High School category, Page 856
Clark brothers bolster lineup for Gateway tennis
David Clark loves the competition on the tennis court with twin brother, Nathan. Nathan is the No. 1 singles player for the Gateway boys tennis team, but David is not far behind at No. 2. “It’s definitely competitive, but it drives us,” said David Clark, who wrestled for the Gators...
Gateway boys lacrosse developing young roster
With 19 seniors and a high level of experience up and down the lineup, the 2019 Gateway boys lacrosse team made history. With the highest-ever playoff seed (No. 7), the Gators hosted a playoff game for the first time and rolled past Sewickley Academy before falling to No. 2 Hampton...
Shaler track and field athletes getting up to speed after missed season
Shaler Area track and field coach Shawn Ryan had a nice return to competition for the Titans’ girls track team. Shaler beat North Hills, 87-60, in its first dual meet, collecting its first victory since Ryan took over the program in 2019. In a season where many athletes will be...
Shaler’s Szazynski is 1st in at least 17 years to reach WPIAL singles tourney
Shaler Area senior Cameron Szazynski wanted to keep punishing the second serve of Fox Chapel’s Cooper Friday last Wednesday. Szazynski saw an opening during their Section 3-AAA quarterfinal match and worked to exploit it. The seventh-seeded Szazynski kept scoring points with strong returns and broke second-seeded Friday twice in the...
Carlynton boys move forward having learned from late-season losses
It had been an outstanding season for the Carlynton boys basketball team as the Cougars prepared to play Sto-Rox in the de facto Section 2-2A title game. The Cougars were tied for first place in the section with the Vikings at 8-1 and were 11-2 overall. Sto-Rox won, 37-30, and...
As memory of stinging end fades, Bishop Canevin boys savor championship season
A season filled with great joys and a golden high ended with a kick to the gut and a low that just felt so empty. That was the 2020-2021 season for the Bishop Canevin boys basketball program. Before focusing on the many outstanding moments, the season came to a sudden...
Thomas Jefferson baseball to gain experience on the fly
Thomas Jefferson’s baseball roster is a bit misleading. “We are a young team,” coach Tim Vickers said. “While there are nine seniors on the roster, only two of them had varsity experience (prior to this season). Our expectation is to simply get better every day.” The coronavirus pandemic that shut...
Brentwood baseball knocking off rust
The Brentwood Spartans experienced a rocky start on the diamond, losing their first three games including back-to-back section defeats to Fort Cherry. Brentwood opened the season with three returning starters from 2019, along with six first-year players and four others. “Some of them were able to play over the summer,...
Baldwin baseball rebuilding project making progress
As Dorothy says repeatedly in the iconic movie “The Wizard of Oz,” there’s no place like home. Veteran coach Steve Bucci would agree, as he has returned to his roots to take over the Baldwin baseball team. Bucci, with WPIAL and PIAA titles on his resume, was hired at his...
Quaker Valley boys tennis in title contention with deep lineup
The Quaker Valley boys tennis team went on a run to the PIAA tournament in 2019 and finished with an overall regular season record of 10-2. Before the coronavirus pandemic canceled their season last year, the Quakers were hoping to do it again. Now, for a third straight season, the...
Team effort helps Sewickley Academy girls lacrosse get off to hot start
The Sewickley Academy girls lacrosse team started the 2021 season with back-to-back wins over Peters Township and Shaler, and both wins came in different ways. The win over Peters Township, a tight three-goal victory, came in a typical grind-it-out game as the Panthers battled adversity with the weather and their...
High school scores, schedules for April 10, 2021
High schools Baseball Saturday’s results WPIAL Class 2A Section 2 Laurel 15, Aliquippa 0 Laurel 19, Aliquippa 2 Nonsection Blackhawk 5, Ellwood City 4 South Park 9, McKeesport 2 Latrobe 10, Hempfield 9 Kiski Area 8, Freeport 4 Moon 8, Beaver 0 South Fayette 16, Central Valley 2 West Greene...
