High School category, Page 1242
Franklin Regional swim team basks in WPIAL meet success
At the start of the swim season, Franklin Regional coach Vic Santoro was wondering what kind of team he had. After a strong showing at the Westmorland County Coaches’ Association championships, where the girls took first place for the second year in a row and the boys finished second, Santoro...
Fox Chapel track teams hope to build off indoor season
The Fox Chapel track team is hard at work with hopes of a successful spring season. “We lost some seniors but are looking forward to our returning athletes working hard and having a good season,” FC coach Tom Moul said. On the girls side, the Foxes return a dozen letter...
WPIAL sends 17 wrestlers to PIAA Class AAA semifinals
HERSHEY — The WPIAL is proving itself a heavyweight in the state’s lighter weights. Led by some dominant performances in the early weight classes, the WPIAL advanced 17 wrestlers to the PIAA Class AAA semifinals thanks to wins in Friday afternoon’s quarterfinal round at Giant Center. The WPIAL claimed three...
5 Westmoreland County wrestlers advance to PIAA Class AA semifinalsVideo
Ty Cymmerman found himself down three points in the second period of his quarterfinal match at the PIAA Class AA wrestling championships Friday. But the Derry junior didn’t panic and took advantage of a stoppage because of a bloody nose to rally for a 6-4 win in overtime against Greensville...
Roundball Classic rosters announced
Event director Allen Deep released rosters for the Roundball Classic all-star basketball games, set for April 12-13 at Geneva College. There will be seven games over two days at Metheny Fieldhouse. More than 200 senior players were selected. On April 12, there will be three boys games, including East vs....
15 WPIAL wrestlers advance to PIAA Class AA semifinals
HERSHEY — Even as the fate of his state wrestling quarterfinal match hung in the balance, Joey Fischer felt confident. And eventually the South Park sophomore was proven correct. Fischer began a near-perfect Friday morning for WPIAL wrestlers at the PIAA Class AA tournament, with a 5-3 decision over Brookville’s...
Unbeaten teams to test Highlands, Leechburg boys in PIAA opening round
Only two WPIAL basketball teams made it through the district playoffs with a perfect record, and both were on the girls’ side — Class 6A champion Peters Township (25-0) and Class 5A winner Chartiers Valley (25-0). While no District 7 boys’ teams enter the state playoffs undefeated, a couple of...
Shaler Area notebook: Lynch returns to Wheeling Nailers
Former Shaler hockey standout Zac Lynch is headed back to the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers. Lynch was recently released following a six-game stint in the AHL on a professional tryout contract with the New York Ranger affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack. Hartford released Lynch on March 5 after he recorded seven shots...
Penn Hills’ Gregory, freestyle relay prepare for PIAA championship meet
When it comes to the Penn Hills swim team, the main attraction is senior Kimani Gregory. Gregory lived up to his top billing as expected, but a few other Indians shined as well at the WPIAL Class AAA championships Feb. 28 and March 1 at Pitt’s Trees Pool. The Indians...
Former area basketball standouts sign on for Ballers Alumni tournament
Former Wilkinsburg standout Taz Williams has dreamed of setting up an annual alumni tournament that would showcase former basketball greats from the Pittsburgh area. After dipping his foot in the water last year when close to 1,400 people showed up to watch an alumni game between Penn Hills and Wilkinsburg...
North Hills swimmers break school records at WPIAL meet
A number of school records fell when the North Hills swim team took to the pool at Pitt’s Trees Hall for the WPIAL Class AAA championships Feb. 28 and March 1. Three program records were broken by some of the Indians’ youngest swimmers on both the boys and the girls...
North Allegheny boys chasing 3rd straight PIAA swimming championship
Led by four top seeds, the North Allegheny boys swimming team is a serious contender for its third consecutive PIAA Class AAA title March 15-16 at Bucknell. Defending champions senior Jack Wright, 200-yard freestyle (1 minute, 37.48 seconds), junior Rick Mihm, 500 freestyle (4:29.29), and the 200 medley relay (1:31)...
Hampton swimmers save best for last at WPIAL championships
Hampton swimmers peaked at the right time for the WPIAL championships, and one of them was rewarded with a trip to states. Drew Scheib qualified for the PIAA Class AAA championships at Bucknell March 15-16 in the 200 freestyle and the 100 butterfly. The junior finished third in the free...
