Chris Harlan stories, Page 76
North Allegheny’s Paige Morningstar named state’s Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year
Six years after her sister won the award, North Allegheny senior Paige Morningstar was named the state’s Gatorade Pa. Volleyball Player of the Year. The 2020-21 award was announced Thursday. A 6-foot setter and Louisville recruit, Morningstar led North Allegheny to an 18-0 record last fall and the program’s fourth...
WPIAL has big decisions to make this week about baseball, softball playoffs
Will higher-seeded baseball and softball teams host playoff games this spring or could the WPIAL use neutral sites as usual? That’s one question from a list the WPIAL wants to answer this week when the baseball and softball committees meet online Thursday and Friday. The WPIAL also must decide what...
WPIAL rules 1 Birch brother eligible, other brother ineligible after hearing
The WPIAL handed Gateway transfers Brett and Brad Birch a good-news, bad-news scenario. Older brother Brett, a junior, is eligible to play football for the Gators next fall, but younger brother Brad, a freshman, remains ineligible, WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman said. The WPIAL held a combined hearing Monday for...
Ousted coach Eric Kasperowicz apologizes to Pine-Richland administrators in letter
In a letter asking to be rehired, ousted football coach Eric Kasperowicz apologized to Pine-Richland’s school board and administration for his “attitude and behavior” during a contentious late-March interview. “In hindsight I understand the significance of that meeting,” he wrote of a March 29 interview with high school administrators. “The...
WPIAL sees 2 players make Class 6A boys basketball all-state team
Butler’s Devin Carney and Fox Chapel’s Eli Yofan earned all-state honors Saturday when the Pa. Sports Writers All-State Team for Class 6A boys basketball was announced. Carney earned first-team honors and Yofan was named to the third team. Both are juniors. The all-state teams for PIAA schools were announced one...
WPIAL softball rankings | May 1, 2021
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Bethel Park, 10-0, 1 2. Hempfield, 8-3, NR 3. Norwin, 9-2, 2 4. Mt. Lebanon, 8-4, 3 5. Seneca Valley, 8-6, NR Out: Pine-Richland (6-6, 4), North Allegheny (6-7, 5) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Penn-Trafford, 9-3, 1 2. West Allegheny,...
WPIAL baseball rankings | May 1, 2021
Class 6A Rk, Team, W-L, Last 1. Norwin, 10-1, 1 2. North Allegheny, 13-2, 2 3. Hempfield, 10-5, 5 4. Seneca Valley, 10-4, 3 5. Butler, 9-5, 4 Out: none Class 5A Rk, Team, W-L, Last 1. Franklin Regional, 11-0, 1 2. Bethel Park, 10-2, 3 3. South Fayette, 12-2,...
North Hills’ Robert Dickerson has aspirations of football/baseball career in college
As a two-sport star who hits home runs and scores touchdowns, North Hills’ Robert Dickerson hears the occasional Kyler Murray reference. Older generations go to Deion Sanders or Bo Jackson as their football-baseball icon. Dickerson may smile at those comparisons, but he certainly takes both sports seriously. If the junior...
4 WPIAL boys basketball players make Class 5A all-state team
Chartiers Valley senior Brayden Reynolds and Laurel Highlands sophomore Rodney Gallagher earned first-team honors when the Pa. Sports Writers All-State Team for Class 5A boys basketball was announced Friday. In all, four WPIAL players made the list. Trinity senior Mike Dunn made the second team. New Castle junior Mike Wells...
Before becoming NFL Draft star, Kyle Pitts clashed with WPIAL champion in Hershey
If tight end Kyle Pitts is the first non-quarterback selected Thursday night in the NFL Draft, Gateway football coach Don Holl won’t be surprised. Four years ago, Gateway was tasked with stopping Pitts and his Archbishop Wood teammates in the 2017 state championship in Hershey. Pitts, then a senior committed...
4 WPIAL boys basketball players earn all-state honors in Class 4A
Lincoln Park senior Dakari Bradford and North Catholic senior Andrew Ammerman, whose teams clashed last month in the WPIAL finals, were among four WPIAL boys basketball players earning all-state honors Thursday in Class 4A. Bradford, Ammerman and Quaker Valley junior Adou Theiro all were named the the second team on...
Washington softball forfeits remaining games, hopes for better seasons ahead
Washington hopes to build up its softball program in years to come, athletic director Mike Bosnic said Thursday, but this spring’s season will end after only one game. The softball team will forfeit the remainder of its schedule. “We feel that the program is headed in the right direction,” Bosnic...
Serra Catholic hires Matt Bacco as girls basketball coach
Serra Catholic has a new girls basketball coach for the first time in years. Matt Bacco was hired to replace Bill Cleary, who retired after 34 seasons and more than 600 wins, the school announced Wednesday. A 1997 Serra Catholic graduate, Bacco previously coached the South Fayette girls for 10...
