High School category, Page 331
Norwin’s Luke Denny commits to Division I Lehigh for football
When his first football scholarship offer came in, Luke Denny was overcome with emotion. “I called my grandparents crying,” the Norwin senior said. “It was like, this is really happening.” But that offer came during the regular season — Week 4 vs. Woodland Hills — and it was from Division...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Kiski Area’s Abbie Johns, Freeport’s Brady Sullivan
Abbie Johns Class: Senior School: Kiski Area Sport: Basketball Report card: Abbie Johns surpassed 1,000 career points in Friday’s 48-17 win over Gateway as the Kiski Area senior combo guard drained all 5 of the 3-point attempts and finished with 20 points. Johns also had 18 points in a 49-37...
Plum notebook: Mustangs hockey team chasing Class A playoff berth
The Plum hockey team continues its fight for a spot in the PIHL Class A playoffs. The Mustangs won three of four games through a 4-3 shootout victory over Richland on Jan. 18 to propel them above .500 at 8-6-0-1. The 17 points put them in sixth in the Varsity...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Norwin runner makes Division I commitment
Rosemary Gaydos became the latest Norwin track and field athlete to commit to a Division I college program. Gaydos will continue her distance-running and cross country career at St. Francis (Pa.) in Loretto. She has lettered every year in cross country, track and field and swimming. Her personal-best times are...
Norwin notebook: Knights runner makes Division I college choice
Rosemary Gaydos became the latest Norwin track and field athlete to commit to a Division I college program. Gaydos will continue her distance-running and cross-country career at St. Francis (Pa.) in Loretto. Gaydos has lettered every year in cross country, track and field and swimming. Her personal-best times are 19...
North Allegheny notebook: Boys wrestlers capture section title
North Allegheny’s boys wrestling team completed an undefeated section season Jan. 24 with a 66-9 win over Mars to secure the Section 2-3A championship. The Tigers improved to 16-3 overall and finished 5-0 in Section 2. Casey Walker (127 pounds), William Bentrim (133), Griffen Reid (139), Travis Stipetich (152), Kellen...
Hampton players recall ‘incredible’ run to ‘84 state basketball finals
Many of the memories have faded into time over the past four decades. The players and coaches for Hampton’s 1984 PIAA runner-up boys basketball team have gaps in their recollection of the winningest season in program history. But one memory endures — the overwhelming support of the Talbots fans and...
Fox Chapel wrestling reaching goals as special season rolls on
Landon Funk was surprised by who he saw when he stepped out on the mat for the final of the Allegheny County Wrestling Championships. Funk’s former youth coach Dustin Widdoss came in from out of town to see him and other wrestlers he coached in the Foxes’ youth program compete....
Fox Chapel indoor track team looks to add state qualifiers
Tom Moul would like to see a contingent of Fox Chapel athletes make it to the PFTSCA championships at the end of the indoor track season. Foxes senior Anna Troutman is the lone returning state qualifier. Troutman qualified in the hurdles and the high jump last season. Troutman, who holds...
Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy teams well-represented at PIHL all-star games
Although in different PIHL divisions, they would jointly make up a formidable starting lineup. Quaker Valley landed five players on the Varsity A Gold all-star team while Sewickley Academy had two selected for the D-2 game. As a group, there are three forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender. The PIHL...
Pine-Richland’s Dom Ferraro, Vaughn Spencer claim county titles, look forward to postseason
For Dom Ferraro, the Allegheny County wrestling tournament was about getting over the hump. Vaughn Spencer was there to defend. Both Pine-Richland juniors achieved their goals. Ferraro won the 139-pound title to become a county champ for the first time, while Spencer successfully navigated the 172-pound bracket to win his...
Pine-Richland’s James Cardinali to play football at Navy
As a junior, James Cardinali was a 210-pound lineman on the Pine-Richland junior varsity football team who seemed like a longshot to play in college. That was before he went to work to make a massive transformation to his body and that has led to an equally big development for...