Shaler Area unified bocce team advances to state championships
James Bernick, a freshman at Slippery Rock, joined the Shaler unified bocce team during its first season last year with an eye on the future. Bernick liked the values sports can teach and wanted to focus on getting a teaching degree with an emphasis in special education. The Titans didn’t...
Carlynton girls send Kozy, 2 relays to state swimming meet; Chartiers Valley makes headway
Heading into the WPIAL Class AA swimming championships, the Carlynton girls wanted to finish in the top 10. Senior Katie Kozy said, more specifically, the Cougars wanted to finish ninth or better. They did that, finishing ninth, and some of the swimmers got to extend their season. Kozy led the...
Chartiers Valley girls celebrate WPIAL championship
The Chartiers Valley girls basketball team held a lovefest March 2 at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center. Actually, it took place spontaneously in front of the CV bench area following the WPIAL Class 5A championship game. The CV girls swarmed to coach Tim McConnell’s side when his name was announced at...
5 things to watch in the PIAA boys basketball playoffs
Coach Dan DeRose and his Penn Hills boys basketball players are leaving at 10 a.m. Friday for a four-hour bus ride to Hershey, the site picked for their state playoff opener. Franklin Regional and Pine-Richland will take the same trip this weekend. Without question, WPIAL boys basketball teams will travel...
Kiski Area quartet advances to PIAA Class AAA wrestling quarterfinals
HERSHEY — No victory at the PIAA wrestling championships comes easily, and Cam Connor’s face bore the evidence of that Thursday. An inadvertent head butt from Waynesburg’s Luca Augustine, his first-round opponent, opened a cut underneath Connor’s eye and forced a brief medical stoppage. But despite the injury and a...
5 things to watch in the PIAA girls basketball playoffs
There are 192 girls basketball teams across Pennsylvania with visions of state championships dancing in their heads as the 2019 PIAA playoffs tip off with first round play Friday and Saturday. Thirty-five of those teams are from the WPIAL, and there is one representative from District 8, the City League....
Upsets, close calls highlight opening day of PIAA Class AAA wrestling tournamentVideo
HERSHEY — It’s been awhile since fans were treated to such craziness that occurred during the first day of the PIAA Class AAA wrestling championships. There were upsets and some close calls for some of the top wrestlers in the state Thursday at the Giant Center, which turned into a...
Franklin Regional trio dominates at PIAA Class AAA wrestling tournamentVideo
HERSHEY — It was quite a first day for Class AAA wrestlers from Westmoreland County at the PIAA championships on Thursday. It also was a disappointing day for a few others at Giant Center. Franklin Regional had three wrestlers win in the opening round, including freshman Finn Solomon, who defeated...
A-K Valley basketball teams use time off to prepare for PIAA tournament
Five Alle-Kiski Valley basketball teams have played the waiting game for the PIAA tournament since their elimination from the WPIAL playoffs more than a week ago. While the Highlands boys clinched a spot by making the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals, the Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel and Leechburg boys and Fox...
Ligonier Valley boys turn focus to Beaver Falls, PIAA tournament
Ligonier Valley, the only Westmoreland County-based high school whose sports teams compete outside the WPIAL, is getting a rare opportunity to impress its western neighbors in boys basketball. The District 6 Class 3A runner-up Rams will meet Beaver Falls, the WPIAL fifth-place team, in a PIAA first-round game at 4...
Westmoreland PIAA basketball capsules: Games for March 8-9, 2019
Boys basketball Class 5A First round Franklin Regional (17-7) vs. Lower Dauphin (24-3) 6:30 p.m. Friday at Milton Hershey HS Winner plays: Winner of Johnstown (19-2)/Elizabethtown (16-12) on Tuesday Coaches: Steve Scorpion, Franklin Regional; Rick Attivo, Lower Dauphin Players to watch: Nick Leopold, Sr., G, FR; Luke Hedrick, Sr., G,...
Decision time nearing for Franklin Regional’s Nick Leopold
Franklin Regional’s Nick Leopold soon will find himself at a fork in the road. The senior two-sport standout has some options to consider when it comes to making his college decision. Football or basketball? Defensive back or point guard? Which level? Leopold, who will lead the Panthers (17-7) against Lower...
