High School category, Page 1069
Gateway’s Whiteside ready to earn trip to state tournament
Evan Whiteside has designs on competing at the PIAA wrestling championships in March. The Gateway senior came close to achieving that last year as he placed fifth at 113 pounds at the Class AAA WPIAL/Southwest Regional tournament at Canon-McMillan. But as exciting as the prospect is for Whiteside to finish...
Norwin bowlers set goals high after strong start to season
The Norwin boys bowling team entered the season with high expectations. So far the Knights have met them. A year after reaching the final four in the state tournament, Norwin is off to a strong start with a 4-0 record. An experienced, talented roster is leading the Knights. Three of...
Phipps gets back on mat
Norwin senior Kurtis Phipps was back on the mats at the 67th annual Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association wrestling tournament after being injured in the finals at the Powerade tournament the week before. Phipps was locked in a tight battle with Wyoming Seminary sophomore Nic Bouzakis in the 126-pound final Dec....
Franklin Regional wrestler Carter Dibert not pleased with second-place finish at Powerade
Franklin Regional junior Carter Dibert wasn’t in a good mood after his match in the Powerade finals. It was clear he’s a wrestler who isn’t accustomed to losing. Dibert dropped a hard-fought 5-2 decision to Reynolds junior Gary Steen in a battle of returning PIAA 106-pound champions in the finals...
Thomas Jefferson football program in good hands with talented underclassmen
The Thomas Jefferson football team has the toughest of acts to follow in 2020. The Jaguars won the PIAA and WPIAL Class 4A championships en route to a perfect 16-0 record this season. But, as always, the cupboard won’t be bare next year for TJ. There were seven non-seniors in...
Thomas Jefferson hockey looks to maintain high-scoring pace down stretchVideo
That offensive explosion heard and seen around the PIHL this season has been launched by Thomas Jefferson Jaguars. The Jaguars ended the 2019 portion of their schedule as one of the hottest teams in the league. TJ built a 10-game winning streak, starting Oct. 28 with a 6-1 victory against...
Quaker Valley freshman swims individually at holiday meet
Quaker Valley freshman Emma Smith is a dedicated swimmer who has drive, coach Alexis Glenn said. So, when the Quakers did not have enough swimmers to field a team in the West Allegheny Christmas/New Year Invitational meet Dec. 27-28, Smith asked to compete anyway. “Much of our team was not...
Penn-Trafford bowlers making steady progress
A month into the season, Penn-Trafford’s boys and girls bowling teams were completely even. The girls team — which won the WPIBL Western Regional championship last season — was deadlocked at 2-2 through four weeks, good enough for third place in the Southeast section. The boys shared the same record...
Plum girls improving in quest for Section 2 championship
About an hour removed from a 41-31 victory over Armstrong on Thursday, Plum girls basketball coach Steve Elsier provided a list of reasons it was their best performance to date. “We had better possessions in the half court,” he said. “We communicated well in the half court. We pushed the...
Plum bowler Shannon Small sets big goals
Nesbit’s Lanes has pretty much become a second home for Shannon Small. When she isn’t there practicing, like she did most days during summer break, or bowling in a match for Plum, she’s picking up shifts working at the snack bar. “I’m there almost every day,” Small said. Aside from...
Thiero’s 30 points guides No. 2 Quaker Valley past No. 5 New Castle
It did not take Quaker Valley long to say adieu to New Castle on Friday night. In fact, the Quakers said it three times in the first three-and-a-half minutes. Quaker Valley sophomore Adou Thiero drained three 3-pointers in the opening 3:23. He finished with 30 points as the No. 2-ranked...
5 facts from the WCCA wrestling tournament
The 67th annual Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association wrestling tournament will conclude on Saturday at Kiski Area. Here are five interesting facts heading into the final day of competition. Quick ones: There were some quick pins during the first night of competition. Here some of the quickest: 11 seconds – Nick...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 3, 2020
Basketball Boys Friday’s results WPIAL Class 6A Section 1 Butler 61, North Hills 50 Central Catholic 65, Seneca Valley 52 (2OT) Pine-Richland 81, North Allegheny 60 Section 2 Bethel Park 70, Peters Township 60 Mt. Lebanon 61, Canon-McMillan 51 Upper St. Clair 97, Baldwin 56 Section 3 Connellsville 75, Norwin...
