High School category, Page 923
Penn Hills swimmers alter training for unique season
The Penn Hills swim team returns one WPIAL qualifier this season, and a couple of others are seeing an opportunity to qualify. Senior Michael Lintelman is looking to improve on a top-10 finish in the 200-yard individual medley at the WPIAL Class 3A championships last season. At WPIALs, Lintelman finished...
Gateway boys look to build off WPIAL playoff berth
The Gateway boys basketball team made strides last season, going from just three wins in section and five victories overall the year before to 10 wins and a return berth in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. The Gators, junior Will Kromka said, now are ready to take the next step....
Senior class helps Thomas Jefferson football add to overflowing trophy case
Two PIAA championships, three WPIAL titles, three conference crowns. In a nutshell, that describes the four-year varsity careers of the seniors in the Thomas Jefferson football program. The Jaguars topped previously undefeated and District 4 winner Jersey Shore, 21-14, in the PIAA Class 4A finals Nov. 28 at Hersheypark Stadium....
Thomas Jefferson football A to Z: Another special season for Jaguars
An anatomy of a state champion, or it takes a village to build a successful football program. Thomas Jefferson (10-1) won its 10th WPIAL title in school history and fifth state crown in 2020. The Jaguars held off previously undefeated and District 4 winner Jersey Shore (10-1), 21-14, Nov. 28...
Trib HSSN 2020-21 WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball preseason breakdown
Getting to the WPIAL girls basketball finals will take even more dedication and focus than ever this season. Teams will have to navigate an invisible opponent in covid-19 that could test them more than a section rival. But a reward of a WPIAL championship will drive girls basketball teams across...
Trib HSSN 2020-21 WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball preseason breakdown
This will surely be a boys basketball season like no other. WPIAL teams are set to tip off Friday and embark on a masked journey through a schedule likely to change many times as the year progresses. Teams all have hopes of hoisting a WPIAL championship trophy in March, much...
New coaches bring excitement, confidence to Springdale girls basketball
There’s a new-found energy surrounding the Springdale girls basketball program. Jerry Clark and assistant coach Meredith Cooper are in their first year running things after spending time at the junior high level, and they are ready to erase the stigma that has surrounded the program for so many years. “We’re...
With newfound focus and depth, Springdale boys ready to make deep playoff run
The Springdale boys basketball team came out of nowhere last season. Led by junior guard Demitri Fritch, who scored 24.7 points per game, the Dynamos cruised to a 20-4 record, scoring 63.6 points per game, and were on the verge of making their first WPIAL semifinal appearance since 1991. It...
Pine-Richland’s Cole Spencer earns Trib HSSN Football Player of the Year honors
Following in the footsteps of one of the best quarterbacks the WPIAL has produced, Cole Spencer didn’t blink. Spencer passed Phil Jurkovec for most wins at Pine-Richland and now has matched the current Boston College signal caller in leading the Rams to WPIAL and PIAA football championships. “Cole Spencer is...
Pine-Richland’s Miguel Jackson named 2020 Bill Fralic Memorial Award winner
Pine-Richland teammates gave Miguel Jackson the nickname, “Smoke,” when he was a sophomore because they often caught him saying, “They don’t want no smoke.” It became his catchphrase, a warning of sorts that meant opponents would do better not to mess with him on the football field. They used to...
Hampton athletes earn postseason honors after historic fall season
The most challenging, unusual sports season in WPIAL history included something else that has never been seen before. This fall marked the first time that Hampton’s football, boys soccer, girls soccer and girls volleyball teams all reached the WPIAL playoffs in the same season. “With everything that went on (with...
Pine-Richland hockey has unfinished business after shortened playoff run
If Pine-Richland could rewrite history, it would be competing for a three-peat this season for the Penguins Cup and state championship. The Rams, led by 14 seniors, instead feel an emptiness they can’t quite shake. Captain Dominic Desjardins and alternates Sam Perry and Griffin Roth are still upset about last...
