This year 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 greats were remembered and memorialized for their dedication and leadership in and out of their chosen sport.
Here’s a look back at a number of the top stories of the year in the A-K Valley.
10. Burrell hockey wins Challenger Cup
Burrell hockey captured the inaugural Pennsylvania Division 2 Challenger Cup on March 22, defeating Pope John Paul II, 8-3, at Robert Morris’ Islands Sports Center.
It was a satisfying bounceback after falling to Morgantown, 5-1, in the PIHL Division 2 final earlier that week. Morgantown was not eligible for the PA Challenger Cup game.
Burrell forward Luke Mink scored a pair of goals in the first period against Pope John Paul II.
The Bucs (18-2-1-1-1) held a 32-25 shot advantage.
Julian Kemp also scored in the first period, and Jared Wall found the back of the net early in the second to make it 4-0.
Wall finished with two goals, and Dante Taliani delivered five points with two goals and three assists.
Ryan Burkett and Aaron Holm dished out three and two assists, respectively.
Burrell’s charge to the D2 Challenger Cup game started with a 7-1 victory over Elizabeth Forward in the Penguins Cup quarterfinals. The Bucs then topped Deer Lakes, 5-2, in the semifinals.
9. Valley boys tennis makes postseason run
The Valley boys tennis team challenged North Catholic in the Class 2A title match in May in the hopes of making history with its first WPIAL team championship.
In the end, the second-seeded Vikings had to settle for silver as the No. 4 Trojans prevailed 4-1 at North Allegheny. Valley had upended Hampton, 3-2, in the semifinals.
Valley moved onto the PIAA tournament, where it swept District 9 champion Punxsutawney, 5-0, before falling to eventual state champion Lower Moreland, 3-0, in the quarterfinals to finish the season 14-2.
Two of the Vikings’ team leaders, senior Landon Harclerode and junior Tyler Quinn, also found WPIAL doubles success with a silver medal. At states, the duo beat a team from Cathedral Prep before bowing out in the quarterfinals.
In WPIAL Class 3A doubles, Fox Chapel senior Mason Friday and freshman Frank Siegel teamed up to take third overall, beating a team from Upper St. Clair in three sets in the consolation match at Bethel Park.
8. Top WPIAL cross country finishes
The cross country course at White Oak Park is fast, and runners from the A-K Valley used that to their advantage to record top finishes at the WPIAL championships Oct. 23.
Knoch junior Carter French was the WPIAL Class 2A runner-up in 15 minutes, 36.60 seconds. He then followed that up with a tie for fifth at the PIAA meet in Hershey one week later.
The Fox Chapel girls came together to finish second in the WPIAL Class 3A team standings — each of the top five runners were 27th or better — and earned a trip to Hershey. The Foxes finished eighth at states.
Riverview junior Ashton Saunders challenged for the WPIAL title in Class A. He ended up third overall (16:10) before taking 11th in his run at states.
The Raiders girls placed fifth in their Class A race and missed a top-four trip to states by two points.
7. Zureikat kicks his way to history
Fox Chapel senior Harran Zureikat had his eye on the WPIAL field-goal record from the first kick of the 2025 season, and he made history in Week 6 against Franklin Regional.
Zureikat, who will kick at Georgia starting next fall, booted one from 57 yards early in the second quarter to pull the Foxes to within four of the Panthers at 7-3.
Some in attendance that night said the kick would’ve been good from 60-plus and also would’ve challenged the state record of 64 yards recorded in 2003.
Zureikat then crushed the ensuing kickoff between the uprights at the other end of the field.
The record setter came just one week after Zureikat successfully converted a field goal from 54 yards in the Foxes’ loss to Pine-Richland. That one was 1 yard short of the previous WPIAL record — 55 yards — that was tied Sept. 19 by Hopewell senior Rocco Mercantonio.
6. Proskin wins national indoor title
Plum senior Owen Proskin will attend Division I Cincinnati on a track and field scholarship.
He has built quite the resume so far.
One of his biggest accomplishments was claiming a national title in the pentathlon last March at the Nike Indoor Nationals at the Nike Armory Track and Field facility in New York.
Proskin showed his versatility by competing against athletes from multiple states.
He fared well in the long jump and finished second in the 60 meters, sixth in the shot put, first in the high jump and sixth in the 1,000 meters to win gold and earn All-American status.
Proskin later captured silver in the decathlon at New Balance Nationals in June with strong performances in the 100 dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 dash, 110 hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, and 1,500 run.
5. Burrell wrestling regains WPIAL title
The Burrell wrestling team won its 19th Class 2A team title and second straight after a two-year hiatus with a 33-27 victory over Derry in the championship match Feb. 1 at Peters Township.
The top-seeded Bucs rolled past Greensburg Salem, Southmoreland and Quaker Valley to reach the finals. Burrell edged Derry in wins (7-6), using two regular decisions, a major decision, a technical fall, two pins and a forfeit to earn the necessary points.
Cam Baker clinched the win with his technical fall triumph at 127 pounds.
Burrell moved into the PIAA tournament and beat Penns Valley, 39-27, in the first round before losing to Faith Christian Academy, 65-4, in the quarterfinals.
