This fall nine out of 10 teams Fox Chapel Area High School teams qualified for the WPIAL playoffs and produced an all sports cumulative section record of 79-25-5. In addition, three student-athletes won WPIAL championships, six advanced to the PIAA individual championships in their respective sports, and two athletes, one in boys’ soccer and the other in boys’ golf, were named to their respective All-State teams. Congratulations to our student-athletes and coaches for their determination, hard work, and another successful fall season!
* Denotes section record in all sports
Cross Country
Boys (6-1*, 6-1) The team had some very good runners this year, but many of them fought off injuries throughout the season. They prevailed, however, and narrowly missed a perfect season. The Foxes ended in good standing as the Class AAA Section 4 runner-up. Seniors Elias Graca and Jacob Halasowski were the top two performers this season and advanced to the WPIAL cross country individual championships. Joining them were senior Andrew Golio; juniors Aaron Ivie and Brendon Urso; sophomores Adam Cook and Alec Eckman; and freshman John Folkerts. Elias finished 14th and advanced to a state-level competition for a third time. Previously, Elias had participated at PIAA meets as a member of the school’s track team, but this was his first qualification for cross country. He ran the PIAA course well and set a personal best record. Also significant to the team’s success was the leadership of Andrew, who was voted by his teammates as “most inspirational.”
Girls (5-2, 5-2) The hard-working team benefited from very strong senior leadership, including the positivity of senior Greta Altmeyer, a four-year letterwinner, and fellow senior Sanders Bennett, whose peers acknowledged her as the team’s “most inspirational” female. Junior Mary Humphrey and sophomore Katherine Kauma led the team with the best overall times all season and both qualified for the WPIAL Class AAA championship. Also advancing to the WPIAL championship were Greta and Sanders; juniors Erin Curry, Olivia Van Dyke, and Maura Whelan; and sophomore Kristin Rabbitt. Mary qualified for the 2014 PIAA championship, where she set a personal best time. Coach Tom Moul says the most important factor to improve both teams next season is good off-season training, particularly in the summer, because it can be the most important determining factor for success for cross country runners.
Golf
Boys (9-1, 11-4-1) In the past three years, the boys’ golf team has won 28 straight section matches, so it was no wonder the players felt confident coming into the new season. Although they had lost five seniors – three of them starters – their self-assurance was evident even early in the season when they defeated North Allegheny and Plum to win the Fox Chapel Richard Cullinan Invitational. The team’s overall balance and depth ultimately led to their third consecutive WPIAL Class AAA Section 4 championship title. By winning the section championship, the team advanced to the WPIAL team semi-finals, finished first out of 10 teams, and advanced to the WPIAL team finals. Their season concluded at WPIAL the quarterfinals with a loss to WPIAL champions Peters Township.
Individually, three Foxes advanced to the WPIAL playoffs: senior Michael Gerger and sophomores Anthony Cordaro and Alexander Lawson. Anthony won the WPIAL Class AAA individual tournament to become the team’s first WPIAL individual champion in eight years. He automatically advanced to the PIAA Western Regional tournament. Alex and Mike tied for the 12th and final spot. Mike won the sudden-death playoff to advance while Alex served as the alternate. Anthony’s great play continued at the regional tournament, where he shot an impressive 74, finished as runner-up, and earned a trip to the PIAA individual championships. Mike also made the cut to advance as well. Anthony’s performance earned him a very respectable 10th place finish and All-State first team honors. Coach Bryan Deal says he always has high expectations for the program and designs the regular season to be as hard as possible by playing the best teams in the WPIAL. He believes matching his players against the area’s top teams prepares them for the important post-season tournaments. The team will lose only one senior and return six out of seven starters next year. They definitely have the potential, talent, and momentum to add even more significant achievements to the record books.
Girls (6-2, 9-3) They say there’s a silver lining to every tough challenge and that couldn’t ring more true than for the girls’ golf team. The team struggled some last season and a number of young players without much experience were called upon to play at the varsity level. That playing time paid off greatly and drove the team to a much-improved record. The Lady Foxes advanced to the WPIAL AAA finals for the first time since 2011, and promising freshman Hannah Conroy advanced to the WPIAL individual finals. Coach John Broderick was more than pleased with the consistently good performance of his team, particularly his five starters: juniors Ciera Miller and Emily Robosson, sophomore Ursula Meyer, and freshmen Hannah Conroy and Cara Levicoff. With all starters and top reserves returning, Coach Broderick believes they have the potential to accomplish even greater things next season.
Field Hockey (11-1, 15-4-1)
Coach Jen McCrady’s expectations of her team have been the same for the past few years – defend the Lady Foxes’ section titles and get back to the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs. They accomplished both goals this season. In fact, it was a three-peat when the girls won the WPIAL AAA-Section 2 championship for the third consecutive year. Coming into the season there was no shortage of talent; it was more a matter of finding the lines that worked well together, repositioning some of the returning players, and then filling some open positions with freshmen. After that was accomplished, their game picked up considerably and the offensive unit became a scoring powerhouse with 123 goals. Team captains, senior Meghan Lucas and juniors Maggie McIlroy and Nicole Susi, were strong leaders and instrumental in creating a winning environment.
Individually, freshman Abigail Pitcairn set a single season record with 28 goals and 17 assists. Another freshman, Paige Ryan, scored 21 goals and 5 assists, while sophomore Megan McCrady centered the team at midfield and was the second leading scorer with 16 goals and 17 assists. Freshman Grace Knepshield became the backbone of the Lady Foxes’ defense in just her first year varsity play. For their efforts, Abby and Megan were voted All-WPIAL; Abby, Megan, Paige, and Grace were named All-Section; and Nicole was named All-Section honorable mention.