After defending Allegheny County title, Plum wrestlers turn attention to WPIAL playoffs
The Plum boys wrestling team won last year’s Allegheny County Tournament title with two champions and a runner-up among 11 place finishers. The Mustangs edged Pine-Richland by 23 points. Coach Mike Supak said this year’s title defense would be a tougher challenge. But his wrestlers, he said, were up to...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports for Jan. 27, 2024: Battle for 1st set in Section 2-A girls hoops
While there are a couple of events involving plenty of district boys and girls basketball teams, the most important high school basketball game is a Saturday afternoon special between the two top teams in WPIAL girls basketball Section 2-A. Front-running Monessen is 5-0 atop the section as it prepares to...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 26, 2024
High schools Basketball Boys Friday’s results Class 6A Section 1 Seneca Valley 61, Butler 56 Central Catholic 63, Pine-Richland 49 North Allegheny 71, New Castle 63 Section 2 Mt. Lebanon 51, Baldwin 46 Upper St. Clair 48, Hempfield 39 Canon-McMillan 51, Norwin 47 Class 5A Section 1 Bethel Park 90,...
Lincoln Park’s ‘big two’ share the wealth in win over North Catholic
The motto on Lincoln Park’s shirts says “one more,” which coach Mike Bariski translates into “one more pass.” That might seem like wishful thinking, since the Leopards have a couple of elite players who can dominate one on one and score without any passes at all. But that’s not so,...
High school roundup for Jan. 26, 2024: Thomas Jefferson stands tall with key section win over Peters Township
Noah Prosser scored 17 points to lead Thomas Jefferson to a 70-58 victory over Peters Township in a key Section 1-5A boys basketball matchup Friday night. Nicholas Trklja and Evan Berger each scored 15 for the Jaguars (13-3, 6-0). Mickey Vaccarello had 17 and Jack Dunbar finished with 13 for...
Mt. Lebanon fends off Baldwin to stay atop section
Searching for its first section crown in nearly 40 years, Baldwin entered Friday’s road game at Mt. Lebanon tied for first place in Section 2-6A with the Blue Devils and Upper St. Clair. The Highlanders knew they had a tough hill to climb on the road against a team that...
Franklin Regional finds another gear in overtime to get past Penn-Trafford
Franklin Regional needed its leader to find another gear, and that’s what Cooper Rankin did. The senior guard scored 10 of his 26 points in overtime Friday night to power the fourth-ranked Panthers to their third straight victory, a 63-58 decision over visiting Penn-Trafford in Section 3-5A boys basketball. “I...
Belle Vernon runs past Southmoreland in stat-filled ‘track meet’
Given room to run, Belle Vernon feasted on transition points and loaded up the stat sheet Friday night, ringing up a season high for points in an 85-73 victory at Southmoreland in Section 3-4A boys basketball. Junior 6-foot-6 forward Tommy Davis and junior guard Trevor Kovatch had career scoring nights,...
Derry divers sweep gold during Westmoreland County Coaches Association championships
It was quite night for the Derry divers Friday during Day 1 of the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association meet. Derry had two champions and two others earn medals during the diving portion of the event. The swimming portion of the meet begins 10 a.m. Saturday at Derry. Junior Ella Silvis...
Peter Kramer hits winner as Hampton holds off Highlands in OT
Highlands gave Hampton its best shot, but it was Peter Kramer who landed the final blow. Kramer drove the lane and hit a bucket with 4 seconds remaining in overtime to propel the Talbots to a 61-59 victory Friday night at Highlands. After Cam Reigard hit a tough runner in...
Burrell, Kiski Area swimmers set for WCCA meet as they ramp up toward WPIALs
At last year’s Westmoreland County Coaches Association swimming championships, 12 individuals and relays produced times in eight events that surpassed previous meet records. A number of those swimmers are back Saturday at Derry High School to try to do it again in what is one of the fastest high school...
PIAA officials acknowledge competitive balance formula has ‘room for conversation’ in future
A football team that reaches the state finals or semifinals two years in a row “is the cream of the crop in that class,” said PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi, explaining why health and safety concerns are excluded as grounds for appeal under the competitive-balance rule. “It’s tough to make...
Mark Madden: PIAA officials clearly insensitive to Aliquippa’s reality
There are usually two sides to every story. But not in the case of Aliquippa High School football being forced to play at the 5A level despite having 2A enrollment. The Quips are getting railroaded by the PIAA. Consider Southern Columbia, a school in Central Pennsylvania that has won the...
