Column: Normalcy returned to the Valley

By JOSE NEGRON

jnegron@yourmvi.com

A sense of normalcy is something we’ve all lacked over the last several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the Mon Valley Independent sports department, we have felt it first hand as we missed out on getting to cover and see our spring sports athletes do what they do best. 

As the spring months passed by, we spent time putting together unique feature stories in addition to honoring our athletes whose seasons were wiped out by the coronavirus. 

This past week felt more normal as athletes from the Valley and beyond returned to the court and diamond for the Mon Valley Independent Summer Basketball League and Mon Valley Independent Senior Swing softball tournament. 

Six teams in both the boys and girls divisions of the MVISBL showcased their skills at Marx’s Court Time Sports Center in Elizabeth Township.

In the girls division, Kaylin Venick and AMD Industries, coached by Bria Rathway, proved they will be a force to be reckoned with in the league. Lee Supply coach Kaitlyn Slagus watched as her team, like AMD, jumped out to a 2-0 start to the season. Behind the play of guards Graci Fairman (Thomas Jefferson), Jasmyn Fisher (Woodland Hills) and Jenna Dawson (Belle Vernon Area), Lee Supply could very well be one of the top contenders in the girls division. 

Don’t count out the remaining four teams, though. There is still a lot of basketball to be played. 

Over in the boys division, there might not have been a hotter team last week than BeeGraphix. 

Guided by Monessen native and former Vincentian Academy coach Tim Tyree, BeeGraphix started its season with a pair of lopsided wins over Elite Physical Therapy and Campy’s Pizza, one of the top Grebb League teams in years past. 

Laurel Highlands standout Rodney Gallagher III looks like an early favorite to win league MVP after averaging 29 points in two games. He scored 33 points Thursday against Campy’s. 

Gallagher isn’t doing it all on his own. He’s spreading the wealth and has plenty of talent surrounding him, including Brayden Reynolds (Chartiers Valley), Trey Champine (Bishop Canevin) and Quinton Martin (Belle Vernon Area). Those three players, along with Gallagher, were selected by Tyree in the top four rounds of this year’s draft. 

To read the rest of this story, please to our online edition at https://e.monvalleyindependent.com.