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Former Hopewell Track Standout Zach Kovell Receives Honor

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

It has taken long for former Hopewell Track and Field standout Zach Kovell to make his mark at his new college.

Yesterday, the freshman at Westminster College was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Men’s Indoor Track and Field Newcomer of the Week.

Kovell received this award following his performance at the Youngstown State Last Chance meet.

Kovell finished 26th in the 200 meters with a career-best time of 22.61 seconds. He also anchored Westminster’s eighth-place 4×400 meter relay, which set a new school record time of 3:23.49. Their time finished over 2 seconds better than the previous school record (3:23.49). That time is the No. 7 time in the conference this season.

The 3 other members of the relay are all Pennsylvania natives: junior Jake Mull (Apollo-Ridge), junior Dennis Jones (West Middlesex) and freshman Aaron Stebick (Butler).

Kovell and the Westminster Track team will be back in action this Saturday when they participate in the WGH PAC Tune-up, which will take place in Warren, Ohio.

Congrats Zach and best of luck the rest of the season!

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Hopewell Athletics

Hopewell Enjoying Success Throughout Entire Athletic Department

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 4 minutes read

With the Hopewell boys’ and girls’ basketball teams making it to the WPIAL playoffs, it got me to start thinking about something.

The various boys’ and girls’ programs in the Hopewell athletics department have been enjoying a lot of success lately. Something to keep in mind and don’t take for granted is that it isn’t like this everywhere.

This is all possible because of the work and dedication of the athletes and coaches in the district.

Here’s a look at some of the great athletic accomplishments we’ve had in Hopewell over the last couple of years.

High School Football: Coach Matt Mottes and his players won 7 games, made it to the WPIAL playoffs and won a playoff game.

It was their first 7-win season and playoff since 2011 and 2012 respectively. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the program should enjoy even more success this season.

The successful season was capped off last week by the program having 3 players (Logan Triscila, Julian Baldwin and Jeorge Desko) receive opportunities to continue playing football at Geneva College.

High School Boys Basketball: Coach Doug Biega and his program are preparing to play in a WPIAL playoff game. This is the first time in 16 years that the program will be playing in a playoff game.

Not only did they make the playoffs, but they finished in 2nd place and earned a No. 5 seed in Class 4A (out of 14 teams).

I can assure you, it won’t take 16 years for them to reach the playoffs again.

High School Girls Basketball: Although it wasn’t easy, Coach Jeff Homziak and the Lady Vikings basketball are once again heading to the WPIAL playoffs. In fact, this is the 5th consecutive season in which Hopewell is a playoff participant. The encouraging thing is that the future of this program appears to be very bright as the junior high and youth programs have very good talent within it. In the next couple years, Homziak’s roster will be supplemented by the Arionna and Amiyah Shell, Ellie McCoy, Rilynn Davis, just to name a few.

High School Girls Volleyball: The success that the volleyball program under Hall of Fame HC Terry Borkovic is the gold standard of the Vikings athletic program. 27 consecutive seasons of making the WPIAL playoffs, reaching the WPIAL championship game the last 2 seasons and seeing the growth in girls coming out for the sport are just some examples of their overall success. A number of Vikings volleyball players have gone on to play volleyball in college; recent examples include Jordan Sirianni, Alyssa Spang and Abby Oldham.

High School Baseball: Winning championships is the ultimate goal of any team and Hopewell has had a team do that recently. Over the last 4 seasons, HC Morgan Singletary and the Hopewell baseball program has won a WPIAL championship and finished as runners-up in another year. Playing in a WPIAL championship game 2 of the last 4 seasons isn’t too shabby. It’s also something that shouldn’t be overlooked and forgotten.

The success within this program has also extended past high school as a handful of players have had the opportunity to continue playing beyond high school- David Medich (Thiel College), Ty Eberhardt (Tiffin/Allegheny), Emmett McCowin (PS-Beaver) and a few members of this year’s team- Drew Donovan (Westminster), Charlie Smetana (USC-Sumter) and Ben McDonald (will be playing baseball in college but hasn’t made his school decision yet).

