< PreviousAll dates subject to change. Dates prior to publication not included.Visit www.montourschools.com for updates. 2024 2023 Open House ‐ Elementary TBD, DEW Grades 7&8Open House ‐ Elementary TBD, MHS & DEW Grades 5&6 Teacher In‐Service/No StudentsLocal Holiday/No School2 Hour Late Start for Students ‐ Professional Development/Act 80 Parent/Teacher Conferences ‐ Teacher In‐Service/No Students Early DismissalThanksgiving Recess/No School Early DismissalHoliday Recess/No School Jan 15 Jan 16 Jan 17Feb 16 Feb 19March 4 March 27 March 28‐29April 1May 6 May 27 May 31June 3 Sep 19 Sep 20Oct 6 Oct 9 Oct 30Nov 7 Nov 22 Nov 23‐27Dec 22 Dec 23-Jan 2 Local Holiday/No School ‐ MondayClerical Day/No Students 2 Hour Late Start for Students ‐ Act 80 Teacher In‐Service/No Students Local Holiday/No School 2 Hour Late Start for Students - Act 80 Early DismissalSpring Break/No School Spring Break/No School 2 Hour Late Start for Students ‐ Act 80 Memorial Day/No SchoolGraduation ‐ Last Day for Students Early Dismissal Teacher Clerical/Last Day for Teachers Oct. 7 Nov. 4Dec. 2 March 9 May 4June 1 Register by Sept. 7 Register by Oct. 5 Register by Nov. 2 Register by Feb. 23 Register by April 19 Register by May 16 Visit satsuite.collegeboard.org for Late Registration and Digital Test Deadlines.Boys Soccer Sep 18 - vs Hopewell HS - 7:30 PMSep 19 - vs Blackhawk - 6 PMSep 21 - vs Ambridge - 6 PMSep 26 - @ Central Valley - 6 PMSep 28 - @ West Allegheny - 6 PMOct 3 - @ Chartiers Valley - 6 PMOct 5 - @ South Fayette - 6 PMOct 10 - vs Moon Area - 6 PMOct 12 - @ Blackhawk - 6 PMOct 16 - @ Seton-La Salle - 8 PM Girls Soccer Sep 18 - vs Chartiers Valley - 6 PMSep 20 - @ West Allegheny - 7 PMSep 25 - @ Franklin Regional - 6 PMSep 27 - @ South Fayette - 6 PMOct 2 - vs Blackhawk - 6 PMOct 4 - @ Moon Area - 6 PMOct 7 - vs Central Valley - 12:30 PMOct 9 - vs Trinity - 6 PMOct 11 - @ Chartiers Valley - 6 PMOct 16 - vs West Allegheny - 6:45 PM Football Sep 22 - vs Ambridge - Youth Night - 7 PMSep 29 - @ New Castle - 7 PMOct 6 - @ Central Valley - 7 PMOct 13 - vs Chartiers Valley - Homecoming - 7 PMOct 20 - @ Blackhawk - 7 PMOct 27 - vs West Allegheny - Senior Night - 7 PM Girls Tennis Sep 19 - @ Norwin - 3:30 PMSep 21 - vs Lincoln Park - 3:30 PMSep 25 - vs Keystone Oaks - 3:30 PMSep 26 - @ Riverview - Riverside Park - 3:30 PMSep 27-28 - Section Doubles Oct 3 - @ Moon - 3:30 PMOct 5 - vs Gateway - Senior Night - 3:30 PM Girls Volleyball Sep 18 - vs Quaker Valley - 6 PMSep 19 - vs BLACKHAWK - 6 PMSep 21 - @ Chartiers Valley - 6 PMSep 26 - vs West Allegheny - 6 PMSep 28 - vs Trinity - 6 PMOct 2 - @ Avonworth - 6 PMOct 3 - @ South Fayette - 6 PMOct 5 - vs Oakland Catholic - 6 PMOct 10 - @ Moon Area - 6 PMOct 12 - vs Hampton - 6 PMOct 17 - vs Chartiers Valley - 6 PMOct 19 - @ West Allegheny - 6 PM 2024 2023 Wrestling Dec 1-2 - @ Chartiers-Houston Tourn. - TBADec 6 - TBA - 7 PMDec 13 - @ South Allegheny - 7 PMDec 20 - @ Carlynton - 7 PMJan 3 - vs Quaker Valley - 7 PMJan 6 - MAC Tournament - Freedom - 9:30 AMJan 10 - vs Keystone Oaks - 7 PMJan 17 - @ Avonworth - 7 PMJan 19-20 - Allegheny Co. Tourn. - Fox Chapel Jan 24 - vs South Park - 7 PMJan. 26-27 - Grove City Tourn.Jan 31 - WPIAL Tourn.Feb 10 - Montour Duals - 9 AMFeb. 17 - Section Champ. - TBA Girls Basketball Dec 1-2 - Tip-Off Tourn. - 6 PMTBA - vs Peters Township - 7:30 PMDec 11 - @ Highlands - 7:30 PMDec 14 - vs Fort Cherry - 7:30 PMDec 18 - @ Seton LaSalle - 7:30 PMDec 21 - vs Chartiers Valley - 7:30 PMJan 2 - vs Trinity - 7:30 PMJan 4 - @ West Allegheny - 6 PMJan 6 - PBC Classic - Obama Acad. - 5:30 PMJan 8 - vs South Fayette - 7:30 PMJan 11 - vs Lincoln Park - 7:30 PMJan 15 - vs Moon - 7:30 PMJan 18 - @ Central Valley - 6 PMJan 22 - @ Pine-Richland - 6 PMJan 25 - @ Trinity - 6 PMJan 29 - vs West Allegheny - 7:30 PMJan 30 - vs Penn Trafford - 6 PMFeb 1 - @ South Fayette - 6 PMFeb 6 - @ Lincoln Park - 6:30 PMFeb 8 - @ Moon - 6 PMFeb 12 - vs Mars - 7:30 PM Boys Basketball Dec 1 - @ Allderdice Dec 5 - vs South Fayette - 7:30 PMDec 7 - @ Upper St. Clair - 6:30 PMDec 12 - @ Kiski Prep. - 7:30 PMDec 15 - vs Thomas Jefferson - 7:30 PMDec 19 - @ North Hills - 7:30 PMDec 27-28 - Holiday Tourn. - 7:30 PMJan 2 - vs West Miffl in - 7:30 PMJan 5 - @ South Allegheny - 7:30 PMJan 9 - vs East Allegheny - 7:30 PMJan 12 - @ Avonworth - 7:30 PMJan 16 - vs Quaker Valley - 7:30 PMJan 20 - Moon Tourn. - Bethel Park - TBAJan 23 - vs Mars - 7:30 PMJan 26 - @ West Miffl in - 7:30 PMJan 27 - vs Moon - TBAJan 30 - vs South Allegheny - 7:30 PMFeb 2 - @ East Allegheny - 7:30 PMFeb 6 - vs Avonworth - 7:30 PMFeb 9 - @ Quaker Valley - 7:30 PM Varsity sports listed