2024 in A-K Valley sports: Individual, team championships highlight calendar year

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, December 31, 2024 | 6:30 AM

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The year 2024 was the setting for many memorable moments where Alle-Kiski Valley athletes and teams shined with championship performances and accomplishments in all arenas of competition.

Athletes again were able to pay off many hours of dedication and determination to not only reach but to surpass their goals.

The year also brought about reflection as athletic leaders and mentors were remembered for the dedication and leadership they brought to their sport.

It is time to look back on a number of the top stories of the year in the A-K Valley:

10. Football coaching legends pass away: Former Kiski Area football coach and athletic administrator Richard Dilts died in May at 93.

Joe Naunchik, who guided four area high school football teams — Plum, Hempfield, Valley and Fox Chapel — to WPIAL playoff appearances, died Dec. 21. He was 86.

Dilts’ full coaching tenure started at Pine-Richland in 1959 and lasted until 1993. He retired with a career record of 234-118-7.

Of those 234 wins, 214 came at Kiski Area along with 14 conference titles.

From 1967-72, Kiski Area posted a 67-6 record and was in contention for conference and WPIAL titles each year. The Cavaliers also finished as the WPIAL Class AAA runners-up by one point, 14-13, to Mt. Pleasant in 1986.

Naunchik was well known for his 40 years as a football coach, including his time as a tight end and wide receivers coach at Pitt.

He finished his high school coaching tenure 129-105-9 with five conference crowns.

Both Dilts and Naunchik are members of the Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame.

9. Lucas and Floyd record 1,000-1,000 seasons: Highlands dual-threat quarterback Menage Lucas and Leechburg running and throwing signal-caller Jayden Floyd secured their names in exclusive WPIAL company by throwing and running for 1,000 yards in the 2024 season.

Lucas did it for the first time and became just the 21st quarterback in WPIAL history to accomplish the feat.

Floyd did it for the second year in a row, joining only Fort Cherry’s Matt Sieg and New Kensington native and Shady Side Academy graduate Skyy Moore on that even more exclusive list.

Lucas accounted for 45 touchdowns for the Golden Rams in their run to the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals.

He threw for 1,587 yards and 23 scores and ran for 1,459 and 22 TDs.

Floyd helped guide the Blue Devils to a school-record fourth consecutive WPIAL Class A playoff appearance.

He accumulated 1,477 passing yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for 1,267 yards on 120 attempts, an average of 10.6 a carry, and 28 scores.

8. Davis, Claassen, Golding win gold: Girls wrestling made its official debut in the WPIAL for the 2023-24 season after the PIAA voted to sanction the sport at the varsity level in May 2023.

After numerous tournaments and matches over four months, wrestlers arrived at the first WPIAL championship tournament, and Plum juniors Saphia Davis and Alaina Claassen and Kiski Area’s Ava Golding made the most of their opportunities.

Davis captured the 124-pound title with a 5-0 decision over Mt. Lebanon’s Paige Jox. She ended her season 33-4 with regional gold and a fourth-place finish at the PIAA championships in Hershey.

Golding, who finished her sophomore season 31-5, scored an 8-2 decision over Connellsville’s Janayah Nobles in the WPIAL finals at 136. She also added a regional first-place finish and went on to take third at states.

Claassen pinned Southmoreland’s Zoey Murphy in the WPIAL championship bout at 235. She finished her season 23-5 and added a regional title before placing sixth at states.

Also faring well at WPIALs were Knoch’s Miranda Lajevic (third, 100 pounds), Fox Chapel’s Atia DiGioia (fourth, 106) and Burrell’s Ella Campbell (fourth, 112).

7. Magness, Miller, Troutman golden at WPIALs: During a day when adverse weather conditions delayed and then suspended events at the WPIAL track and field championships at Slippery Rock, a trio of A-K Valley athletes made the most of their opportunity and captured WPIAL titles.

In her WPIAL Class 2A finals debut, Freeport freshman Makenzie Magness won with a pole vault of 11 feet, 6 inches.

She fell a couple inches short of her season best and school record of 11-9 set at the WPIAL team semifinals.

Fox Chapel senior Anna Troutman secured WPIAL Class 3A gold in the girls high jump. She hit a season-best 5-5 to win the event by 2 inches over Trinity’s Ella Sammel.

Kiski Area senior Eliza Miller defended her Class 3A girls 800-meter title from 2023 and her No. 1 seed with a winning time of 2:13.95 in the rain.

6. Fox Chapel, Plum boys meet for title: It had been nearly three decades since the Fox Chapel boys soccer team had laid claim to a WPIAL title. For Plum, it had been almost 20 years.

The Foxes and Mustangs met Nov. 1 in the Class 4A championship game at Highmark Stadium to put one of those streaks to rest.

