High School category, Page 631
Quaker Valley hurdler Nora Johns 2nd to none for 2nd straight season
Quaker Valley’s celebrated three-sport athlete Nora Johns didn’t just repeat as the PIAA Class 2A girls 300-meter hurdles champion. Johns broke the school record in accomplishing the feat May 28 at Shippensburg University. The talented QV junior won the event with a time of 44.78 seconds, lowering her personal-best time...
Youthful Bushy Run ready to make a run in District 31 American Legion baseball
One thing that has been consistent in District 31 American Legion baseball over the past few seasons is Bushy Run has either won or been in contention for the league title. Bushy Run tied for the top spot with Latrobe in 2021 with a 17-8 overall record, but things didn’t...
Penn Hills ball hockey team wins national tournament
Hayden Ferra, Nate Morgan and Macin DeFazio were all on different dek ball hockey teams a year ago. When the three came together on the Penn Hills Arsenal Beaver Division team, there was little previous history tying the trio together. “I don’t know if Hayden and Macin knew each other,...
Angelo Allen wraps up decorated Penn Hills track career with pair of state medals
A 2012 trip to the Baltimore area solidified Angelo Allen’s feelings. The graduating Penn Hills thrower always enjoyed track and field. Setting a USATF 8-and-under record in the shot put cemented Allen’s thoughts that he might be good at it. But Allen’s 8.39-meter record throw in that event wouldn’t be...
Pine-Richland distance runner comes home from states with personal bests, medals
Natalie McLean went to the PIAA track and field championships last year for the first time as a sophomore and took home plenty of lessons. This year she applied them and the result was a pair of medals. McLean, a junior at Pine-Richland, placed fifth in the girls 1,600 meter...
Gabby Baldasare takes over Pine-Richland girls basketball program
It’s been a couple weeks since Gabby Baldasare learned she was hired to take over the Pine-Richland girls basketball team, and she has the same emotions as when she first heard the news. “I still feel like I’m floating on Cloud 9,” She said. “It’s still surreal. I heard about...
Riverview runners cap special season at PIAA meet
Riverview’s boys 3,200-meter relay runners stood on the medals stand at last year’s PIAA Class 2A championships having just completed a strong performance on the track at Shippensburg University. Parker Steele, Amberson Bauer, Ty Laughlin and the now-graduated Mason Ochs ran to a time of 8 minutes, 16.58 seconds and...
After quarterfinal loss, Riverview baseball looks forward to next season
Riverview baseball players had winning playoff experiences under their belts as they began this year’s WPIAL Class A tournament with a first-round matchup against Bishop Canevin. The Raiders, hoping for a second straight run to the WPIAL finals, checked in as the No. 10 seed, but coach Bill Gras knew...
Gateway’s Robinson caps high school career at PIAA track championships
Amaya Robinson graduated from Gateway on Wednesday. But before she took those all-important steps from one journey to begin another, she had some business to take care of on the biggest track and field stage in the state. Robinson was one of 25 sprinters who challenged themselves in the Class...
Mental performance coach helps Sewickley Academy athletes train their brains
Donato Fanelle’s goal as mental performance coach at Sewickley Academy essentially is to work himself out of a job. “I want you to hone your mental skills to the point to where you no longer need the help,” Fanelle said. “The good thing about working at a high school is...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for June 4, 2022
High schools Baseball PIAA playoffs First round Monday’s schedule Class 6A Owen J. Roberts vs. Emmaus at Boyertown, 4 p.m.; Hazleton vs. Coatesville at Mountain Top, 4:30 p.m.; Liberty vs. Manheim Township at DeSales, 7 p.m.; LaSalle College vs. Pennsbury at Lincoln, 4 p.m.; Hatboro Horsham at Warwick, 1 p.m.;...
High school roundup for June 4, 2022: Mars boys lacrosse, NA boys volleyball reach state semis
The Mars boys lacrosse team’s quest to become the first from the WPIAL to win a state championship is two wins away from becoming reality. Enzo Grieco scored five goals and Austin Cote and Wes Scurci added three apiece as the Fightin’ Planets defeated District 3 champion Susquehannock, 16-5, in...
Penn-Trafford not shaken after WPIAL title-game loss, refocuses on PIAA playoffs
A mixture of stunned numbness and grace-in-defeat omitting from their faces, Penn-Trafford players and coaches posed for their runner-up photo but didn’t have to force smiles. There weren’t many tears shed. And there was even some giggling as people bunched up in rows and glared at cellphone cameras. “We’re not...
