By: Michael Love


Sunday, November 10, 2024 | 11:01 AM

The Gateway boys and girls basketball, swimming and wrestling teams have arrived at their WPIAL winter seasons as official preseason practices kick off Friday.

The Gators athletes on those teams will join several thousand others in those sports on a journey that they hope will lead them to WPIAL gold in January, February and March.

Gateway boys basketball, second to WPIAL and PIAA runner-up Franklin Regional in Section 3-5A last year, hopes for another strong run to the postseason.

The Gators finished 18-9 overall last year and reached the WPIAL quarterfinals before being knocked out by the Panthers, 53-35.

Gateway punched its ticket to states with a dramatic 53-51 win at home over Kiski Area in the seventh-place PIAA qualifier.

The Gators saw their season come to an end in the PIAA first round, 60-52, against District 3 champion Mechanicsburg.

Gateway will have several shoes to fill after the graduation of four all-section picks: first-team forward Alec Dunsmore, second-team guards Bryson Pavlik and Alex Lowry and honorable mention guard Vito Campolo.

Honorable mention guard Mykel Bruce-McCrommon, a junior, returns to the team which will match up with Albert Gallatin, Franklin Regional, Latrobe, Laurel Highlands, McKeesport, Penn-Trafford and Uniontown in Section 1-5A.

The Gateway girls hope to turn around their fortunes this season after a 2023-24 run which saw the team win just two out of 22 games and go winless in Section 1-5A.

Guard Anayla Jordan earned all-section honorable mention laurels in her senior season and now is a freshman on the women’s team at La Roche.

Fellow honorable mention selection, guard/forward Aubrie Lovelace, also graduated.

The Gators will match up in Section 1-5A with Armstrong, Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, Penn Hills, Plum and Shaler.

The PIAA swimming and diving championships again will be at Bucknell University in March, and Gateway hopes to have several team members make the three-hour trek east.

Sophomore Aliya Rassiane and junior Giana Laurenti return after helping lead the Gators’ girls 400-yard freestyle relay to an eighth-place podium finish at last year’s state meet.

Senior Hunter Raymer added PIAA medals in the 200 individual medley and 500 free, and Rassiane came close to being in medal position in the 100 butterfly.

Raymer lowered his own school-record time in the 500 to 4:34.34 in his preliminary heat and finished just four-tenths of a second away from the 200 IM school record with a 1:53.42 in the prelims.

Gateway wrestling coach Ryan Sula welcomes back 11 from last year’s team, including WPIAL tournament qualifiers in senior Luke Pawlowski and junior Donovan DeLuco.

Pawlowski finished the 2023-24 season 18-9 at 139 pounds, while DeLuco was 17-15 at 172.

In all, a half dozen returnees won at least 10 matches, including junior Troy Boden (12-12), junior TJ Mitchell (12-15), senior Conner Smith (10-11) and sophomore Braden Washington (16-9).

Gateway last year went 7-9 in dual matches and was 1-3 in the section with its victory coming at McKeesport, 48-26.

The Gators went 3-0 at the Gateway Quad late in the regular season with triumphs over North Catholic, Valley and Yough.

Gateway will be a part of the East Section for individual championship competition and will do battle in section dual matches with Franklin Regional, Norwin, Penn-Trafford and Plum.

The first competition date for boys and girls basketball, wrestling and swimming and diving is Nov. 29.

While not part of the WPIAL, the Gateway bowling teams are just two weeks away from the start of their seasons.

The Gateway boys return all but one bowler from last year’s team which finished fourth at the Pennsylvania State Championships at Leisure Lanes in Lancaster and returned to Leisure Lanes in June for the U.S. High School Bowling Foundation’s National Championships.

Alex Keeling Oliver was the solo senior with underclassmen Landon Lohr, Joey Jurczak, Jordan Trenga, Allon Wallace Jr., Chase Owens and Josh Zlokas.

Jurczak, a senior this year, also qualified for the Western Regional singles finals and placed eighth overall.

The Gateway hockey team continues its fall and winter season in PIHL Division 2.

The Gators didn’t have the start they hoped for since their opener against Elizabeth Forward on Oct. 3.

They were 0-4-0-1 — one setback coming in overtime, 5-4, to EF — heading into a White Division game against Connellsville last Thursday.

Gateway also was slated to host Carrick on Monday at Palmer Imaging Arena in Delmont.

Gateway tallied 16 goals through its first five games with senior co-captain CJ Evans, junior Gavin Grant and sophomore Canyon Hines leading the way with four goals apiece.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Gateway