Paul Schofield stories, Page 11

Penn-Trafford senior Patton Graziano is hoping to end high school career on a good note. A PIAA Class 3A swimming title would be preferred, but he’d be satisfied with breaking his records in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke. He did that at the WPIAL swimming and diving championships March...

HERSHEY – Frazier senior Rune Lawrence surprised many when he stuck the landing on a backflip after his final match Saturday at the Giant Center. The impromptu move came after his opponent, Muncy junior Austin Johnson, said something to Lawrence following his dominating 6-3 victory at 215 pounds at the...

HERSHEY — Even though Burrell didn’t have a wrestler in the PIAA wrestling championship finals, it did have a former two-time PIAA champion roaming the mats as an official. Joe Makara, who won consecutive titles in 2002 and 2003, was on the center mat for two girls finals: 130 and...

HERSHEY — Thanks to Norwin freshman Landon Sidun, the streak of PIAA wrestling champions from Westmoreland County has reached 30 consecutive years. Sidun (42-2) secured that milestone by rallying from an early takedown to defeat Ridley junior Curtis Nelson, 6-3, in the Class 3A 114-pound final Saturday at Giant Center....

It didn’t matter that the Latrobe hockey team had beaten Franklin Regional in both regular-season meetings this season. That’s because the PIHL Penguins Cup playoffs are a different animal, and the Panthers have experience in the high-stakes environment. They know how to win these type of battles. Shawn Sinclair scored...

HERSHEY – The PIAA Class 2A showdown between returning state champions is set. Now it’s time to see who is the best 215-pound wrestler in the state. Is it three-time champion Rune Lawrence, a senior from Frazier? Or is it returning 215-pound champion Austin Johnson, a junior from Muncy? Both...

HERSHEY — All Kiski Area sophomore Cooper Roscosky wanted from the PIAA Class 3A wrestling championship was his best performance. He figures the next two seasons will be his time to shine. Roscosky advanced to the semifinals by pinning Strath Haven sophomore Michael Spielman in 1 minute, 43 seconds to...

HERSHEY – Franklin Regional senior Ty Kapusta is having the tournament of his life and he’s not surprised. Kapusta reached the 121-pound finals of the PIAA Class 3A wrestling championship at the Giant Center with two impressive wins Friday. He knocked off Quakertown senior Mason Ziegler, 3-2, in the quarterfinals...

HERSHEY – There doesn’t seem like anything fazes Landon Sidun and Hunter Snyder. The two freshmen showed that to the large wrestling crowd at the Giant Center on Friday during the quarterfinals at the PIAA Class 3A championship. They were two of 17 WPIAL wrestlers to advance to the semifinals...

HERSHEY — Eight wrestlers from the WPIAL have reached the semifinals at the PIAA Class 2A tournament at the Giant Center following wins in the quarterfinals Friday morning. The semifinal round is at 7 p.m. Friday. Burrell sophomore Cam Baker used a takedown in the third period to defeat Tussey...

HERSHEY — Frazier senior Rune Lawrence began his quest of being the next four-time PIAA champion by recording the 100th pin of his career. The West Virginia commit (30-1) pinned Greenville junior Teague Calvin at 2:31 in the first round of the Class 2A tournament Thursday. He will face Catasauqua...

HERSHEY – Norwin freshman Landon Sidun couldn’t wait to be back on the mat after falling short in the Class 3A WPIAL tournament March 2. Sidun worked on a few of his mistakes and came out on Day 1 of the PIAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday at the Giant Center...

HERSHEY — For those in the wrestling community who didn’t know anything about Derry freshmen Mason Horwat and Brady Brown before Thursday, they do now after the opening round of the PIAA Class 2A tournament at Giant Center. One bystander told his buddy, “That’s a freshman,” after he watched Brown...

HERSHEY — This is the first year the PIAA has decided to sponsor a girls wrestling tournament. But not every girl entered that tournament. Northwestern junior Sierra Chiesa decided to give the boys tournament another try after going 2-2 last year. On Thursday, she lost to Burrell sophomore Cam Baker...

HERSHEY – When Canon-McMillan senior Valarie Solorio strolled into the Giant Center on Wednesday, she was listening to “Empire State of Mind” and checking out the size of the arena. Her first thought: “This is where I belong.” The PIAA is hosting its first girls wrestling championship over the next...

Few are better than Hempfield Area wrestling coach Steve Santia when it comes to talking about what it takes to be an underdog and win a PIAA title. Santia stunned the crowd at Giant Center in Hershey in 2007 when he pinned Marcus Zimmerman of Manheim Central in 1 minute,...

WEEK 12 Team rankings Class 3A Team (This year’s record) 1. Connellsville (17-4) 2. Trinity (13-3) 3. Franklin Regional (22-3) 4. Bethel Park (19-3) 5. Latrobe (13-5) 6. North Allegheny (17-4) 7. Fox Chapel (15-2) 8. Peters Township (16-6) 9. Norwin (12-7) 10. West Allegheny (9-4) Class 2A Team (This...

Franklin Regional dropped both regular-season hockey games to Latrobe this season, and things didn’t look good for the Panthers after the first period. But circumstances changed in the second period, and so did the outcome of the PIHL Penguins Cup Class 2A quarterfinals at Kirk S. Nevin Arena. The Panthers...

Christian Zilli (Hempfield) pitched a scoreless 11th inning to earn his third save of the season, and Noah Sweeney (Greensburg Salem) drove in Aidan Shephard (Norwin) for the winning run on a double play grounder as Seton Hill handed No. 1 Tampa its first loss of the season, 6-5, on...

Penn-Trafford junior Emily Valenta ended up placing third in the state in the high school individual rifle competition. She finished with a 411.1 total to finish behind Everett’s Trey Myers (413.8) and Kinzey Williams (413.1). Emily’s sister Carlee, a senior, placed 16th with a 406.2 score. Emily Valenta was the...

Very few people at the WPIAL Class 3A wrestling championships Saturday at Canon-McMillan gave Butler sophomore Santino Sloboda a chance at beating the No. 1 wrestler in the country at his weight class. Sloboda and his circle did. A reversal with two seconds left in the 114-pound final gave Sloboda...

Kiski Area sophomore Cooper Roscosky has one-upped his brother, Braydon. With his 4-2 overtime win against Norwin senior Nathan Campbell, Cooper became the first in the family to win a WPIAL Class 3A title. He claimed the 189-pound title at the WPIAL Class 3A wrestling championships at Canon-McMillan. Now his...

No one said winning a title would be easy, but Latrobe junior Luke Willochell found a way Saturday at the WPIAL Class 3A wrestling championships at Canon-McMillan. Willochell (38-1) claimed his third by defeating Franklin Regional senior Tyler Kapusta, 1-0, to win the 121-pound title. Now his focus turns to...

It wasn’t easy, but Latrobe junior Luke Willochell survived a scare in the WPIAL Class 3A wrestling semifinals Saturday at Canon-McMillan. Willochell gave up an early takedown and rallied in the third period to defeat Canon-McMillan sophomore Cooper Hartman, 8-4, to advance to the 121-pound finals for the third consecutive...

When Franklin Regional senior Juliano Marion lost to Ringgold junior Jake Conroy on Jan. 3, he used it as a learning experience. Marion (39-5) had lost three consecutive matches, including two in the Powerade Tournament, but he wasn’t concerned. Now he’s one of the hotter wrestlers in the WPIAL and...