High School Track and Field: Like with the girls’ volleyball team, the Hopewell Track and Field program continues to enjoy success, year after year under the guidance of HC Jeff Brunton. The individual success and school records that Hopewell athletes have broken are too many to list. I’ve written this before and I’ll do so again, Coach Brunton is one of the top high school coaches in the WPIAL and Hopewell is fortunate to have him. This individual success has led to members of this program going on to continue their athletic careers in college, the latest being Zach Kovell at Westminster. This upcoming season is shaping up to be another successful year for Hopewell HS Track and Field.

High School Bowling: Like with the basketball programs, the Hopewell HS Bowling team is headed to the postseason as both the boys’ and girls’ teams will be taking part in the WPIBL playoffs. The boys’ team has won back-back section championships (first time in program history) while the girls will once again be looking to compete for a title. Much credit for this success has to go to head coach Stan Magusiak, who is one of the most dedicated and passionate coaches in Hopewell. The number of students participating in the Hopewell bowling program are at a record time, which is an exciting thing to see.

High School Swim Team and HS Wrestling: Want to also mention the Hopewell HS Swim team along with the HS Wrestling team because HC Kathi Lopez and HC Brett Smith have those programs trending in the right direction. Just two years ago, former Viking Isaiah Pisano won the 160-pound WPIAL wrestling champion and took his talents to Pitt-Johnstown. The enrollment within the Hopewell youth, junior high and high school programs are tremendous which bodes well for the future.

In terms of the swim team, Coach Lopez has seen a number of her swimmers enjoy success over the last couple of years in the MAC Championships as well as advance to the WPIAL Tournament. The 2025-26 season is winding down, and a number of Hopewell swimmers have already advanced to the WPIAL Swimming Playoffs.  VSN wishes all of these talented individuals the best of luck!

Hopewell’s Ava Yoder

The Hopewell soccer and gymnastic programs have also enjoyed some team and individual accomplishments over the last few years, and we congratulate them for that. After a stellar high school career, Tommy Armour is taking his talents to Westminster College to continue his soccer career.

This past weekend, the gymnastics program qualified for the 2026 WPIAL playoffs. Congrats ladies!

Vikings Sports Now just wanted to point some of this out (and if we omitted anyone we apologize, it wasn’t done intentionally) because sometimes all of this success for the teams and individual gets forgotten.

Never take winning and success for granted because you could very easily be on the other side of things, which isn’t as fun as winning.

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Athletic Trainer Lauren Linn, A Critical Member of Hopewell Sports

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 4 minutes read

If you’re at any Hopewell High School athletic event, you’ve likely seen her but not sure who she is or what’s she’s doing.

We’re here to change that because she’s a vital member of the Hopewell athletic department.

Her name is Lauren Linn and she’s the athletic trainer for Hopewell High School Athletics.

Prior to last school year, Don Short held that position since 1989 but after retiring, Linn was hired to replace him.

Linn had approximately 14 years of athletic training experience combined at California University (PA), Wheeling Jesuit University, and most recently at Robert Morris University (men’s basketball program). While at Wheeling, Linn worked with all of its athletic programs but at RMU, she was the head trainer of Andy Toole’s men’s basketball team.

A native of Clinton, PA, Linn earned a bachelor’s degree in athletic training from the University of Charleston (West Virginia) and a graduate degree from California University (PA).

Vikings Sports Now recently spent some time with Linn to find out more about her, her profession and what led her to Hopewell High School.

“As a high school student, I had no idea what I wanted to do but I knew I liked sports,” Linn told Vikings Sports Now. “I played basketball and ran track myself.”

Being unsure about her future profession, I asked Linn what led her to this field.

