Paul Schofield stories, Page 84
Penn-Trafford notebook: Austin Prokopec, 2 relay teams qualify for state swim meet
Penn-Trafford senior Austin Prokopec and two boys relay teams qualified for the PIAA swimming championships at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg. Prokopec, who finished third in the WPIAL 200 freestyle, was chosen because of his time of 1:42.81. The relay teams that qualified were the 200 freestyle and 400...
Penn-Trafford basketball teams look to build on 2020-21 success
Late-season shooting woes cost the Penn-Trafford girls basketball team a longer WPIAL playoff run. Competing in Class 6A, the Warriors (10-7, 9-5) ended the season with a 46-43 loss to Baldwin in the opening round of the WPIAL playoffs. Penn-Trafford lost five of its final six games after starting 9-2....
Franklin Regional notebook: Spencer Lee, Michael Kemerer help Iowa win Big Ten
Franklin Regional graduates Spencer Lee and Michael Kemerer won Big Ten wrestling titles to help Iowa to its 37th conference championship March 7 at Penn State. It was the Hawkeyes’ second consecutive conference title. But neither is satisfied, their work not done. They want NCAA titles. Lee already owns two...
Seneca Valley’s Herrera-Rondon becomes 3-time PIAA champion; Waynesburg crowns 3
HERSHEY – Waynesburg proved why it is ranked No. 1 in the state at the PIAA Class AAA Wrestling Championships Saturday at the Giant Center. The Raiders had five finalists and three champions in running away with the team title. It wasn’t, however, the most wrestlers that the Raiders ever...
Kiski Area’s Sammy Starr goes out on top with pin in 5th-place match at states
HERSHEY – Kiski Area senior Sammy Starr ended his high school career with a pin and a fifth-place finish at the PIAA Class AAA wrestling championship Saturday. It was Starr’s 27th pin of the season. He finished the season 39-6 and 113-46 for his career. “It’s a little bittersweet,” Starr...
Hempfield’s Priest, Franklin Regional’s Solomon win PIAA Class AAA titlesVideo
HERSHEY — If there is one thing about the PIAA Class AAA championships that never seems to change, it is expecting the unexpected from WPIAL wrestlers. Someone surprising is coming home with a state title. In 2020, it was Latrobe freshman Vinny Kilkeary and Hempfield junior Ethan Berginc. This year,...
5 WPIAL wrestlers advance to the PIAA Class AAA finals in upper weights
HERSHEY — The finals are set in the upper weights at the PIAA Class AAA wrestling championships Saturday at the Giant Center, and the WPIAL will be represented in four of the seven weight classes. There will be all-WPIAL finals at 145 and 152 pounds. Waynesburg had three more wrestlers...
WPIAL rematches set for PIAA Class AAA lightweight wrestling finals
HERSHEY — Franklin Regional and Waynesburg each advanced two wrestlers to the finals at Saturday’s PIAA Class AAA championships at the Giant Center. Six WPIAL wrestlers will compete in the lightweight (106 to 138 pounds) finals, including all-WPIAL matchups at 132 and 138 pounds. It will be the third consecutive...
South Park’s Joey Fischer 1 of 5 WPIAL wrestlers to win Class AA state titles
HERSHEY — South Park senior Joey Fischer can now look down on his opponents. No disrespect, but when you win a PIAA Class AA title, you get to stand atop of the podium to receive your medal. Fischer became the third individual from South Park to win a state title...
Back from injury, Mt. Pleasant’s Dayton Pitzer reclaims PIAA throneVideo
HERSHEY – Mt. Pleasant junior Dayton Pitzer hadn’t often been forced to go a full six minutes in matches this season. Usually, he pins his opponents. Friday at the PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championship at the Giant Center, he didn’t have a problem working a little extra. The results were...
Burrell’s A.J. Corrado wins state title with overtime pinVideo
HERSHEY – AJ Corrado didn’t have pancakes for breakfast Friday, but he served one up in the PIAA Class AA finals. He pancaked Midd-West senior Avery Bassett in overtime for a pin in the 160-pound final and celebrated his first PIAA title to cap off a historic day for the...
Quartet of WPIAL wrestlers reach PIAA Class AA finals in upper weight classes
HERSHEY — Burrell senior A.J. Corrado became the third wrestler from his school to reach the finals at the 2021 PIAA Class AA wrestling championship Friday at the Giant Center. This is the first time in school history Burrell has had three wrestlers reach the finals. Corrado (160 pounds) joins...
