Sports

Undefeated Softball has Eyes on Playoffs

With a brand new coaching staff, the Spartan softball team is coming in strong with an 8-0 record even though many tough games have been canceled, sometimes forcing more than three games a week. With 31 girls on the team, and only four of them seniors, the team is young and hopes to continue their undefeated season. Junior Arin DeLattre expresses how the season is going, “I think the season is going really well. There wasn’t much needed for adjustment because Coach Tina is doing good with the legacy of Coach Kalp. I think the team will do really well this season. We have played all our games in the cold so far and we have held our ground.”

The girls will play their next section home game on May 4 at 4:00 p.m. against the Latrobe Wildcats.

Track and Field Heading to WPIALs

On your marks. Get set. GO - to WPIAL playoffs! The road to playoffs starts with a victory; both the boys' and girls' team improved to 3-0 after defeating Indiana. That same day junior Liz Tapper set a new record in the shot put with a throw of 46-11.5 breaking alum Makenna Orie’s previous mark of 46-7.5. Tapper also set a new record in the discus with a throw of 163-9. The boys' and girls' then improved to 4-0 after prevailing over Penn Trafford. Friday, April 8 the team came in third at the Lady Spartan/Wildcat Invitational, being defeated by North Allegheny and Norwin. Although they suffered a defeat, many performed exceptionally well with the 4x800 team coming in second place, junior Noah Ser placing first in high jump, and the 4x400 champs placing first overall.

With a loss against Norwin on April 12, they will not be section champs in the year of 2022. This brings them to 4-1, but there is still a long road ahead for many victories to come. “I feel like everyone will be upset since we can’t win sections anymore, but I feel like we will still do really well at future invites, WPIAL, and states,” expresses junior Abby Blahovec. Saturday, April 22, the girls' team came in first overall at Slippery Rock University out of 48 teams, with the boys taking third. Both boys and girls will be moving on to playoffs after defeating Latrobe on Tuesday, April 26 bringing them to 5-1. Along with the win, Tapper broke her own school record for discus with a throw of 164-4. She is currently number one in PA, and number three in the US.

Boys’ Volleyball Makes Run for Section

Coming into this season, the boys’ volleyball team had high hopes after coming fourth in the WPIALs last season. With almost the entire varsity roster returning, the team is confident going into this season. Though as great as this is, a big target is now placed on their backs. Their season started March 29 against Norwin. Unfortunately they lost in five games, 3-2. The teams traded back and forth throughout the match, but the Spartans could not keep it together. Coming off the loss, they had to make up for it. That same week, they played Pittsburgh Central Catholic and swept them. The following week they played Penn Hills and Penn Trafford and won both games with ease. Their record now stands at 9-1. Senior Nolan Stamford says, “I think we’ve got the potential to go far this season and the drive to do so. Considering the majority of our varsity team consists of seniors, we want to make it a memorable year for us.” Their next game is May 3 against Penn Trafford. Games start at 7:00 p.m. so come out and support them as they hold their #1 spot in the section.

Girls’ Lacrosse Scoring into Season

The girls’ lacrosse team is hoping for a good season with 31 girls on the team and a lot of them returning. The team has been working hard in a tough section on and off the field trying to earn a playoff berth. Junior Tessa Savisky expresses her emotions on the season, “This season has been very important to us as a team. So far this year, we’ve taken steps to work better together and take on the season as a cohesive team. Moving forward at this pace, I believe our hard work and passion will translate to our future games and push the team even further than before.“ With a record of 2-6 in the section, the team is working harder than ever.

One senior who has emerged as a top player is Amara Forsyth. She just scored her 100th career goal on April 11 against Cannon Mac. Playing lacrosse for four years now, Forsyth has hit a mile marker that most don’t achieve in their career especially with covid impacting records for the last two seasons. Forsyth expresses, “It’s a really incredible feeling to reach such a large milestone in my career. Especially since there have been numerous obstacles such as not getting the opportunity of having a sophomore season and competing in such a difficult conference. I am excited and grateful I was still able to accomplish what I have.” The next home game will be May 2 against Franklin-Regional as the girls' celebrate their senior night.

NHL Playoffs Ahead, Penguins Legit Contenders?

At the start of the season the Penguins did not look like the same dominant force in the Metropolitan division that they have been in years past, but they have since turned their misfortune around into a 45-24-11 record which is third in the Metropolitan division. The Pens have had some very impressive wins throughout the season against good teams, but have also dropped some games that should have been almost guaranteed wins. Recently the Penguins have proved their firepower with huge wins like their 11-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings and 5-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Even with recent victories, junior Ethan Hammond isn’t very optimistic about the Penguins, saying “I don’t think the Penguins will be able to make it out of the second round, other teams in the East are just too good. I think the Hurricanes will win the Cup for sure. They’re just too stacked to lose.”

Defending has been a problem for the Penguins; however, it has been a huge help for teams like the Colorado Avalanche who recently clinched the playoffs with their 6-4 win over the Penguins. Matching the electricity of forwards like Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Nazem Kadri with the defensive talent of Devon Toews and Cale Makar have made the Avalanche a dangerous team to see in the playoffs. Luckily the Pens won’t have to worry about seeing the Avalanche until the Cup finals if they get there, but there are plenty of other teams for the Penguins to fear down the road. Teams like the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, and New York Rangers are all teams that the Penguins would have to match up against in order to meet the best of the west for the Cup Finals in June this year.

The Pens are very likely to see the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs, as the Rangers currently hold the two seed in the Metropolitan. In hopes of helping their playoff chances the Penguins decided to pursue forward Rickard Rakell from the Anaheim Ducks, who are more likely than not going to miss the playoffs. The Penguins traded away a lot in Zach Aston-Reese and Dominik Simon, but have already gotten their worth out of Rakell as he has recorded 14 points (4 Goals, 10 Assists) in 14 games with the Penguins. Hopefully the Pens will be able to ride the strength of their offense led by hometown favorites Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but as of right now I would say the Penguins are a longshot contender this year.