High School category, Page 475
Derry sophomore Mazzoni breaks school javelin record
Derry sophomore Sophia Mazzoni was a catcher playing softball up until eighth grade. Now she’s quickly becoming one of the better javelin throwers in the state. When Mazzoni decided to compete in track in middle school, throwing coach Dave McNichol convinced her to try the javelin, given her throwing background....
Penn-Trafford’s Schall, Tarabrella nominated for county scholar/athlete award
One of the rights of spring is the annual Westmoreland County Scholar/Athlete Awards dinner. It’s where two high school students from each of the 18 county high schools gather, and one male and one female win the Excellence Award. The banquet will be held April 18 at Ferrante’s Lakeview and...
Penn Hills baseball works to up batting average with new approach at plate
Attempting to surge up the standings won’t be something the Penn Hills baseball team will be able to do by standing pat. Haunted by a lack of offensive production, the Indians have had a hard time getting out of the season’s starting blocks. Stuck with a .194 batting average as...
Penn Hills gearing up for 1st girls flag football season
After trying track at a younger age, Penn Hills junior Asya Murray had fallen out of team sports as she got older. Recently, though, Murray found a sport that piqued her interest. “I’ve always been interested in football,” Murray said. “I go outside and play with my family.” Penn Hills...
Pine-Richland track sets sights on WPIAL team playoffs
The Pine-Richland track teams have accomplished plenty of goals over the last few years, but one thing they’ve been chasing is a berth in the WPIAL team playoffs. With a win over Seneca Valley on March 30, the Rams girls have put themselves in position to cross the team-playoff goal...
With new team-first focus, Pine-Richland girls lacrosse off to strong start
Shannen Drennon’s first goal after moving from an assistant to varsity head coach of the Pine-Richland girls lacrosse team this season was to create a team-centric environment. She’s been thrilled with how the team has embraced the message, and the results on the field have been superb. The Rams are...
Gateway’s Kiki Pitts, Daniella Gardner taking on hurdles together
Kiki Pitts and Daniella Gardner form a formidable 1-2 hurdles punch for the Gateway girls track and field team, and both hope to make an impact over the next several weeks leading up to the WPIAL Class 3A championship meet. Both say the support and push each gives the other...
Sewickley Valley YMCA swimmers cut times, advance to state meet
Three members of the Sewickley Valley YMCA Sea Dragons swim team advanced to the state meet this season after qualifying at the district championships. All three swimmers — Amelia Suhayda, Logan Monyok and Luke Monyok — are 12 years old. “All three had amazing swims at districts and cut a...
With deep group of returning lettermen, Sewickley Academy baseball poised for success
Sewickley Academy’s baseball home opener could not have gone any smoother. The Panthers socked visiting Bishop Canevin, 10-1, on junior Jordan Smith’s two-hit, complete-game performance. It proved to be a close game until Sewickley erupted for four runs in the fourth and five in the fifth. “The varsity team is...
Quaker Valley girls wrestlers making statewide splash in youth competition
Quaker Valley Wrestling Association was well-represented at the Keystone State youth championships this past season. In fact, three QV girls — Dublin Parnell, Ireland Parnell and Abby Hillman — finished as medalists in the statewide competition. “Dublin, Ireland and Abby’s performances were truly outstanding as all three wrestled the top...
Penn-Trafford notebook: Baseball team splits with Armstrong
Dylan Grabowski and Nolan Marasti had strong pitching performances against Armstrong the first week of April, but the lack of hitting left the Penn-Trafford baseball team with a split in Section 1-5A. Grabowski allowed three hits, struck out eight and shut out Armstrong, 2-0. He helped his own cause with...
WPIAL softball rankings: Week ending April 9, 2023
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Seneca Valley, 5-0, 1 2. North Allegheny, 7-2, 2 3. Hempfield, 6-1, 3 4. Norwin, 6-2, 5 5. Pine-Richland, 2-5, NR Out: Mt. Lebanon (2-3, 4) Class 5A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Shaler, 7-0, 2 2. Armstrong, 5-1, 3 3. Trinity, 6-1,...
