Local Sports

Petrak Shines As Ohio State University Swimming Repeats As Big Ten Champs

Former Lincoln High School graduate Taylor Petrak helped propel the Ohio State Buckeyes to a successful repeat of its Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championship crown last month. Petrak, a Ohio State University senior, is now one of 12 Buckeye women’s swimmers that have descended upon the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C., to compete at the 2021 NCAA Championships this weekend. Petrak swam on 2021 Big Ten champion and school-record setting 400 medley relay (Emily Crane, Hannah Bach, Katie Trace and Petrak) and on the 200 free relay (Crane, Petrak, Katherine Zenick, and Amy Fulmer) for the Buckeyes during…


Riverside Turns Focus to PIAA Swimming Championships

The Riverside swimming team will compete the in the PIAA Swimming Championships Friday afternoon at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. For the Panthers team, winners of a pair of golds in the 200 and 400 meter free relays at the WPIAL Swimming Championships, they will look to showcase its relay team in three PIAA relay events and display some individual talent with the Roth brothers each swimming in individual events. The team swims in the following events: 200 medley relay heat four of four, 200 free relay heat four of four, 100 freestyle heat two of two (Alexander…


Ellwood City Wrestling Holding A Raffle Fundraiser

Even though the high school wresting season has ended, the Ellwood City Wrestling Booster Club is working to continue to raise funds for their team. With many prior fundraising activities cancelled due to COVID-19, the club will be holding a fundraising raffle to support junior high and varsity wrestling. The winner will receive a $500.00 gift certificate to Milk House Meats. The raffle is $10.00 per tip donation and can be purchased online.  The raffle closes once all tickets have been sold. The Ellwood City Wrestling team will be losing four graduating seniors this year – Damon Bumgardner, Rodney Grymes,…


Lincoln High School Senior Featured On Pittsburgh News Publication

Lincoln High School senior Makinley Magill was recently featured on an online Pittsburgh news publication, Pittsburgh Current. To mark the one year anniversary of the first day of the pandemic lock down, Pittsburgh Current began a series titled ‘COVID Pandemic Stories’ The pandemic resulted in many different things for many different people and the series provides a voice from some to reflect. Makinley writes an essay describing her journey over the past calendar year amid the challenges of the shutdown. Her essay reads: If there are two things that most people learn about me soon after meeting me is that…


MARCH MADNESS: Ellwood City Ousts South Allegheny, Claims First Ever WPIAL Title

Led by the trio of juniors Alexander Roth and Steve Antuono, and freshman Joseph Roth, the Wolverines knocked off top seeded South Allegheny 53-50 Monday night to earn the WPIAL Class-3A Championship at North Allegheny. The championship is the first WPIAL championship for the basketball program after earning its first championship game berth since 1986.  This year’s run was special as the team won five games en route to the championship including victories over the #1, #2, #3 and #6 seeds along the way. Alexander Roth led the Wolverines with a game-high 19 points (2 3-pointers) while brother Joseph Roth…


Wire-To-Wire Winners, Ellwood City Advances to WPIAL Championship

Ellwood City led wire-to-wire, avenging two regular season losses, and upended 2-seed Neshannock 60-51 Thursday night to advance to the WPIAL Class-3A Championship game. Alexander Roth scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half, including nine – all free throws – in the final frame to help the Wolverines escape the de-facto road game at Neshannock. Alexander’s brother Joseph buoyed the offense early, scoring 16 first half points as Ellwood City built a 34-31 halftime lead that would see leads swoon from double-digits to single possessions throughout. Both teams stroked the long ball early, combining for 13 first…


Roth Brothers Shine, Ellwood City Advances Past Shady Side Academy

Things are going swimmingly for brothers Alexander and Joseph Roth. The Splash Brothers combined for 54 points to help Ellwood City prevail over 3-seed Shady Side Academy 81-73 in overtime Monday night at Fox Chapel High School. The victory advances 11-seed Ellwood City to the WPIAL semifinals for first time since 1986. Just over 48 hours after collecting gold in #WPIAL swimming championships, Alexander (24 points, 5 3-pointers) and Joseph (30 points, 14-20 FTs) put their mark on the game late, accounting for all 30 of the Wolverine fourth quarter points and ten points in overtime. In contrast to Thursday’s…


Riverside Swimming Repeats In WPIAL Swimming Championships, Roth Sets WPIAL Record

The Riverside swimming team earned a pair of golds in the 200 and 400 meter free relays at the 2021 WPIAL Class-AA Swimming Championships on Saturday at Upper St. Clair High School while Joseph Roth earned a WPIAL gold medal in the individual 100-meter backstroke and set a WPIAL record along the way. The first place finish in the 200 meter free relay event earned Riverside a repeat gold medal performance. The Panthers also earned a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay and finished third overall as a team in the championships.  All three relays were team records and…


Wolverines Advance To WPIAL Quarterfinals With Upset Victory Over Avonworth

Steve Antuono, Alexander Roth, and Joseph Roth provided a balanced scoring attack and Ellwood City used a strong performance in the fourth quarter to earn its 58-53 victory over Avonworth Thursday night at North Allegheny HS. The victory advanced the 11-seeded Wolverines (11-4 overall) into the quarterfinals of the Class-3A Playoffs. Alexander Roth scored 10 first half points as part of his team-high 16 point effort (4 3-pointers), Joseph Roth scored 13 points, and Antuono finished with 12 points (2 3-pointers, 4-4 free throws). Milo Sesti and Dan Ditri each connected on three pointers for Ellwood City who held a…


Riverside Swimming Looking To Make Splash at WPIAL Championships

The co-op swimming team consisting of Ellwood City and Riverside athletes is off to the WPIAL Championships this weekend carrying their third consecutive undefeated Class-AA section title with them. Class AA and Class AAA championship meets March 6-7 at Upper St. Clair High School. Local athletes set to compete include senior Graham Kralic (50 freestyle), sophomore Sam Kline (100 freestyle), freshman Joe Roth (100 backstroke), junior Alex Roth (100 freestyle), and freshman Ryan Turner (100 freestyle). The swimmers will also combine to participate in three relay qualifiers: 200 medley relay (Roth, Roth, Kralic, Turner), 200 freestyle relay (Roth, Kralic, Kline,…