High School category, Page 906
Penn-Trafford rifle team continues growing, finding success
The Penn-Trafford co-ed rifle team has come a long way in a short time. The program was started in 2015, and by 2020 the Warriors had developed into one of the WPIAL’s top teams. They placed third in the WPIAL last winter and qualified for the state competition, where they...
Penn-Trafford notebook: Girls basketball coach reaches milestone with win over Norwin
Penn-Trafford girls’ basketball coach John Giannikas took over a struggling program in 2006-07. Since then, the Warriors have continued to improve. Under Giannikas, the program has been headed in the right direction and turned into a playoff regular. Giannikas reached a coaching milestone Jan. 18 when Penn-Trafford (5-0) toppled Norwin,...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 23, 2021
Basketball WPIAL Boys Saturday’s results Class 6A Section 1 Seneca Valley 82, North Hills 75 Class 4A Section 2 Ambridge 56, Hopewell 47 Section 3 Mt. Pleasant at South Park, ppd. Class 3A Section 4 Waynesburg Central 82, Charleroi 58 Class 2A Section 1 OLSH 95, South Side 47 Nonsection...
High school roundup for Jan. 23, 2021: New Castle fends off Lincoln Park
Isaiah Boice and Michael Wells scored 13 points each to help New Castle hold off a late rally by Lincoln Park for a 59-58 boys basketball victory in a matchup of top-ranked teams Saturday. The Leopards (3-3) trailed by 11 after three quarters. L.A. Pratt had 14 points for Lincoln...
High school rifle season looks different this year
Over the past three winters, Madison Herrick enjoyed traveling to different schools for rifle matches with her Plum teammates. The Mustangs senior captain, a veteran of the WPIAL individual championship meet, said though WPIAL’s move to virtual matches for regular-season competition with no travel is out of the norm, it...
H.S. notebook: Belle Vernon’s Dane Anden gets preferred walk-on offer from Pitt
Dane Anden could hardly believe the news. “When I told him, he was ecstatic,” Belle Vernon football coach Matt Humbert said. “He was really excited.” The news was that Pitt has more than the rumored lukewarm interest in the Leopards senior running back, who was a key cog in last...
WPIAL boys basketball rankings: Week ending Jan. 23, 2021
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Upper St. Clair, 7-1, 1 2. North Allegheny, 6-2, 3 3. Fox Chapel, 5-2, NR 4. Mt. Lebanon, 3-2, 2 5. Hempfield, 3-2, 4 Out: Butler (4-3, 5) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. New Castle, 7-0, 1 2. Chartiers Valley, 8-1,...
WPIAL girls basketball rankings: Week ending Jan. 23, 2021
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 7-0, 1 2. Upper St. Clair, 4-1, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 6-0, 3 4. Penn-Trafford, 6-0, NR 5. Bethel Park, 4-1, 5 Out: Norwin (5-1, 4) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Trinity, 6-1, 2 2. Chartiers Valley, 7-1, 1...
Kiski Area girls beat Greensburg Salem on buzzer-beaterVideo
Finally, Greensburg Salem took the court for a girls basketball game. A quick start led to an early double-digit lead against Kiski Area, and it appeared a season opener unlike any other was the Golden Lions’ to lose. Turns out, it was Kiski Area’s to win. Despite an 0-for-9 start...
Chartiers Valley’s state-record winning streak snapped at 64 games
The streak is over. Chartiers Valley’s girls basketball team lost for the first time in three seasons Saturday afternoon, snapping their state-record winning streak at 64 games with a 49-42 loss at Trinity. This was a nonsection matchup between the top teams in WPIAL Class 5A, and second-ranked Trinity became...
Fox Chapel shows grit and team mentality in first two wins of season
With a young and inexperienced lineup, Fox Chapel wrestling coach Michael Frank has been preaching to his wrestlers about competing at a high level this season. He’s wanted his guys to go into matches and just give it their all. Early on, the wrestlers have responded. On Jan. 19, the...
Quaker Valley wrestling gets off to a solid start
Quaker Valley wrestlers wanted to come into this season and test themselves against the best teams around. So far, the Quakers have done just that. On Jan. 16, WPIAL Class AA No. 5 Quaker Valley traveled to the Seneca Valley Duals and came away with a record of 3-2 in...