only. All dates and times subject to change. Event dates prior to publication and those unavailable at time of publication not included. Check www.montourathletics.org for the latest details. Fall and Winter Sports Check www.montourathletics.org for the latest details. llegeboard.org istration and est Deadlines. Cross Country Sep 19 - @ Ambridge/New Castle - 3:45 PM Sep 23 - Hershey Foundations - TBASep 26 - @ Central Valley/Chartiers Valley - 3:45 PMOct 3 - vs West Allegheny/Blackhawk - Settlers Cabin - 3:30 PM Oct 7 - Bald Eagle Invitational Oct 11 - MAC Championship - Settlers Cabin - 3:30 PMOct 26 - WPIAL Championship - Cal U. Watch for more sports schedules in future issues.22 • Allegheny West Magazine • September/October 2023September/October 2023 • www.awmagazine.com • 23 Montour School District District welcomes new faculty and staff Montour School District welcomed a number of new faculty members and support staff at the start of this school year. They are as follows: Teachers: Deborah Campalong Samantha Kantz Cross Mia DiClemente Lindsay Grimm Colleen Gubba Mackenzie Kraft Julie Page Hollie Imperato Porter Lindsay Westwood Long-term subs: Amy Bray Allison Cercone Alyssa Edmonds Cynthia DeMaio Greene Beth Fleck April Icsman Kara Lang Holly Machusko Michele Morgan Rosa Hoffman Para-professionals: Allison Berry Jean Bonavita Jenna Brown Diane Connelly Jennifer Minner Katlinn Ozga Elizabeth Patton Kayona Ward This past spring, high school students Abigail Chen, Sage Sonnett and Nicolette Lyscik teamed up to participate in a competition hosted by the IT and business consulting firm CGI. Working with mentors at the company, and under computer science teacher Trent Karlik, the three were tasked with working together to develop an innovative app that had the potential to positively impact the Montour community. The concept they developed would allow parents and students to track Montour’s school buses so they would know when a bus was returning from a sports event or exactly when a bus would be arriving at a regular stop. Toward the end of the semester, the three students presented a demo version of their app at a virtual conference and beat out five other schools to take home first place. The win included $20,000 in scholarship dollars to be split among them. Since then, Abigail and Sage have graduated and are both attending Penn State University, where Sage is studying mechanical engineering and Abigail is majoring in computer science. Nicollete is now in her senior year at Montour and plans to study either engineering or computer science next year. Sage says she and Abigail were in the same Javascript coding class this past spring semester when Karlik, their teacher, approached them with the idea of participating in the challenge, which was open to high school girls. Karlik says the three were among his brightest computer science students at the high school at the time, and had completed courses such as AP computer science, cybersecurity and Python. Over the next few months, the team of students worked with Karlik and met regularly with mentors at CGI to develop their idea. Sage says it was an eye-opening, and positive, experience. “Working with the CGI team and seeing how a professional business expects a standard of you was a good experience,” she says. “It also allowed us to work with a mentor in the field.” Sage credits Abigail with coming up with the initial idea for the app, which resonated with all involved. Sage says they were all familiar with the feeling of running late for a bus and wanting to know where it was as they were rushing to it. Each had also experienced returning from a sport or after-school event on the bus, only for their phone battery to die and have no way to call for a ride. To develop a demo version of their app, the team worked with a free version of the software Thunkable. Sage says the demo version they built wasn’t functional, but that it would be feasible to create a working version with access to a premium version of the Thunkable software. A GPS system on the buses would also need to be enabled. However, the process did require them to create a demo and think about the user experience side of the app building process. They also had to think about the ethical and security-related issues involved in building such an app. “We used Firebase to secure our passwords and to make sure users had school-authorized accounts so no one can just sign into an account,” Sage says. “The school would have to verify anyone who wanted access first.” Karlik says those security features, along with real-time tracking capabilities, were what made the app stand out when the team presented to CGI on June 8. Students win $20,000 in scholarship dollars in app-development contest Nicolette Lyscik (photo by Mary White Photography), Abigail Chen and Sage Sonnett (photo by Brad Riggio Photography) developed a concept for an app that won first place in a competition hosted by the IT company CGI this past spring. 