High School category, Page 247
Hampton leads Class 4A standings to claim school’s 3rd Trib Cup
It was 11 years for Hampton between winning its first Sports Cup in 2011 and second in 2022. The wait for the third Trib Cup was a lot shorter. The Talbots claimed the 2023-2024 Class 4A Trib Cup by an impressive 125 points this past school year. “It is a...
2024 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Peters Township’s Nolan DiLucia
Last August, Peters Township junior quarterback Nolan DiLucia wasn’t sure what his playing time would be as the Indians returned 2022 starting quarterback Chris Cibrone, who had thrown for over 2,000 yards the previous season. However, Peters Township coach T.J. Plack decided to go with DiLucia as his starting quarterback...
Greensburg Central Catholic returns to top of Class A Trib Cup standings
A year after their three-year run of winning the Class A Trib Cup ended, Greensburg Central Catholic is back on top. With another win, the Centurions are alone in third place overall after winning the school’s 10th Sports Cup, trailing only North Allegheny (21) and Sewickley Academy (13). “It means...
2024 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: North Allegheny’s Jack Yatchenko
Jack Yatchenko was on the sideline for the play that pretty much clinched a WPIAL title for North Allegheny. No, he didn’t start the play there, but that was how far the lineman traveled while blocking on that snap. He found an unblocked defensive back and drove him into the...
Belle Vernon braces for life after Quinton Martin
Begrudgingly, Belle Vernon braced for the departure of No. 25. When Quinton Martin’s high school playing days were over. The Leopards knew the time would come, so they prepared for it. But reality is setting in with training camp just over a month out. “Life without Q, I’ve said that...
Quaker Valley dethrones North Catholic to win Class 3A Trib Cup
A year after seeing its three-year Trib Cup run end, Quaker Valley has ended the four-year run by North Catholic in Class 3A in the closest competition in the 2023-2024 school year. The Quakers edged the Trojans by only 40 points to claim the school’s eighth Sports Cup (fourth most)...
Peters Township’s Natalie Wetzel commits to play basketball at Miami (Fla).
Peters Township rising senior Natalie Wetzel, one of the WPIAL’s top girls basketball recruits, had college offers that stretched from New England to the Southwest. Ultimately, the 6-foot-3 forward has decided to head south to the Sunshine State. Wetzel committed to Miami (Fla.) on Tuesday, choosing the Hurricanes over offers...
Ron Steedle, cornerstone of Shaler hockey community, dies at age 69
When Ron Steedle was promoted to lead Shaler’s ice hockey team in 1988, few could predict how his influence would shape a program that has since amassed more than 500 wins. Like any good mentor, his impact extended beyond practices and games. Steedle went to birthday and graduation parties, wedding...
North Allegheny continues domination of Class 6A Trib Cup competition
The streak continues for North Allegheny as the Tigers have captured their 21st Sports Cup in the highest classification in the 21 years of the competition’s existence. The Tigers are now a perfect 8 for 8 in Class 6A Trib Cups. “It never gets old winning the Cup,” North Allegheny...
Kiski Area Sports Hall of Fame set to induct Class of 2024
Shane Kuhn left it all out on the field and on the mat for the Kiski Area football and wrestling teams. The 2014 graduate earned eight varsity letters across both sports while garnering numerous accolades for his performances. Kuhn was a two-time all-conference tight end and was all-state as a...
Derry senior doesn’t need high school soccer to earn scholarship to Robert Morris
Derry doesn’t have a girls soccer team. But the school has at least one outstanding girls soccer player. A Division I player, at that. Alayna Williams, a rising senior who plays for and trains with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Developmental Academy, will continue her playing career at Robert Morris. Williams, a...
Valley turns to prominent basketball alumni to help restore luster to boys, girls programs
Brice Flenory and Tonya (Pryor) Norman wowed fans of the Valley basketball teams during their time on the high school hardcourt. Norman graduated from Valley in 1989 and went on to a collegiate hoops career at Duquesne. Flenory graduated in 1998 after a playing career that included back-to-back Valley News...
Trib Cup for all-sport excellence to be awarded this week
The first Sports Cup was handed out after the 2003-2004 school year to North Allegheny in 4A, Peters Township in 3A, Greensburg Central Catholic in 2A and Sewickley Academy in A. Over the course of the next two decades, 23 WPIAL schools, including 15 multiple winners, have captured Sports Cups,...
