High School category, Page 1073
Fox Chapel girls pull away to beat Knoch in Shady Side tournamentVideo
A jumper from Knoch senior forward Lauren Cihonski 40 seconds into Friday’s matchup with Fox Chapel at the Shady Side Academy Tournament gave the Knights a two-point lead. But the Foxes quickly countered from long range as a pair of 3-pointers from senior Gabby Guerreri and a third from junior...
Gateway girls embrace being Road Gators in early going
Gateway girls basketball coach Curtis Williams preaches to his team the three “E’s” — energy, effort and enthusiasm. The Gators had to use all three and more to persevere through a challenging early season schedule with just one home contest in the season’s first nine games. “Being on the road...
Thomas Jefferson notebook: Zandier brothers share memorable day on gridiron
The Zandier family will remember the date — Nov. 29 — for a long time. On that day, TJ junior Preston Zandier helped the Jaguars win a PIAA Class 4A semifinal game to advance to the state finals. Also, and at the same time, Virginia linebacker and older brother Zane...
C.J. Ziegler, Zach Keib spark Brentwood boys in December
Brentwood coach Dan Thayer was pleased, as expected. The Spartans won twice in the Brentwood tip-off tournament to claim this year’s boys championship. “This was an excellent way to start the season,” Thayer said. “We were very happy with the results. It has been a long time since we’ve won...
Baldwin notebook: Seven Highlanders make college choices
Seven Baldwin High School athletes participated in national signing day last month. The following will be advancing their academic/athletic careers at the next level next year: Cassie Carlson (Youngstown State softball), Nick Dolan (Ohio baseball), Salena Jaquay (Cal, Pa. softball), Jenna Lutz (Allegheny basketball), Allison Murray (St. Francis, Pa. volleyball),...
Quaker Valley’s Huang focusing on details, technique in defense of WPIAL gold
Isabel Huang’s swimming is a thing of beauty, Quaker Valley coach Alexis Glenn said. The Sewickley Academy sophomore excels for the Quakers on a cooperative swim team, but she wasn’t always a natural in the water. If not for her parents’ encouragement, Huang said, she likely would have dropped the...
Aquinas Academy fencing finds strength in numbers
The Aquinas Academy fencing program is continuing to grow, with this season’s squad counting 20 fencers, 12 of whom are primed to compete as high schoolers in Pittsburgh Interscholastic Fencing Association play. And while there was some attrition from last year’s roster to this season’s group because of graduation, coach...
Despite shorthanded roster, Plum wrestlers aim for improvement
Coming off a 2-5 season in 2018-19 when the team had one senior and just four juniors, Plum’s wrestling team was looking for improvement. The Mustangs weren’t just looking for a better record with new, yet familiar coach Mike Supak; they were looking for individual improvement day-by-day that comes with...
Franklin Regional girls relying on underclassmen early on
Franklin Regional’s girls basketball team is one of the youngest in Class 5A, if not the WPIAL. There is only one senior — 5-foot-6 forward Noelle Boyd — on the Panthers’ team roster, which has been flooded by a large group of freshman athletes in 2019-20. “Our expectations for this...
Fox Chapel girls showing glimpses of potential
In the latter stages of the third quarter of a at WPIAL power North Allegheny on Dec. 20, the Fox Chapel girls basketball team led the Class 6A No. 2 Tigers, 31-25, and had designs on finishing off a key early-season Section 1 victory. However, North Allegheny battled back and...
Herald Spotlight Athlete: Fox Chapel’s Sophie Shao
Sophie Shao, a freshman on the Fox Chapel swim team, had a record-setting performance in a meet against Peters Township on Dec. 19. She was part of the winning 200 free relay team and she took first in the 200 IM and the 100 butterfly. Her performance in the butterfly...
Fox Chapel tennis star Charlotte James headed to Davidson
Fox Chapel senior Charlotte James is going south to continue her tennis career. James, 18, who lives in Fox Chapel, signed a letter of intent to compete for the Davidson women’s team next season. “Davidson has the combination of academic and athletic excellence I was looking for,” said James, the...
Top 19 of ’19: Trib HSSN breaks down the top stories of the year — No. 5
The 2019 high school sports season is nearly in the books. While we anxiously look ahead to 2020, let’s reflect on the district high school sports scene over the last 12 months. Here is a look back at the top 19 stories from around the WPIAL in 2019. HSSN Top...