WPIAL baseball rankings: Week ending April 9, 2023
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Seneca Valley, 7-0, 3 2. North Allegheny, 3-1, 4 3. Butler, 4-3, 5 4. Pine-Richland, 6-3, 2 5. Central Catholic, 3-4, 1 Out: none Class 5A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Shaler, 7-1, 4 2. South Fayette, 7-1, 1 3. Franklin Regional, 7-1,...
Franklin Regional’s Bunker, Todero up for scholar/athlete award
One of the passages of spring is the annual Westmoreland County Scholar/Athlete Awards dinner. It’s where two high school students from each of the 18 county high schools gather, and one male and one female win the Excellence Award. The banquet will be held April 18 at Ferrante’s Lakeview and...
Returning state track qualifiers provide high expectations for Hampton girls
The Hampton girls track and field team will be led this season by a Kat, a Fish and a soon-to-be Husky. The trio of returning PIAA qualifiers — junior Kathleen Milon, sophomore Kevyn Fish and Northeastern-bound senior Ava Vitiello — give the Talbots a formidable foundation in the running events....
Multisport athletes give lift to Hampton boys track
The Hampton boys track and field team this season has a lot of question marks that might turn into exclamation points. The Talbots’ 47-boy roster is dotted with multi-sport athletes who are giving high school track a try for the first time. “These are all unknowns,” second-year coach Heather Dietz...
Tough section could make for unpredictable season for Fox Chapel softball
Fox Chapel softball coach Chris Olbrich thought his team’s results in the first week of April reflected how things would be in Section 1-5A play all spring. Coming off a double-digit loss to first-place Shaler, the Foxes turned things around totally to hand a hot Penn Hills team its first...
Fox Chapel lefty works to keep hitters guessing
Jeremy Haigh is consistently working on his sleight of hand, but the sophomore pitcher for the Fox Chapel baseball team isn’t practicing a magic act. What he is trying to cobble together is a repertoire of pitches that will keep batters bamboozled in the box. Haigh doesn’t want to let...
Freeport’s Tom Phillips goes from teenage race car driver to Alle-Kiski Sports Hall of Fame volleyball coach
Tom Phillips’ road to becoming one of the most accomplished volleyball coaches in WPIAL history began — oddly enough — on the race track at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver. “I was a dirt track race car driver for 15 years,” Phillips said. “I started at 17 (years old) as a...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Freeport’s Reese Skiba, Dustin Rape
Reese Skiba Class: Senior School: Freeport Sport: Track and field Report card: Freeport’s Reese Skiba won a pair of events Thursday at the Butler County Track and Field Invitational held at Freeport. She threw 33 feet, 6 inches in the shot put and 119-10 to set a personal and meet...
Westmoreland County athletes of the week: Southmoreland’s Amarah McCutcheon and Hempfield’s Peyton Murray
Amarah McCutcheon School: Southmoreland Sport: Softball Class: Junior Claim to fame: The standout shortstop came through in the clutch for the Scotties in a pitchers’ duel against Ligonier Valley. She hit a two-run, walk-off home run to beat the Rams, 2-0, for what she said was the most thrilling moment...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Senior standouts set for Roundball Classic
Of the 200-plus players selected for the annual Roundball Classic senior all-star basketball games, 36 hail from Westmoreland County schools. Rosters were revealed last week for the games set for May 18-20 at Geneva College in Beaver Falls. Lilly Palladino of Penn-Trafford, Norwin’s Tori Sydeski and Sarah Penrod and Brooke...
Riverview’s Amberson Bauer shines at Igloo Invitational
It’s been quite a positive last couple of weeks for Riverview senior distance runner Amberson Bauer. Last month, Bauer finalized his recruiting process by committing to run at Division I William & Mary. He then began April with a standout performance in the 800- and 1,600-meter runs at the season-opening...
Plum girls lacrosse building momentum after slow start
The Plum girls lacrosse team hopes to continue its upward trend this spring, a year after the program captured its first WPIAL playoff victory. With a strong nucleus back from last year’s team which went 14-4 overall and 8-2 in section play, optimism abounds as the Mustangs get in to...
Norwin boys volleyball has net-front talent to contend
Norwin is one of the top boys volleyball teams in the WPIAL this season. Just ask the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association. The well-regarded outfit had Norwin ranked No. 2 in Class 3A two weeks into the season. The Knights hope to live up to the raised expectations. Coach Mike...
