A-K Valley high school notebook: Ross Greece re-opens his college recruiting

By: Alec Italiano
Saturday, December 2, 2017 | 5:30 PM

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The “Hollywood” recruiting story took a twist.

Kiski Area senior Ross Greece, who verbally committed to Robert Morris last month, is reopening his recruitment after the resignation of Colonials football coach John Banaszak and resulting uncertainty with the staff.

A standout running back and linebacker, Greece is weighing his options.

“It (stinks) because whenever I was committed there, I really became close to that staff and really enjoyed what was going on there and how they interacted with me,” said Greece, adding he was “shocked” by the developments. “It (stunk) to see them go because of how great of a relationship we grew.”

Greece holds an offer from Edinboro, and he plans to reach out to more schools with the assistance of Kiski Area's football staff and athletic director John Peterman. He said he remains open to re-committing to Robert Morris, which originally offered him a scholarship in September.

“I've got to have all my options open now and kind of just restart my recruiting process,” Greece said. “I kind of closed my recruiting process (after committing to Robert Morris) … but now it's fair game.

“It's a little frustrating, but it is what it is. I've just got to move on, and hopefully more doors and opportunities open.”

Greece rushed for 468 yards and nine touchdowns, added another score on a kickoff return and caught 20 passes this season on his way to earning all-conference honorable mention honors in the Big East. He also had 74 tackles. He rushed for 1,044 yards and 13 touchdowns and had 52 tackles and two interceptions as a junior, getting named first-team all-conference.

More recruiting

• Fox Chapel senior distance runner Caelan Miller signed with the Pitt track and field/cross country program. Miller was the top runner for the Fox Chapel girls cross country team this fall, helping lead the Foxes to the PIAA Class AAA championship. She also placed fourth individually at the WPIAL Class AAA championships as Fox Chapel was runner-up.

• Freeport senior Emily Wolfe committed to play soccer at La Roche, Freeport coach Brittni Grenninger said. Wolfe was a starter on defense for the Yellowjackets, who won the Section 2-AA title and advanced to the WPIAL semifinals. She helped a stingy Freeport defense that posted nine shutouts and gave up 28 goals in 20 games, and she drew praise for her play in a WPIAL quarterfinal win over Quaker Valley.

Heads of state

The honors continue to roll in for Freeport after the Yellowjackets' historic girls volleyball playoff run.

A quartet of Freeport players — senior libero Claire Crytzer, junior right-side hitter Ally DeJidas, senior setter Courtney Grubbs and senior outside hitter Hannah Mason — were named to the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association's Class AA all-state team.

Freeport won the first PIAA title in school history last month, beating Delone Catholic in the Class AA championship match.

Z's back

A familiar face is back with Burrell boys basketball, though he didn't have to go far to return.

Mark Ziemianski, who coached the Bucs from 2006-10, is volunteering on coach Shawn Bennis' staff. Ziemianski spent the past six seasons as an assistant for the Burrell girls, who were coached by his daughter, Meghan. He previously was head coach of the Burrell girls when Meghan played.

Meghan Ziemianski stepped down from the Burrell girls team after last season, spurring Mark's return to the boys program.

Kicking up a storm

Several Alle-Kiski Valley players earned all-WPIAL honors in boys soccer this fall.

Springdale, which finished as WPIAL Class A runner-up and advanced to the PIAA quarterfinals, landed three players on the all-WPIAL team: forward Jared Demore, midfielder Nick Taliani and goalkeeper Mike Zolnierczyk.

Other Alle-Kiski Valley players recognized as all-WPIAL included: Riverview midfielder Sean Abraham and forward Mike Komaniak in Class A; Freeport forward Bryce Hanby and Deer Lakes goalkeeper Jesse Greyshock in Class AA; and Fox Chapel defenders Zane Ingram and Josh Miller and forward Will Tabor and Plum midfielder Jordan Floyd in Class AAAA.

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer.

Tags: Burrell, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Kiski School, Plum, Riverview, Springdale