High School category, Page 1241
Monessen uses depth to take down Jamestown in PIAA Class A opening round
Monessen boys basketball coach Dan Bosnic knew District 10 champion Jamestown’s weakness was its depth. And when the Greyhounds saw their chance, they pulled away from the Muskies en route to a 75-54 win in the first round of the PIAA Class A playoffs at Edinboro’s McComb Field House. Leading...
Fresh legs, strong shooting key opening-round PIAA win for Norwin girlsVideo
HOLLIDAYSBURG — Playing with confidence, fresh legs and resolve following a gut-wrenching elimination from the WPIAL semifinals, the Norwin girls basketball team opened the state playoffs with a lively victory. The Knights returned to the PIAA tournament after a two-year absence and rang up a dozen 3-pointers, shared the ball...
WPIAL boys teams to test mettle vs. District 10 in PIAA playoff games Saturday
Eighteen WPIAL boys basketball teams hit the court Saturday to open up the PIAA postseason against teams from various districts. Four WPIAL teams will square off with teams from District 6, three face teams from District 3 and District 9 and there is one matchup each against a team from...
Fusco leads Mars past Milton Hershey in PIAA opening round
From the Petersen Events Center to Greensburg Salem High School, it was a drastic change in scenery for the WPIAL champion Mars Fightin’ Planets. No matter, with each game at this stage of the season comes higher stakes, and the Mars boys basketball team was ready once again for a...
Scoring struggles hamper Fox Chapel girls in PIAA 1st-round loss to Cumberland Valley
LEWISBERRY — Fox Chapel did everything it could have done defensively against one of the top teams in the state during Friday’s PIAA Class 6A girls basketball tournament opener. Unfortunately for the Foxes, finding offense was a struggle. Perhaps if another 3-pointer had fallen at the right time. Perhaps if...
Norwin’s Phipps keeps PIAA title hopes alive following comeback winVideo
HERSHEY — What a difference a couple years made for Norwin junior Kurtis Phipps. Two years ago at the PIAA Class AAA wrestling championships, he would have lost if he fell behind early in a match. Phipps was starring at a three-point deficit midway through the second period in his...
Kiski Area’s Miller, Connor earn spots in PIAA Class AAA semifinals
HERSHEY — Darren Miller didn’t make it to the Giant Center last March, the victim of an upset in the WPIAL Class AAA tournament. So the Kiski Area senior appreciates the value of even wrestling in the state wrestling championship, let alone earning a medal. Miller and teammate Cam Connor...
Plum’s Small, Armstrong’s Halutick claim regional bowling titles
Shannon Small didn’t have the highest score after five qualifying-round games at the Western Pennsylvania regional bowling tournament Friday at North Versailles Bowl. She more than made up for it in the stepladder playoffs. The Plum bowler averaged 231 pins in the playoff rounds, including a 277 game in the...
Gateway’s Livingston ready to chase state record in 100 freestyle
Time is of the essence for Gateway junior Olivia Livingston. In this case, it’s the goal of a best time in the 100-yard freestyle Saturday at the PIAA Class AAA championships at Bucknell. Livingston is the No. 1 seed after she captured her third WPIAL title (49.97) in the event...
Gateway’s Whiteside, Hanisak gain experience at WPIAL championships
Gateway coach Ryan Sula saw improvement from Evan Whiteside in every area of his wrestling, but the one thing that stood out the most was the growing confidence in his 113-pound junior. A specific example came after a tough 11-2 major decision loss to Latrobe’s Marino Angelicchio in the third-place...
Thomas Jefferson girls made program history by reaching title game
The Thomas Jefferson and Chartiers Valley basketball teams clashed March 2 in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game at Pitt’s Peterson Events Center. It wasn’t the first time TJ senior guard Shaylor Williams stepped onto the court at The Pete. “When I played AAU in sixth grade for the Bruins,...
Rebounding, scoring struggles prove costly for Thomas Jefferson girls in WPIAL final
The bubble finally burst for the surging Thomas Jefferson girls basketball team. The Jaguars lost to Section 1 rival Chartiers Valley, 64-48, in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game March 2 at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center. Thomas Jefferson (19-7) went into the final confidently riding an eight-game winning streak, and...
Senior class lauded for success by Thomas Jefferson football coach Cherpak
The 60th annual Thomas Jefferson football banquet took place Feb. 24 at Georgetown Centre. The Jaguars’ success over the past four years was duly noted, as coach Bill Cherpak started off the post-dinner program by lauding the efforts of the senior class on and off the field. Over the past...