Shady Side Academy girls basketball returns full roster from last season
Not many WPIAL teams can boast about returning their entire roster. The Shady Side Academy girls basketball team can, and coach Caroline Fitzgerald is excited to see what they can do this season. With a young lineup last season, the girls took their bumps and bruises and limped to a...
Norwin notebook: Recruitment heating back up for Knights lineman
Anthony Giansante isn’t ready to give up on playing Division I college football. In fact, he may be more enthusiastic now than before he started getting scholarship offers. Giansante, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound lineman from Norwin, is back on the recruiting trail, proactively reaching out to schools that had already recruited...
North Allegheny looking to again contend for PIHL Penguins Cup title
The PIHL shut down its playoffs before reaching the finals last season, so North Allegheny coach Mike Bagnato told his players to consider themselves the reigning champions. Why not? They were the most recent team to win the Class AAA title. “I started off the season saying, ‘Hey, look, we’re...
Led by state qualifiers, Hampton wrestling looks strong in upper weights
If Hampton senior Justin Hart ever says “uncle” in the wrestling room, it will have nothing to do with giving up. Hart, the nephew of Talbots wrestling coach Chris Hart, is one of the top 189-pounders in the WPIAL Class 3A and joins fellow state qualifier Dawson Dietz in another...
Behind mixture of youth, experience, Shady Side Academy boys ready to compete
The Shady Side Academy boys basketball team lost eight seniors to graduation, but coach David Vadnais is excited about what his young players bring to the program. “For everybody, it’s going to be a weird year, but it’s going to be an interesting year for us because those seniors that...
Penn-Trafford girls basketball ready for challenge in move to Class 6A
There will be a new set of challenges for the Penn-Trafford girls basketball team this season, and it has nothing to do with the coronavirus. Penn-Trafford has jumped from Class 5A to Class 6A, and veteran coach John Giannikas knows the competition will be a lot tougher. The Warriors are...
Familiar face leads Penn-Trafford boys basketball into season
When Penn-Trafford district officials went searching for a new boys basketball coach after Jim Rocco resigned following five seasons, they were looking for someone familiar with the program. Doug Kelly, who was the P-T boys junior varsity coach in 2018-19, was hired in June. He was a P-T girls basketball...
Girls basketball preview: Gateway has firepower to contend in loaded section
The Gateway girls basketball team opened its season with a practice Nov. 20, the first day winter sports teams were permitted to do so in the WPIAL and throughout Pennsylvania. Then things came to a halt as Gateway suspended all athletic activities for two weeks — through Friday — as...
Riverview boys basketball expects to contend when team gets to full strength
The Riverview boys basketball team missed the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs last season, but it was within a few points of forging a different outcome. The Raiders finished section play with a 4-10 record, but three games were decided by two points or less. Learning from those experiences, veteran head...
Ongoing pandemic means changes to high school wrestling season in WPIAL, state
There could be massive changes to high school wrestling this season because of the ongoing pandemic. Some early season tournaments have been canceled, moved or are on hold. The WPIAL and PIAA tournaments also could see a drastic change if things involving the coronavirus don’t improve. If the effects of...
Shenango, Rochester top all-conference selections for Big 7 football team
Shenango and Rochester tied atop the Big Seven standings and had five players apiece earn first-team all-conference honors in the WPIAL Class A conference. Shenango’s Reis Watkins was named the top offensive player and Rochester’s Sal Laure received the defensive award in a vote of conference coaches. Union’s Aaron Gunn...
Riverview girls basketball team hopes to build off memorable season
Last season was one to remember for the Riverview girls basketball team. With a group of six seniors leading the way, the Raiders compiled a 15-10 overall record with several key section victories down the stretch in the regular season. A high-pressure, emotional win over Burgettstown followed in the first...
California leads Tri-County South with 9 all-conference football players
California running back Jaeden Zuzak, the WPIAL’s third-leading rusher this season, was among 45 players named all-conference in the Class A Tri-County South. The Trojans led with nine all-conference players. Zuzak rushed for 1,571 yards and 28 touchdowns for California (6-1, 6-0), which went undefeated in the conference. Trojans’ coach...