24 • Allegheny West Magazine • September/October 2023 Well, it is that time of year again ... Back-to-school is a time of exciting new beginnings, from little ones walking into the elementary school for the very first time, to high school seniors embarking upon their last year at Montour. We are pleased to help make these experiences memorable for our students! If you have had the privilege of working or spending time in any of our schools, hopefully you have recognized that the district prides itself on providing a world-class educational experience for all students. Coming into the 2023-2024 school year, this spirited focus has not changed. What can parents and the community expect this year? You can expect a full commitment to the District Core Values, which grounds everything that we do at Montour. We will continue to put our students first and challenge all Montour stakeholders to grow children to their full potential; academically, socially, emotionally and athletically. Important dates are posted on the district website and app. Student schedules are available via Skyward. Additionally, bus schedules have been posted. Visit our website at: www.montourschools.com and stay connected to everything using the Montour School District App. In closing, our students amaze us every single day, and we share their successes on all platforms available to us. At the same time, we are constantly reviewing our achievements to set our sights on higher accomplishments, as we know there is always room for growth. We hope that you will join us, whether as a parent, a grandparent, a partner, a volunteer or an advocate. I am excited for an amazing school year. I hope you are, too! Superintendent’s Message From the School Board Dr. Christopher Stone Superintendent Montour School District I would like to welcome everyone back for the 2023/2024 Montour School Year. If you are new to our district, we are glad to have you join the Montour family and look forward to meeting you. Here at Montour, we recognize that it is our responsibility to maintain a philosophical and fiscal approach that provides value to all of our stakeholders, including students, taxpayers, district employees and our community residents. For the current school year, the Montour School Board approved the final budget with no tax increase while having the lowest school taxes in Allegheny County. This is the seventh year in a row that the district has not increased taxes for our property owners. While being fiscally responsible, we still recognize the need to invest to provide the highest quality education and experience for our students. We continue to invest in new curriculum tools at all grade levels. Some examples would be the emerging Spanish program at the elementary school, now in its second year; the new science program at the middle school; and new CHS offerings at the high school. We continue to invest in technology as we replace 750 Google Chromebooks (all students receive one) along with updating the elementary and middle school with new wireless routers to increase productivity and connectivity. We continue to invest in our people. This past year, we hired a full-time athletic strength trainer who works with our varsity sports teams to professionally train our athletes, leading to better performance and reduced injuries. To complement this position, the district also added additional strength, conditioning and flexibility equipment. Finally, if you visit either our main or middle school campuses, you will see that we continue to invest in our facilities, which are utilized by both district and many community organizations. We are in the final phase of completing the high school stadium project, which includes new entrances and much needed upgrades to the concession stands and restrooms. As a fellow board member recently said to me, “Montour represents excellence both in and out of the classroom,” and I could not agree more. Montour is ranked 10th out of 105 school districts in Southwestern Pennsylvania by the Pittsburgh Business Times (rankings look at the most recent three years of performance data). In addition, we are seeing success outside the classroom in athletics, cultural arts and other activities. Montour