Trib HSSN Softball Rankings: April 11, 2021
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Bethel Park, 5-0, 2 2. Canon-McMillan, 2-2, 3 3. Hempfield, 3-2, 1 4. North Allegheny, 3-4, 5 5. Seneca Valley, 4-1, 4 Out: none Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Connellsville, 4-1, 5 2. Penn-Trafford, 2-3, 1 3. South Fayette, 5-0, NR...
High school roundup for April 10, 2021: South Fayette captures PIAA competitive spirit title
South Fayette earned a state title in the Class 3A large division with a score of 89.97 on Saturday at the PIAA competitive spirit championships in Hershey. The Lions were more than four points better than second place Avon Grove. Thomas Jefferson (80.5) placed fourth in the Class 3A large...
George Guido: Still more to chew on from basketball season
Taking care of a couple of leftovers from the scholastic basketball season: • Rochester lost the WPIAL Class A boys title game to Bishop Canevin, 42-27. It was 10-9 Crusaders at halftime. But the question came up — when was the last time such few points were scored in a...
Pine-Richland’s Spencer wins 1st Willie Thrower Memorial Award
Chuck Curtis played football for the New York Giants in 1957 before beginning a football coaching career that lasted for 30 years. He coached as an assistant at Southern Methodist University in the mid-1960s and helped play a part in giving more black student-athletes the chance to get recruited to...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Norwin’s Bilinsky gets 1 more game
Norwin senior Ty Bilinsky was selected for the Roundball Classic, the year-end all-star basketball event. But he doesn’t just plan to show up and sit on the bench as an honorary pick. He is going to play. Organizers initially invited Bilinsky thinking he simply would be recognized. Bilinsky, a 5-foot-10...
Trib HSSN baseball rankings for April 10, 2021
Class 6A Rk, Team, W-L, Last 1. Norwin, 4-1, 1 2. North Allegheny, 4-1, 3 3. Upper St. Clair, 4-1, NR 4. Pine-Richland, 3-2, 2 5. Seneca Valley, 3-2, 5 Out: Central Catholic (5-2, 4) Class 5A Rk, Team, W-L, Last 1. West Allegheny, 3-1, 1 2. Franklin Regional, 4-0,...
Hempfield throwers Norris, Gera have big goals this seasonVideo
When the PIAA holds its track and field championship May 28 and 29 at Shippensburg, it should come as no surprise that two Hempfield throwers are favorites to win gold medals. Seniors Dan Norris and Bella Gera have the best discus throws in the state by a big margin —...
Loaded senior class has Hampton girls lacrosse seeking 3rd WPIAL title since ’17
On the eve of each home section game, the Hampton girls lacrosse players gather after practice for a team dinner. On game day, all eyes are on the Cook. Hampton midfielder Megan Cook is one of the most exciting players in Western Pennsylvania and is a key reason why the...
Hampton eyes another run to WPIAL boys lacrosse finals
The Hampton boys lacrosse team waited 667 days between matches. But after a 12-0 victory over North Hills in the 2021 season opener March 29, all appears well for the perennial WPIAL title contender. “It’s just good to be back on the field,” coach Jim Vollberg said after an energetic...
Shady Side Academy boys tennis confident after undefeated start
Shady Side alum Sam Miller took over the school’s boys tennis program before last year and was two weeks into his tenure before the coronavirus pandemic canceled the spring sports season. A change in leadership and lost season haven’t stopped the Bulldogs from getting off to a hot start in...
Fox Chapel boys tennis ready to reset with new starting lineup
Leading up to last season, the Fox Chapel boys tennis team had put together a dominant run, winning four straight WPIAL team titles. But with a canceled season last year because of the coronavirus pandemic and an influx of new players, the Foxes have found themselves resetting in 2021. With...
Norwin notebook: Soccer players Swankler, Sigut commit to D1 programs
Norwin will send two more girls soccer players to NCAA Division I programs. Junior forward Paloma Swankler announced she has committed to play at Robert Morris, while senior Morgan Sigut is headed to Long Island (N.Y.). One of several speedsters for the Knights, Swankler, an all-section player, was a scoring...
Norwin track and field to lean on senior depth
A global pandemic put a line through last season, ending playoff streaks for both of the Norwin track and field teams. The boys had made the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals in 2017 and ’18, while the girls reached the team finals four years in a row (2016-19) and have made...