With a goal from senior Carson Krushansky 70 minutes into the match, Fox Chapel was the one to hoist the championship trophy. The 1-0 victory was the Foxes’ sixth WPIAL title overall with additional titles coming in 1991, 1987, 1967 and 1964.

Fox Chapel finished with 18 shots, eight of them on goal. Plum had seven shots with just one, from senior Garrett Chandler, making it on goal.

The game was an all-A-K Valley matchup between the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds. The top-seeded Mustangs survived No. 8 Canon McMillan in two overtimes in the quarterfinals before eliminating No. 4 North Allegheny, 2-1, in the semifinals.

Fox Chapel topped No. 6 Upper St. Clair, 3-1, in the quarterfinals and edged Peters Township, 1-0, in the semifinals.

The Foxes and Mustangs also advanced to states. Plum beat District 10 champion McDowell on penalty kicks in the first round before falling 3-0 to District 3 champ Cumberland Valley in the quarterfinals.

Fox Chapel also made the state quarterfinals with a 3-0 win over District 3’s Mechanicsburg. The Foxes then lost to District 3 runner-up Warwick, 2-1.

5. Kiski Area swimmers capture WPIAL gold: Four individuals, two relays and the Kiski Area girls team were golden at the WPIAL swimming championships in March at Pitt’s Trees Pool.

Fox Chapel’s Owen Howell captured the Class 3A boys 200-yard individual medley in 1:52.38, and teammate Sarah Pasquella won gold in the Class 3A girls 200 freestyle (1:51.08).

Knoch’s Giona Lavorini reached the top of the medals podium for the first time as she won the Class 2A girls 100 breaststroke in 1:01.90.

Freeport’s Kira Schrecongost earned her second Class 2A girls 100 butterfly title in three seasons with a winning time of 55.37.

The Fox Chapel girls 400 free relay won its second straight WPIAL title as Pasquella, Grace Kovach, Josephine Stanczak and Charlotte Rusche combined to bring home the gold in 3:29.42.

The Kiski Area girls 400 free relay also won a WPIAL championship as Eliza Miller, Abby King, Amara Sterlitz and Leah Kunkle raced to the title in 3:35.29.

The Cavaliers’ relay victory clinched the WPIAL Class 2A girls team title with 218 points, 18 more than runner-up and two-time defending champion Mt. Pleasant.

Kiski swimmers earned medals and key points up and down the lineup. Junior Paige Kunkle’s sixth in the 100 backstroke contributed 13 crucial points to the team total.

4. Riverview boys, Vaughn, Braun race to victory: Riverview knew it was going to have a battle on its hands with rival Winchester Thurston. They came in as the top two ranked Class A cross country teams in the state.

But the Raiders prevailed for their third WPIAL title in four years as four runners placed in the top 11, and two more finished in the top 35 on Oct. 24 at White Oak Park.

It was the third WPIAL team title for the senior class of Chris Barnes, Holden Deasy, Micah Ivy, Levi Roupas and Jamie Favo.

Winchester took third and fourth overall for an initial lead, but Barnes took sixth, Ivy eighth, sophomore Ashton Saunders ninth and Deasy 11th to help Riverview take the lead it would not relinquish.

Freshman Oscar Smith (28th), junior Braden Longstreth (35th) and senior Levi Roupas (54th) recorded valuable place finishes to help close out the 55-64 triumph.

Winchester, however, would gain a measure of revenge at the PIAA championships in Hershey, edging Riverview, 89-105, to claim the state title.

Deasy took 13th place overall to lead the Raiders.

Fox Chapel senior Ethan Vaughan became the third Foxes runner to win a WPIAL cross country title when he ran 15:26.50 to claim the boys Class 3A individual crown.

Freeport senior Michael Braun, a Penn State commit, went out fast and led wire to wire to win his first WPIAL championship with a time of 15:18.90 in the boys Class 2A race. He finished 22 seconds faster to the finish line than Hampton senior Christopher Belch (15:40.80).

Braun added the WPIAL cross country title to the silver medal he won in the 3,200 at the WPIAL track and field championships in May.

3. Springdale girls soccer wins WPIAL title: In the days after its PIAA Class A championship match against District 1 champion Dock Mennonite, the Springdale girls soccer team had a chance to look back over a season that included an outright section championship, a 20-2 overall record, the program’s fourth WPIAL title and a run to the state final in Mechanicsburg.

Springdale won seven straight games between the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs. The Dynamos offense was lethal in the WPIAL tournament as it scored 22 goals over four games, including a 5-3 WPIAL championship victory over Winchester Thurston on Oct. 31 at Highmark Stadium.

It went to a shootout with District 6 runner-up Conemaugh Township in the PIAA first round before prevailing, 3-2.

Springdale topped District 6 champ Bishop Guilfoyle, 2-1, in the quarterfinals and Seton LaSalle, 4-0, in the semifinals to punch its ticket to the championship game.