won the Trib Cup this past year for the first time as the top WPIAL 4A sports program among all 4A schools. In the cultural arts, we continue to support and build out our programming at all grade levels to provide increased opportunities and unique experiences. In closing, thank you to all the Montour employees who show up day after day and respond with both gratitude and operational excellence. Thank you to my fellow board members for their tireless efforts and dedication to public service. Thank you to our community leaders, police departments, fire departments and EMS teams for their service to our school district. Finally, thank you to our Montour families who support and encourage our kids. Let’s have a great year! Glad to be Here, Mark Hutter Montour School Board President @DR_CHRIS_STONE Mark Hutter President Montour School Board Welcome Back, Montour School District Community! Welcome Back, Montour Community!September/October 2023 • www.awmagazine.com • 25 It is with great pleasure and excitement that we welcome you back for the 2023- 2024 school year! We were extremely excited to greet our students on Tuesday, Aug. 22 and look forward to an exciting and successful school year! The Montour High School administration, faculty and staff are committed to fully preparing our students for their futures. As we explore and implement new educational programming and develop and refine curriculum, we are doing so with a clear focus on being Student-Centered and Future-Focused. All members of our school community are committed to Establishing a Learning Culture within all aspects of our work, creating and encouraging a Growth Mindset both for ourselves and within our students and, most importantly, Putting Children First in all that we do. Our theme for the 2023-2024 school year is “Your Future Starts Today!” We look forward to our students helping to define that theme, not only for themselves, but for our school community as well. One of the many items of importance that we will review with our students is the MHS Student/Parent Handbook. Parent/ guardian(s) and students can access the handbook via the high school website under the Quick Links section. Please review this handbook carefully with your child. We ask that our stakeholders visit the high school website frequently, as news and information from Montour High School is updated under the News and Announcements section. Additional resources to support your child are available within the Quick Links and Counselors’ Corner sections of the website. If you have a Twitter account, you can follow Montour High School @hilltopspartan. Parent/guardians can review their child’s attendance and academic progress via Skyward Family Access, our student information system’s family portal. We ask that you please make sure that you have an accurate email address noted within your Skyward account, as the majority of communication from the high school will come via email. Should you experience any issues with accessing this portal, please contact the Technology Department. In closing, please do not hesitate to contact us should you ever have a question and/or concern about your child’s education. Our students are the heartbeat of our school community! We are extremely fortunate to work with amazing young people who inspire us each day! Welcome back, Montour High School! Kylee Crawshaw Associate Principal Todd M. Price, Principal Dear Parents/Guardian(s) and Students,26 • Allegheny West Magazine • September/October 2023 Welcome back, David E. Williams Middle School! Dr. Jason Burik, Principal Michael Marvin, Assistant Principal Dear David E. Williams Middle School Families, The administration, faculty, and staff extend a warm welcome to all students and families as we prepare for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year! We are fully committed to providing your child with an outstanding education and enjoyable middle school experience. In return, we expect all students to come to school with a positive attitude and put forth their best effort each day. This year, DEW Middle School has the following goals: We are excited to improve student literacy as we introduce a new reading program (Savass) for students in grades five and six and implement a school-wide writing initiative. DEW is also starting a new positive behavioral interventions and support (PBIS) program called DEW The Right Thing. It recognizes students for being: Safe, Accountable, Motivated, and Respectful. Staff members will recognize students who meet these expectations through the PBIS Rewards digital platform. Parents will be able to monitor their child’s progress and stay engaged with the PBIS Rewards Parent App. More information about this will be sent home. We were very proud of our outstanding accomplishments last school year and look forward to another successful year ahead. 