“I’ve always liked helping people. My mom always made us do this career test to see what we were better at. I liked math and science and like I said, I liked helping people and helping people pointed towards the heath field.”


“Also, the athletic trainers that I had at South Side kind of made me interested in this field. As I was doing my own research and looking for colleges who had credited programs with athletic training, and while filling out the survey for Charleston, they asked about sports you  participated in. Their track coach ended up calling me and I ended up running track and cross country while I was there for 4 years.”

Regardless of what it is, no job is a dream job and everything has its challenges. I asked Linn about this and the challenges and pressure that goes with this profession.

“An athletic trainer is kind of an overlooked, under appreciated profession,” said Linn. “It isn’t a very glamorized profession and I believe it’s overlooked. Unless you are an athlete or have a kid or knew someone that was helped by somebody, most people really don’t have an idea of what we do or how we help. Hours are never great ever, same goes with pay.”

That being said, Linn is doing what she loves and something she’s really good at. But for Linn, it goes well beyond what she does from Monday to Friday.


“So many people get into this do it for a little time and then get out. Obviously, the success stories whether that be a team win, an athlete win, seeing your team and athletes succeed,” said Linn.

“One of my favorite stories at Wheeling was I was with the girls’ volleyball team that won the national championship. Went through that entire season, obviously you deal with injuries, day by day, week by week. But to get to that point and to get to celebrate with them in the end was amazing. I’ve had kids at Robert Morris that went on to play professionally and to see some of these players now still playing and succeeding is so awesome.”

While Linn might feel her job gets overlooked and under appreciated at times, the coaches in the school understand her importance to their programs. VSN was able to ask a few of the varsity coaches about Linn and the praise was unanimous.

“Lauren has been a nice addition to Hopewell High School”, said Hopewell Head Football Coach Matt Mottes. “She very knowledgeable and takes care of our kids. She adds that motherly instinct that really adds a great dynamic.”

“I’ve been a head basketball coach for 19 years now and I’ve always had an excellent trainer,” said Hopewell Boys Basketball HC Doug Biega. “My Beaver Falls trainers were tremendous and Lauren is at the same level that they are. Super reliable, super knowledgeable, and puts in tons of time. She wears a lot of hats and does a good job with all of them.”

”It’s her 2nd year.  Having come from a college setting, and working with the men’s basketball program,  she is able to connect with our players in the sport,” said Hopewell Girls Basketball HC Jeff Homziak. “Just as our former trainers, our athletes are not coddled and she’ll let me know if they can either perform or sit down and not participate.  Also, the girls are comfortable approaching Lauren about a variety of things.”

As Homziak referenced, Linn came to Hopewell after serving as head trainer of the Robert Morris men’s basketball program. While she’s essentially doing the same job, there’s a huge difference between the two jobs.


“At the college level, the pressure was really high,” said Linn. “But here, honestly, sometimes I feel as though I’m not doing enough because I did so much at where I came from. You were 24/7 on call. Andy bugging and texting you, trying to make doctors’ appointments, get them to the appointments, and then rehab, physical therapy, treatment, how can we make them feel better, can we get you through this game.”

“So much went into it at the D-1 level. From October to March, I put in 80+ hours a week, not to mention traveling with the team. Here I’m always asking myself, ‘am I doing enough’. It’s definitely been a huge change and trying to get used to all of that and the big differences.”

As she’s in year two with Hopewell athletics, Linn is enjoying the move from collegiate to high school life and believes it’s what she needed to do both personally and professionally.

“I loved Robert Morris and I still miss it. But here at Hopewell, I have a better work/life balance. In the end, the opportunity here at Hopewell was just too good to pass up, between pay, benefits and work/life balance. Do I miss the glamor side of D1 basketball, sure. Some of those places were so cool to go and watch your team play in. But in the end, Hopewell was more of a long-term venture for me and my future.”

