Local Sports

Ellwood City Basketball Teams Eye PIAA Playoffs This Weekend

Ellwood City boys and girls basketball teams each qualified for the PIAA State Championships, but each will face a district champion in the PIAA 3A opening round this weekend. For the girls, the Lady Wolverines are the fourth-place team out of District 7 (WPIAL) and will face Karns City at Moniteau High School on Friday, March 7th at 7:00 p.m. Naomi Venesky scored 20 points of her game-high 25 points in the first half as Karns City completed its three-peat with a 50-32 win over Cranberry Area in its District 9 Class 3A championship game. The Ellwood City girls basketball…


Riverside Panthers Finish 15th Overall In WPIAL Class 2A Swimming Championships

The Riverside Panthers boys swim team placed 15th Overall in the WPIAL Class 2A Swimming & Diving Championships that took place Thursday and Friday at Treas Pool on campus at the University of Pittsburgh. The Panthers relay team shined with a top-10 finish in the 200-yard Freestyle Relay. The team qualified both the 200 Free Relay and 400 Free Relay for the PIAA state championships. The Riverside Panthers team was represented with six boys comprised of seniors Michael Styn and Gavin Frederick, juniors Nick Young and Nathan Goff, sophomore Peter Ruggeri, and freshman Joshua Turner. Indiana defended its WPIAL Class…


Wolverines Best Southmoreland 60-57 In WPIAL Consolation Play

Aaron Lake posted a double-double Monday evening to lead Ellwood City to a 60-57 victory over Southmoreland in WPIAL Consolation action. The victory advances the Wolverines (15-10 Overall) to the WPIAL Class 3A Fifth-Place game against Shady Side Academy on Wednesday. After suffering a 77-34 setback against #2 South Allegheny in the quarterfinals on Friday, the Wolverines rebounded for the road victory Monday. Lake scored 10 points in each of the halves en route to his 20-point effort. Lake added 10 rebounds and four steals. Maykel Cuevas collected four 3-pointers – one in each quarter – and 16 points for…


Lady Wolverines Upset Keystone Oaks, Move On To WPIAL Semifinals

Caitlin Kretizer and Delaney Sturgeon combined to score 11 points in the fourth quarter to spark the Lady Wolverines to a 40-37 comeback victory over #4 Keystone Oaks Wednesday night. After a sluggish first half that left the halftime score 18-14 in favor of the Golden Eagles, Ellwood City found momentum and scoring in the second half, putting up 26 second half points. The two teams combined to shoot 10-45 from the field in the first half. Kreitzer and her younger sister Carah accounted for all eleven third quarter points for Ellwood City but the Lady Wolverines trailed 30-25 entering…


Wolverines Rally From Deep, Knock Off South Park In WPIAL Opening Round

The Wolverines used the deep ball to rally from a 10-point halftime deficit Tuesday night and defeated South Park 55-51 in WPIAL 3A Boys Basketball opening round action. After trailing 34-24 at halftime, Ellwood City ripped off four 3-pointers and 20 points in the 3rd quarter. Chuckie Schweinsberg nailed three of his four 3-pointers in the quarter. Schweinsberg finished with a team-high 16 points (5-10 shooting, four 3-pointers, and two rebounds) as Ellwood City finished with ten 3-pointers as a team in the victory. Maykel Cuevas scored all eight of the Wolverines second quarter points and knocked home three 3-pointers…


TICKETS! Get Your Basketball Playoff Tickets For Action This Week

The Ellwood City boys basketball team opens up its playoff push tonight in its opening round game versus South Park. The 10-seed Wolverines (13-9 Overall, 8-4 Section 1-3A) will travel to #7 South Park for a defacto home game for the Eagles slated to start at 7:00 p.m.  The winner will advance to face the winner of #2 South Allegheny and #15 Charleroi. The Ellwood City girls basketball team, fresh of its first playoff victory in 30 years, will play #4 Keystone Oaks in the quarterfinals at North Allegheny High School on Wednesday, February 19th at 6:00 PM Also in…


PHOTOS: Riverside Swimming Captures Section Crown, Next Stop WPIAL Championships

The Riverside boys earned a WPIAL Section 2-AA crown last Wednesday with its senior night victory over Central Valley. This is the 21st Section Title in the program’s history. The boys overall section record is 6-1 with its lone loss to Quaker Valley. “We lost the section title last year by one point, so this will not be a consecutive title but still a major success for our boys team of only eight swimmers,” says head coach Alaina Marshall. The next stop will be the WPIAL Championship taking place at the Trees Pool on the campus of the University of…


Gabe Lilly Claims Championship In Class AA Wrestling Sectionals

Gabe Lilly claimed the crown in the 160-pound weight class at the Class AA sectionals held Saturday at Keystone Oaks High School. Forty-four teams competed. Lilly pinned both of his opponents in the semifinals and finals and his championship match victory helped him reach 100 career victories. Lilly opened up the afternoon with a technical fall victory over Aaryn Edwards (Carlynton). Lilly pinned Carmine Battaglia (Beaver County Christian) at 1:24 in the championship. Derek Allen (114 pounds) and Logan Shriver (121 pounds) were each under the weather according to their coach but Allen still took 2nd place while Shriver was…


Lady Wolverines Upset Seton LaSalle, Earn First Playoff Victory Since ’95

Delaney Sturgeon poured in 28 points to lead Ellwood City to its first WPIAL playoff victory since 1995 with a 49-41 upset of No. 5 seed Seton LaSalle in a Class 3A first round game played at Chartiers Valley. Sturgeon score nine of the Wolverines 12 fourth quarter points as Ellwood City pulled away for the victory. Ellwood City held a two point lead at halftime and a slim 37-36 advantage after three quarters before using a 12-5 spurt in the final frame to secure the victory. Sturgeon added 8 rebounds and blocked 5 shots. Caitlin Kreitzer and Kayla Jones…


PLAYOFFS! Three Local Basketball Teams Qualify For WPIAL Playoffs

For the second consecutive season both the Ellwood City boys and girls basketball teams have qualified for their respective WPIAL Playoffs. The Riverside Panthers girls basketball team has also qualified for the WPIAL Playoffs. The Lady Wolverines (13-8, 8-6 Section 1-3A), who drew a #10 seed, will travel to Chartiers Valley HS on Friday evening to face #5 Seton LaSalle in opening round action. The Lady Panthers (14-8 Overall, 9-5 Section 1-3A), an #8 seed in the Class 3A Playoffs, will host its opening round contest against #9 Deer Lakes on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Unbeaten section champion Our…