High School category, Page 343
Former Pine-Richland girls soccer coach breaks new ground with Pa. hall of fame induction
In 1998, Jodi Chmielewski was one of only a few women in Western Pennsylvania coaching high school soccer and over two decades later, she’s still making history. Chmielewski amassed over 300 wins, two WPIAL championships and a state title coaching Pine-Richland girls soccer. Now she’ll be the first female coach...
Recovered from offseason injury, Plum’s Antonino Walker off to strong start to senior season
Antonino Walker’s summer of wrestling competition and also his preparation for the 2023-24 high school season came to a halt when he suffered a broken ankle at a tournament with Young Guns in Nashville, Tenn. The injury required surgery and the standout Plum senior was off the mat for nearly...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 5, 2024
High schools Basketball Boys Friday’s results Class 6A Section 1 Butler 68, New Castle 53 Central Catholic 56, Seneca Valley 37 North Allegheny 50, Pine-Richland 28 Section 2 Baldwin 79, Canon-McMillan 53 Mt. Lebanon 67, Hempfield 50 Upper St. Clair 61, Norwin 45 Class 5A Section 1 Bethel Park 59,...
High school roundup for Jan. 5, 2024: Big night for Neighborhood Academy’s Courtney Wallace; Woodland Hills shocks Shaler
Courtney Wallace had a triple-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, hitting the 1,000-point mark for his career, to lead Neighborhood Academy to a 72-49 victory over Aquinas Academy in Section 3-A boys basketball Friday night. Kedron Gilmore scored 21 points, Shamar Simpson added 14, and Brent Manns...
Barrage of 3-pointers — including 8 by Donovan Carney — leads Butler past New Castle
Butler’s Donovan Carney was making shots from far beyond the arc, teammate Tayt Lucas hit a couple of 3-pointers and Kyle Casteel came off the bench shooting 3s with no hesitation. In coach Matt Clement’s offense, pretty much everybody gets to be a shooter. “I might be the worst coach...
Greensburg Central Catholic dominates Jeannette behind Tyree Turner’s 25 points
Greensburg Central Catholic players and coaches were stranded after the game at Jeannette on Friday night because their bus arrived late. About 30 minutes went by as the team waited in an empty gym. Some players practiced a tip drill, and others played 1-on-1. “Most of them just sat in...
Stunning results highlight 1st day of WCCA wrestling tournament
There were a few stunners during the opening day of the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association wrestling tournament Friday at Greensburg Salem. Derry’s Jeremiah Gess and Franklin Regional’s Nico Sarnic provided the biggest surprises. Gess knocked off No. 1 seed Joe Longhi of Mt. Pleasant, 6-4, in the 133-pound quarterfinals, and...
No. 1 Deer Lakes boys frustrate No. 2 Burrell as all 5 Bucs starters foul out
All week, Deer Lakes boys basketball coach Albie Fletcher used the phrase “up tempo” when preparing his players for their matchup with Burrell. Usually that term is designated for offense, but the Lancers love speed on defense, and they used it to frustrate the Bucs and get them in extreme...
Franklin Regional gives up huge lead before rallying to beat Kiski Area
A boys basketball blowout at Kiski Area turned into a nail-biter before it was over Friday night, but Franklin Regional will take the road victory just the same. Cooper Rankin scored 23 points, and Cam Rowell added 21, including the go-ahead basket in the final minute, as the Panthers held...
PIAA policy won’t let Aliquippa argue health and safety in rejecting move to Class 5A
Two years ago, Aliquippa argued relentlessly that it was too dangerous to force the small-school Quips to play Class 5A football and ultimately the school won its PIAA appeal. The Quips are facing that scenario again under the PIAA competitive-balance rule, and Aliquippa superintendent Phillip Woods says his feelings haven’t...
State representative asks whether PIAA needs ‘overhaul,’ proposes legislation to investigate
A Western Pennsylvania legislator and longtime member of the state Athletic Oversight Committee is asking whether the PIAA needs an overhaul. State Rep. Rob Matzie (D-Beaver) announced plans Friday to introduce legislation that would analyze the policy, practices, finances and structure of the PIAA, “with an eye toward overhauling how...
Wild Things Park to host WPIAL baseball finals through 2027
Wild Things Park will remain as host of the WPIAL baseball finals through at least the 2027 season. The WPIAL and the Washington Wild Things on Friday announced an agreement to keep the championship games at the 3,200-seat minor league stadium that has hosted the league finals since 2003. This...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 4, 2024
High schools Basketball Boys Thursday’s results Nonsection Propel Montour 54, Redeemer Lutheran 49 Summit Academy 60, Hillel Academy 55 Southwest Christian Athletic Conference Cheswick Christian Academy at First Baptist Academy, ppd. Friday’s schedule Class 6A Section 1 Butler at New Castle, 7:30 p.m. Central Catholic at Seneca Valley, 7:30 p.m....
