High School category, Page 672
2022 WPIAL Class 6A softball preseason breakdown
Last spring was a celebration as district athletes returned to the diamonds after the 2020 season was canceled because of covid-19 shutdowns. Softball was a success throughout as the WPIAL crowned four new champions while Laurel and West Greene remained on top in 2A and A. District softball squads also...
2022 WPIAL Class 6A baseball preseason breakdown
Last spring was a celebration as district athletes returned to the diamonds after the 2020 season was canceled because of covid-19 shutdowns. Baseball thrived throughout the WPIAL as six new champions were crowned, some in dramatic fashion. That success carried over to the state playoffs as WPIAL teams captured two...
Mt. Pleasant girls place 2nd at PIAA swimming championships
It was quite the two days for the Mt. Pleasant girls swim team at the PIAA Class 2A championships at Bucknell. Paced by two state championships from freshman Lily King and a third from the 400-yard freestyle relay of King, Reegan Brown, Trinity Graft and SaraJo Gardner, the Vikings placed...
High school scores, schedules for March 19, 2022
High schools Basketball Boys PIAA playoffs Class 6A Semifinals Saturday’s results Archbishop Wood 56, Fox Chapel 54 Roman Catholic 53, Lower Merion 41 Finals March 26 schedule At Hershey’s Giant Center Roman Catholic (23-4) vs. Archbishop Wood (21-7), 7:30 p.m. Class 5A Semifinals Saturday’s result Imhotep Charter 66, Chester 41...
Greensburg Salem boys, Norwin girls reach playoff rounds at state bowling finals
A pair of Westmoreland County bowling teams advanced to the playoff rounds at the state team tournament Saturday. Greensburg Salem’s boys team reached the semifinals before losing to Spring Grove, 2-1. The Golden Lions were second in the qualifying round, compiling 3,866 pins over three games and two Baker sets....
Fox Chapel falls to Archbishop Wood in PIAA semifinals
Fox Chapel’s run in the PIAA boys basketball playoffs fell just short of a trip to Hershey. The WPIAL champion Foxes went toe-to-toe with District 12 power Archbishop Wood on Saturday but dropped a 56-54 decision in the PIAA Class 6A semifinals at Chambersburg High School. Jake DeMotte had 19...
George Guido: Herr Stadium to become part of New Kensington community garden
One of the Alle-Kiski Valley’s historic athletic facilities, the place where the first local night football game was played, is turning into a community garden. Herr Stadium, in the Parnassus section of New Kensington, was once a dual-purpose, football-baseball facility. It has been, basically, a playground over the past 30...
Westmoreland notebook: Norwin’s Young added to East-West All-Star Game
Better late than not at all. Norwin senior football player Jacob Young was added to the West roster for the big-school East-West All-Star Game set for May 29 at Bishop McDevitt in Harrisburg. Young is a two-way lineman who played center, tackle, guard and defensive tackle for the Knights. He...
OLSH overcomes 22-point deficit, beats Kennedy Catholic in PIAA Class 2A semifinals
The mantra in March is “survive and advance.” For Our Lady of the Sacred Heart on Saturday afternoon, it was ultimate survival mode. The Chargers, with their 66-game winning streak and a berth in the PIAA finals on the line, fell behind by 22 points midway through the second period,...
New-look Leechburg softball still expects deep postseason run
For 30 years, it’s been lather, rinse, repeat for Leechburg softball. The only real change has been the faces. The standard has always stayed the same. Coming off a solid postseason run last season, the Blue Devils arereplacing more than half of their starting lineup going into the 2022 season....
PIAA semifinal win gives Aliquippa chance for rare football-basketball championship double
Aliquippa is headed to Hershey for the second time in three months, chasing after a rare football-basketball double state championship. Sophomore point guard Quentin Goode, who quarterbacked the Quips to a football title in the fall, made a winning layup with 30 seconds left Saturday afternoon as Aliquippa defeated South...
Chartiers Valley tops McKeesport, returns to PIAA girls basketball finals
Sometimes experience just matters and will conquer all, especially when it comes to the PIAA girls basketball playoffs. The senior-laden Chartiers Valley team showcased its resolve on the court in the second quarter, outscoring McKeesport by 12 points and holding a nine-point halftime lead. The Tigers were playing catch up...
