Paul Schofield stories, Page 89
Picking the Trib HSSN Wrestling Team of the 2000s: Class AAA lower weights
Since high school sports have been put on hold until Jan. 4, and with the postponements of three big holiday wrestling tournaments, now is a good time to take a look back and pick the top wrestlers from the WPIAL since the start of the century. Wrestling hasn’t been better...
Waynesburg community mourns death of football coach Chad Coss
Devastating is the word West Greene athletic director Bill Simms used to describe the sudden death of Waynesburg football coach and close friend Chad Coss on Monday. A cause of death was not immediately known. Coss, 45, had been Waynesburg’s coach for the past three seasons. “It’s a shocker,” Simms...
Greensburg Salem shuts down athletics until Jan. 26
Greensburg Salem athletes received some sobering news Friday when the school district announced that all sports will be halted until Jan 26. The decision, according to athletic director Frank Sundry, wasn’t easy, but it came after school officials listened to health experts about the current spread of the coronavirus. All...
New dates set for Powerade, Southmoreland wrestling tournaments
The Powerade Holiday Tournament has a new date. Tournament director Frank Vulcano said the event will take place Jan. 29-30 at Monroeville Convention Center. Powerade originally was scheduled for Dec. 28- 29, but Gov. Tom Wolf’s order to halt high school athletic until Jan. 4 in hopes of helping slow...
Pitt, West Virginia announce changes to wrestling schedule
Pitt announced its updated wrestling schedule Wednesday with the season opener set for Jan. 3 at the U.S. Naval Academy. The Panthers’ first home match is Jan. 9 against Lehigh. The Atlantic Coast Conference opener is Jan. 16 at home against Duke. The Panthers will wrestle four other ACC opponents...
Westmoreland County football players named to Westminster All-Decade team
Three former Westmoreland County football players were named to the Westminster All-Decade team which was released Tuesday. Running back Dominique McKinley and defensive end Bobby Noble were named to the first team, and offensive lineman Cameron Mika to the second team. McKinley, a Greensburg Salem graduate, rushed for 3,367 yards...
Standard stays the same for Penn-Trafford swim teams
Dave Babik has been coaching the Penn-Trafford swimming teams for 30 years, and the team’s expectations haven’t changed. “We’re used to competing at a high level,” Babik said, “and I think we’re capable of that this season.” Babik must replace a large senior class but has some key pieces that...
Franklin Regional wrestlers have firepower to contend
Franklin Regional won consecutive WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA team wrestling titles in 2014 and 2015, and it reached the semifinals in 2017. This year, veteran coach Matt Lebe said his team has a chance to make some more noise, though he said Class AAA is very good with Waynesburg...
Penn-Trafford’s Ethan Carr named Tribune-Review Westmoreland County Player of the Year
When Penn-Trafford football coach John Ruane asked Ethan Carr to switch positions during his sophomore season, there were no objections. Carr took it as a challenge and became one of the Warriors’ top receivers and special teams players. So when Ruane approached Carr about returning to his original position —...
2020 Tribune-Review Westmoreland County Football All-Stars
First team Brad Birch Jeannette, QB, fr. The talented ninth-grader helped lead the Jayhawks to the school’s 10th WPIAL title. He completed 117 of 184 passes for 1,676 yards and 30 touchdowns. Late in the season, he started to become a running threat. He rushed for 272 yards and four...
Greensburg Salem wrestling downs Southmoreland in match before hiatusVideo
When Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf decided to put high school and recreational youth athletics on a three-week hiatus and the Monroeville Mat Madness wrestling tournament was canceled, Southmoreland athletic director and wrestling coach Dan Boring went to work. With the governor’s mandate going into effect at midnight Saturday, Boring didn’t...
Hempfield could emerge as top contender to Waynesburg’s throne on WPIAL Class AAA mats
Is there any team in the WPIAL that can defeat No. 1-ranked Waynesburg? Hempfield coach Vince DeAugustine isn’t sure, but he hopes his team gets a chance later this season. The Spartans are ranked No. 2 in the Tribune-Review preseason rankings, and DeAugustine feels a real battle is brewing for...
Class AAA wrestlers to watch on WPIAL mats this season
Carter Dibert, Franklin Regional The senior was a PIAA champion in 2019 and a WPIAL champion in 2020. Dibert (115-25, 42-3) placed third in the state in 2020 and was a WPIAL runner-up in 2019. Mac Stout, Mt. Lebanon The junior was a PIAA runner-up in 2020 after winning his...
Teams to watch in WPIAL Class AAA wrestling this season
No. 1 — Waynesburg The Raiders finished second in the state to Nazareth in 2020 and return 13 starters. Zander Phaturos, who attended Liberty High School in Peoria, was a 113-pound champ in Arizona. He is the second wrestler to transfer to Waynesburg from another state. Wyatt Henson, the PIAA...
Class AA wrestlers to watch on WPIAL mats this season
WPIAL Class AA wrestlers to watch Dayton Pitzer, Mt. Pleasant The junior missed his sophomore season while recovering from knee surgery. He was a Class AA WPIAL, Southwest Regional and PIAA champion his freshman season when he compiled a 43-1 record at 182 pounds. Joey Fischer, South Park The senior...
Teams to watch in WPIAL Class AA wrestling this season
Preseason top 10 WPIAL Class AA wrestling teams: No. 1 — Burrell Burrell has won 14 consecutive Class AA titles, and it doesn’t look like the streak will end very soon. The Bucs return eight starters, which includes four PIAA qualifiers. Two of those qualifiers, seniors Ian Oswalt (132) and...
Led by 3-time WPIAL champ, Derry wrestlers gunning for playoff return
As the Derry wrestling team prepares to open the season Saturday, the district and coach Mike Weinell have one common theme: Don’t look too far ahead. “You can’t,” Weinell said. “With this pandemic, things change by the minute. We just have to worry about today and hope we can practice...
Coaches have mixed feeling about PIAA wrestling proposals
Wrestling coaches around Westmoreland County had mixed feelings about the PIAA’s proposal for how to handle postseason tournaments amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The PIAA board of directors will meet Wednesday and will consider reducing the amount of teams and individuals that will qualify for the state tournaments because of the...
Moon’s Mia Cochran named Pa. Track and Field Coaches Association Runner of the Year
Mia Cochran came minutes away from not defending her WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA titles. After receiving a negative covid-19 test and getting cleared to compete just before the WPIAL championship race, Cochran went on to capture another district gold medal. A week later she won the state championship. For...
Robert Morris women’s basketball looks ahead to new season opener
The Robert Morris women’s basketball team’s season opener Sunday was canceled amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The Colonials were scheduled to play Norfolk State on Saturday, but the game was postponed until Sunday. The game was then canceled. “The health and safety of the RMU and Moon Township community remains paramount...
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...
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...
Emily Daugherty hired as Ligonier Valley girls basketball coach in unanimous vote
It’s official. Emily Daugherty is the new Ligonier Valley girls basketball coach. And the 2010 Ligonier Valley graduate is eager to get started. The Ligonier Valley school board voted 9-0 on Wednesday to hire her to replace Tim Gustin, who was recently hired as the boys coach. Daugherty, 28, is...
Beloved Jeannette football coach Joe Mucci dies of coronavirus at age 86
Joseph G. Mucci was a legendary football coach in Westmoreland County. But he was much more than that, according to his former assistant coaches, players and people in the community. The beloved coach and administrator at Jeannette and Greensburg Central Catholic influenced a lot of people whose lives he touched....