Falling behind 2-0 at halftime, the Dynamos rallied against Dock Mennonite and engaged in a wild eight-minute stretch where the teams scored five goals. Dock Mennonite topped Springdale, 4-3.

The senior class of Briana Ross, Brooke Taliani, Molly Hurley, Baileigh Haas and Carissa Walsh went a combined 62-16-1 over four years and advanced to three PIAA tournaments.

Fox Chapel and Burrell also took part in championship opportunities at Highmark Stadium.

The top-seeded Foxes, the 2023 WPIAL Class 4A champions, made it to the Class 3A finals this year before falling to South Fayette.

Burrell, as the No. 9 seed in Class 2A, upset No. 1 Mt. Pleasant, 4-0, in the quarterfinals and South Park, 3-2, in the semifinals before coming up short, 2-1, to No. 2 Quaker Valley in the finals.

2. A-K Valley trio captures wrestling gold, Burrell regains team title: Burrell’s Cooper Hornack and Cam Baker and Kiski Area’s Cooper Roscosky reached the top of the medals podium at the WPIAL individual wrestling championships in March.

Hornack, a senior, became the 88th three-time WPIAL champion as he captured the Class 2A 139-pound title. He went on to earn sixth at states for his fourth place finish in as many attempts and ended the season 40-8 and his career 156-27.

Baker, who finished his 2023-24 sophomore season 44-7, won the Class 2A 107-pound title. He also was third at the PIAA Southwest Regional and sixth at states for his second place finish at Hershey.

Roscosky continued the storied line of Cavaliers WPIAL champions with his Class 3A 189-pound title. The then-sophomore took sixth at the PIAA championships after reaching the semifinals. The Westmoreland County champ finished the season 40-5.

Hornack and Baker helped Burrell end a two-year WPIAL-title drought. The Bucs won their 18th team title by topping 2023 champion Burgettstown, 41-20, in the Class 2A championship match.

Burrell rolled past 2022 champion Quaker Valley, 44-17, in the semifinals. QV’s 2022 win over the Bucs snapped Burrell’s 15-year WPIAL-title streak.

The Bucs built big leads in both matches, leading 21-0 over QV and 23-3 over Burgettstown.

1. Deer Lakes boys claim second straight WPIAL title: The trophy case at Deer Lakes High School got a little fuller when the Lancers boys basketball team repeated as WPIAL Class 3A champions March 1 at Petersen Events Center.

The Lancers made it two in a row by defeating section rival Burrell, 55-49, to complete a run as the No. 1 seed.

Billy Schaeffer, who went on to earn Valley News Dispatch Player of the Year honors, finished with a game-high 20 points as Deer Lakes hit some key free throws down the stretch to fend off a Bucs team that, as the No. 11 seed, had pulled off three upsets to get to the final.

Burrell, which got a team-best 17 points from Macky Bennis, used a 13-0 run to build a 17-8 lead in the second quarter.

Collin Rodgers finished with 12 points for Deer Lakes as the Lancers rallied for the victory.

Deer Lakes defeated Mercyhurst Prep and Forest Hills in the PIAA tournament before falling to District 10 runner-up Franklin Area in the quarterfinals to finish its season at 23-5.

Burrell capped its season at 16-10 with a tough first-round loss to District 6 third place Bishop Guilfoyle.

Honorable mention

• Plum girls bowling captured the WPIBL team title over Norwin and won the Western Regional tournament by outdueling Freeport. In singles action, Kiski Area junior Veronica Flanagan won the WPIBL girls singles title one year after falling short in the championship match. Burrell’s Leah McCandless triumphed at the Western Regional girls singles tournament.

• Dana Petruska decided to retire from coaching high school girls basketball in the spring of 2023 after 35 seasons. But that retirement lasted just 15 months. Deer Lakes hired Petruska in September to lead the girls varsity team. She entered this season with a 518-325 career record.

• Leechburg softball extended its WPIAL-record streak for consecutive playoff appearances to 37. Burrell softball extended its playoff-qualification streak to 18 seasons.

• New Kensington native David Girardi earned his third Super Bowl ring as a Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach with his team’s 25-22 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 11.

• Springdale football, which was affected by low numbers all season, had to play all games away from home with concerns that the wall at Veterans Memorial Field was not structurally sound. Freeport and Burrell served as home fields for Springdale, which finished the season 0-9. Springdale Borough has plans to repair the wall, but the site of 2025 Dynamos home games is unclear.

• Leta Lindley rallied from five strokes back to win the 2024 U.S. Senior Women’s Open championship at Fox Chapel Golf Club, earning a two-stroke victory at 9-under-par.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Highlands, Kiski Area, Knoch, Leechburg, Plum, Riverview, Springdale, St. Joseph, Valley