High School category, Page 159
South Allegheny blitzes South Park in battle for 1st place
It was youth basketball night at South Park on Friday as futures Eagles showed up for support and to entertain the crowd at halftime. It was appropriate for this night because the showdown for first place in Section 3-3A looked like the South Park boys playing the South Allegheny men....
Kiski Area boys execute game plan to perfection, smother Plum in Class 5A battle
Kiski Area boys basketball coach Corey Smith used the 48 hours before the Cavaliers’ game with Plum to craft the perfect game plan. If Kiski could do what its coach asked, the Cavaliers would set up a first-place battle with Penn Hills at home next Tuesday. The Cavaliers delivered with...
New Castle boys dominate 2nd half, hand Fox Chapel 1st section loss of season
The scoreboard had a tied score at half, yet the game ended under the mercy rule. That disparity showed just how well New Castle played after halftime Friday night. Freshman Kai Cox scored 13 of his game-high 19 points after the break, and the Red Hurricanes used a dominant third...
Belle Vernon’s Soto, a former Connecticut state champ, making noise at WCCA wrestling tournament
Belle Vernon senior Deydon Soto already has won a state title. That was in Connecticut in 2024. But Soto admits the wrestling in Pennsylvania is a lot stronger, and it has made him a better wrestler. Soto’s mom started a business in the state, and she moved to Belle Vernon...
Belle Vernon sprints to big lead, routs Greensburg Salem in 3-4A boys basketball
Belle Vernon coach Joe Salvino couldn’t have asked for a better ending to the first half of Section 3-4A play Friday night. The Leopards’ coach watched his team up its winning streak for four with an emphatic 65-28 thumping of visiting Greensburg Salem. After being assessed a technical foul before...
OF Claire Mitchell joins Hempfield pipeline to Division I softball
At this rate, Hempfield is going to be able to fill out a full lineup card with NCAA Division I college players next softball season. Junior Claire Mitchell this week became the sixth returning Spartans standout to commit to a high-level program as she chose the University of Maryland Baltimore...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 9, 2025
High schools Basketball Boys Thursday’s results Class 6A Section 2 Imani Christian 79, Mt. Lebanon 65 Class 5A Section 2 Indiana 77, Shaler 69 Class 2A Section 3 Chartiers-Houston 61, Beth-Center 45 Nonsection Carrick 63, Clairton 60 (OT) Friday’s schedule Class 6A Section 1 Fox Chapel at New Castle, 7:30...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Jan. 10, 2025: More 1 vs. 2 showdowns set for Friday
What a week it has been for showdowns in WPIAL basketball as we get closer to the midway point of section play in the regular season. On Tuesday, we saw the top two teams collide in boys Class 6A as Imani Christian Academy visited Upper St. Clair, followed on Thursday...
High school roundup for Jan. 9, 2025: South Fayette makes statement in section
Haylie Lamonde scored 16 points as South Fayette grabbed sole possession of first place in Section 3-5A girls basketball with a 72-41 victory over Chartiers Valley on Thursday night. Juliette Leroux had 13 points and Lailah Wright added 11 for the Lions (13-1, 6-0). Emma Reynolds scored 12 points for...
No. 1 Shady Side Academy impresses in decisive win over No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic
The No. 1 has been following the Shady Side Academy girls basketball team around this season. No. 1 ranking in the WPIAL. No. 1 ranking in the state. No. 1 defensive scoring average in Class 3A. The defending WPIAL champion Bulldogs are also making a one-game-at-a-time go of things as...
Norwin’s Sidun to miss WCCA wrestling tournament, but plenty of quality competitors fill brackets
Seeds for the 71st Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association wrestling tournament were announced Thursday, but the biggest news was one of the top wrestlers would not be competing. Norwin sophomore Landon Sidun, who is ranked No. 1 in the country at 121 pounds, will miss the tournament as he recovers from...
Burrell boys basketball striving for better results in season’s 2nd half
When the season began, Burrell boys basketball Mike Fantuzzo knew it would take time for his team to mesh. After the Bucs’ 78-46 win against Freeport on Tuesday night, he believes the team finally has learned to play together. “I think it was a game where we’re starting to click...
Veteran coaches Joe Salvino, Paul Sapotichne set to square off with Belle Vernon, Greensburg Salem
Call it a coaching matchup for the ages. It is not often that veteran coaches like Joe Salvino and Paul Sapotichne square off in the same gym for a section boys basketball game. Though the WPIAL longtimers have coached against each other before — Sapotichne thinks it wasn’t in “a...
Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: Norwin dials up long-distance offense
Norwin’s offense has picked up at times this season, and the Knights can give you three good reasons why. The team doesn’t settle for 3-pointers, it thrives on them. The Knights made a concerted effort to get more quality looks on offense under first-year coach Cam Auld, and so far,...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 8, 2025
High schools Basketball Boys Wednesday’s results Class 3A Section 4 Southmoreland 64, Ligonier Valley 53 Class 2A Section 1 Frazier 67, California 43 Section 2 Winchester Thurston 71, Propel Braddock Hills 43 Section 3 West Greene 68, Burgettstown 40 Carmichaels 37, Mapletown 27 Class A Section 1 Avella 74, Cornell...
Trib HSSN Pennsylvania girls high school basketball rankings for Jan. 8, 2025
A year ago, five districts earned a piece of the championship pie in Hershey with only District 12 winning multiple PIAA titles. Cardinal O’Hara won the Class 6A title while Archbishop Wood brought the 5A golden trophy back to the Philadelphia area. The other four championships went to Blackhawk in...
High school roundup for Jan. 8, 2025: Norwin beats Mt. Lebanon to snap skid
Lexi Heller scored 13 points as Norwin snapped a rare three-game losing streak with a 45-33 victory over Mt. Lebanon in Section 2-6A girls basketball Wednesday night. Ava Christopher and Kendall Berger each added 10 points for the Knights (5-5, 2-1). Payton Collins dropped 18 points for the Blue Devils...
No. 4 Norwin wrestling rallies to defeat rival Penn-Trafford, stay unbeaten
It is not the way Norwin wrestling coach Kyle Martin wanted his team to start the match Wednesday against rival Penn-Trafford. But he was pleased with the way they finished. The No. 4-ranked Knights (12-0, 2-0) lost the first four matches in the Section 9-3A first-place showdown but rallied for...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Jan. 9, 2025: Reigning WPIAL champs collide in Class 3A girls basketball
On Tuesday, the spotlight fell on a WPIAL 6A boys basketball showdown between No. 1 Imani Christian and No. 2 Upper St. Clair in a battle of 2024 district champions. Now on Thursday, a similar matchup is set in girls basketball. Reigning WPIAL Class 3A champion Shady Side Academy hosts...
Burrell wrestlers throw weight around in resounding victory over Valley
Carter Thomas felt that weight fell off him much easier last year. But the 121-pound Burrell sophomore wrestler hasn’t let the challenges of staying in his weight class wear on him. Thomas picked up a second-period win over Valley’s Xavier Ross on Wednesday night at Valley High School to help...
Steelers nominate Avonworth football coach Duke Johncour for 2024 Don Shula Award
The Pittsburgh Steelers have nominated Avonworth football coach Duke Johncour to represent Western Pennsylvania as one of 32 candidates for the 2024 Don Shula High School Coach of the Year Award. The NFL announced the candidates Tuesday. Johncour led Avonworth from a No. 5 seed to a WPIAL Class 3A...
Riverview girls don’t let roster numbers keep them down
The Riverview girls basketball team is small in numbers this season, but it is big in terms of wins. The Raiders, who have played some games this season with just the five starters seeing the floor, are 6-2 overall and 2-0 in Section 4-2A. “At the beginning, it was rough...
Trib HSSN Pennsylvania boys high school basketball rankings for Jan. 8, 2025
For the first time in 20 years and only the fourth time in the 124-year history of the boys hoops state playoffs, District 7 teams captured gold in half of the six classifications. It was a repeat performance for Lincoln Park in Class 4A and Imani Christian Academy in Class...
Trib 10: Pair of Class 5A teams top 1st edition of basketball power rankings
Welcome to the first edition of the Trib 10 power rankings for the 2025 high school basketball season. It’s a weekly look at the top teams from around the district with absolutely no classification boundaries. A year ago, Lincoln Park began and ended the season as the Trib 10 boys...
Westmoreland County girls basketball teams face challenge of step up in class
Yough girls basketball moved up to Class 4A this season and did so with some trepidation and uncertainty. It’s a natural reaction to facing larger schools, and the Cougars were not the first, and won’t be the last, to feel that way. But one thing the Cougars did not take...