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Hopewell AthleticsSite News

VSN’s Five Most Read Stories from Last Week

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

It’s Monday so as we begin to start another week, let’s quickly look back at last week.

Here’s a look at the five stories on Vikings Sports Now that were read the most.

FIVE MOST READ STORIES FROM LAST WEEK:

1 Hopewell Vikings 2025 All-Conference Players

Hopewell Vikings 2025 All-Conference Players

2) Photo Gallery: Hopewell HS Boys Basketball Practice

Photo Gallery: Hopewell HS Boys Basketball Practice

3) Strong Second Half and Big Games from Shell and Budris Lead Hopewell Past West Allegheny

Strong Second Half and Big Games from Shell and Budris Lead Hopewell Past West Allegheny

4) Hopewell JH Girls Basketball with Sweep Over Montour

Hopewell JH Girls Basketball with Sweep Over Montour

5) Hopewell Junior High Musical Crew to Perform “Willy Wonka Jr.” This Weekend

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Hopewell Athletics

Meet the ‘Hopewell Viking”- Christian Chalmers

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 3 minutes read

School spirt and getting students excited and pepped up is something that makes high school athletics fun.

It’s not an easy thing to do but Hopewell High School has found a way, and it’s been very successful.

If you attend any Hopewell sporting event, you’ve probably noticed a student dressed up in a Viking outfit, near the student section.

We’d like to introduce you to Christian Chalmers and give him some recognition because he’s doing a GREAT job in this role.

Chalmers is in his first year as ‘The Viking”, as he took over for Zack Kovell, who was an absolute legend in that role.

Recently, Vikings Sports Now had the opportunity to talk with Chalmers and what led him to want to inherit the role of ‘The Viking’?

“Midway during my freshman year, I walked up to Zack, knowing that he was a senior, and asked him if he knew who ‘The Viking” was going to be next year,” Chalmers told VSN. “He told me, ‘It might be you’ as a joke but I took it serious as started pursuing the role. From there, I’d ask him once a month if anyone else had expressed interest in being it. Once I found out that no one asked about it, I decided to take the lead.”

“I initially approached Zack about it because I thought it was a super cool thing to do. I first got the idea in my head midway during the football season in my freshman season that I might want to try and do it. From there, I went to the basketball games, volleyball matches and just saw how hyped up he was as ‘The Viking’. I saw the energy that he brought and thought that was something that I could do”

Getting up in front of your fellow classmates and strangers and try to get them to cheer and hyped up is not something that everyone is cut out to do. I can tell you that I’d never have the guts to do that. However, that’s something that’s completely in Christian’s wheelhouse.

“I’ve always been an outgoing person and really don’t care what people have to say about me (laughing),” said Chalmers. “If they don’t like me, that’s ok, not everyone has to like me. I just try my best to be as nice and as outgoing as possible.”


Chalmers is wrapping up his first sports season and preparing for the winter sports schedule and is happy with how things have gone.

“My first week doing it, I’ll admit, it was pretty tough because I didn’t know exactly what to do,” said Chalmers. “But then it got to a point where I realized that I had to just be myself, it started getting way easier. I had started having fun, messing around with the student section, yelling with my friends and cheering on the team.”

“I just love everything about it, just being able to show my Viking Pride. I just love having the opportunity to make the students and all the teams that I’m cheering for laugh and not be stressed out about having to win the game. We’re all there to have fun watching and playing the game.”

As a fan, Chalmers tells me that his favorite sport to watch is football but admits that he’s really looking forward to being ‘The Viking’ for the upcoming basketball season.

“I love football, but I think it’s going to be really fun cheering at basketball games because more people can hear you. If you go to any of the basketball games, trust me, you’ll hear me.”

Congratulations Christian and great job in your first year as ‘The Viking’!

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Hopewell Athletics

Hopewell 2025/2026 Winter Sports Schedules

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 2 minutes read

With teams currently competing in the WPIAL playoffs, the 2025 fall sports season is quickly coming to a close.

