Paul Schofield stories, Page 68

High school wrestling coaches always talk about the “blood round” in the sport. It’s the round in the consolation bracket where a wrestler puts his career on the line to become an All-American in college, or in high school, earn a spot at advancing to become all-state. Because the coronavirus...

Bill Maczko grew up in Fayette County. He vividly remembers the days when Connellsville was one of the top big school teams in the WPIAL under Dan Spanish. Maczko, 46, was a 1992 graduate of Uniontown. He was hired on Wednesday as Connellsville’s new football coach to replace Marko Thomas,...

Ligonier Valley junior Ryan Harbert has had his share of struggles at the PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional wrestling tournament. He has a 1-4 record in two seasons and missed qualifying for the state tournament by one win. He hopes to change that trend this weekend. “The Southwest Regional is...

It was a celebratory weekend for Greensburg Salem junior Billy McChesney. He picked up football scholarship offers from Penn and Lehigh, and he defeated Hempfield senior heavyweight Isaiah Vance for the first time in his wrestling career. McChesney used an escape and a takedown to build a 3-1 lead en...

Here’s a look at this week’s Trib HSSN individual wrestling rankings: Class AAA 106: 1. Tyler Chappell, Seneca Valley, so. (28-2); 2. Antonio Walker, Plum, fr. (20-1); 3. Giavonie Schipani, North Hills, fr. (23-2); 4. Ky Szewczyk, Waynesburg, fr. (19-5). 113: 1. Vinny Kilkeary, Latrobe, so. (18-1); 2. Troy Hohman,...

Franklin Regional didn’t go too far to find a football coach to replace Hall of Fame coach Greg Botta. They found their man at the high school. Former Charleroi coach Lance Getsy was hired Monday by a 9-0 vote at the school district’s board meeting. Botta resigned in January. The...

Katie Miller won three PIAA titles and a WPIAL girls golf championship during her career at Hempfield . Miller, who is married to Oakmont Country Club head professional Devin Gee, won state titles in 1999, 2000 and ‘02. She will be indicted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame this summer...

The Penn-Trafford coed rifle team just missed advancing to the PIAA state tournament for the second consecutive season. The Warriors finished fifth with a score of 797-47x, 3x short of finishing among the top four teams that advanced to the state tournament at Avella. Hempfield won its fifth WPIAL title...

Derry senior Ty Cymmerman sat by himself in the auxiliary gym at Canon-McMillan High School, his head down. He appeared to be in deep thought after he was denied a chance at joining an elite group for four-time WPIAL champion wrestlers. Cymmerman gave up a four-point move in the second...

Garrett Thompson has never advanced past the WPIAL Class AAA Championship. But the senior has big plans to end his high school career. Despite being in one of the toughest weight classes in the state, 152 pounds, Thompson (21-3) wants to end his high school career atop of the podium...

Mt. Pleasant junior Noah Gnibus has had a successful high school career, but he’s yet to make it to Hershey. Gnibus hopes that changes this season. He looked sharp Friday, winning his second section title, and now he moves to the WPIAL Class AA championship Saturday at Canon-McMillan. Gnibus (25-8,...

The Hempfield coed rifle team achieved one of its goals Wednesday. Now, it will be shooting for the other next week. The Spartans captured their fifth WPIAL title, third in the past four seasons, by outscoring Trinity, Waynesburg and Bethel Park. All four teams advance to the PIAA championship Tuesday...

The coronavirus has made it tough on high school athletics, especially wrestling. It’s even tougher for high school wrestlers wanting to earn a trip to Hershey in March for the PIAA championships. This is unlike any other season. To get there, tournaments were condensed, qualifiers were reduced and another tournament...

Seneca Valley senior Chanz Shearer isn’t the only big-name wrestler not participating in the WPIAL and PIAA championships. Mt. Lebanon junior Mac Stout, the returning WPIAL Class AAA 170-pound champion and PIAA runner-up, was not entered along with four other PIAA qualifiers. Stout has not wrestled since getting injured Jan....

Here’s a look at this week’s Trib HSSN individual wrestling rankings: Class AAA 106: 1. Giavonie Schipani, North Hills, fr. (21-0); 2. Tyler Chappell, Seneca Valley, so. (23-2); 3. Andrew Binni, Canon-McMillan, fr. (15-2); 5. Ky Szewczyk, Waynesburg, fr. (15-4). 113: 1. Vinny Kilkeary, Latrobe, so. (14-1); 2. Troy Hohman,...

Class AAA Rank, Team, record, previous 1. Waynesburg, 13-0, 1 2. Seneca Valley, 20-2, 2 3. Hempfield, 9-0, 3 4. Franklin Regional, 17-3, 4 5. Connellsville, 7-4, NR 6. Norwin, 10-3, 5 7. North Allegheny, 13-3, 6 8. Butler, 14-2, 7 9. Canon-McMillan, 8-4, 8 10. Kiski Area, 11-3, NR...

The WPIAL released on Monday the list of wrestlers that will be participating in the individual tournament and one of the top wrestlers in Class AAA was missing. According to the entries inputted on Floarena, Seneca Valley senior Chanz Shearer (18-2, 89-26), who was ranked No. 2 in Class AAA...

It didn’t end the way Penn-Trafford wrestling coach A.J. Brentzel had hoped, a loss in the Section 1 championship match and a loss in the quarterfinals of the Class AAA WPIAL Team Tournament, but the second-year coach is proud of the progress the team has made in two seasons. The...

Penn-Trafford’s coed rifle team saw a seven-game winning streak come to an end with a loss to Hempfield on Feb. 10. The Spartans, who handed the Warriors only other loss this season, outscored Penn-Trafford, 800-59x to 797-47x. Penn-Trafford had won seven consecutive matches. The team was nearly perfect in defeating...

Waynesburg was favored to win its second consecutive WPIAL Class AAA wrestling championship Saturday and did just that. But when Seneca Valley coach Kevin Wildrick held out numerous starters, including two-time PIAA champion Alejandro Herrera-Rondon, Waynesburg’s job became a lot easier. No. 1-seeded Waynesburg (13-0) won 12 of 13 matches,...

Franklin Regional could have entered the WPIAL Class AAA Team Tournament and probably would have won the Section 1 title and reached the semifinals. But coach Matt Lebe, school officials and team members all agreed individual goals were more important to shoot for because of the pandemic. So the team...

Two Franklin Regional grads – Spencer Lee and Michael Kemerer – are ranked No. 1 according to the latest NCAA coaches rankings. Both wrestle for No. 1 Iowa. Lee, a two-time NCAA champion, is ranked No. 1 at 125 pounds. Kemerer, a two-time NCAA placewinner and three-time All-American, is ranked...