Led by Kelin Laffey, Pine-Richland wrestling ahead of schedule
Pine-Richland’s daily goal is to get 1% better, a mantra coach Caleb Kolb often repeats to his wrestlers. He recently learned the Rams may be a little ahead of schedule after their third-place performance out of 15 teams at the Mid-Winter Mayhem tournament Jan. 16 at the Monroeville Convention Center....
Joey Dudkowski shoots Pine-Richland into contention
Pine-Richland’s Joey Dudkowski can drive to the hoop for a layup, pull up for a mid-range jumper and get off a quick 3-pointer from the perimeter, each with a fluid ease. Down 45-36 late in the third quarter against No. 5 Butler on Jan. 19, the 6-foot-3 junior put his...
Plum girls basketball back in rhythm early-season shutdown
Plum girls basketball coach Steve Elsier said his team has played well as it gets into the meat of its truncated season but knows there are a lot of challenging matchups ahead as the Mustangs hope to claim their first section championship and set themselves up for a WPIAL playoff...
Gideon Deasy makes quick impact in return to Riverview lineup
Gideon Deasy experienced pain in his left ankle through much of his fall cross country season. The Riverview senior multi-sport athlete missed several races but was able to run at the WPIAL championships. He said despite not running his best time, it was a decent performance. Deasy, an all-section performer...
North Allegheny swimmers continue to ‘shoot for excellence’
Swimmers aren’t yet sure how many of them will qualify for the WPIAL championship meet but that’s just the latest twist in what’s been a challenging winter. “The hardest part is there’s so much up in the air still,” North Allegheny coach Patrick Wenzel said. “We don’t know what’s going...
North Journal notebook: North Allegheny wrestlers sweep 3 duals
Nicholas Gorman, Adam Rohan, Aidan Buggey and Brady Leczo had pins to lead North Allegheny to a 63-11 Class 3A, Section 3B wrestling victory over North Hills on Jan. 20. North Allegheny also defeated Shaler and Mars during the quad meet to improve to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in Section...
Hampton heavyweight eager to test himself against Powerade field
Hampton’s Dawson Dietz left the Powerade Wrestling Tournament two years ago with a season-ending torn labrum. Last year, he came home from one of the nation’s most prestigious wrestling events with a fifth-place medal. This year he’s thirsty for more success. Dietz, a 250-pound senior, will be one of the...
Hampton hockey focuses on defense to stop slump
The slumping Hampton hockey team is slowing things down in hopes of heating things up. “We need to play a conservative game and get back to our style of play,” coach Luke Leya said. “When we try to go run and gun, it has not been too kind to us.”...
Shady Side Academy Bulldogs get off to a hot start with a young team
Heading into this season, Shady Side Academy boys basketball coach David Vadnais knew his team was going to be young and would have to find its identity early after a long layoff. Through two games, Vadnais said the Bulldogs are still looking for that identity, but they are having success...
OLSH avenges last season’s only loss with mercy rule win over Aliquippa
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart waited more than a year for this chance to avenge its only loss from last season. The Chargers held nothing back. Jake DiMichele had 30 points and 16 rebounds, Dante Spadafora added 18 points and OLSH celebrated a mercy rule victory over Aliquippa, 77-39,...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 22, 2021
Basketball WPIAL Boys Friday’s results WPIAL Class 6A Section 1 North Allegheny 85, Butler 62 Pine-Richland at North Hills, ppd. Section 3 Hempfield 51, Norwin 50 Class 5A Section 2 New Castle 60, Moon 28 Section 3 Franklin Regional 71, Kiski Area 47 McKeesport 68, Gateway 52 Latrobe 53, Woodland...
Norwin notebook: Altieri earns 100th career wrestling victory
John Altieri is headed for a college wrestling career at Clarion. But the Norwin senior has some unfinished business in his final prep season. Milestones often are part of the build-up to WPIAL and PIAA success. Altieri reached one earlier this season when he captured his 100th career victory. The...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Jan. 23, 2021: Teams still getting set for openers
Through Friday, there were still eight WPIAL boys and girls basketball teams that had yet to play a game. Half of them are scheduled to tip off the 2021 season Saturday. Three of the four season openers involve girls teams. Ligonier Valley will make its much-anticipated girls basketball return to...
