High School category, Page 300
Oakland Catholic makes statement without injured star, drops WPIAL champ South Fayette
Oakland Catholic handled its PIAA Class 5A second-round girls basketball playoff game against South Fayette like child’s play Wednesday night. The first half was Chutes and Ladders as the Eagles kept making shots and climbing the ladder toward a big lead while the Lions kept sliding further into a hole...
St. Joseph girls ousted from state tournament as Berlin Brothersvalley rallies in 2nd half
The St. Joseph girls basketball team didn’t have to wait until the following morning to feel the pain of the bumps and bruises. The Spartans likely felt the agony on the trip bus back from their PIAA Class A second-round playoff game Wednesday night at Hempfield High School. District 5...
Fox Chapel swimmers start medal collection on 1st day of PIAA meet
Fox Chapel junior Sarah Pasquella swam a time of 1 minute, 51.08 seconds in the preliminaries of the girls 200-yard freestyle Wednesday on Day 1 of the PIAA Class 3A championships at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium. The time was identical to the one she swam in winning the WPIAL title...
Upper St. Clair embraces the madness, avenges loss to State College
JOHNSTOWN — This is the kind of March madness Upper St. Clair coach Danny Holzer likes most, a state basketball tournament where his Panthers are making a deep bracket run. And one where he’s there to watch. Upper St. Clair is headed to the PIAA elite eight after a 63-43...
Billy Schaeffer’s grand night helps Deer Lakes boys down Forest Hills in PIAA 2nd round
Billy Schaeffer has been dreaming of reaching 1,000 points since he began his high school career. Doing so on a big stage and helping Deer Lakes put away Forest Hills made the moment all the more sweet. Schaeffer had a game-high 22 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, and...
Hempfield sets championship goals as Westmoreland County teams open softball season
Hempfield won its eighth WPIAL softball championship last season. The Spartans are not shying away from the expectation that comes with winning a ninth. The season opens Friday, and WPIAL and PIAA championships are the order of the day — each day of tireless, detail-oriented preparation gleaned from legendary coach...
‘Impressive’ list of 2024 Westmoreland County Scholar/Athlete nominees announced
“What an impressive group.” That’s how Judge Michael Stewart, who replaced John J. Driscoll in 2023 as sponsoring judge for the annual Westmoreland County Scholar/Athlete banquet, described the 2024 group of nominees for the Excellence Award. Athletic directors or representatives from 15 of 18 county high schools met this week...
Plum among A-K Valley teams gunning for section title as softball season begins
Vying for a title in a softball section that boasts the state runner-up can be quite the challenge. That challenge increases after graduating two all-state players, but that hasn’t deterred Plum from its goal. Mackenzie Lang and Taylor Lorish, who received Valley News Dispatch first-team all-star nods, are gone and...
Seneca Valley senior goes out on top with PIAA diving gold
Seneca Valley senior Isaiah Clerkley ended his high school diving career on the highest of high notes. The Penn State commit finished the 11-dive PIAA Class 3A championship meet Wednesday afternoon at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium with 570.40 points, roughly 80 points clear of the field, including runner up Alex...
PIAA reveals details of Friday’s boys basketball quarterfinal matchups
It has been a strong showing from the WPIAL teams in boys Class 5A this state postseason. District 7 will have four of the eight teams remaining in that classification and a WPIAL team is guaranteed to be playing for PIAA gold in Hershey next Friday. Three district teams remain...
PIAA announces sites, times for Friday’s girls basketball quarterfinals
The WPIAL champions continue to shine bright in the 2024 PIAA girls basketball state playoffs in Class 6A, 3A and 2A. However, all of the other District 7 teams have been bounced with one Class 3A exception. WPIAL runner-up Avonworth is the only district team left in 6A, 3A and...
A-K Valley’s top seniors set for 27th annual Cager Classic basketball all-star games
Some of the top senior boys and girls basketball players from the A-K Valley and beyond will take part in the 27th annual Cager Classic, set for April 6, at Highlands High School. There will be a girls game at 5:30 p.m., followed by a boys all-star contest at 8....
WPIAL swimmers off to fast start at PIAA meet
WPIAL swimmers fared well in Day 1 preliminary swims at the PIAA Class 3A championships Wednesday morning at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium. Several qualified for this evening’s championship heats involving the top-eight finishers from the prelim heats. Boys The North Allegheny boys 200-yard medley relay of William Gao, Gus Miller,...
