When basketball practices resumed across Pennsylvania Jan. 4, there was plenty of huffing and puffing during workouts because of the three-week shutdown ordered by Gov. Tom Wolf and the departments of health and education.

Josh Matheny of Upper St. Clair earned the 2020 Swammy Age Group Winner Award as swimmer of the year among all national swimmers in the 17-18 category.

Football runs through Luke Banbury’s veins.

Olivia Westphal felt more than welcome at Duquesne University. The Bethel Park High School senior guard felt wanted. So she committed to play her college basketball for the Dukes.

Charley Rossi played the trumpet and French horn at South Fayette High School because his mother said learning a musical instrument would improve his SAT scores. The senior also read many of the classics because his mom believed it would help with his college entry exams.

Pitt is it for Aislin Malcolm because the Chartiers Valley High School junior is the embodiment of Pittsburgh. The 5-11 forward recently committed to the university where she will play basketball for the Panthers.

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League and Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League delivered some holiday cheer to their constituents to allow for competition when the suspension from scholastic athletics is anticipated to be lifted Jan. 4.

Jonna Burke found herself home for the holidays for the first time in her storied basketball career.

When Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration enacted measures to once again mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, scholastic sports teams adopted a wait-and-see attitude until Jan. 4 when sanctions are expected to be lifted.

2020 started ominously with the death of former NBA commissioner David Stern Jan. 1 before Lakers great Kobe Bryant was killed in a Jan. 26 helicopter crash in Southern California along with his daughter and five other passengers.

Dori Oldaker uses a basketball term to describe how Mt. Lebanon is approaching a season during the coronavirus crisis.

The inquiry stumped T.J. Plack.

To the victors go the spoils.

Grace Mattila from Bethel Park was a double winner during the USA Artistic Swimming East Zone Virtual Meet held recently.

The Upper St. Clair girls basketball team is back in the gym and preparing for its opener Dec. 15 at North Allegheny following a brief hiatus because of coronavirus concerns.

Coaches constantly instruct their players to keep their mind in the game. It’s possible that may not be stressed anywhere more than inside the South Fayette gymnasium where the boys basketball team practices.

The Chartiers Valley boys basketball team has so far successfully combated the COVID-19 crisis.

Danny Holzer envisions himself as an eternal optimist.

COVID-19 interfered with the Chartiers Valley girls basketball team’s plans to repeat as state champions in the spring.

Josh Matheny of Upper St. Clair coasted to victory during the Toyota U.S. Open held Nov. 12-14 in Richmond, Va.

When Healthtrax closed permanently in May of 2019, it created a chasm so deep for Raj Jadhav that the 52-year-old McMurray man bought the gym space with two other investors.

Even though Seton LaSalle experienced back-to-back losing seasons, Mauro Monz of South Fayette views the task as his alma mater’s latest head football coach as that of reviving rather than rebuilding the program.

Reagan Milliken excels enough in softball and basketball for Bethel Park to have accumulated a number of memorable moments. Her proudest achievement, however, has not occurred on the field or the court.

The Peters Township girls soccer team led the list of area players earning All-WPIAL honors.

Peters Township capped another successful field hockey season by placing five players on the All-WPIAL team.

Andrew Massucci was named WPIAL Player of The Year in Class AAAA boys soccer.

For the second straight season, the Peters Township football team came up short of winning a WPIAL title, falling to Pine-Richland 35-0 in the Class 5A championship game played Nov. 14 at at Wright Field on the campus of North Allegheny High School.

As Thanksgiving nears, the Mt. Lebanon football team is counting its blessing.

Peters Township’s path to a second straight appearance in a WPIAL championship football game involved a dramatic comeback victory spearheaded by several of its premier players.

It was difficult to tell who was more nervous when Peters Township’s Kat Wang and Marra Bruce defended their PIAA doubles title.

Days after the disappointment and dejection of having lost a WPIAL championship, the Peters Township boy’s soccer team had every reason to be ecstatic and enthusiastic about its accomplishments in 2020 and its prospects for an equally productive future.

Bethel Park freshman Jenna Lang set modest goals for the PIAA cross country championships.

Editor’s note: This week’s WPIAL playoff games did not end in time to be included in this edition.

Andrew Massucci scored game-winning goals in WPIAL quarterfinal and semifinal matches to vault the Peters Township boys soccer team into the finals.

For the second year in a row, the Peters Township girls soccer team’s WPIAL playoff run was ended by North Allegheny.

MCKEESPORT – Jake Borgesi and Lauren Iagnemma crossed the finish line during the WPIAL Class AAA Cross Country Championships in very different conditions Friday but the South Fayette runners both managed the same result. Each qualified for the PIAA Championships set for Nov. 7 in Hershey.

For Jenna Lang of Bethel Park, it was runner-up or bust during the WPIAL Class AAA championship race at White Oak Park in McKeesport.

Editor’s note: Oct. 30’s WPIAL playoff games did not end in time to be included in this edition.

Franklin Regional defeated South Fayette 2-1 to eliminate the Lions from the WPIAL Class AAA girls soccer playoffs.

Peters Township defeated North Allegheny 1-0 in the the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA field hockey playoffs.

Kate Pipilo listened to the sounds of hard work. Their lullabies rocked her to sleep.