A-K Valley high school notes: Four reach 1,000 career points in basketball

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, January 10, 2024 | 7:31 PM

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A quartet of the Alle-Kiski Valley’s top basketball scorers this season reached the 1,000-point milestone.

Kiski Area senior Isaiah Gonzalez and Plum senior Megan Marston accomplished the feat in games Jan. 2.

Marston delivered a 3-pointer in the second quarter of the Mustangs’ 53-43 victory at Woodland Hills to hit the mark. She finished the game with 25 points.

It was bittersweet for Gonzalez, the Cavaliers’ leading scorer through 12 games, in his team’s Section 3-5A home matchup with Latrobe.

He hoped to help deliver a win against the Wildcats while reaching the hard-earned 1,000, but Kiski Area was not able to pick up the victory in a 69-59 result.

Springdale senior John Hughes was celebrated before a win over Riverview on Jan. 3 for reaching 1,000 career points and leading the Dynamos to a 73-33 win over Pittsburgh Christian Academy on Dec. 28 at the Aquinas Academy Tournament.

Hughes scored a game-best 18 points in the win.

Highlands 6-foot-8 senior forward Bradyn Foster reached 1,000 points as the Golden Rams held off Shady Side Academy, 62-58, on Dec. 12.

The final points needed were emphatic with a dunk during a key third-quarter run. He finished the game with 17 points.

All-state selections

Leechburg junior Jake Cummings and Riverview senior Carlo Buzzatto were selected to the Pennsylvania Football News all-state team for Class 2A. Both were second-team honorees.

More than 200 coaches from across the state sent in nominations and voted for the teams.

Buzzatto was selected at running back, while Cummings at tight end.

Buzzattoset a single-game team rushing record with 418 yards on 40 carries and three touchdowns in a one-point loss to Leechburg. Buzzatto finished his season with 2,070 yards on 210 carries and 17 touchdowns.

Cummings helped Leechburg qualify for the WPIAL playoffs for the third year in a row.

A strong blocker, he also was a dual threat on offense as he led the team with 43 catches for 507 yards and four touchdowns to go with 52 rushes for 251 yards and eight scores.

Armstrong HOF names Class of ‘24

Laube Hall in Freeport will be the setting, and April 28 will be the date for the enshrinement ceremony for the Class of 2024 of the Armstrong County Sports Hall of Fame.

This year’s inductees are Kristin Myers Moran (Ford City, basketball), Jennifer Emberg-Turkalj (Kittanning, girls basketball and track and field), Mark Anthony Szymanski (Ford City, football), Lori Goepfert (Kittanning, softball), Ron DeJidas (Freeport, football), Matt Sherrieb (Freeport, baseball), Bill Hancock (Special Award: Builder), Lauren Reilly (Apollo-Ridge, basketball), Christopher “Todd” Heigley (West Shamokin, football), Eugene Breski (Leechburg, Special Award: Builder), Dennis Maritto (Leechburg, basketball), and Nick Matviko (Leechburg, basketball).

Tickets are $40 apiece and can be purchased from board secretary Dennis Wolfe, 631 State Route 66, Leechburg, Pa., 15656, and 724-882-3557.

Damico, Perry selected for HOF

Fox Chapel graduate Meghan Damico and Springdale grad Mark Perry are two of 10 athletic greats who will be inducted into the Robert “Tick” Cloherty Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame on April 27 at the Marriot Bonvoy Hotel at Station Square.

Damico enjoyed a stellar high school tennis career at Fox Chapel and helped the Foxes claim the 2004 WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A championships before becoming an accomplished player on the women’s team at Denison.

She was a three-time singles All-American and a two-time NCAC Player of the Year (2007 and 2008). She was inducted into the Fox Chapel Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.

Perry is synonymous with championship soccer programs in the WPIAL. He has guided the Seneca Valley girls (2018), Hampton boys (1990), Fox Chapel boys (1991 and 1995), and Central Valley girls to WPIAL crowns in more than 30 years as a head coach.

As the largest of the 30 statewide chapters that compose the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, the Western chapter’s primary mission is to honor notable sports contributors in the Western Pennsylvania Region and provide funding for youth sports programs in conjunction with various local foundations.

For more information on Damico, Perry, and the other inductees in the Class of 2024, visit westernpasportshof.org or call 412-855-7625.

Big splashes

The WPIAL on Tuesday released the first performance lists for swimmers and divers in Class 2A and Class 3A.

The top times in each event were recorded at meets starting the first weekend of dual-meet and invitational competition, Dec. 1-2, and concluding with section and nonsection contests Monday evening.

The names of the individual swimmers and divers and relays listed reflect those who have met the designated WPIAL qualifying standards set before the season began.

Several swimmers and divers from the Alle-Kiski Valley have recorded times and point performances that rank them among the top competitors in the WPIAL.

The full lists can be found at wpial.org/sports/2024/1/9/swimming-and-diving-top-times.aspx.

The WPIAL diving championships will be Feb. 23 for Class 2A and Feb. 24 for Class 3A with the WPIAL swimming championships for both Class 2A and Class 3A set for Feb. 29 and March 1 at Pitt’s Trees Pool.

Layhew captures title

Knoch sophomore wrestler Owen Layhew enjoyed a standout performance Saturday at the Bo Wood Invitational Tournament at Indiana High School.

Layhew led a group of five top-four finishers by capturing the 145-pound title and improving to 11-3 overall.

He went 3-0 on the day with a fall in 3:13 over Franklin’s Jebediah Adams, a 6-2 decision over Penn Hills’ Cameron Patterson and a pin in 1:42 over Gateway’s Conner Smith.

Of his 11 victories before wrestling Wednesday in a section dual match with Highlands, eight were by fall, and two came by major decision.

The three wins at the Bo Wood Tournament also boosted the 2023 WPIAL Class 2A qualifier’s two-year varsity record to 32-18.

Layhew and the rest of the Knights wrestlers will tests their mettle Saturday at the Valley Duals at Valley High School.

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.