Although they will lose four seniors – two of them starters – there is so much talent remaining that the Lady Foxes will be tough to beat in the next three years.
Football (3-4, 4-6)
This was the season that head coach Eric Ravotti had been looking forward to for quite a while. It represented the first senior class to have played exclusively under his tutelage all four years of high school. He was very pleased with the results, and for good reason. The team made the playoffs two out of the last four years and in four years accumulated more conference victories than in the eight previous seasons combined. The seniors got the opportunity to play in the WPIAL AAAA playoffs twice during their high school careers, and this year the team set new records for most offensive points and rushing touchdowns and in a season. Yet, Coach Ravotti said one accomplishment that was most satisfying was more of a life lesson he had stressed since he assumed the reigns four years ago. He was finally satisfied they had learned the real meaning of resilience, determination, and how to dig deep and never give up, no matter what the scoreboard showed.
Quite a few new individual school records were broken this season. Senior quarterback Billy Urso surpassed his own season record with 1,666 passing yards and also set new school records for most career passing yards, completions, and passing touchdowns. Fellow senior David Brown made Fox Chapel Area High School history for the most season and career receiving yards and receptions. David, a tight end, and senior linebacker Carrington Vaughn both were named All-Conference first team. Defensive lineman Darnell Foster and punter Jack Lundy, both seniors, were named All-Conference second team, as was junior defensive back Tommy Smith.
Looking ahead, the Foxes will lose 12 seniors, most of them starters. A core of talented players will remain, but overall, in the off-season and next year the coaching staff will focus on developing the underclassmen and rebuilding the team.
Soccer
Boys (8-2-2, 8-6-3) After losing 13 players and returning only two starters, there’s no doubt that 2014 was a rebuilding year. Still, what they might have lacked in experience was overcome with tremendous character, determination, and strong upper-class leadership. The resilient team concluded the season as section runner-ups, only a half game behind first place. The team advanced to the WPIAL playoffs, but fell short to the reigning WPIAL champions, Peters Township, who are currently in the running for the PIAA championship. Junior Kota Furuhata joined a very elite group of Fox Chapel Area High School soccer players with his selection to the PIAA All-State team. He was the sole junior in the state to make the list of Pennsylvania’s premiere players. Kota also earned All-WPIAL honors. Additionally, Kota and seniors Matthew Hermann and Cole Ryan were named All-Section. The team will lose five seniors, three of them starters, but will return with 17 letter winners. Coach Erik Ingram’s goal for next season is to build upon this year to regain the section title and go deeper into the playoffs. Finally, for the seventh time in his nine years of coaching here, Coach Ingram was named the WPIAL AAA Section 3 coach of the year.
Girls (11-1-2, 15-3-2) Peter Torres’ tenure as the new girls’ soccer coach got off to an impressive start. First, nearly 40 girls tried out for the team this season, the largest number in recent history. His expectations for the team were to continue the success they had enjoyed over the past seven years, and they did just that. A core of talented and determined upperclassmen led the young team, adjusted to some position changes, and employed a strategy of patience, possession, and shorter, more controlled passes up the field. The result was 15 shutouts in 20 games, a section record with just one blemish, and a trip to the WPIAL playoffs, where the team advanced to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. The Lady Foxes advanced to the second round where they lost to Seneca Valley, the eventual 2014 WPIAL champions. The team will lose six seniors, but a plentiful core of young talent remains. Voted to the All-WPIAL team were junior Taylor Cohen and sophomore Deena DeBaldo. Taylor, Deena, sophomore Maia Russo, and freshman Caelan Miller were named All-Section. A nice touch to the conclusion of Coach Torres’ first year with Fox Chapel Area was his selection as the Section 3-AAA girls’ soccer coach of the year.
Girls’ Tennis (6-2, 8-8)
This season a strong singles lineup helped drive the young team to the WPIAL team playoffs. Individually, junior Laurel Shymansky was the runner-up in the Section 3-AAA singles championship. Laurel and doubles partner Amanda Nord won the Section 3-AAA doubles championship, the WPIAL doubles championship, and advanced to the PIAA doubles finals. Laurel and Amanda, a promising freshman, put forth valiant and intense performances throughout the season and during their PIAA matches, and concluded the season as the PIAA Class AAA runner-ups. This was Laurel’s second consecutive appearance at the state finals. Last season she partnered with Lacey Cohen to win the doubles championship. Coach Alex Slezak expects Laurel and Amanda to do very well next year in singles play and also get another shot at winning the state doubles title. Also noteworthy was the selection of sophomore Cristina Bermudez as a Hines Ward Positive Athlete of the Week. She appeared on his show that airs on WPXI-TV. With many eager young players remaining, Coach Slezak expects them to return stronger from off-season training and make good contributions next year.
Girls’ Volleyball (5-7, 7-10)
There were very few players coming into the season with varsity experience, so Coach Sara Kirsch wasn’t quite sure what she could expect from the evolving team. For much of the year, the team struggled for an identity and how to play as a unit, but they ended it competitively and with enthusiasm. Overall, it was a learning experience that will prepare the Lady Foxes for good success next year. Junior setter Ana Spangenberg was voted All-Section first team and led the section in kills and assists. Junior setter Kayla Slovenec was named All-Section second team, and junior outside hitter Sarah Supsura was voted All-Section third team. With only one senior among the group, the team remains intact and eager to build upon what they started.