A-K Valley high school PIHL playoff preview capsules for March 14, 2024
PIHL playoffs Division 2 Semifinals Burrell (17-3) vs. Deer Lakes (12-6-1) 8:45 p.m. Thursday at Robert Morris University Island Sports Center, Moon Winner plays: Winner of Bishop Canevin (18-1)/Neshannock (15-3-1) in Division 2 championship game at 8:45 p.m. Monday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, Cranberry Players to watch: Tyler Danko,...
2024 WPIAL Class 3A softball preseason breakdown
Avonworth won a second consecutive WPIAL Class 3A title and a third in four years last spring, and the Lopes again have the look of a team worthy of hoisting a championship trophy. Four all-state players return along with a Division I-bound shortstop, as Avonworth chases a three-peat. But several...
2024 WPIAL Class 3A baseball preseason breakdown
It is easy to run out of superlatives to describe the 2023 Riverside baseball season. The Panthers not only went 25-0, they dominated the competition on their way to a Section 1 title, a WPIAL championship and a PIAA crown. In their 25 wins, they registered eight shutouts, including, fittingly,...
After injury to leading scorer, Shaler pulls together for PIAA win over Mechanicsburg
ALTOONA — Shaler leading scorer Keegan Smetanka was down on the court with a first-quarter ankle injury, so his teammates huddled quickly to discuss what to do next. They agreed to make the best of a bad situation. “I think it brought us together a little bit,” senior Kaden Orga...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for March 12, 2024
High schools Basketball Boys Class 6A Second round Wednesday’s schedule Lower Merion (26-1) vs. Archbishop Wood (17-8) at Bensalem, 7:30 p.m.; Springfield Delco (14-14) vs. Spring-Ford (21-6) at Norristown, 7:30 p.m.; Parkland (22-5) vs. Chambersburg (20-6) at Central Dauphin East, 7:30 p.m.; WC Henderson (25-5) vs. Roman Catholic (26-2) at...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on March 13, 2024: Upper St. Clair makes WPIAL’s last stand in Class 6A
The second round on the Road to Hershey concludes Wednesday with the spotlight shining on boys Class 6A, 3A and 2A games as well as girls 5A, 4A and A PIAA basketball contests. And then there was one. District 7 champion Upper St. Clair is one of the Sweet 16...
Lincoln Park digs out of deep hole to beat Uniontown in PIAA 4A 2nd round
The Lincoln Park Leopards showed why they have a heart of a champion. After being smacked in the mouth early by a hungry Uniontown team, the defending PIAA Class 4A champions did not blink. Instead, they climbed back in and took the lead for good in the fourth quarter to...
High school roundup for March 12, 2024: Max Hurray hits for 37 to send North Catholic to 4A quarterfinals
Max Hurray led all scorers with 37 points to power North Catholic, the fifth seed out of the WPIAL, to a 75-60 victory over Avonworth in a PIAA Class 4A boys basketball second-round game Tuesday night. Owen Maddalon added 13 points for the Trojans (18-9), who will face WPIAL champion...
Underdog Penn-Trafford uses 4-goal flurry to set up Penguins Cup 2A final matchup with Thomas Jefferson
Penn-Trafford’s hockey team didn’t end the regular season on a high note. But they sure picked the right time to get hot. The underdog Warriors advanced to the 2024 Penguins Cup finals by stunning rival Norwin, the fourth seed, 6-3, Tuesday in a semifinal-round game at Robert Morris University’s Island...
Colin Masten gets to rim, helps Franklin Regional to PIAA 5A quarterfinals
ALTOONA — Colin Masten wears jersey No. 1, which was fitting Tuesday night because of how many times he made folks say, “And one!” The senior scored a game-high 21 points including a trio of three-point plays as Franklin Regional defeated District 4 champion Selinsgrove, 56-45, in a PIAA Class...
Bethel Park rallies in 2nd half to defeat Fox Chapel, reach PIAA 5A quarterfinals
After a half in which his team made five shots and scored 13 points, Bethel Park coach Dante Calabria said he kept his message brief. He just asked his players to bring more energy and leave it all out there in the final 16 minutes. The Black Hawks responded accordingly....
Despite Erica Gribble’s off night, Greensburg C.C. girls roll on in PIAA playoffs
On a playoff night when Greensburg Central Catholic’s leading scorer was held to two points, coach Chris Skatell turned to Erica Gribble’s teammates for an answer. They came through. Mya Morgan scored 15 points, Jayla Peterson added 14 and Avery Davis finished with 12 as WPIAL champion GCC jumped to...