North Catholic’s Maggie Foley takes 2nd at PIAA diving championships
LEWISBURG — North Catholic junior Maggie Foley placed second to Marple Newtown senior Alexandra Pastris at last year’s PIAA Class 2A diving championships at Cumberland Valley High School. Foley hoped that a return to Bucknell and a rematch with Pastris on Saturday afternoon would yield different results. They held the...
Leechburg baseball team loaded with pitching, bursting with enthusiasm
Hard work, positivity and optimism. Spend any length of time with first-year Leechburg baseball coach Heath Shimer and it’s obvious a new era of Blue Devils baseball about to begin. “I got an awesome group of kids right now,” said Shimer. “I am surprised that I have them where I...
A-K Valley HOF inductee Jeff Cortileso kept eye on Leechburg’s football resurgence
Jeff Cortileso was happy to see his alma mater, Leechburg, get back to becoming one of the area’s top football programs. It brought back memories of his time with the Blue Devils when Leechburg often was a contender for postseason play. “I think they had a great year,” said Cortileso,...
Plum softball has tools to get clear playoff hurdle
Plum’s softball team walked off the diamond last spring stunned. Fox Chapel, the No. 14 seed in the Class 5A playoffs, upended the Mustangs, 2-0, in the WPIAL first round, abruptly halting a promising season. “I don’t like to dwell in the past too much, because there’s not a whole...
With new field complete, Plum baseball looks to defend section crown
There are some things at Plum that need to be broken in. Late last season, the Mustangs unveiled a sparkling new baseball field but were able to play only three home games on the artificial turf. A year later, a talented — yet somewhat inexperienced group — hopes that a...
Norwin notebook: Young to play in East-West All-Star Game
Norwin senior football player Jacob Young was added to the West roster for the big-school East-West All-Star Game, set for May 29 at Bishop McDevitt in Harrisburg. Young is a two-way lineman who played center, tackle, guard and defensive tackle for the Knights, and also can handle long-snapping duties. The...
Rumpler 2nd-place finish at states a boon for North Allegheny girls wrestling team
North Allegheny didn’t have a girls wresting team two years ago, yet the Tigers saw a girl finish second in the state this winter. The team’s success is a credit to the athletes, coach Dan Heckert said, but also shows how far the program has come and how far the...
Hampton shatters expectations while winning back-to-back WPIAL swim titles
Four individuals — Will Retsch, Ben Sheets, Chris Belch and Zach Sutterlin — and all three boys relays at Hampton qualified for the PIAA Class 2A swimming championships, as did Pax Carslaw, a diving specialist. The leader of the pack was none other than Retsch, a senior who won WPIAL...
After rounding out game, Hampton’s Hoehler headed to Pitt-Greensburg
Hampton’s Kayla Hoehler has been playing basketball for more than half of her life. She started playing at around age 7, continued through her middle school days and was a four-year varsity starter for the Talbots from 2018-22. The 5-foot-8 senior guard plans to extend her career to the next...
WPIAL swimmers chasing more gold in championship heats at PIAA swim meet Day 2
LEWISBURG — After winning seven state titles on Day 1 of the PIAA Class 2A swimming championships at Bucknell, WPIAL swimmers are after more gold Saturday evening. Two Friday state champs will go head to head in the girls 100-yard freestyle as Mt. Pleasant freshman Lily King and Northgate sophomore...
WPIAL swimmers claim 7 state titles on 1st day of PIAA Class 2A championships
LEWISBURG — Friday was a banner day for WPIAL boys and girls swimmers at the PIAA Class 2A championships at Bucknell. The district took home seven individual state titles — four boys and three girls — out of the 12 contested events. Indiana freshman Preston Kessler got the party started....
Mike Wells shakes off sore elbow, leads New Castle to 1st PIAA finals since ’14
Mike Wells’ elbow was still hurting him, but that didn’t hide his happiness as New Castle fans rained Hershey’s Kisses on the Red Hurricanes’ postgame celebration. A day after falling hard at practice, Wells shook off the shooting-arm injury and scored a game-high 26 points Friday night with four 3-pointers...
High school sports scores, schedules for March 18, 2022
High schools Basketball Boys PIAA playoffs Class 6A Semifinals Saturday’s schedule Lower Merion (27-3) vs. Roman Catholic (22-4) at Coatesville, 4 p.m. Archbishop Wood (20-7) vs. Fox Chapel (27-1) at Chambersburg, 4 p.m. Class 5A Semifinals Friday’s result New Castle 59, Gateway 39 Saturday’s schedule Chester (20-3) vs. Imhotep Charter...
