Chris Harlan stories, Page 98

Central Catholic’s A.J. Beatty, who announced more Division 1 offers than any WPIAL football recruit in the 2020 class, cut his long list down to one. Beatty announced his commitment to North Carolina on Sunday night, choosing the Tar Heels over offers from West Virginia, Central Florida, Maryland, N.C. State,...

Union’s Aaron Gunn, a rising junior who’s recruiting stock is also on the rise, announced an offer from Michigan State. The 6-foot-4, 305-pound lineman now holds three Power 5 conference offers. He earlier received West Virginia and Kentucky offers, and recently made a trip to Morgantown. The small school standout...

Twelve days after Seton LaSalle defeated Serra Catholic in the WPIAL championship, the section rivals will rematch in the state semifinals. They’ll play at 1:30 p.m. Monday at West Mifflin. Seton won 11-2 when the teams met May 29 in the WPIAL Class 2A championship at Wild Things Park. Two...

Hempfield is one win away from its fourth consecutive appearance in the state softball championships. The Spartans already knew who they’d play in the semifinals. Now they also know where. Hempfield (18-6) will face District 3 champion Central Dauphin (23-2) at St. Francis University in Loretto at 4 p.m. Monday....

Twelve errors in three games will eventually catch up to any baseball team, even a talented WPIAL champion. Pine-Richland committed four errors Thursday, including one each in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, and section rival North Allegheny capitalized on all three to win 4-1 in a PIAA Class 6A...

Pine-Richland sack leader Miguel Jackson, who earned all-conference recognition last season as a sophomore, announced his first Division 1 offer Wednesday from Akron. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound defensive end had a team-high 14 sacks last season when the Rams won the WPIAL Class 6A title. He also blocked a punt, returned...

The PIAA postponed three softball games scheduled Thursday at Slippery Rock University and moved the North Allegheny vs. Pine-Richland baseball game to a different site. The Class 6A baseball quarterfinal was switched to LaRoche College at 4 p.m., Thursday due to field conditions at Slippery Rock, the PIAA announced. The...

McKeesport pays Troy Blackwell to convince charter school students to return to the school district, but the WPIAL ruled Wednesday that the assistant girls basketball coach’s efforts violated recruiting rules. The issue was that Blackwell sent a social media message to a girls basketball player at a charter school encouraging...

Donovan Johnson’s senior season remains in limbo. The WPIAL board held an eligibility hearing Wednesday for the Moon basketball star but delayed any decision until Johnson’s family provides more information about why he repeated eighth grade, WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley said. Johnson’s parents argued that Donovan should be eligible...

WPIAL softball champions Laurel, West Greene and Elizabeth Forward will take part in a PIAA playoff tripleheader Thursday at Slippery Rock University. In all, 11 WPIAL teams reached the quarterfinals. Laurel and West Greene play teams from District 9 while Elizabeth Forward faces District 10 champion Grove City. In Class...

Section rivals Pine-Richland and North Allegheny will rematch Thursday in a PIAA Class 6A baseball quarterfinal at LaRoche College. They split their two regular-season games. Pine-Richland won the first 5-4 and North Allegheny won the second 2-0. The game was originally scheduled for Slippery Rock University but was moved because...

Class 6A rivals Pine-Richland and North Allegheny will rematch Thursday night at Slippery Rock University in a PIAA quarterfinal matchup. In all, 11 WPIAL teams reached the quarters. All quarterfinal games are Thursday. Class 6A bracket 7-1 Pine-Richland (19-4) vs. 7-3 North Allegheny (18-6) at Slippery Rock University, 6:30 p.m....

When Shaler’s championship season ended abruptly Monday, baseball coach Brian Junker gathered his players in right field and simply told them “thank you.” Four days after celebrating the team’s first WPIAL title in two decades, the Titans’ emotional run stopped with a 5-1 loss to Lampeter-Strasburg in the Class 5A...

Football coaches at Notre Dame and Ball State have found success recruiting the WPIAL, but now another Indiana school has joined the picture. At least five WPIAL recruits announced offers in the past week from FCS program Valparaiso including three teammates at Thomas Jefferson. TJ quarterback Shane Stump, wide receiver/defensive...

Paul Posluszny and Sean Lee were teammates at Penn State, groomsmen in each other’s weddings and close friends throughout their NFL days. That relationship made Saturday all the more special, they said, as the two star linebackers entered the WPIAL Hall of Fame together in a star-studded 2019 class that...

If Hollis Mathis scores an all-star game touchdown Sunday, he might have to call somebody immediately. “I was thinking about tossing a phone underneath the field goal post and maybe doing a Joe Horn tribute,” Mathis said. “Pulling out the phone and maybe recording a video or making a phone...

Four WPIAL softball teams will take an early look at the state championship site. Penn-Trafford, Mt. Pleasant, South Park and Union all are scheduled to open the PIAA playoffs Monday with first-round games at Penn State University’s Beard Field, which will host the finals June 13-14. All first-round games are...

Shady Side Academy runner Melissa Riggins, who set a meet record at the PIAA Class AA track and field championships last week, earned first-team all-state honors from the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association. Riggins was the only WPIAL girls athlete to receive first-team honors. She was named first-team in...

North Allegheny’s Zach Kinne, the WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA champion in the 3,200 meters, was named a first-team all-state selection by the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association. The senior was the only WPIAL boys athlete to make the first team. Shady Side Academy’s Melissa Riggins earned first-team honors...

Pullman Park in Butler and Latrobe high school will host tripleheaders Monday in the first round of the state baseball playoffs. The PIAA revealed sites and times for first-round games. The Latrobe tripleheader will include WPIAL champions Pine-Richland, Shaler and California. Beaver, Steel Valley and Seton LaSalle will start their...

With Wild Things Park stuck under a layer of rain clouds, Penn-Trafford and Pine-Richland waited an extra day to play their WPIAL baseball championship. For Pine-Richland, the celebration was worth the wait, while first-time finalist Penn-Trafford must wait some more. The Rams won their sixth WPIAL baseball title and second...

Beaver used 15 hits, nine walks and five Blackhawk errors to overwhelm its section rival, 13-2, Wednesday night in the WPIAL Class 4A baseball championship at Wild Things Park. Second-seeded Blackhawk (16-5) won 3-2 when the teams met three weeks ago, a win that earned the Cougars the section title,...

With rain in the forecast, the WPIAL moved up the start time for the Class 3A softball final Wednesday at Peterswood Park. The game between Avonworth and Keystone Oaks will start at 1 p.m. rather than 2 p.m. as originally scheduled. Peterswood Park has two softball fields, so the WPIAL...