Greensburg Central Catholic girls lean on their stars to hold off Serra Catholic
As Greensburg Central Catholic’s girls team watched its 10-point lead get shaved to five points in the fourth quarter by host Serra Catholic, the Centurions had their stars step up to say, “not so fast.” Mya Morgan scored 15 of her 26 points in the final quarter and joined with...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Jan. 5, 2024: Butler, New Castle square off in heavyweight bout
One of the great WPIAL boys basketball rivalries highlights the first Fray-day of 2024 as New Castle hosts Butler. In their first Section 1-6A meeting a year ago, Ne Ca High was ranked No. 1 and Butler was No. 2. The Red Hurricane beat the Golden Tornado on Jan. 6,...
High school roundup for Jan. 4, 2023: Emma Paul scores 45, hits 10 3-pointers in Armstrong win
Emma Paul scored 45 points, hitting 10 3-pointers and breaking the school single-game scoring record, as Armstrong defeated Mars, 78-70, in Section 2-5A girls basketball Thursday night. Sarai Weaver added 18 for the River Hawks (7-4, 2-2). Grace Zatezalo and Carmella McDole scored 17 points apiece and Alexis Cashdollar had...
North Catholic wins top-5 showdown with Greensburg Salem
“North is North,” Greensburg Salem girls basketball coach Rick Klimchock said in a back hallway at North Catholic after his team fell behind early and dropped a 62-35 decision to the host Trojanettes in a matchup of Class 4A top-five girls basketball teams Thursday night on Barth & Graham Court....
Shady Side Academy’s pressure defense too much for Burrell girls
Shady Side Academy girls basketball coach Jonna Burke said her team is at its best when it plays good defense and turns that into offense. With a stout press, that’s exactly what the Bulldogs did Thursday night against a young, up-and-coming Burrell team. The Bulldogs caused nearly a dozen turnovers...
Highlands girls step on gas pedal in win vs. Freeport
The Highlands girls basketball team carried a lot of momentum from a pair of wins at its holiday tournament into a Section 1-4A matchup with Freeport on Thursday at Highlands High School. The Golden Rams’ senior-laden lineup came out strong on both ends of the court and began to overwhelm...
Burrell’s Cooper Hornack to miss WCCA tournament; finals moved up
Burrell senior Cooper Hornack will not get a chance to win a second Westmoreland County Coaches Association wrestling title. That’s because the reigning PIAA Class 2A champion will be sitting out the tournament because of an injury. He was injured during his match Wednesday against Derry freshman Mason Horwat. The...
McGuffey football coach Ed Dalton resigns after 12 years, not ready for retirement
Ed Dalton is stepping down after 12 seasons as McGuffey’s football coach, but don’t mistake his resignation as an early retirement. Dalton wants to keep adding to his 34-year career, but the 64-year-old coach with more than 240 career wins says his next coaching stop is still undecided. “It’s not...
Rivalry matchup between Deer Lakes, Burrell to test Class 3A’s top-ranked teams
Burrell and Deer Lakes are separated by 12 miles. They are even closer in the Trib HSSN boys basketball rankings. The Lancers are ranked first in Class 3A, and the Bucs are second, so an already-intense rivalry has an extra ingredient this year. Each team will have a chance to...
Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: Penn-Trafford plays at coach’s alma mater
Doug Kelly was feeling nostalgic and sentimental as he was time-warped back to his high school days at Elkins (W.Va.) during a recent visit to his old stomping grounds. Kelly, the boys basketball coach at Penn-Trafford, took his team south to play Elkins, a 2A school that plays in the...
Groundbreaking coach working to build confidence, culture with Mt. Pleasant boys
Because of some injuries, first-year boys basketball coach Annie Malkowiak said her Mt. Pleasant team had to take a next-man-up approach. That is an advisory from the first woman up. Malkowiak is adjusting to life as the first woman to coach a boys varsity basketball team in Westmoreland County and...
PIAA plans to move Aliquippa football to Class 5A under competitive-balance rule
In a move coach Mike Warfield called déjà vu, the PIAA has notified Aliquippa that its football team will be forced up another classification before next season. The Quips won the Class 4A state title this fall and were runners-up in 2022, and the PIAA now plans to move them...
