John Phillips

4 weeks ago | caranddriver.com | John Phillips

From the March/April 2025 issue of Car and Driver. To our chaotic shores the Big Three have randomly imported Euro-spec cars. Apart from tear gas, little has more reliably induced regret and schadenfreude. Examples abound: (1) an Opel Astra sold here as a Saturn Astra, (2) an Opel Omega as a Cadillac Catera, (3) a Teutonic Ford Sierra as a 1985 Merkur XR4Ti.Importing the Ford required more balls than are weekly bounced by the Harlem Globetrotters.

4 weeks ago | triblive.com | John Phillips

The Penn-Trafford girls lacrosse team is facing some stiff competition in 2025. After competing in Class 2A, the Warriors moved up to the rugged Section 1 in Class 3A. In 2024, Penn-Trafford lost in the WPIAL class 2A semis and made the PIAA tournament. So far in 2025, the Warriors are off to a 2-3 start, giving third-year coach Rich Vislocky some optimism as the focus now centers on section play. “It’s going to be a challenge,” Vislocky said.

1 month ago | triblive.com | John Phillips

When Gateway boys tennis coach Matt Stockunas talks about his path to becoming involved with the program, the story is a winding road with unexpected twists and turns. Stockunas enters his 29th year as a teacher at Gateway, his fourth year as member as a boys tennis program, starting off as an assistant, now entering his second season as the head coach. He said, like many in March of 2020, his path changed direction. ‘When covid hit, there was an opening and I jumped in,” Stockunas said.

1 month ago | triblive.com | John Phillips

Change is the theme for many of the Alle-Kiski Valley softball programs heading into the 2025 WPIAL season — changes in class, sections, head coaches and players. Freeport is among the teams bumping up in class to join Section 1-4A. Coach Ron DeJidas’s team brings zero seniors into the new season yet remains optimistic for improvement on a 11-7 record last year that ended with a trip to the WPIAL quarterfinals. “We have three good classes coming up,” DeJidas said. “We do the same thing each year.

1 month ago | triblive.com | John Phillips

Sandy Felice has seen quite a bit over two stints as head coach of the boys and girls swim teams at Mt. Pleasant. The Slippery Rock grad and Hempfield native has racked up quite a bit of hardware over the years, leading Vikings to a sea of WPIAL and PIAA success. She and her talented roster of swimmers will trek east this week, seeking to add a bounty of both individual and team titles to an already long list of accolades.