South Hills notebook: Brentwood girls make impact for golf team

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 15, 2018 | 3:27 PM

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Notebook items from around the South Hills:

• Five of the 11 golfers on the Brentwood boys golf team are girls — seniors Rebecca Dirling and Julianna Winkowski, juniors Madeline Travis and Alexis Warning, plus freshman Colleen Kinneavy.

Other team members consist of seniors Brandon Griener and Noah Luther, juniors Peter Carozza and C.J. Ziegler, sophomore Josh Griener, and freshman Nathan Ziegler.

“The boys don’t treat us any differently,” Dirling said. “All of us get along very well and are able to enjoy the season.

“So far, the season has been going good. I can definitely see improvement since last year.”

Dirling is a three-sport athlete with a 3.7 grade-point average. She also participates in basketball and track and field at Brentwood, and has been golfing for just two years.

“I wanted to try something new, and golf is something I can continue to do the rest of my life,” she said. “My favorite thing is that you get to meet and golf with new people each match.”

She also is a member of the Garden Club and steering committee.

In track and field, Dirling competes in all three throwing events — javelin, discus and shot put. She was a WPIAL Class AA medalist in the javelin last spring.

The Brentwood golfers are coached by Gary Cramer.

• Dalaney Ranallo, a Thomas Jefferson junior midfielder and Old Dominion recruit, registered a career-high six goals Sept. 5 in leading the Jaguars to an 11-1 section-opening win at Woodland Hills.

Junior defender Mia Maksin, freshman forward Mya Greshner, freshman midfielder Hailey Krawczyk, senior forward Bella Sestito and junior forward Allison Weidmann added one goal apiece.

“The team has been playing very well,” Ranallo said. “That being said, I know we have another gear we can reach. We have a very young team and a lot of players have stepped up, including my co-captain Mia Maksin.”

TJ also ran past Obama Academy, 4-1, thanks to goals by Ranallo, sophomore midfielder Ava Lutz, Greshner and junior defender Demi Kondos.

“All the girls worked very hard in the offseason and during preseason,” Ranallo said, “and it has shown in our first two games.”

Ranallo was lauded as a TribLive HSSN athlete of the week for her performance.

• There are 37 players on the Brentwood football team roster; almost half — 18 — are listed as linemen.

Matt Veatch, a 5-foot-9, 220-pound junior, is the biggest player on the squad.

Two other 200-pound linemen are junior Luke Bauer and sophomore Kiran Gurung.

• In one of the bigger early season matches of the WPIAL Class 3-A girls volleyball season, fourth-ranked Thomas Jefferson defeated No. 5 South Fayette, 3-1, in front of a near-packed house at TJ.

The Jaguars earned the nonsection victory via scores of 25-16, 25-22, 19-25, 25-17, with senior libero and Duquesne recruit Sydney Moran serving up the match-winner in Game 4.

“I was happy with our performance against South Fayette as a whole,” TJ coach Ron Kelly said. “It was the first real challenge we had this year and the girls responded well. Our defense was our strength; we had some nice runs offensively. Game 3, we were a little off and came back to make it a game, giving us momentum for the fourth game.

“It let us know where we are right now, and gave us an idea what we need to work on.”

TJ’s starting rotation consisted of Moran, junior MH Natashia Yanief, senior DS Julia Micklo, junior setter Abby Chalovich, senior DS Julia Fiedor, junior OH Ashleigh Haines, junior MH Tyler Turk, junior OH Tanner Patrick and sophomore right-side hitter Lillian Rockwell.

Turk and Yanief consistently displayed their tantalizing talent at the net throughout the match.

• Baldwin’s girls soccer team netted a baker’s dozen in its first win of the season, blanking Brashear, 13-0, Sept. 8 at Cupples Stadium.

The Highlanders were sparked by sophomore midfielder Robyn Sopata, who connected for three goals in the game. Freshman forwards Megan Leary and Mia DiCesare chipped in with two goals apiece, as did sophomore midfielder Adriana Marina.

Senior defender Mandi Bellas, sophomore midfielder Makenzie Auel, junior forward Riley Nolan and sophomore defender Tori DiCesare all added one goal.

Baldwin’s junior goalkeeper Elizabeth Knight posted the shutout in the section matchup.

• Baldwin’s girls volleyball team tipped off section play with a pair of wins at home, blanking Peters Township, 3-0, and edging Oakland Catholic, 3-2.

The Highlanders’ starting rotation consisted of junior Riley Lenard (OH/RS); seniors Kerri Herron (DS), who served as team captain, Mackenzie Meis (L) and Flannery Larson (RS); and juniors Mia Hampsay (S), Allison Murray (MB), Maggie Zandier (DS), Anna Baloh (OH) and Ally Schenk (MB).

Junior Marlo Mendez (DS), and sophomores Jessica Noss (S), Megan Garda (RS), Bethany Voelker (OH) and Makayla Mangan (MB) are reserves.

Zandier served up the game-winner against Oakland Catholic; Baloh delivered the game-winning point.

• There are eight runners in the Brentwood cross country program this season.

They are seniors Aidan Barker, Tom Hayden and Gabriel Schwerer; juniors Ava Dorrance, Paige Umbel and Ethan Wright; plus freshmen Ava Barker and Lauren Milcic.

Ray Fisher is a freelance writer.

Tags: Baldwin, Brentwood, Thomas Jefferson