Burrell’s Hornack, Oswalt reach PIAA Class AA wrestling finals
HERSHEY — Burrell’s Cooper Hornack achieved something he’s never accomplished on Friday. The freshman wrestler reached the finals in a state event. Hornack and senior teammate Ian Oswalt advanced to the finals at the PIAA Class AA wrestling championships Friday at the Giant Center. They will wrestle during the 5...
Believing key for WPIAL Class AAA wrestlers at PIAA championshipsVideo
Wrestlers who want to win a PIAA championship just can’t rely on their skills. They better believe. That belief starts with hard work in practice — those grueling sessions when you give your best and then some. It carries over into tight matches. Self-belief and executing what you’ve been taught...
OLSH rolls Jeannette, shows no signs of slowing down heading into WPIAL finals
Jeannette found out quickly it faced a difficult challenge in the WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball semifinals Wednesday night at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. When the Chargers had four offensive rebounds on their first possession, Jeannette coach Adrian Batts knew winning would take a supreme effort. No. 1...
Wrestling notebook: WPIAL teams navigated unusual season
Friday and Saturday will mark the end of a strange high school wrestling season for many area wrestlers. Thank the coronavirus pandemic for that. It was a year ago when Gov. Tom Wolf closed down the state because of the pandemic, and subsequently high school sports across the commonwealth were...
Mt. Pleasant pinning machine Dayton Pitzer eyes 2nd PIAA title
Mt. Pleasant junior Dayton Pitzer’s nickname isn’t “Pinzer,” but it should be. Even though he really doesn’t have a nickname, when he is on the wrestling mat, Pitzer is looking to do one thing: pin his opponent, and he has done that a lot during his two-year career. Pitzer (39-2)...
Norwin wrestler John Altieri feeling better, cleared to compete in Hershey
Norwin senior John Altieri won the PIAA West Super Region 145-pound title Saturday at Altoona Area High School Field House, but it wasn’t the way he preferred. Altieri was the victim of a slam from Waynesburg senior Wyatt Henson in the first period, and when it was deemed by medical...
Penn-Trafford notebook: Warriors fall in girls basketball playoffs
Offensive woes late in the season ended the Penn-Trafford girls basketball team’s promising season. The Warriors dropped their WPIAL Class 6A first-round playoff game, 46-43, to Baldwin. Baldwin senior Meghan Dryburgh scored 18 points and grabbed 20 rebounds to lead the ninth-seeded Highlanders The Highlanders (9-7) paired Dryburgh’s play with...
Defense carries Penn-Trafford boys to 1st playoff win in 20 years
When Doug Kelly was hired as the boys basketball coach at Penn-Trafford, one thing he and his staff focused on was team defense. It was a big reason why the team won its first playoff game in 20 years. The Warriors defeated North Hills, 63-50, in a WPIAL Class 6A...
Franklin Regional notebook: Dibert, Solomon have state title aspirations
Franklin Regional senior Carter Dibert captured his second Class AAA WPIAL/PIAA Southwest Regional title on Feb. 27, but the Arizona State recruit wants another PIAA title. Junior Finn Solomon was denied his WPIAL title, but he too wants the bigger prize. Dibert used an escape, takedown and a three-point near...
WPIAL wrestlers acquit themselves well at Class AAA Super Regional
ALTOONA — Franklin Regional junior Finn Solomon and Hempfield senior heavyweight Isaiah Vance made statements Saturday at the PIAA West Super Regional at Altoona High School Field House. Solomon had a dominating 12-1 victory against Waynesburg junior Cole Homet in the 138-pound final. Vance was equally impressive with a 7-2...
Wrestlers have one last hurdle en route to PIAA championships
To become a PIAA wrestling champion in 2021, wrestlers had to face new challenges, or in this case, another qualifying tournament. Wrestlers from Class AA and Class AAA have one more hurdle, the Super Region, to clear before earning a trip to Hershey for the PIAA championships March 12 and...
North Catholic’s pressure too much for Mt. Pleasant in Class 4A quarterfinals
Mt. Pleasant must have felt like North Catholic’s pressure defense met them at the front door. At times, the Vikings probably felt there were more than five defenders on the floor. No. 5 North Catholic overcame a slow start, turned up its pressure defense and defeated No. 12 Mt. Pleasant,...
Super Region presents new challenge to WPIAL wrestlers on road to Hershey
Wrestlers from around the state face a new challenge Saturday: the PIAA Super Region. Because the PIAA decided to reduce the field and the number of days of the annual championships in Hershey, a new step was added. The PIAA championships will have a field of eight in each classification....