Class A all-state football: West Greene’s Ben Jackson named Pa. Player of the Year
West Greene’s Ben Jackson became the first player in WPIAL history to rush for 3,000 yards in a single season, an achievement that earned him accolades this fall. On Friday, Jackson added another when he was named as the state’s Class A player of the year in a vote of...
Class 3A all-state football: Central Valley leads WPIAL teams with 4 honoreesVideo
WPIAL champion Central Valley, which returned to the PIAA finals for the first time in five years, was rewarded Friday with four all-state selections. Among the Warriors honored were brothers Reed and Sean FitzSimmons, who solidified the team’s strong defense. Reed, a senior, was the middle linebacker. Sean, a sophomore,...
Class 5A all-state football: Peters Township, Gateway, Moon claim multiple spots
WPIAL finalists Gateway and Peters Township combined Friday to fill five spots on the Class 5A all-state team led by Gators junior Derrick Davis, who was picked for the second consecutive year. Peters Township had three players earn all-state honors in a vote of Pennsylvania football writers: senior Josh Casilli...
High school scores, schedules for Dec. 26, 2019
High schools Basketball Boys Thursday’s results Charleroi tournament Belle Vernon 66, Frazier 31 Charleroi 51, Yough 37 Southmoreland 67, Clairton 50 Jeannette tournament Valley 57, Serra Catholic 54 Indiana at Jeannette (n) Friday’s schedule Apollo-Ridge tournament Leechburg vs. Riverview, 4:30 p.m. Saltsburg at Apollo-Ridge, 7:30 p.m. Avella tournament Propel Montour...
High school roundup for Dec. 26, 2019: Southmoreland tops Clairton
Brandon Peterson scored 27 points, and Riley Comforti added 21 as Southmoreland defeated Clairton, 67-50, at the Charleroi boys basketball holiday tournament Thursday night. The Scotties improved to 2-5 overall. Kenlein Ogletree scored 20 points for the Bears (3-2). Belle Vernon 66, Frazier 31 — Devin Whitlock had 14 points...
Injury to teammate gives Derry boys basketball added incentive
Derry started the season with one win in its first five games, so the Trojans needed a victory a week ago in their Section 1-4A opener. What they didn’t need was a devastating and potentially season-changing injury to their one of their best players. Tears were shed and many emotions...
Westmoreland boys basketball notebook: Top matchups on tap at holiday tournaments
Christmas time means holiday basketball tournaments, and there are a few notable ones in the area Friday and Saturday. Two local round-robin events to watch will be at Penn-Trafford and Greensburg Salem. The Penn-Trafford Holiday Tournament, which has girls and boys games (two of each Friday and Saturday), features Norwin...
A-K Valley boys basketball notebook: Knoch and Leechburg riding balance
Balanced attacks can lead to high-scoring offenses, and this season, that formula is working for several area boys basketball teams. Knoch (4-1, 1-0) has had at least three players score in double-digits in all five of its games, and in two of those games, four or more players have recorded...
Undefeated Springdale boys basketball team surprise of WPIAL Class 2A
Heading into this season, it might have been easy to overlook the Springdale boys basketball team. The Dynamos were coming off a 12-9 season, having lost to Jeannette in the first-round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs. On top of that, they also lost four seniors, including 6-foot-4 standout Mike...
North Allegheny’s Nico Butera to swim at Wisconsin
Nico Butera, a North Allegheny junior who competes for a USA Swimming club, committed to the Wisconsin men’s team for the 2021-22 season. A member of Team Pittsburgh Elite Aquatics at Pitt, Butera, a 16-year-old from McCandless, reached the B final of the 100-yard freestyle in the Speedo Winter Junior...
Home cooking helps Talbots boys basketball to strong start
Hampton basketball is off to a hot start — at least in the games that matter. And that can be attributed, in part, to a little bit of home cooking. The team started its first week of section play with section wins over Franklin Regional, Indiana, and Plum — two...
Shaler hockey trying to find right formula for stretch run
Playoff prospects for the Shaler Area hockey team are bleak but still a possibility. Finding a way to join the PIHL Class AA postseason will rely on figuring out a difficult problem. Coach Steve Stayduhar said he believes Titans have hung tough for two periods for most of their games....
