High School category, Page 919
WPIAL contenders wonder how sports shutdown will impact swimming season
Ian Shahan hopes for big things in his senior swimming season. Like many others throughout the WPIAL, the Belle Vernon senior who is the defending WPIAL Class AA champion in the 100-yard freestyle and 100 butterfly, is keeping his fingers crossed that when the calendar turns to 2021, the season...
Steelers provide helping hand as Yough renovates weight room
Yough hopes to be flexing its muscles again soon in the WPIAL — with a little lift from the Black and Gold. The school district recently accepted a $15,000 grant from the Pittsburgh Steelers to upgrade its weight room and the project is drawing rave reviews in Herminie. Yough athletes...
PIHL standings through Dec. 13, 2020
Here are the latest PIHL high school hockey standings through Sunday. Because of Gov. Tom Wolf’s mandate to shut down interscholastic sports due to the rise in covid-19 cases across Pennsylvania, there will be no PIHL hockey games until Jan. 4, 2021 at the earliest. Team – Wins – Losses...
Thomas Jefferson, Baldwin, Brentwood girls basketball teams have playoff ambitions
Here’s a look at the high school girls basketball teams for the South Hills Record coverage area: Thomas Jefferson The Thomas Jefferson girls won’t soon forget the wild ride that was the 2019-20 season. The Jaguars started out 7-1, won three and lost three midseason games, and wrapped it up...
Gateway’s Summer Raymer has sights set on school swimming records
Summer Raymer’s name already is on the swimming record boards in the natatorium at Gateway High School. The Gateway junior standout is part of the 200-yard medley relay team that set the record last year with graduate Olivia Livingston and sophomores Ayva Harris and Morgan Holmes. Raymer, the runner-up last...
Brentwood, Thomas Jefferson, Baldwin boys basketball teams look to develop chemistry
Here’s a look at boys basketball teams in the South Hills Record coverage area: Brentwood Graduation losses hit the Brentwood boys basketball program hard. The Spartans were stacked with seven seniors in 2019-20, led by four-year starter C.J. Ziegler, a flashy 5-foot-11 guard and 1,000-point career scorer who is a...
Quaker Valley wrestlers ready to test themselves against the best
Over the past few years, the Quaker Valley wrestling team has taken the necessary steps to build a successful program from the bottom up. The Quakers won section titles each of the past two seasons and are looking to do so again. They want to take it one step further,...
Quaker Valley swimmers ready to show up for work, contend for championships
In his first year at the helm of the Quaker Valley swimming and diving program, John Nemeth wants athletes to put in the work that will enable them to compete at their highest level. Despite limitations resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, that is exactly what the Quakers were doing until...
Standard stays the same for Penn-Trafford swim teams
Dave Babik has been coaching the Penn-Trafford swimming teams for 30 years, and the team’s expectations haven’t changed. “We’re used to competing at a high level,” Babik said, “and I think we’re capable of that this season.” Babik must replace a large senior class but has some key pieces that...
Gateway athletes pick up postseason honors after challenging fall
The Gateway boys and girls soccer teams and the Gators football team each earned WPIAL playoff berths in a fall season dominated each week by covid concerns, cancellations and delays. The teams overcame a week-long practice and competition stoppage in pursuit of postseason opportunities. Several individual standouts helped fuel the...
Shaler indoor track working hard, hoping for chance to compete
Shawn Ryan sees the challenges ahead of him for the Shaler indoor track team. Keeping a positive attitude will be difficult. The Titans are training hard, but their ability to compete will be largely left to the whims of the number of coronavirus cases. All high school sports in Pennsylvania...
Shaler notebook: Pair of volleyball standouts named all-state
Marching into the WPIAL Class 4A volleyball championship game allowed the Shaler girls volleyball team to turn some heads. Along with compiling a 14-3 record before falling in four sets in the district final to four-time defending state champion North Allegheny, the Titans had two players named to the all-state...