George Guido: Burrell, Deer Lakes make PIAA softball playoff returns
Burrell and Deer Lakes will be heading north Monday to open the PIAA softball playoffs. Burrell will play Villa Maria in the Class 4A opener at 3 p.m. at Penn State-Behrend, and Deer Lakes will play at Corry High School in Class 3A against the Beavers at 4. Should Burrell...
Burrell softball team eyes 1st PIAA win in decade
With its season on the line and a trip to the PIAA playoffs at stake, the Burrell softball team came up big Tuesday against Montour at Mars. The Bucs scored early, and their defense, coupled with the pitching of junior ace Katie Armstrong, made it hold up in a 3-1...
Westmoreland notebook: GCC, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland in PIAA softball playoffs
The PIAA softball playoff field is set and three local teams will begin play Monday. All three will have lengthy road trips. WPIAL Class 5A runner-up Penn-Trafford (18-3) will play at Twin Valley (17-8), the District 3 runner-up, at 4 p.m. In Class 3A, Southmoreland (14-4) visits Bald Eagle (10-5),...
Greensburg Central Catholic’s Marquez plays for late father
A silver, heart-shaped locket dangles from a necklace Isabela Marquez is wearing. Every so often, it catches a shaft of sunlight coming through the window in a lonely Greensburg Central Catholic gymnasium as she talks about her late father. Her voice echoes. Sniffles and sighs are interrupted by little chuckles...
North Allegheny notebook: Shannon takes 3rd in PIAA hurdles
North Allegheny senior Kena Shannon capped her high school career last week by earning a bronze medal in the 300-meter hurdles at the PIAA Class 3A track and field championships in Shippensburg. Shannon ran a time of 44.38 seconds in the finals, setting a school record. Neshaminy’s Sanaa Hebron won...
Hampton quartet fares well at PIAA track
Hampton brought back one state medal, one personal-best time and a vanload of memories from the PIAA Class 3A track and field championships May 27-28 at Shippensburg. Senior Matt DeMatteo placed eighth in the 300-meter hurdles to win his first PIAA track medal, and junior Ava Vitiello ran the fastest...
Hampton girls lacrosse team delights in exceeding expectations
The Hampton girls lacrosse team entered the 2022 season with tepid expectations after graduation losses decimated last year’s WPIAL Class 2A semifinalist. “Honestly,” senior captain Hannah Acquafondata said, “I kind of came into this season with my head down.” The Talbots ended the spring with their heads held high. Hampton...
Norwin notebook: Baseball, softball standouts earn all-section honors
Norwin athletes once again made their mark in the WPIAL’s two largest classifications this spring. The Big 5/6 Conference, which covers Class 6A and 5A athletics, had its all-section banquet May 25 and announced its top players in baseball and softball. Section 2-6A baseball’s first team included seniors Jack Whalen...
Shady Side Academy captains reflect on another WPIAL girls lacrosse championship
The WPIAL Class 3A title game victory for the Shady Side Academy girls lacrosse team was significant for the seniors who have known nothing but championships. But it was also significant for their coach. Coach Katy Phillips, also assistant athletic director for the school, will be leaving for another position...
Shady Side Academy boys lacrosse savors win in ‘electric’ WPIAL title game
Shady Side Academy players and coaches knew the WPIAL Class 3A boys lacrosse championship game would be a close battle. It lived up to those expectations and then some. The Bulldogs (17-5) defeated Mt. Lebanon in overtime, 12-11, at Robert Morris’ Joe Walton Stadium. A goal by J.P. Henry on...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on June 4, 2022: Mars boys lacrosse looks to keep rolling
Up until last spring, the PIAA lacrosse playoffs were a dry wasteland for WPIAL programs. Very few boys or girls lacrosse teams from District 7 survived the first round, let alone were considered a serious contender for a run at the state title. The sport, still growing on this side...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for June 4, 2022
High schools Baseball PIAA playoffs First round Monday’s schedule Class 6A Owen J. Roberts vs. Emmaus at Boyertown, 4 p.m.; Hazleton vs. Coatesville at Mountain Top, 4:30 p.m.; Liberty vs. Manheim Township at DeSales, 7 p.m.; LaSalle College vs. Pennsbury at Lincoln, 4 p.m.; Hatboro Horsham at Warwick, 1 p.m.;...