1. Increase Student Achievement 2. Build a Positive School Culture 3. Enhance School Safety 4. Focus on SustainabilitySeptember/October 2023 • www.awmagazine.com • 27 We are so excited to kick off the 2023-2024 school year at Montour Elementary School! The administration, faculty and staff extend a warm welcome to all students and families entering our building. We take great pride in educating the children of the Montour community, providing many opportunities to learn and grow in a safe and caring environment. Montour Elementary School is always moving forward in order to provide students with the most advanced educational experience. In continuation of this process, we are implementing some new programs to improve learning and achievement at Montour Elementary School. We have updated our English Language Arts program to Wonders from McGraw-Hill. We are also implementing Kid Writing in Kindergarten to get our youngest students writing from day one at MES. We are going to begin to utilize the Star Assessment in grades K through four to gather better data to differentiate instruction to meet every student’s specific needs in each classroom. Lastly, we are continuing our Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program using our Spartan Slips but this year we are going to have our 200 Club to provide students who earn Spartan Slips with a positive reward. The 200 Club is a great way to reward those students who are following our behavioral expectations in a positive way. Lastly, we have made a change in our principal duties for the 2023-2024 school year. Moving forward, Mr. Shoaf will be the K through two principal and Dr. Carlisle will be the principal for grades three through four. Starting a new school year can be challenging for some families. Please talk to your child about the importance of school and let them know they will be in a safe, caring place. In closing, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions regarding your child’s education. Below are a few reminders about school: Jason Shoaf, Co-Principal Dr. Rob Carlisle, Co-Principal Welcome back, Montour Elementary School! Welcome to Montour Elementary School where we Educate, Innovate and Amaze. • School hours are from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Dismissal for parent pick-up is from 3-3:30 p.m., located at the Curiosity Exit. Send a note to your child’s teacher if you wish to pick your child up from school. If a note is not received, your child will be placed on the school bus • Label all personal items, such as: water bottles, lunch boxes, jackets, hats, etc. • The bus loop will be closed during school hours. All visitors must park in a parking spot • You must have proper credentials to park in our handicap parking spots • Student cell phones must be turned off during the school day • Make sure your phone number and email address is correct in Skyward • We also ask that our stakeholders continue to access the Montour App in order to stay informed about news and events occurring on the Hilltop. (412) 490-6500 Dr. Christopher Stone Superintendent (412) 490-6500 - ext. 6221 stonec@montourschools.com Dr. Eric Sparkenbaugh Assistant Superintendent (412) 490-6500 - ext. 6229 sparkenbaughe@montourschools.com Mr. Dominic Salpeck Director of Instruction and Academic Achievement (412) 771-8802 - ext. 2611 salpeckd@montourschools.com Dr. Robert Isherwood Director of Special Education and Pupil Services 412-490-6500 - ext. 6102 isherwoodb@montourschools.com Mr. Darryl Yonkers Director of Operations (412) 490-6500 - ext. 6510 yonkersd@montourschools.com Mrs. Susan Sinicki Director of Human Resources 412-490-6500 - ext. 6235 sinickis@montourschools.com Mrs. Anna Borsos Director of Finance (412) 490-6500 - ext. 6232 borsosa@montourschools.com Mr. Brian Churovia Transportation Director (412) 490-6500 - ext. 4700 wagnerb@montourschools.com Mr. Lou Cerro (412) 490-6500 - ext. 1627 Athletic Director cerrol@montourschools.com (412) 490-6500 Mr. Todd Price - ext. 1612 Principal pricet@montourschools.com Mrs. Kylee Crawshaw - ext. 1615 Associate Principal of Academic and Student Affairs crawshawk@montourschools.com (412) 771-8802 Dr. Jason Burik - ext. 4312 Principal burikjason@montourschools.com Mr. Michael Marvin - ext. 2612 Assistant Principal marvinm@montourschools.com Mrs. Jennifer Phillips - ext. 2616 Dean of Student