High School category, Page 313
High school roundup for Feb. 24, 2024: Imani Christian wins WPIAL finals rematch with Union
RJ Sledge hit five 3-pointers and scored 28 points as top-seeded Imani Christian won a rematch of last year’s WPIAL championship game, defeating No. 5 Union, 101-67, in the Class A boys basketball semifinals Saturday at Montour. Nate Brazil added 26 points for the Saints (13-10), who will meet No....
Trifecta for Derry at WPIAL 2A wrestling championships
It was a day of perfection for the Derry wrestling team at the WPIAL Class 2A championship Saturday at Chartiers Valley. The Trojans went 3 for 3 in the finals, and it was their most champions in the same season. Junior Anthony Mucci and his dad, Blaise, have something in...
Burrell duo claim WPIAL 2A titles, including gold No. 3 for Cooper Hornack
Winning a WPIAL wrestling title is not easy. Just asked Burrell senior Cooper Hornack. He needed an overtime takedown and a couple of great scrambles to defeat Burgettstown senior Gaven Suica, 3-1, to win the 139-pound title, his third, at the WPIAL Class 2A championships Saturday at Chartiers Valley. Twice,...
Neighborhood Academy tops Rochester, makes finals in program’s 4th year in WPIAL
Jordan Marks has spent plenty of time at the Petersen Events Center. Before becoming the head coach at Neighborhood Academy, Marks cut his teeth as a video coordinator under former Pitt coach Jamie Dixon. So, Marks is pretty familiar with where he will be next Thursday night. Behind 18 points...
Shady Side Academy pulls away from Beaver Falls to earn trip to WPIAL finals
Beaver Falls senior Avina Norman has been a force in the postseason for the Tigers, averaging 20.5 points per game in leading the team in scoring in both first-round and quarterfinal victories. However, her play Saturday went from sweet to sour thanks to the defense of Shady Side Academy sophomore...
Sophomore Erica Gribble hits milestone as No. 1 Greensburg CC reaches WPIAL finals
She came off a curl and caught the basketball on the wing, in front of her team’s bench, and let it fly with 21.4 seconds left in the third quarter. Erica Gribble, Greensburg Central Catholic’s skilled sophomore, asked for the ball on a weaving give-and-go from senior Avery Davis —...
Yough’s Terek Crosby scores 2,000th point in playoff loss to Shady Side
Standout senior guard Terek Crosby of Yough scored his 2,000th career point Saturday in a 61-47 loss to Shady Side Academy in a WPIAL Class 3A consolation game at Fox Chapel. He hit the milestone with a spinning layup in the lane during the second quarter. He is the 34th...
WPIAL announces playoff sites, times for Tuesday basketball semifinals
Fox Chapel, Gateway and Peters Township will host WPIAL semifinal doubleheaders Tuesday night. Games are scheduled that night for Class 6A and 2A boys and Class 5A and 4A girls. WPIAL basketball Tuesday’s semifinals Class 6A boys 1-Mt. Lebanon (20-4) vs. 4-Baldwin (17-6) at Bethel Park, 7 p.m. 2-Central Catholic...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Deer Lakes’ Collin Rodgers, Kiski Area’s Veronica Flanagan
Veronica Flanagan Class: Junior School: Kiski Area Sport: Bowling Report card: Kiski Area junior Veronica Flanagan captured the WPIBL girls singles championship Thursday at AMF Mt. Lebanon after she defeated Freeport’s Mackensie Livingston, 222-183, in the final. Flanagan, the WPIBL runner-up last year, was fourth after the qualifying round when...
Nearly a national record holder, Butler’s Drew Griffith running the best he ever has
Drew Griffith ran two miles in a historic time, faster than the all-time indoor best for high school boys, but the Butler senior’s name won’t appear in any national record book. While running last weekend at an invitational meet hosted by Notre Dame, Griffith won the 2-mile race in 8...
After sweeping section titles, Franklin Regional swimmers speed into WPIAL meet
It’s been quite a season for the Franklin Regional swimming teams. The boys finished the season 11-0 and were Section 1-3A champions while the girls were 8-3 overall and also were Section 1-3A champions. The girls’ losses were nonsection. Both also were Class 3A Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association team champions....
Westmoreland County high school notebook: New challenge awaits Latrobe after WPIAL realignment
The fall sports landscape will look quite different next year with the WPIAL realigning teams in its latest two-year enrollment cycle. Norwin and Hempfield are back in Class 6A for football and will play in one, eight-team conference that also will include Canon-McMillan, Central Catholic, Mt. Lebanon, Seneca Valley, North...
