Behind: Riverside Girls Basketball Defeats Brentwood, Advances to Next Round of Playoffs

In a late game upset, the Riverside girls basketball team overthrew Brentwood for a narrow 3-point victory in Wednesday’s 45-42 game against Ambridge High School. Riverside was pinned down in the first half 25-15, but came came back in the second half, especially in the 18-8 final quarter, to narrowly snatch victory from Brentwood. Top scorer Katie Stang delivered 26 points, 16 from field goals and 10 from free throws. Also scoring for Riverside were Morgan Bailey, nine, Jordan Annarumo, six, Natalie Bologna, two, and Sydney Wolf, two. The Lady Panthers will play Greensburg Central Catholic at North Allegheny High…


Lincoln Senior Cheerleaders Receive Awards

Members of the Lincoln High School Cheering Squads gathered for their annual banquet at Connoquenessing Country Club on Feb. 16. Seniors recognized were: Danielle Bodenshatz, Hannah Kauffman and Sophia Gagliano. Coaches were head coach Karen Steilner, junior varsity coach Kim Magnifico, and junior high coach Kristen Carsele. The following awards were presented to the seniors: Academic Award-Hannah Kaufman Spirit Award- Danielle Bodenshatz Captains awards – Danielle Bodenshatz, Hannah Kaufman and Sophia Gagliano John Sovich, Lincoln High School Assistant Principal was present at the awards presentation. Other members of the Varsity Cheering Squad are: Juniors: Alyssa Myers, Allyson Peffer, Giana Rangle,…


Video: Ketterer Ends Varsity Career with 1005 Points

Karrington Ketterer broke the 1000 point mark in her final game of varsity basketball on Monday against Montour. Ketterer has played at the varsity level since her freshmen year. She scored 156 points in 9th grade, 265 in 10th, 284 in 11th and 300 this year. The Ellwood City Lady Wolverines lost Monday’s away game 57-42. They end the season 9-13 overall and 6-8 in their conference. Although the team was hoping for a playoff run, they finished fifth in their Class AAA conference. The top four teams advance to playoffs. Last year, the girls tied for fourth place and…


Photos: Riverside Girls and Boys Win Senior Nights, Advance to Playoffs

Senior Katie Stang took advantage of the senior spirit and scored 39 points, breaking her high score record last year by seven. Stang has scored 895 points during her junior and senior years. The Lady Panthers dominated New Brighton 65-22 in the Senior Night conference game held on Thursday, Feb. 4. Seniors Jordan Annarumo, Morgan Bailey, Ashely Boehm, Abbey Matiko, Katie Stang and Suzuno Kimara were honored prior to the game. Riverside consistently outscored New Brighton and the second quarter was 22-2. Seniors Annarumo and Matiko scored nine and seven while Bailey landed a three-pointer. On Monday, they finished the…


Photos: Ellwood City Boys Basketball Senior Night

The Ellwood City basketball team and cheerleading squad celebrated senior night before Friday’s conference game against New Castle. New Castle defeated Ellwood 79-23. New Castle remains undefeated this season and are ranked number 4 in the PIAA Class AAA by the Patriot News in Harrisburg. Ellwood City managed to score 14 points in the third quarter. Anthony Roth was the high scorer with 14 points. However, Ellwood City was able to end the season with a victory when they defeated Slippery Rock 40-30 on Saturday. Anthony Roth and David DeLoia each scored 12 and Nick Ioanilla scored nine. The Ellwood…