Affairs phillipsj@montourschools.com (412) 490-6500 Mr. Jason Shoaf, Principal ext. 4313 shoafj@montourschools.com Dr. Robert Carlisle, Principal ext. 1615 carlisler@montourschools.com 28 • Allegheny West Magazine • September/October 2023 Varsity Sports Football Fall Sports Rundown Montour’s fall sports teams have set a high bar in recent years by consistently reaching the post season. Here’s where each stood at the start of this season: Golf Under head varsity coach Trent Karlik and junior varsity coach Nate Galiyas, the golf team has been steadily improving in recent years, to the point that two years ago the Spartans secured second place in their section. This past season, the Spartans got bumped up into a new section to face off against some stiff competition, including Upper St. Clair, South Fayette and Moon Area. Still, the team capped off their season with a 6-6 record and its roster of young players gained some valuable experience along the way. This year, the team is still young, but as of the start of the season was showing promise. Junior Ryan Altenhoff returns and is expected to be an integral part of the team alongside senior Cam Williams. Despite this being Cam’s first year on the team, he and Ryan are expected to be the team’s leaders. Other returners include sophomores Noah Stasa, Luke Zacharias and Michael Pigoni, all of whom will see varsity playing time after gaining experience over the past year. Tyler Fritzius, who also plays soccer, has joined the team as well, bringing with him a smooth swing and athletic talent. The team will also get a look at freshmen Drew Dess and Luke Martinec, both of whom bring athleticism, skill and promise to the future of the program. The Spartans won some big football games down the stretch last season to make the playoffs and earn third place in their conference. They also secured home-field advantage in the opening round and ended up hosting Hampton in a nail- biter of a match that the Spartans won 34-33 on a Hail Mary pass in the final seconds. That was as far as the Spartans would progress, however, as they were unable to defeat eventual WPIAL champion Aliquippa in the quarterfinals. Still, head coach Lou Cerro came away feeling good about the team’s progress and its roster of young players. “We had a ton of young guys playing at a high level as the season went on to help us reach our goals,” says Cerro. Among the team’s returning players is quarterback Jake Wolfe, who is racking up some impressive numbers so far this season. “He’s a great luxury for us,” says Cerro. “Jake has improved in all facets of the game and really has worked hard in the weight room to transform his body and get stronger. He can do a lot of things for us being a dual threat guy.” In the team’s opener, the Spartans defeated Mars Area 37-28 on the road. Jake scored three touchdowns, two on the ground and one through the air, while sophomore running back Caden Halajcio racked up an impressive 128 yards on 19 carries. Receiver and kick returner Daniel Batch led the team in receiving with 128 yards. Following that performance, the team headed to Moon Area to face the 5A Tigers, where the 4A Spartans jumped out to a quick lead thanks to a long touchdown pass from Jake to receiver Kaleb Platz in the team’s first possession. By the half, Montour led 20-0 and went on to win 35-21 after leading by as much as three touchdowns late in the fourth quarter. Jake accounted for the bulk of the Spartans’ 49 yards on the ground and aired it out to five different receivers for 196 yards. Keino Fitzpatrick led the team in receiving with 75 yards and two touchdowns while Kaleb came away with 48 yards and Daniel registered 46. At the time of publication, the Spartans were preparing for their home opener against another tough 5A opponent, South Fayette. See pages 20-21 for tear-out sports calendars The golf team is looking to continue its success after getting bumped up into a new section last year. PHOTO BY STUDIO TEN TOP: Jake Wolfe escapes the pocket to pass in the Spartans’ second game of the season against Moon Area. BOTTOM: Keino Fitzpatrick scrambles for a touchdown after catching a pass in the same game.September/October 2023 • www.awmagazine.com • 29 Girls’ Tennis The girls’ tennis team continued to build on its streak of success when it finished as undefeated section champions last season. Chloe Sadowski and Peja Cruise also clinched a doubles section championship and qualified for the WPIAL tournament, while Peja qualified individually for the WPIAL singles tournament. Mackenzie Frederick and Sam Boyle, meanwhile, finished fourth in