After strong finish, Franklin Regional girls look toward promising future
A couple more games. Maybe another week of section play would have done the trick. Franklin Regional may have peaked too late, but that’s not exactly a bad thing as coach Bernie Pucka looks back on girls basketball season. The Panthers finished fifth in Section 1-5A, when fourth would have...
Hampton swimmers to bring competitive fire to WPIAL meet
Swimmers by their nature are super competitive, both in practice when challenging teammates and at meets against other schools. The Hampton swim team has added another outlet in which to stoke that competitive fire — the video game Fortnite. “Before the high school season would start, we would play three...
Playoff heartbreaker ends eventful season for Hampton girls
A season of ups and downs came to an end for the Hampton girls basketball team Feb. 20 with a loss to No. 2 seed McKeesport in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. “Our girls put forth a great effort after a good week of preparation,” said...
Senior shot putter leads Fox Chapel indoor track state qualifiers
Mason Miles wanted more input on how to become a better thrower. The Fox Chapel senior does his best to work with throw coach Jayne Beatty a few times a week. Beatty, who was a three-time All-American at Slippery Rock, was able to help Miles refine his technique and make...
1st-round jitters can’t stop Fox Chapel in wild win over North Hills
Zach Skrinjar has a theory about the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. Despite there being some mismatches on paper in terms of high seeds against lower seeds, the veteran Fox Chapel boys basketball coach believes the first round is the most difficult. “Everyone has nerves. You know...
Bethel Park junior swimmer sweeps her way into WPIAL meet
Bethel Park junior Cally Edner made a big splash in the pool again this year. Edner qualified for the WPIAL Class 3A swim finals Feb. 29-March 1 at Pitt’s Trees pool in every individual event. “We call that the WPIAL sweep,” said Kathy Strock, Bethel Park’s girls coach. “Cally is...
Bethel Park hockey battling hard at end of regular season
The Bethel Park hockey team found itself in a battle for a PIHL Class 3A playoff spot coming down the stretch in the regular season. The senior-laden Black Hawks were tied with Central Catholic in seventh place with a 9-7-0-1 record and 19 points, trailing Seneca Valley (30 points), Pine-Richland...
Late-season surge has Bethel Park girls excited about program’s future
Bethel Park’s girls basketball team ended its season in a most positive way — with six consecutive victories. The Black Hawks fell a game short, however, of qualifying for the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs. “We played a really competitive schedule (against) some of the 5A teams,” coach Steve Norman said....
Plum swimmers aim to contend at WPIAL championship meet
Brooke Price will again swim the 100-yard backstroke Friday on the second day of the WPIAL Class 3A championships at Pitt’s Trees Pool. The Plum sophomore swam to 17th in the event in her WPIAL debut last year. It was the only individual event she qualified for in her first...
After WPIAL playoff exit, Plum says goodbye to senior quartet
In 2021, the Plum girls basketball team defeated Lincoln Park to snap a two-decade-long win drought in the WPIAL playoffs. Last year, the Mustangs topped Montour in the WPIAL first round before bowing out to No. 2 Oakland Catholic, the eventual WPIAL runner-up, in the quarterfinals. Plum hoped to make...
Norwin girls wrestlers shine at 1st WPIAL championship meet
In a year of firsts, Norwin doubled up. Two Norwin girls claimed individual championships at the inaugural WPIAL girls wrestling championships held Feb. 17 at North Allegheny, taking their place in program and Westmoreland County history. Sophomore Josephine Dollman and freshman Octavia Walker won championships in their first attempt. Dollman...
Norwin notebook: Gabby Viola, Xander Eddy earn national kickboxing titles
Hungry for Hungary. A pair of local martial artists earned qualification to the U.S. Kickboxing Team that will compete in the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations Junior World Championships in the fall in Budapest. Gabby Viola, 13, and Xander Eddy, 15, won national titles recently at the USA Kickboxing Team...
North Hills senior hits 100 career wins, lands on college wrestling radar
Giavonie Schipani’s personality takes on a different form when he steps on the mat. Off of it, the senior North Hills wrestler is a mild-mannered kid who enjoys quiet time hunting in the woods or fishing on the lake. But when he goes face-to-face with another wrestler? A different side...
