Norwin notebook: Jayla Wehner running the point at Marian

Former Norwin standout Jayla Wehner was in a giving mood during the holiday season.

The freshman point guard for the women’s basketball team at Marian (Ind.), an NAIA school in Indianapolis, put together a career day as she led the offense in a home victory earlier this month.

The floor leader dished out 10 assists in her third start of the year as the Knights toppled Oakland City, 93-45, for their 10th win of 2020-21.

She added eight points in 24 minutes for the Knights (10-5).

Wehner has been a steady presence in the backcourt, averaging 4.9 points and 3.1 assists across 15 games with a 1.57 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Ash to Findlay

Norwin senior soccer standout Braden Ash committed to play at Findlay, a private Division II school in Ohio.

Ash was an All-WPIAL pick this season. He had 12 goals and seven assists and helped the Knights reach the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals.

Phipps debuts at Bucknell

Freshman Kurt Phipps, a Norwin graduate, made his collegiate debut for Bucknell wrestling and finished 2-1 against LIU and VMI in a three-team round-robin tournament. He scored a major decision.

Pons in showcase

Norwin football player Jackson Pons, who played varsity as a freshman this past season for the Knights, participated in the NextGen THE SHOW showcase at IMG Academy in Manatee County, Fla. and came home with some medals. Pons, a wide receiver and defensive back, earned defensive MVP and was game MVP in the quarterfinals during the 7-on-7 competition.

Tournament canceled

Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling recently announced the 2021 junior high and elementary state tournaments, along with area tournaments, have been canceled because of the ongoing pandemic.

The junior high tournament was scheduled for March 6-7 at Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown. The elementary tournament was scheduled March 27-28 at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center.

After those tournaments were canceled, an alternative tournament was announced. It will be April 2-3 at Monroeville Convention Center.

The Monroeville location will host the Pennsylvania Keystone State Championships for youth, junior high and girls. The top eight in each weight class will be awarded.

Powerade stays strong

Even though the Powerade Wrestling Tournament was moved to Jan. 29-30 at Monroeville Convention Center, the 54th annual tournament is the strongest it ever has been.

Norwin is scheduled to compete in the 56-team field, which includes some of the top programs in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The participating teams feature a total of 11 state champions and 74 state qualifiers from a year ago.

Hockey night in Pittsburgh

The PIHL, along with WPIAL and other sports organizations, returned to team activities Jan. 4 from a shutdown issued by Gov. Tom Wolf on Dec. 10 as part of overall efforts to slow the spread of covid-19.

The league was scheduled to resume games Jan. 11. PIHL president John Mucha said the targeted date gave teams the opportunity to get back up to speed with on-ice practices.

The regular season, which began in early November, runs through mid-March, and the Penguins Cup playoffs are scheduled to start in April. The league, anticipating a number of postponements, built in a couple of open weeks in between to make up games as necessary.

The league already had begun the process of rescheduling as many of the affected games from November and December as possible.