Chartiers Valley hockey comes charging out the gate
While the high school winter sports season was trying to get off the ground in December, high school hockey was into its second month of ice action. One of the PIHL Class A teams that galloped out of the gate swiftly was Chartiers Valley. The Colts led the way in...
Bishop Canevin volleyball shows championship-caliber character during emotional season
The 2020 season was a teeter-totter of emotions for the Bishop Canevin girls volleyball team. It started with the very real fear that there would be no season at all, featured the joy of great success on the court and included the tragic loss of their beloved coach. “This group...
Westmoreland high school notebook: FR’s DiFalco awarded again
The honors continued to roll in for Franklin Regional junior soccer star Anthony DiFalco, who garnered United Soccer Coaches Region II All-America and USC All-Region East team honors for the second year in a row. DiFalco, the Trib Westmoreland player of the year, propelled the Panthers to a third straight...
Franklin Regional wrestlers have firepower to contend
Franklin Regional won consecutive WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA team wrestling titles in 2014 and 2015, and it reached the semifinals in 2017. This year, veteran coach Matt Lebe said his team has a chance to make some more noise, though he said Class AAA is very good with Waynesburg...
Penn Hills football standouts rack up postseason honors
Even though the Penn Hills football season didn’t finish the way the team hoped, the Indians had 13 players recognized for their play this season as they received all-conference honors. The Indians (4-4, 4-1) had six players receive first-team honors in the Northeast Conference from the Western Pennsylvania Big 56...
New coach sees great potential in Pine-Richland girls basketball lineup
Pine-Richland’s new girls basketball coach Kyle DeGregorio routinely tells his players they will be an elite team. He always adds that it’s just a matter of how long it takes. “I live day-to day, and I just want us to get better, compete every day, mature as competitors and learn...
New era for Pine-Richland boys basketball tips off with enthusiasm
Joe Petcash was riding in the car with his dad in mid-June when they got a call that would put into motion the next era of Pine-Richland’s basketball team. Bob Petcash answered discreetly, opting not to take it on speaker, and hung up after a few brief words with the...
Norwin infielder chosen for exclusive showcase
No high school baseball season last spring only served to motivate players like Alex Gabauer, a slick-fielding, power-hitting shortstop at Norwin. The senior has committed to play at Penn, so his college future is secure — as secure as it can be during the covid-19 pandemic. But baseball can lead...
Last season’s abrupt ending motivates North Allegheny girls basketball
After having its state title hopes dashed last season by the covid-19 pandemic, the North Allegheny girls basketball team isn’t worried about a couple of inconveniences. Wear masks at all times for practices and during games? Fine. Social distance and wash uniforms and equipment every night? No big deal. “I...
WPIAL champion coach brings spark to North Allegheny boys basketball
Matt McDonough and Robby Jones knew there would be some wide eyes in the gym, so they offered words of advice to their North Allegheny teammates about new basketball coach Dan DeRose. “We let everyone know his style and how he can yell a little bit,” McDonough said. “But he...
Franklin Regional’s Lindeman chooses Towson
Franklin Regional girls soccer coach Scott Arnold calls Sydney Lindeman a leader by example. The junior midfielder does not have to say much to inspire her teammates. Her skilled game does most of the talking. They often follow the pace she sets. “Syd’s teammates love and respect her,” Arnold said....
Fox Chapel wrestling looks to lean on work ethic in 2020
After losing four seniors to graduation, the Fox Chapel wrestling team is going to go through a transition process in 2020. Eddie Farrell, Josh Miller, Luke O’Connor and Alex Wecht all left a lasting impact on the program after combining for 101 wins last season. They all recorded double-digit pins....
Fox Chapel swimming set to have best team in recent history
The Fox Chapel swimming program is on the rise. With an influx of young talent on both the girls and boys side and state champion Sophie Shao returning, the Foxes are in position to have one of the best seasons in recent history. “We feel really confident; we had one...