State’s all-time winningest boys basketball coach earns all-state honor in 3A
Weeks after winning a boys basketball state title, Loyalsock also dominated the all-state team for PIAA Class 3A. Loyalock’s Ron Insinger was named the classification’s top coach and senior Idris Ali earned player of the year honors Wednesday when the Pa. Sportswriters All-State Team was announced. No WPIAL or City...
Undefeated OLSH tops Class 2A boys basketball all-state team
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’s perfect season just keeps getting a little better. Chargers junior Jake DiMichele, senior Dante Spadafora and coach Mike Rodriguez all drew statewide recognition Tuesday when the Pa. Sports Writers All-State Team for Class 2A boys basketball was announced. In all, four WPIAL players earned...
6 WPIAL players chosen for Class A all-state boys basketball team
Six weeks after Bishop Canevin’s Dom Elliot and Kevaughn Price shared a championship court with Rochester’s Devon Hemer and JD Azulay, the four WPIAL Class A finalists are together again. They were among six WPIAL boys basketball players who earned all-state honors Monday in a vote of sports writers. All...
Lizzy Groetsch, Aislin Malcolm among 20 WPIAL girls basketball players named all-state
North Allegheny’s Lizzy Groetsch and Chartiers Valley’s Aislin Malcolm each added another statewide honor to their resumes. Groetsch, a senior, and Malcolm, a junior, each earned Pennsylvania Player of the Year honors in their classifications when girls basketball all-state teams were announced Monday. Groetsch was named the state’s top player...
All-state boys basketball teams revealed this week starting with non-PIAA schools
The all-state boys basketball teams will be announced over a seven-day span starting today with players from non-PIAA member schools. In years past, all-state organizers added those athletes to the PIAA classification teams but split them into their own group this winter. The all-state honors for PIAA schools will be...
WPIAL Softball Rankings: April 24, 2021
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Bethel Park, 8-0, 1 2. Norwin, 7-2, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 7-3, 4 4. Pine-Richland, 6-4, 5 5. North Allegheny, 6-6, 3 Out: none Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Penn-Trafford, 7-3, 1 2. Chartiers Valley, 7-3, 2 3. West Allegheny, 9-2,...
WPIAL Baseball Rankings: April 24, 2021
Class 6A Rk, Team, W-L, Last 1. Norwin, 9-1, 1 2. North Allegheny, 10-2, 2 3. Seneca Valley, 9-2, 3 4. Butler, 9-3, NR 5. Hempfield, 7-5, 4 Out: Upper St. Clair (6-5, 5) Class 5A Rk, Team, W-L, Last 1. Franklin Regional, 9-0, 1 2. West Allegheny, 8-2, 2...
North Journal notebook: North Allegheny doubles team claims section title
After winning a section singles title earlier this month, North Allegheny’s Chase Davidson doubled his medal haul April 21 when he teamed up with Shomik Telang to win a Section 2-AAA doubles crown. The duo defeated Anthony Lounder and Rohan Maheshwari of Moon, 6-2, 6-2, at North Allegheny. Davidson had...
Seton LaSalle appeals football coaches’ suspensions to PIAA
Seton LaSalle has appealed to the PIAA to overturn discipline handed down by the WPIAL for recruiting violations. Head coach Mauro Monz and assistant Jason Pinkston were suspended from coaching any PIAA-affiliated team for one year following a WPIAL hearing March 30. Four school districts had raised allegations against Seton...
Pine-Richland cites ‘pattern of hazing, intimidation’ in letter firing coach Eric Kasperowicz
Ousted football coach Eric Kasperowicz “expressed minimal concern for hazing or empathy for the students” during a 2½-hour interview with Pine-Richland administrators in late-March, according to a letter the school district sent him cutting ties. The three-page letter dated April 14 notified Kasperowicz his contract wouldn’t be renewed and detailed...
Neil Walker hopes Pine-Richland avoids ‘huge black eye’ from football coach controversy
Retiring pro baseball player Neil Walker, one of Pine-Richland’s most famous alums, hopes the controversial ouster of the school’s football coach doesn’t become “a huge black eye” for the community. The 2004 Pine-Richland graduate spoke Wednesday with reporters and discussed plans to retire after 12 MLB seasons with the Pirates,...
North Allegheny tops Mt. Lebanon, celebrates back-to-back Penguins Cup titlesVideo
North Allegheny goalie Josh Bailey didn’t mince words Monday night. The second period, when he was peppered with 20 shots and the puck stayed trapped inside NA’s blue line, was bad. “Terrible,” he said. “It was terrible.” Yet, Bailey was very good. Against a Mt. Lebanon attack determined to test...