High school roundup for Jan. 3, 2020: Lincoln Park gets back in win column
When Beaver Falls scored the first nine points of the game Friday night, it looked like Lincoln Park might be on its way to a rare two-game losing streak. That illusion didn’t last long. Isaiah Smith scored 23 points and Lincoln Park, the No. 1 team in Class 3A in...
Deer Lakes surprises retiring softball coach with ceremony
Deer Lakes planned a halftime surprise at Friday night’s boys basketball game for retiring softball coach Craig Taliani. Sitting in the stands, watching the Section 3-3A game between Deer Lakes and Burrell unfold, Taliani began to suspect something was up. “I saw a lot of strange faces here,” Taliani said....
Competitive Spirit finals, county wrestling, girls hoops make for a busy Saturday
We got spirit, yes we do. We got spirit, how ‘bout you? Well, to be specific, HSSN has the 2020 WPIAL Competitive Spirit championships from Hempfield High School and the live video stream broadcast begins at 10 a.m. Thirty-three schools are set to participate in one of three divisions: large...
Latrobe wrestling leads WCCA after first dayVideo
Latrobe sophomore Micah Piper told his coach, Mike Ciotti, he was going to beat the 182-pound No. 2 seed before the start of the 67th Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association wrestling tournament Friday. Then he went out and did it. Piper, who can’t break into Latrobe’s starting lineup, took advantage of...
Uniontown batters Belle Vernon, looks like team to beat in section
The Belle Vernon boys basketball team has made long strides in the second year of head coach Joe Salvino’s tenure on the bench. However, Friday night at Uniontown, the Leopards found out they still have some growing to do in order to contend with the defending section champs. The Red...
Deer Lakes gets past Burrell for first section win
It took longer for the defending Section 3-3A boys champions to get there, but Deer Lakes reached the section win column for the first time this season Friday night with a 56-45 victory over Burrell. The Lancers (4-4, 1-2) were led by Jack Hollibaugh’s 20 points and 10 rebounds. Deer...
Big second half helps Bethel Park past Peters Township
Bethel Park enjoyed a monster second half, wiping out a nine-point deficit to Peters Township at the half as the Black Hawks soared to a 70-60 triumph over the visiting Indians. The win was the fifth in six games for Bethel Park, which improved to 2-0 in Section 2-6A, matching...
Trib HSSN’s girls swimmer of the week: Mt. Lebanon’s Maddie Dorish
Maddie Dorish has picked up where she left off last March for the Mt. Lebanon girls swim team. The senior breaststroke standout who has committed to swim in college at Division I Lehigh said she is encouraged by her performances so far this season. Dorish, a three-time WPIAL Class AAA...
Trib HSSN’s boys swimmer of the week: North Allegheny’s Josh Galecki
Josh Galecki knows the feeling of winning gold in relay events at both the WPIAL and PIAA swimming championships. The North Allegheny senior freestyler helped the 400-yard free relay capture the WPIAL Class AAA crown the past two seasons. Last March, he joined the 200 free relay at states and...
Mt. Pleasant boys make stand in final seconds to stop DerryVideo
Derry had one last chance, but Mt. Pleasant wasn’t having it. Sophomore forward Luke Brandner swiped at the ball and knocked it away as Derry’s Tyson Webb drove the lane and teammate Jake Johnson swarmed to complete the steal in the closing seconds as Mt. Pleasant held on for a...
Highlands overcomes first-half shooting slump to beat FreeportVideo
It wasn’t Highlands’ cleanest game of the season, but the Golden Rams escaped from Freeport with a key section victory on Friday night. Led by Luke Cochran’s 24-point performance — the senior guard also eclipsed 1,000 career points during the game — the Golden Rams (9-1, 2-0) shook off a...
Burrell’s unseeded Christie earns berth in WCCA wrestling semifinals
Burrell wrestling coach Josh Shields missed the opening night of the 67th annual Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association wrestling tournament Friday because he and his wife Kylie welcomed the birth of their new son, Laker James, late in the afternoon. Laker weighed in at 8 pounds, 15 ounces and 22 inches...
