Bill Hartlep stories, Page 8

Jeff Capel expressed complete confidence in his team’s ability to shoot the basketball after Tuesday’s 74-63 upset win at No. 21 Virginia. In the process, Pitt has shot back into the NCAA Tournament discussion. Winners of four straight conference games, the Panthers (16-8, 7-6 ACC) have climbed into a tie...

Alaina Claassen Class: Sophomore School: Plum Sport: Wrestling Report card: Plum sophomore Alaina Claassen won the North Allegheny girls invitational title Feb. 3, scoring a 4-0 decision over Cumberland Valley’s Aja’nai Jumper, the top seed, in the finals. The WPIAL’s top-ranked girls wrestler at 235 pounds, Claassen is 14-2 this...

Eliza Miller Class: Senior School: Kiski Area Sport: Swimming Report card: Kiski Area senior Eliza Miller won a pair of gold medals for the third straight season at the WCCA swimming championships Jan. 27. The two-time Valley News Dispatch athlete of the year won the 500-yard freestyle (5:04.80) and 100...

Abbie Johns Class: Senior School: Kiski Area Sport: Basketball Report card: Abbie Johns surpassed 1,000 career points in Friday’s 48-17 win over Gateway as the Kiski Area senior combo guard drained all 5 of the 3-point attempts and finished with 20 points. Johns also had 18 points in a 49-37...

Julie Spinelli Class: Senior School: St. Joseph Sport: Basketball Report card: Reigning Valley News Dispatch girls basketball player of the year Julie Spinelli had 22 points Monday in a 70-40 win over Riverview in Section 3-A and then tallied 19 points in Thursday’s 56-39 victory over Eden Christian. The 5-foot-11...

Ella Campbell Class: Freshman School: Burrell Sport: Wrestling Report card: On Tuesday, Campbell pinned Latrobe’s Addysen Young at 118 pounds to help the Bucs to a 39-24 victory, earning the first dual meet win in program history. Now 7-4 this season with five pins, Campbell also won the Southmoreland tournament...

The No. 7-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers will visit Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., for a 1 p.m. kickoff Sunday, facing the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild-Card round. The Bills beat the Miami Dolphins, 21-14, on Sunday night to clinch their fourth straight AFC East title and earn the No....

Adah Fuller Class: Senior School: Knoch Sport: Basketball Report card: Knoch sharpshooter Adah Fuller hit five 3-pointers and had a career-high 25 points Tuesday in a 46-30 win over Freeport. Then, on Thursday, she knocked down four 3-pointers and had 19 points as Knoch picked up a 51-16 win over...

Sophie Yard Class: Senior School: Apollo-Ridge Sport: Basketball Report card: Apollo-Ridge’s Sophie Yard was named to the all-tournament team at the Apollo Trust Company Tournament this week after she scored 33 points in a 59-8 win over East Allegheny on Thursday and had 11 points in a 57-22 loss to...

Coach Art Walker and a group of decorated upperclassmen led North Allegheny to a second straight WPIAL Class 6A championship and a PIAA runner-up finish this fall. The veteran coach of three of those Tigers were honored for their accomplishments Friday by the Pa. Football Writers. Walker, the Trib HSSN...

Nolan DiLucia’s first season as a starting quarterback was quite productive … and rewarding. The sophomore signal caller helped Peters Township win the WPIAL Class 5A title and finish as PIAA runner-up. He threw for a WPIAL-leading 3,036 yards and 30 touchdowns and ran for 392 yards and eight scores,...

Aliquippa completed its first undefeated season with a 60-14 victory over Dallas in the PIAA Class 4A championship game earlier this month. On Friday, the Quips added a cherry to the top of the best season in program history. Four players were honored by the Pa. Football Writers with selection...

Belle Vernon’s deja vu football season continued Thursday as the Leopards, who successfully defended their WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A titles, were again heavily recognized for postseason awards by the Pa. Football Writers. Coach Matt Humbert was named the state’s Class 3A coach of the year for a second straight...

Donta Green has helped turn Westinghouse football into a dominant force in Pittsburgh’s City League and beyond. For the second straight season, Green guided the Bulldogs to the PIAA championship game, and for the second consecutive season, he has been selected as the Pa. Football Writers’ Class 2A coach of...

Matt Sieg accounted for more than 4,000 yards of offense this season in leading the Fort Cherry football to its first WPIAL championship and a runner-up finish in the PIAA Class A playoffs. The sophomore quarterback was rewarded for his efforts Thursday with selection to the Pa. Football Writers’ Class...

Anna Clark Class: Junior School: Burrell Sport: Basketball Report card: Burrell’s girls basketball team is off to a 6-0 start and won its Section 3-3A opener Wednesday. Clark had 18 points in the 37-35 victory over Mt. Pleasant. The junior guard also scored 13 points in Monday’s nonsection win over...

Ric’Darious Farmer committed to three schools during the past year. West Virginia was the final, and official, one. The four-star wide receiver from Melbourne Central Catholic in Florida signed a letter of intent with West Virginia on Wednesday, part of a 22-player class for the Mountaineers. “Day Day” Farmer (5-foot-11,...

Adalyn Zanotto Class: Sophomore School: Leechburg Sport: Basketball Report card: Zanotto, who also plays volleyball and softball, helped lead Leechburg’s girls basketball team to a pair of one-point victories last week. The sophomore shooting guard had 19 points as the Blue Devils (4-1) edged Geibel, 37-36, in overtime Monday. She...

Members of the West Virginia football team will spend some of the holiday season in Charlotte. The Mountaineers on Sunday night were selected to play North Carolina in the 22nd annual Duke’s Mayo Bowl. The game will be 5:30 p.m. Dec. 27 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.,...

Union enjoyed the best girls basketball season in program history a year ago, winning WPIAL and PIAA Class A championships and building a record of 23-6. Pennsylvania’s Class A coach of the year, Rob Nogay, returns a pair of all-state players as the Scotties will try to defend their titles....

Avonworth won its seventh WPIAL girls basketball championship last winter and first since 2005. Coach Nick Dizon and the Lopes return three starters in their quest for a repeat, but will face plenty of competition. Neshannock has won three WPIAL titles across two classifications in the past five years, and...

South Fayette claimed a second straight WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball title last winter behind Trib HSSN player of the year Maddie Webber and a relentless defense. Webber, who averaged 17.3 points and was named the state’s Class 5A player of the year, is now at Villanova, but the cupboard...