Team chemistry key for TJ girls basketball
Does winning spark good team chemistry, or does good team chemistry enhance winning? While talent is an integral part of any winning program, team chemistry certainly can be important. Take, for example, the Thomas Jefferson girls basketball team. The Jaguars reached the WPIAL finals this season for the first time...
Quaker Valley freshman Huang makes big splash at WPIAL championships
Quaker Valley swimming coach Alexis Glenn knew from the beginning of the season she had an amazing swimmer in Isabel Huang. She became even more convinced of that after the freshman earned two gold medals at the WPIAL Class AA championship meet Feb. 28-March 1 at Pitt. “I was surprised...
For Penn-Trafford’s Coy, journey to Hershey is a trip down memory lane
It’s tough not to crack a smile and imagine the possibilities when someone rolls up for a road trip driving a shiny new black Chevy Suburban, but Penn-Trafford wrestler Nick Coy jumped in anyway. The WPIAL Class AAA 138-pound champion, Warriors coach Rich Ginther, three assistant coaches and Ginther’s son,...
Relays, divers lead Penn-Trafford into PIAA championship meet
Despite their small size, the Penn-Trafford boys and girls swimming teams will be well represented at the PIAA Class AAA championship meet March 15-16 at Bucknell. Seniors Paige Kalik, the girls third seed, and Logan Sherwin, the boys fourth seed, are among favorites in 1-meter diving. Kalik and Sherwin placed...
Pine-Richland boys lacrosse players commit to play in college
A quartet of Pine-Richland boys lacrosse players pledged their commitments to their future colleges of choice Feb. 27 at the high school athletic office, gathering to both celebrate the future and enjoy the unique moment together before embarking on their senior seasons. Seniors Ben Barnes, Brendan Hein, Will Harnick and...
Limited time in pool doesn’t keep Aquinas swimmer Schirra from making WPIALs
There were plenty of reasons for Sam Schirra not to swim this season. The most glaring reason is his high school, Aquinas Academy, did not field a swim team. Beyond that, Schirra had a starring role in the school play, a rendition of “Pride and Prejudice,” a commitment that would...
Plum’s Citrano, Stecik cap season at WPIAL wrestling championships
As a freshman this year, Plum’s Vinny Citrano believed in himself every time he stepped on a mat, and it showed in his results. But before his first match at the WPIAL individual championships Feb. 28, the magnitude of the event set in. “There were definitely some butterflies in my...
Plum swimmers prepare for PIAA championships
Devan Taylor hopes for a repeat performance and more in the girls 100-yard breaststroke Saturday at the PIAA Class AAA championships at Bucknell. The Plum senior was seeded ninth and positioned in the second-to-last heat of the preliminaries last year and swam a school-record 1 minute, 4.13 seconds to move...
Norwin sends program record 10 wrestlers to WPIALs; 2 capture titles
The Norwin wrestling team walked away from the WPIAL Class AAA individual tournament with some serious hardware. The Knights had two wrestlers capture gold at the tournament: junior Kurtis Phipps at 120 pounds and junior Ryan Weinzen at 220. “I thought we wrestled well as a team,” Norwin coach Vince...
Young Norwin freestylers set school record at WPIAL championships
The Norwin girls swimming team earned no medals at the WPIAL Class AAA championship meet Feb. 28-March 1 at Pitt, but it probably is just a matter of time before the Knights do. First-year Norwin coach Doug Watson believes all the young squad lacks is confidence. “(We had) lot of...
Fox Chapel rower Gilmore claims title at Erg in the ‘Burgh indoor championships
Fox Chapel rower Samuel Gilmore worked hard over the winter, and it paid off at the Erg in the ‘Burgh Indoor Rowing Championships Feb. 23 at North Allegheny. Gilmore, a senior, took first place in the men’s varsity final in a career-best 6 minutes, 37.6 seconds over 2,000 meters. Daniel...
Franklin Regional sends quartet to PIAA wrestling championships
Franklin Regional sent four wrestlers to the PIAA Class AAA Wrestling Championship, which began March 7 at Giant Center in Hershey. And while coach Matt Lebe was thrilled with four wrestlers heading to Hershey, he was disappointed three others — Garrett Thompson, Mason Spears and Mario Sarnic — didn’t make...