The Bucs (15-3) saw their season come to an end with a loss to Cathedral Prep in the first consolation round.
Burrell’s team title was part of an overall strong wrestling season for A-K Valley athletes.
Kiski Area’s Cooper Roscosky, now a senior, claimed WPIAL, regional and PIAA silver at 215 pounds, capping his season at 41-8 and capturing VND Wrestler of the Year recognition.
On the girls’ side, Plum’s Alaina Claassen, Knoch’s Braylee Ireland and Kiski Area’s Ava Golding brought home WPIAL individual titles in the second season of full sanctioning by the WPIAL and PIAA.
Claassen (235 in 2024 and 190 in 2025) and Golding (136 both years) were repeat champions. Ireland was the best at 118 pounds. Claassen went on to take second at states, finishing her junior season 32-3 overall.
4. Magness, Conti, McCray claim track and field titles
Freeport junior Mackenzie Magness already owned two WPIAL Class 2A pole vault titles when she went for PIAA gold in late May at Shippensburg.
The rest of the state wasn’t able to stop her from achieving her goals.
Apollo-Ridge’s Jaden McCray claimed the Class 2A boys javelin with a top throw of 164 feet. Riverview senior Matt Orbin rose up to second place with a top attempt of 160-10.
Fox Chapel’s Claire Conti, one year after taking silver in the discus at WPIALs, didn’t settle for anything less than gold in her final WPIAL meet. She threw 137-0, 12 feet better than runner-up Audrey Maxwell from North Allegheny.
3. Schrecongost, Pasquella swim to PIAA titles
Freeport senior Kira Schrecongost already had captured three Class 2A state medals in the 100-yard butterfly at Bucknell. This time, she was after gold.
And the current Duquesne freshman got what she was looking for March 13 as she swam to a finals time of 54.96 seconds.
Schrecongost bested the field that included rival Lainey Sheets, a junior from Hampton. Sheets finished second in a time of 55.66.
Two days later, Fox Chapel senior Sarah Pasquella, now a freshman at Michigan, won PIAA Class 3A gold as she produced a finals time of 1:48.84 to claim the Class 3A 200 freestyle title. She was third in the 200 free as a junior.
Schrecongost and Pasquella fronted a deep contingent of swimmers and divers from the A-K Valley at the state championships. Several of them came home with PIAA medals.
The journey to Bucknell started two weeks earlier at the WPIAL championships at Pitt’s Trees Pool.
At WPIALs, Pasquella won her second straight title in the 200 free with a school-record time of 1:48.79 on Day 1. Later in the first day, she teamed with sophomore Charlotte Rushe, senior Grace Kovach and sophomore Josie Stanczak to capture WPIAL gold in the 200 free relay in a school-record time of 1:35.14.
The quartet came back on Day 2 and won the 400 free relay with a school-record time of 3:27.93.
Schrecongost won her third WPIAL title in the Class 2A 100 fly with a school-record time of 54.85.
Fox Chapel senior Owen Howell won his first WPIAL individual title with a time of 1:51.40 in the Class 3A boys 200 individual medley.
Knoch senior Giona Lavorini, now a freshman at Pitt, won her second WPIAL title in the Class 2A girls 100 breast with a top time of 1:03.3.
2. Fox Chapel’s Kittsley earns double gold
Carson Kittsley had the right stuff Oct. 20-21 as the Fox Chapel junior won his second straight PIAA Class 3A boys golf title at Penn State.
He carded a 6-under-par 66 in the second round to become the third WPIAL golfer to win back-to-back state championships. Knoch’s Jeff Dickson (1991-92) and legendary Arnold Palmer (Latrobe, 1946-47) were the other two to accomplish the feat.
Kittsley finished with a two-round score of 136, coming in one stroke ahead of Latrobe’s Jack Sacriponte. Kittsley entered the second round two strokes behind first-round leader Chase Yenser from Daniel Boone High School.
Kittsley captured PIAA gold after a record-setting WPIAL performance with a two-day score of 134 (8-under). He became the eighth Fox Chapel boys golfer to win a WPIAL title, also a record.
Kittsley led a strong A-K Valley contingent of boys and girls golfers to the PIAA championship events. That included Kiski Area senior Max Mottura, Fox Chapel sophomore Baron Bitar, Kiski sophomore Brady Jankowski, Riverview juniors Ian Stempfer and Rex Roberts, Deer Lakes junior Christian Cappetta, Freeport senior Ethan Crooks and Fox Chapel junior Clara Koteski.
1. Fox Chapel, Deer Lakes, Freeport soccer success
Of the eight teams that claimed WPIAL soccer gold in late October at Highmark Stadium, four of them came from the A-K Valley: The Fox Chapel boys (Class 4A) and girls (Class 3A), the Freeport girls (Class 2A) and the Deer Lakes boys (Class 2A) all survived the grind that was the WPIAL tournament.
The Fox Chapel girls avenged last year’s title-game loss to South Fayette and won their second title in three seasons as Lily McLaughlan scored the game’s lone goal in overtime. The Fox Chapel boys took down Seneca Valley in a shootout for their second straight crown and seventh in program history. Senior Sean Regan scored in the fifth round to seal the victory.
Colin Rodgers, Peyton Kushon and Zane Spence tallied goals as the Deer Lakes boys won their third title since 2020 with a 3-2 victory over Beaver.
Freeport needed overtime to top section rival Burrell in the Class 2A girls final. Both teams were seeking their first WPIAL crown. Sophomore Elena Jenkins netted the game-winner in the second half.
Despite the loss to the Yellowjackets, the Bucs refocused and made a run through the PIAA tournament. Burrell topped Freeport in the semifinals before finishing with a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss to Archbishop Wood on Nov. 14 at Northeastern High School in York County.
Honorable mention
• Twins Jamie and Jodi Vick (Kiski Area/volleyball and basketball) were part of the A-K Valley Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 inducted May 17 at the Pittsburgh Shriners Center in Cheswick. The 54th annual enshrinement event also featured the recognition of inductees Don Frederick (Ken High/football), Jonathan Martin (Valley/football), Larry Ondako (Arnold/basketball), Nick Reiser (Knoch/football), Mark Schubert (Springdale/football) and Paul Sapotichne (Springdale/basketball). There now are 408 individual inductees in the Hall of Fame.
There also were two teams inducted. The 1948 Ford City boys basketball team went 23-5, won the WPIAL Class 3A title, and finished second in the state, losing 30-23 to Norristown.
The 1971 Kiski Area football team beat Thomas Jefferson to win the Class 3A championship. The Saylor Ratings system ranked the Cavaliers No. 1 in the state.
• Several teams maintained streaks and achieved records in 2025:
» Leechburg softball extended its WPIAL record of making the playoffs to 38 consecutive seasons. Burrell softball’s streak of 18 straight playoff appearances, however, was halted in May.
» Freeport qualified for the WPIAL football playoffs in October for the 34th time, extending its A-K Valley record. The Yellowjackets now have 598 all-time program victories.
» Fox Chapel made the boys soccer playoffs for the 25th consecutive season and secured the WPIAL title with a 1-0 shootout victory over Seneca Valley on Oct. 31.
• Riverview baseball made a run to the PIAA playoffs. The Raiders lost their final four games of the regular season, but they rebounded in the postseason. As the No. 6 seed, they beat No. 11 California, 6-2, in the WPIAL Class 2A first round and upset No. 3 Burgettstown, 2-1, in the quarterfinals before falling to No. 2 OLSH, 3-1, in the semifinals.
The Raiders earned a berth to states with a 2-0 triumph over Laurel in the third-place consolation.
Riverview’s season finished at 15-8 overall with a 5-3 loss to District 10 champion Mercyhurst Prep on June 2 at Mercyhurst.
• There were some notable championship team anniversaries in 2025:
» Members of the 1985 Deer Lakes girls basketball team gathered in January to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the A-K Valley’s first and only PIAA girls basketball championship. The Lancers rallied to defeat District 3’s Palmyra, 45-43, for the title.
»In May, players from the 1965 Arnold baseball team celebrated the 60th anniversary of their 1965 WPIAL championship. The Lions conquered several teams bigger than them — Greensburg Salem, North Hills and Gateway — on the way to the title game and a victory over Beaver Falls at Forbes Field.
Members of the Arnold team then helped Lower Burrell American Legion make a run to that summer’s American Legion state championship in Allentown.
»More than two dozen members of the 1985 Plum boys soccer team reunited in October to celebrate that year’s WPIAL Class 4A championship. The Mustangs, who also advanced to the PIAA quarterfinals, capped their season 22-2 overall.
• The Plum and Hempfield girls bowling teams traded title victories in the 2024-25 season.
The Mustangs defeated the Spartans for the WPIBL championship in February and then again for the Western Regional title.
Hempfield avenged those two losses by beating Plum for the state title in March.
The Plum boys made it a WPIBL clean sweep with a win over Greensburg Salem in the championship match.
The Mustangs hoped to add the Western Regional title, but Thomas Jefferson got the better of them in the regional title match.
In June, a couple of months after the season ended, the Plum teams were among several local teams and individual bowlers who competed at the U.S. High School Bowling National Championships in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Notable deaths in 2025
» Jim Conley, captain of Springdale’s 1959 undefeated football team and Michigan’s 1965 Rose Bowl champion, died in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Jan. 5.
» Rick Tatrn, who coached Deer Lakes boys volleyball to two PIAA titles, died Feb. 18.
» The first football player from the A-K Valley to appear in a Super Bowl, Washington Township graduate Bob Long, passed away March 17. He appeared with Green Bay in Super Bowls I and II.
» Freeport’s Harry “Shorty” Crytzer, a three-sport athlete who quit school after his junior season to enlist in World War II and later had a long-time association with baseball, died July 15 at 97.
» Joe Stone, a key member of Kiski Area’s 1971 football team and Pitt’s 1976 national championship team, died July 27.
» Joe Horning, football standout for Har-Brack and Maryland’s 1953 Orange Bowl champs, passed away Dec. 16.