Winter athlete biographies

JAKE PAIL
What is your favorite memory of your wrestling career?
When our match light that we always put up almost didn’t get up. The wires were off the track on the ceiling and Coach Covert had to go up on the lift and fix it himself.
What are your strengths as a team?
Our team bond and tough mentality.
Who has helped you the most and why?
Coach Covert because he’s always teaching, cares about the process/repetition and is a great confidence booster for all of us.
What is your goal for this season?
As a team, we want to be able to win the WPIAL title and not fall short again, then go on to wrestle in the team state tournament. Individually, just to schedule a trip to Hershey.

SANTINO GUANDOLO
What is your favorite memory of your basketball career?
All [of] last season. We came together well, I was more aggressive and we won the most games of my career.
What are your strengths as a team?
We have no big men, so we’re all athletic and fast and can push the ball well. We shoot the ball well, too.
Who has helped you the most and why?
Coach Cercone and my dad have helped me because they are always looking for ways I can improve, even in my best games.
What is your goal for this season?
Work well as a team and make the playoffs.

MACKENZIE MOLDOVAN
What is your favorite memory of your basketball career?
My favorite memory is getting a $5,000 scholarship for playing basketball to any college of my choice.
What are your strengths as a team?
The strengths would be when we run our plays, we succeed, and strong defense is the key to every game we play. We don’t have to worry about the opposing team getting too big of lead on us, and we can play our offense and win.
Who has helped you the most and why?
I’d say my coaches have helped me the most from not playing since eighth grade. I mean, I didn’t think that I’d be able to even shoot a basketball, but the skills came back to me immediately and I was surprised to actually start for the varsity team. We have some improvements, though.
What is your goal for this season?
The goal for this season would be to have a winning record and make it to playoffs. I mean, we have to start our winning streak sometimes, but we always seem to fall short. We need the strong defense and we need to pull out a few games to clinch a playoff spot.

JIMMY KELLY
What is your favorite memory of your hockey career?
My favorite memory of hockey is probably when I was in a shootout for my hockey team and I told the coach “top left bro” and I went down and shot the puck top left and scored and won the championship for us.
What are your strengths as a team?
Our strengths as a team are that we play together, trust one another on the ice and we communicate on the ice when we need to.
Who has helped you the most and why?
My dad has helped me the most and I appreciate everything he’s done for me. He’s helped me learn [how] to skate, shoot [and] everything that makes me a good hockey player.
What is your goal for this season?
My goal for this season is to make it to playoffs again and make it past the first round.