The Hopewell Vikings currently have two teams still alive and competing for a championship with the Girls HS Volleyball team and the HS Football team.

Good luck to both as it’ll be a big weekend with the WPIAL Volleyball Championship on Saturday- Hopewell vs. Avonworth (Saturday, 1 PM, at Peters Township HS) and Hopewell at Southmoreland in the 1st round of the WPIAL football playoffs.

In a few days, teams across the WPIAL will officially start practice for the Winter sports season, which include boys’ and girls’ basketball, gymnastics, swimming, bowling and wrestling.

Vikings Sports Now will do our best to give you as much coverage as possible with these sports. Keep in mind, we’re always looking for help from the students that might want to get into journalism. If you’d be interested in help covering one of these sports for VSN, please reach out.

Here’s a look at the schedules that we’ve received for the following Hopewell Winter Sports. If you’re a coach with one of the sports I haven’t posted a schedule for, please send me one to mvukovcan@gmail.com.

HOPEWELL BOYS/GIRLS VARSITY SWIM TEAM
November 24th: at Cornell
December 9th: Carlynton
December 11th: Mars
December 15th: at Cornell
December 18th: vs. Keystone Oaks
January 2nd: at Beaver
January 8th: vs. Blackhawk
January 15th: vs. West Allegheny
January 22nd: vs. Central Valley
January 29th: vs. Riverside
February 2nd: at Quaker Valley
February 12th: vs. Beaver Falls

HOPEWELL BOYS’ BASKETBALL
November 22nd: vs. Mt. Lebanon (scrimmage)
November 22nd: vs. Montour (scrimmage) *Both will take place at Montour HS
November 25th: at West Allegheny (scrimmage)
December 2nd: at Shady Side Academy (SEASON OPENER)
December 5th: vs. Beaver Falls (HOME OPENER)
December 8th: at Ellwood City
December 12th: vs. New Brighton
December 16th: vs. Keystone Oaks
December 19th: at Avonworth
December 23rd: vs. Beaver
December 29th: vs. South Fayette (Central Valley Holiday Roundball Classic at Geneva)
December 30th: vs. Aliquippa (Central Valley Holiday Roundball Classic at Geneva)
January 6th: vs. Quaker Valley
January 9th: at Central Valley
January 10th: vs. Springdale
January 13th: vs. Ambridge
January 14th: at Mohawk
January 16th: vs. Summit Academy
January 19th: vs. Sto-Rox
January 23rd: vs. Avonworth
January 24th: vs. Sto-Rox (at Montour HS in Boys Hall of Fame Classic)
January 27th: at Beaver
January 30th: at Quaker Valley
February 3rd: vs. Central Valley
February 6th: at Ambridge

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Hopewell Athletics

Five Most Read Stories Last Week on Vikings Sports Now

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

It’s Monday so it’s the start of another week of Hopewell athletics but it’s also time to look back.

In case you’re new to this, on Monday, we look at what stories were most popular here on the website.

Here’s a look at the five most read stories from last week on Vikings Sports Now.

1 Hopewell/Freeport Preview; Game Prediction

Hopewell/Freeport Preview; Game Prediction

 

2. In a Dominant Performance, Hopewell Runs by Freeport, 48-20

In A Dominant Performance, Hopewell Runs by Freeport, 48-20

3. Hopewell Girls Volleyball Senior Night Photo Gallery

Hopewell Girls Volleyball Senior Night Photo Gallery

4. Hopewell JV Football Dominates Blackhawk, 26-0

Hopewell JV Football Dominates Blackhawk, 26-0

 

5. Will Be an Exciting Next Couple of Weeks For a Few HS Teams in Hopewell

Will Be an Exciting Next Couple Weeks For a Few HS Teams in Hopewell

 

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Hopewell AthleticsSite News

Five Most Read Stories Last Week on Vikings Sports Now

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

It’s Monday so it’s the start of another week of Hopewell athletics but it’s also time to look back.

