Chris Harlan stories, Page 62

Spring sports athletes and coaches can shed their masks when outdoors, as long as they maintain 6 feet of physical distance, according to new PIAA guidelines for covid-19. The PIAA board met online Wednesday and approved Return to Competition Guidelines for baseball, softball, track and all other spring sports, the...

With about 30 seconds until half, Mt. Lebanon decided to hold for the final shot, but Seneca Valley wasn’t in a wait-and-see mood. Connor Lyczek converted a steal near midcourt into a breakaway layup and teammate Caiden Oros followed with a steal and layup seconds later as Seneca Valley played...

There will be more fans in the stands at WPIAL basketball playoff games this week after Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration Monday raised gathering limits on indoor events. The move won’t impact plans for this weekend’s WPIAL swimming championships, scheduled to be held without spectators, but could bring a larger venue...

Final regular-season rankings Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Upper St. Clair, 16-1, 1 2. Fox Chapel, 18-2, 2 3. Pine-Richland, 11-5, 4 4. Hempfield, 11-5, 3 5. Penn-Trafford, 12-5, 5 Out: none Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Chartiers Valley, 19-3, 1 2. New Castle, 17-2, 2...

Final regular-season rankings Class 6A Rk. Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 20-1, 1 2. Upper St. Clair, 13-2, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 15-3, 3 4. Bethel Park, 14-3, 4 5. Norwin, 11-4, 5 Out: none Class 5A Rk. Team, W-L, Last 1. Trinity, 18-1, 1 2. Chartiers Valley, 19-3,...

North Allegheny’s Connor Chi occasionally gets cross-checked behind the play or hit a little late by an opponent trying to intimidate him on the ice. At maybe 5-foot-8, Chi understands why. “It’s all good,” he said. “It’s part of the game.” Yet, so far this season, that strategy certainly hasn’t...

This would’ve been a scrimmage most years, tucked between the WPIAL pairings meeting and the playoff openers, but Upper St. Clair and Chartiers Valley played Friday night with purpose. Rarely do two No. 1 seeds share a court. “It definitely felt like a playoff environment,” said USC’s Luke Gensler, who...

The WPIAL on Thursday cancelled two playoff basketball games after the Ambridge girls and Propel Braddock Hills boys withdrew from the postseason. No. 17 seed Ambridge (1-16) was scheduled to visit No. 16 Burrell (8-8) in a preliminary round game Saturday in Class 4A girls. Instead, Burrell advances to face...

Mt. Lebanon boys basketball coach Joe David testified in a WPIAL hearing Thursday that he was uncomfortable with one of the officials assigned to his game last week, but insisted he never threatened to take his team and leave. The WPIAL questioned coaches, administrators and officials involved in Saturday’s nonsection...

Here is a breakdown of the 2020-21 WPIAL boys basketball playoffs: Class 6A Favorite: Upper St. Clair has talent and depth but also experience, having reached the WPIAL semifinals and PIAA second round a year ago with much of the same lineup, led by Luke Gensler (13.7 ppg), David Pantelis...

When it came time to seed the basketball playoff brackets, the WPIAL asked: What have you done lately? Teams that finished hot were rewarded. That made North Allegheny coach Dan DeRose wonder why his section played 12 games this winter if only the last four actually mattered. His Tigers clinched...

Some top seeds in the WPIAL basketball playoffs could find themselves playing on their opponent’s home floor this winter. The WPIAL has decided to award home games to higher-seeded teams in the playoff brackets, but there are criteria the schools must meet before they can host, WPIAL executive director Amy...

Class 6A Rk. Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 17-0, 1 2. Upper St. Clair, 12-1, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 13-3, 4 4. Bethel Park, 11-3, 3 5. Norwin, 11-3, 5 Out: none Class 5A Rk. Team, W-L, Last 1. Trinity, 14-1, 1 2. Chartiers Valley, 15-3, 2 3. Thomas...

Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Upper St. Clair, 12-1, 1 2. Fox Chapel, 14-2, 2 3. Hempfield, 10-3, 3 4. Pine-Richland, 9-4, NR 5. Penn-Trafford, 9-5, 5 Out: North Allegheny (12-5, 4) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Chartiers Valley, 17-1, 1 2. New Castle, 14-2, 2...

A couple of pins cost North Allegheny’s boys bowling team a title two seasons ago, so the Tigers made certain this year’s championship match wasn’t as close. North Allegheny took down top-seeded Butler, 167-148, in the finale of a three-game series to win the WPIBL team finals Feb. 17 at...

Derry’s girls basketball team earned its way into the WPIAL playoffs last winter, but the one-win Trojans won’t go back this year. They could have. The vast majority of schools will take part in the WPIAL basketball playoffs this winter in an open-tournament format, but 25 teams decided to not...

The weather will be perfect for the Big 33 Football Classic, predicts Garry Cathell, executive director of the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association. Sure, call him an optimist. But his positive thinking doesn’t end there. Cathell also envisions the all-star game surging back to action this spring with four- and...

High school athletes must wear a mask during PIAA postseason competition unless their school certifies in writing that they qualify for a medical exemption. The PIAA board decided Wednesday that all schools participating in a state tournament must complete the “PIAA Postseason Covid-19 Universal Face Covering Certification,” a form that...

The Obama Academy boys basketball team must shut down activities for 14 days after a player tested positive for covid-19, Pittsburgh Public Schools announced Tuesday. The shutdown impacts varsity and junior varsity players and coaches. The infected player took part in a junior varsity game Feb. 12 against Perry and...

The WPIAL basketball playoffs will seem bigger than ever this winter since the league intends to hold an open tournament in each of the six classifications. Any team that wants to take part can. The WPIAL took this route because covid-related cancellations made the section standings unbalanced, making it nearly...

With many high school sports teams competing maskless, the PIAA may require postseason participants to certify in writing that their athletes qualify for an exemption under the state mandate. The agenda for Wednesday’s PIAA board meeting includes a document titled “PIAA Postseason Covid-19 Universal Face Covering Certification.” The form would...

The PIAA doesn’t have a prognosticating groundhog, but after hearing from its strategic planning committee, it doesn’t look like fall sports will arrive any earlier next school year. By a two-to-one margin, “starting earlier is not something (the 12 PIAA districts) would embrace at this time,” the planning committee said...