section doubles play. This year, Peja returns as the team’s sole senior and is expected to contend for a section title. Returning sophomores Raven Karlik, Lauren Cox and Laure Cercone will be called upon to contribute at a high level after earning lots of experience their freshman season. The defending section champion Spartans set a high bar last season, but head coach Eric D’Antonio says the team is up to the challenge this year and that he expects them to contend for another post-season appearance. The girls tennis team is looking to return to the post season after finishing as undefeated section champions last year. PHOTO BY STUDIO TEN Girls’ Soccer The girls’ soccer team continued its streak of WPIAL appearances by securing an 11th seed last post season. The team then upset sixth- seeded Hampton by a score of 2-1 following a close second half to advance. They drew third-seeded Plum in the next round but were unable to come away with the win. This season, the team gets a new head coach in Alex Hobbs, who returns to Montour after coaching the boys team from 2007 to 2018. In 2017, Hobbs led the boys’ team to a WPIAL championship. This season, he has a roster stacked with returning players, including last year’s top two leading goal scorers: Grace Bannon and Riley Hall. The team’s entire defense also returns, including seniors Caitlyn Sill, Marin Torrens and Samantha Sawayda, along with junior Ava Huff. The team, which plays in Class 3A, kicked off its season with a 3-0 win against 4A opponent Canon-MacMillan. Hobbs says it was the first win against the school for this group of players. The team then defeated South Fayette 1-0 in its next game to start 2-0. Hobbs, though, says they’re working to maintain a growth mindset and not believing any one game determines their future. “We’re not hanging onto any one moment,” he says. “One win or loss isn’t everything. We’ll be continuing to grow as the season goes. We spent a good bit of time trying to develop that culture.” He says the team has also been training since March with strength and conditioning coach Jay Martinez to develop consistency. As they progress through the regular season with an eye on the playoffs, he says they’ll continue to work as a team against a tough section stacked with talent. “We put some principles of play in so that everyone knows how to play,” says Hobbs. “We’re not just individuals going out and trying to do a job on our own. Everyone plays off of each other.” The girls’ soccer team celebrates winning their second game of the season against South Fayette on the jumbotron at home. PHOTO BY @MONTOURSOCCHOCK Boys’ Soccer The boys’ soccer team secured a playoff spot as a 13th seed last season, but if anyone was overlooking the Spartans, it was a mistake. Under head coach Gavin Stabbe, who was promoted from his assistant role toward the end of the regular season, the team hit its stride. In the opening round, the Spartans upset fourth-seeded Franklin Regional by a score of 2-1 and defeated fifth-seeded Kiski in overtime in the quarterfinals. The upstart Spartans then drew top- seeded Moon Area in the semi-finals, but despite opportunities in that game, fell 2-0. The season marked the team’s third in as many years in which they reached the post season. This season, Stabbe returns in his first full year as head coach and is hoping to continue the success they experienced at the end of last season. With nine seniors, the team has lots of experience on their side as they once again face off against a tough section populated with teams like South Fayette, Moon Area and West Allegheny. The team will be looking to Matt Marcinko at center and midfielder Jaxon Camp, who the team lost to injury for the middle part of last season. Stabbe says Matt’s return helped as the team went on its post-season run. The team also gets back center fielder Parker Brennan. Stabbe points out that if there’s one bright spot to playing in what is arguably the toughest section in their class, it’s that the team is better prepared when facing non-section opponents in the playoffs. That was certainly the case last year and Stabbe thinks it could play to their advantage again. So what did help the Spartans hit their stride last season? “It was stuff we had been working on all season,” says Stabbe. “We had to refocus half way through, and that was the point where we came to an understanding of what we wanted to do. Then it came down to crunch time and we had some really good competitors.” The boys’ soccer team will be looking to build on last season’s strong finish under a new head coach. PHOTO BY STUDIO TENNext >