Sewickley Herald notebook: Sewickley Heights hockey player part of championship team

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, May 4, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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The South Pittsburgh Rebellion 2010 hockey team recently won the 2025 14U Tier 2 MidAm Championship at the Ice Castle.

One of the players on the team was Royce Wiegand, a resident of Sewickley Heights.

Wiegand and his teammates advanced to the 14U Tier 2 USA Hockey National Championships held April 2-6 in Kalamazoo, Mich.

“I think it is amazing that we could come together as a team to win MidAms after everything that has happened this year with injuries and all,” Wiegand said. “It is also great that we were able to get a chance to compete in nationals, and I think we are very blessed to share this opportunity.”

Primarily a defenseman, the 5-foot-8, 160-pound Wiegand also was an assistant captain of the Quaker Valley Middle School hockey team in 2024-25.

The defensive corps on the middle school team included Wiegand, Henry Coyle, Lucas Best, Grant Shanafelt and Max Snider.

“We haven’t really had set D-partners due to people changing positions and injuries,” said Wiegand, who added that his stepfather has been a big influence in his hockey career.

“I started playing hockey when I was a kid,” he said, “and I started because my stepdad showed me hockey games and I really liked the sport.”

Focus on flag football

Did you know that Ty Gilliard, assistant head coach on the Quaker Valley girls flag football team, was a four-year starter as a safety at Pitt during the Walt Harris coaching tenure?

“I’ve known Ty for almost 20 years and we played together for almost a decade,” said Giuseppe Rosselli, head coach of QV’s flag football team. “It is a bonus that we get to continue working and competing together.

“I played football in high school, and I played competitive flag for almost 20 years with different teams across the state. I stopped playing about 10 years ago but paid attention to the sport as it continued to grow.”

Flag football for high school girls is an official state-sanctioned sport in Pennsylvania, thanks to the joint efforts of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles and the PIAA.

“The first-year experience presented by the Steelers has been a rewarding experience for our student-athletes and coaches,” said Mike Mastrianni, QV’s athletic director.

It has been a true learning experience for all the girls on QV’s first-year squad.

“Some of our girls have never played a team sport prior to this,” Rosselli said. “Ava Savage (WR/LB), for example, her athletic career was rooted in cross country. She plays with an aggression that would suggest a career in contact sports.”

Headed to states

Quaker Valley’s Will Meagher and Matthew Henry defeated Indiana’s Gabe Nettleton and Michael Dubetsky, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, in the WPIAL Class 2A consolation match April 23 to earn a berth in the PIAA doubles tournament.

Prior to the consolation round, the QV pair defeated tandems from Montour and North Catholic then lost to South Park’s Jonah Jasek and Steven Duing in the semifinals.

Jasek and Duing, the tournament’s top seed, captured the WPIAL doubles championship.

Hang 10

The magic number was 10 on April 28 for the Quaker Valley and Sewickley Academy baseball teams as both scored 10 runs while cruising to easy section victories.

The Quakers blanked Sto-Rox, 10-0, in Section 1-3A and was sparked offensively by Michael Semonik and Nolan Wagoner. Holden Kirkham was the winning pitcher.

The Panthers defeated Clairton, 10-3, in Section 3-A as David Young and Charlie Scally each drove in two runs while winning pitcher Austin Fritz struck out seven in five innings.

Hull powers Eden

Brady Hull went 4 for 4 with a pair of doubles and six RBIs to lead Class A No. 2 Eden Christian to a 13-3 victory April 25 against Quaker Valley in nonsection baseball game.

Brett Feldman was 4 for 5 with an RBI and Noah Emswiler earned the win for the Warriors. Oscar Roig drove in a run for QV.

Tags: Eden Christian, Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy