Quaker Valley graduate Emily Reiner made the the dean’s list with high honors during the fall semester at the Milwaukee School of Engineering.
Reiner made the honor roll while skating for the Division 3 MSOE women’s hockey team. She is a 6-foot-2 freshman forward for the Raiders.
One of Reiner’s highlights in the 2025-26 season was scoring the winning goal in overtime Jan. 16 in her team’s 4-3 victory on the road against Dubuque. She also netted the game-winner in a 4-0 win at home Nov. 8 against Lawrence.
Sewickley stars
Sewickley Academy’s Athena Ameredes turned in a terrific performance Feb. 1 against Hopewell at the Win Palmer Memorial Classic.
An energetic freshman forward whose height is listed at 5-5, Ameredes finished with 19 points in her team’s 59-46 nonsection victory.
“I think our performance was strong overall,” she said. “We played with a lot of intensity. They gave us pressure, and I thought we responded well to it.
“We didn’t give up and our shots fell, which helped us win.”
Ameredes was complemented by 6-foot freshman forward Mikaela Mbandi’s 11 points against the Class 4A Vikings.
“I think we really played as a team and had high energy the whole game,” Mbandi said. “Even though we were up in the first quarter, we didn’t settle. We continued to stay disciplined and make smart decisions.
“After beating a 4A team, my expectations for us are a lot higher. This game showed us that we can play hard with high energy but still stay disciplined and make smart decisions on both offense and defense.”
Ja’mere Guyton, a 6-5 sophomore forward, Drew Steals, a 6-foot sophomore guard, and Lucas Grimsley, a 6-5 senior forward, were key contributors for the Sewickley Academy boys team in its 56-34 win over Aliquippa at the Win Palmer Memorial Classic.
“My thoughts on our overall performance was positive,” Guyton said. “We executed plays correctly and had big-time plays. My expectation for the team is to keep raising our level in practice, get better 1% every day, stack days and make the days count.”
Backyard brawls
Quaker Valley defeated Hopewell, 77-61, in a boys basketball game Jan. 30 to extend its Section 2-4A record to 7-0 and its overall mark to 14-3.
Hopewell is about eight miles from QV.
“All of our section teams that are close are big games,” QV coach Mike Mastroianni said, “and having moved back to our local section after a few years in a different section is much better in terms of what high school basketball should be about.”
Sophomore guard Nic Cohen, who netted 17 points against the Vikings, was one of three QV players reaching double figures in the game, joining senior guard Zach Washington, who scored a game-high 26 points, and junior guard Sam Chapman, with 18 points.
QV was scheduled to close out its section schedule with back-to-back games at Avonworth (Feb. 5) and Central Valley (Feb. 6).
“I would say Avonworth is our big rival because last year our games versus them were always packed and super intense,” Cohen said. “We also know all the Avonworth kids because we live so close to them.
“This year, our games versus Central Valley are very anticipated, too.”
Did you know?
Did you know that the Quaker Valley girls basketball team took a four-game winning streak into the month of February?
The Quakers won seven of their eight games in January and were 12-3 over their past 15 contests. They also were 9-2 and in second place behind Beaver Falls (12-0) in Section 1-3A.
The top five teams in 3A in the Trib HSSN girls basketball rankings for the week ending Jan. 31 consisted of Shady Side Academy (15-2), Greensburg Central Catholic (13-4), Beaver Falls (18-0), Quaker Valley (12-6) and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (14-5).
Dean delivers
Mason Dean, a 6-1 junior guard, scored 22 points Jan. 29 to lead four players in double figures for Eden Christian Academy in a 97-25 section win against Leechburg.
Junior forward River Bartram also had 17 points, freshman Michael Sample netted 13 and freshman forward Samuel D’Ippolito added10 for the Warriors, who improved to 8-2 in Section 2-2A and 13-4 overall.
Dean then tacked on a 26-point performance Feb. 1 in his team’s 62-49 win over Geibel Catholic at the Shootout at Saint Vincent.
Freshman power
In girls basketball, freshman guard Nina Caputo and freshmen forwards Athena Ameredes and Mikaela Mbandi accounted for all but two of Sewickley Academy’s point-total Feb. 3 in a 47-12 section win against Springdale.
Caputo racked up 22 points for the Panthers; Ameredes finished with 13 and Mbandi added 10.
Sewickley improved to 8-5 in Section 1-A and 12-9 overall. Springdale dropped to 2-10 and 3-16.
Thiero honored
Senior G/F Mimi Thiero racked up 30 points to lead Quaker Valley’s girls basketball team to a 58-18 victory Feb. 2 against Mohawk in a Section 1-3A game. The Quakers improved to 10-2 in the section and 13-6 overall. Mohawk fell to 5-8 and 8-12.
Thiero also earned a nomination to play for the East for the McDonald’s All-American Game.
Thiero, a 6-foot-5 Maryland recruit, leads the WPIAL in scoring at 29.8 points per game. She is ranked No. 42 in the nation in the ESPN SportsCenter Next 100. She was not included when rosters were announced Feb. 2.
Greensburg Central Catholic guard Erica Gribble was the only other WPIAL player nominated.