Notable changes to the 2024-25 WPIAL field hockey alignment
The WPIAL released new section alignments for the next two-year cycle in all sports, and changes will be implemented starting this fall. This summer, the Tribune-Review will break down changes for each of the WPIAL sports. Here’s a look at the upcoming WPIAL girls field hockey season. 2023 WPIAL champions...
Norwin dual-threat QB Tristyn Tavares is ‘just a gamer,’ coach says
Norwin has a new boxed-in monitor to watch replays from its sideline camera during games. If the team had the high-tech screen last year, players might have gotten distracted watching playbacks of Tristyn Tavares slinging the football around. The rising junior quarterback had a season to remember for the Knights,...
Penn-Trafford coaches pleased with offseason improvement at skill positions
Penn-Trafford football coach John Ruane gave his squad a break from summer workouts over the Fourth of July holiday. It was a deserved rest for a team that has worked hard to improve on its disappointing 2023 record of 5-6 overall, which included a WPIAL Class 5A playoff loss to...
High school notebook: Westmoreland players included in all-state softball, baseball selections
Westmoreland County had impressive representation on the Pennsylvania High School Softball Coaches Association All-State teams. In Class 6A, three Hempfield girls made the first team: senior first baseman Emily Griffith (.410, 25 hits, 4 HR), junior shortstop Allie Cervola (.397, 5 HR) and senior outfielder Maggie Howard (.571, 32 hits,...
Sewickley notebook: Quaker Valley’s Lucy Roig earns All-American honors
Quaker Valley’s standout lacrosse player, sophomore Lucy Roig, picked up another impressive postseason award. Along with being chosen All-WPIAL for a second time, the talented 5-foot-5 midfielder was tabbed as an All-American by USA Lacrosse. “I’m extremely grateful to be named an All-American,” Roig said. “I worked really hard this...
Penn Hills’ new boys soccer coach Kevin Truman seeks to make impact beyond the pitch
Kevin Truman would like to win soccer games when he takes over as head coach of the Penn Hills boys soccer team this fall. However, Truman believes his job will go beyond what happens in the field. Truman, who is the senior pastor at McKeesport Alliance Church and has five...
Pine-Richland notebook: Rams welcome new boys basketball section opponents
A new two-year cycle for WPIAL and PIAA sports brings some changes in section opponents for the winter athletics teams at Pine-Richland. New section alignments were announced by the WPIAL on June 18, and Class 6A in boys basketball jumped from 12 to 16 teams for the next two years....
Hampton long snapper Braeden Ballintine hits his target ahead of freshman season at Cal (Pa.)
Hampton’s Braeden Ballintine was about 10 years old when his dad challenged him to try something with a football. Throw a spiral between your legs while looking upside down. “Before I even started playing football,” Ballintine said, “he was trying to mess around and show me how to snap a...
High school girls rugby gaining popularity in Western Pennsylvania
Rugby is not a universally beloved sport in America, but that does not mean it is devoid of athletes who cherish the game. The uptick in girls playing rugby in the greater Pittsburgh area and across the state has encouraged Rugby Pennsylvania to launch the Emerging Girls Rugby campaign. It...
Seneca Valley’s Lexie Hames, Neshannock’s Addy Frye top 2024 all-state softball teams
Two WPIAL softball players, Seneca Valley’s Lexie Hames and Neshannock’s Addy Frye, were named Pennsylvania’s top pitcher and player when all-state teams were announced Friday. Hames was voted the state’s overall player of the year and Frye was pitcher of the year as chosen by the Pennsylvania High School Softball...
1st-time head coach Perry intent on turning around St. Joseph baseball team
After a 4-10 season this spring, the St. Joseph baseball team was in search of a new coach to lead the program. Athletic director Sally Ackerman and her staff believe they have found their man in Jordan Perry. The opportunity to get his foot in the door and make a...
Lance Maha hired as West Mifflin’s athletic director, resigns as Norwin boys basketball coach
Lance Maha is as West Mifflin as Kennywood. So, him staying home to be the high school’s athletic director should not come as a surprise. He lives there, has worked there and put roots down decades ago. Now, he will run the sports programs at his alma mater. Maha, a...