In case you’re new to this, on Monday, we look at what stories were most popular here on the website. It was a solid week of traffic as we had over 800+ more page views and 600+ visitors from the previous week.

Here’s a look at the five most read stories from last week on Vikings Sports Now.

1 Hopewell Senior Golfer Mason LaSala’s Incredible Journey

Hopewell Senior Golfer Mason LaSala’s Incredible Journey

2) Hopewell Sets School Record in 63-0 Win Over McGuffey

Hopewell Sets School Record in 63-0 Win Over McGuffey

3) Hopewell/McGuffey HS Football Preview; Prediction

Hopewell/McGuffey HS Football Preview; Prediction

4) Congratulations to Hopewell Senior Drew Donvovan

Congratulations to Hopewell Senior Drew Donovan

5) Hopewell Girls Volleyball Loses 1st Match of the Season

Hopewell Girls Volleyball Loses 1st Match of the Season

 

 

 

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A Look Ahead at the Hopewell Boys/Girls Athletic Schedule This Week

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

Monday, September 29th:
-Hopewell HS Girls Tennis team travels to take on Moon. Match begins at 3:30 PM.

-Hopewell Junior High Soccer hosts Chartiers Valley at the Junior High. Match begins at 3:30 PM.

-Hopewell HS Girls Soccer hosts Beaver. Match begins at 6:30 PM.

-Hopewell HS Girls Volleyball travels to Avonworth. Match begins at 7:30 PM.

Tuesday, September 30th:
-Hopewell HS Boys Soccer team travels to take on Beaver. Match begins at 7:30 PM.

-Hopewell HS Girls Volleyball travels to Northgate. Match begins at 7:30 PM.

Wednesday, October 1st:
-Hopewell Junior High Soccer travels to Freedom. Match begins at 3:30 PM.

-Hopewell HS Girls Soccer hosts Quaker Valley. Match begins at 6:30 PM

Thursday, October 2nd:
-Hopewell HS Boys Soccer team hosts Central Valley. Match begins at 7:30 PM.

Friday, October 3rd:
-Hopewell HS Football team host McGuffey in a section game. Kickoff from Tony Dorsett Stadium will be at 7 PM.

Saturday, October 4th:
-Hopewell HS Boys Soccer team hosts Riverside. Match begins at 11:30 AM.

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Hopewell AthleticsSite News

Seven Most Read Stories Last Week on Vikings Sports Now

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

It’s Monday so it’s the start of another week of Hopewell athletics but it’s also time to look back.

In case you’re new to this, on Monday, we look at what stories were most popular here on the website.

Here’s a look at the seven most read stories from last week on Vikings Sports Now.

1 Two Hopewell Players Invited to Penn State’s ‘White Out’.

2 Hopewell Players Invited to Penn State’s ‘White Out’

2) Hopewell/Quaker Valley Game Preview; Prediction

Hopewell/Quaker Valley Game Preview; Prediction

 

3) Hopewell Volleyball Defeats OLSH in Battle of Unbeatens

Hopewell Volleyball Defeats OLSH in Battle of Unbeatens

 

4) Hopewell’s Aris Haniotes Makes GameDay Visit to Buffalo

Hopewell’s Aris Haniotes Makes GameDay Visit to Buffalo

 

5) Hopewell Ends Losing Streak with 48-0 Win Over Quaker Valley

Hopewell Ends Losing Streak with 48-0 Win Over Quaker Valley

6) Congrats to Hopewell Girls JH Soccer Team; Plus, Gutsy Effort by HS Girls Soccer Team

Congrats to Hopewell Girls JH Soccer Team; Plus, Gutsy Effort by HS Girls Soccer Team

7) 1st Place on the Line Tonight- Hopewell vs. OLSH

1st Place on Line Tonight- Hopewell vs. OLSH

 

 

 

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