High School category, Page 301
Norwin takes punch from Chartiers Valley, rallies to reach PIAA 6A quarterfinals
Trailing by double figures for the first time all season could have sent Norwin into a downward spiral and shut down its hopes of winning a state championship. Instead, it charged up the Lady Knights and made their grand escape that much more impressive. WPIAL champion Norwin rallied from 11...
Franklin Regional, Mt. Pleasant swimmers among high seeds for PIAA championship meet
Holden Thomas made his PIAA debut three years ago at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg, 70 miles from Bucknell, the traditional site of the state swimming and diving championships. As a freshman in 2021, Thomas was the lead backstroke leg of Franklin Regional’s boys 200-yard medley relay that finished...
After celebrating WPIAL title, Kiski Area swimmers turn attention to PIAA meet
For Abby King, it was like mother, like daughter at the WPIAL Class 2A championships March 1 at Pitt’s Trees Pool. King’s mother, Daina (Cleveland) King, helped the 1991 Apollo-Ridge girls basketball team win the WPIAL Class 2A title and advance to states. Daina was on hand at Trees Pool...
Westmoreland County baskeball notebook: Rivals Jeannette, GCC ready for another rematch
After Jeannette played at Greensburg Central Catholic late in the boys basketball regular season, Jayhawks coach Adrian Batts leaned in to the handshake line for a respectful exchange with GCC senior forward Franco Alvarez. “He said, ‘I’m not going to get to play you anymore,’ ” Batts said. “I told...
2024 WPIAL Class 4A baseball preseason breakdown
Hopewell won its second WPIAL championship in three years last season for the program’s fifth district crown. However, this title run was like no other. Moving up from Class 3A, the Vikings played below .500 baseball and finished the regular season tied for third place in Section 1-4A, five games...
2024 WPIAL Class 4A softball preseason breakdown
Competition was spirited in Class 4A softball last season, and several contenders again look to have rosters ready to battle for WPIAL and PIAA glory. Parity was on display throughout the postseason a year ago, as Belle Vernon edged Montour for the WPIAL title but lost to WPIAL No. 1...
Westmoreland County high school basketball playoff preview capsule for March 13, 2024
PIAA basketball playoffs Boys Class 2A Second round Jeannette (18-9) vs. Greensburg Central Catholic (24-3) 7 p.m. Wednesday at Norwin District seeds: Jeannette 7-6; GCC 7-2 Winner plays: Winner of 7-3 Fort Cherry (21-6)/7-7 Serra Catholic (18-9) Saturday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Jace Powell, Jeannette; Liam...
A-K Valley high school basketball playoff preview capsules for March 13, 2024
PIAA basketball playoffs Boys Class 3A Second round Deer Lakes (22-4) vs. Forest Hills (21-4) 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Armstrong District seeds: Deer Lakes 7-1; Forest Hills 6-2 Winner plays: Winner of 10-2 Franklin (21-5)/5-1 Chestnut Ridge (23-4) Saturday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Wayne Love, Deer...
When WPIAL makes realignment decisions aiming for competitive balance, critics emerge
WPIAL athletic directors received a survey from one of their colleagues Monday, seeking feedback about how the league makes its sections and schedules. The online survey by McGuffey athletic director Ed Dalton, a critic of the WPIAL’s recent fall realignment, asked whether schools favored sections based on geography, competitive balance...
Pine-Richland knocks off Peters Township to reach Penguins Cup finals showdown with North Allegheny
After beating the top-seeded Pine-Richland Rams twice in the regular season, No. 4 seed Peters Township was feeling great after scoring two goals in 19 seconds in the first three minutes of Monday’s Penguins Cup Class 3A semifinal between the teams. However, unlike the first two meetings, Pine-Richland was able...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for March 11, 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 12, 2024: Underdogs collide when Fox Chapel meets Bethel Park
The second round on the Road to Hershey tips off Tuesday featuring boys Class 5A, 4A and A games as well as girls Class 6A, 3A and 2A PIAA basketball contests. Two WPIAL boys 5A teams that have seen their fair share of up and downs this season collide for...
Trib HSSN Girls Basketball Team of the Week for March 11, 2024
Trib HSSN girls basketball team of the week: North Catholic Trojans Coach: Molly Rottman (25th season) Record: 12-0 in Section 1-4A, 18-7 overall #Earned: Last week, North Catholic added to its WPIAL record with a 23rd district championship when it stunned top seed Blackhawk in a rematch of the 2023...
Trib HSSN Girls Basketball Player of the Week for March 11, 2024
Trib HSSN girls basketball player of the week: Rachael Manfredo School: McKeesport Class: Senior Height: 6-foot-0 Position: Guard/Forward #Earned: During a regular season in which McKeesport only lost two games, Manfredo led the team in scoring, averaging 15 points per game. She led the way in the district postseason as...
Defending champs top WPIAL preseason boys volleyball polls
The defending champions will start out on top of the polls when WPIAL boys volleyball season begins Friday. Shaler in Class 3A and North Catholic in Class 2A topped the Western PA Volleyball Coaches Association preseason top 10s released Monday. Shaler defeated North Allegheny and North Catholic beat Ambridge in...
Westmoreland high school basketball playoff preview capsules for March 12, 2024
PIAA basketball playoffs Boys Class 5A Second round Franklin Regional (24-3) vs. Selinsgrove (18-7) 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Altoona High School District seeds: Franklin Regional 7-2; Selinsgrove 4-1 Winner plays: Winner of 3-1 Mechanicsburg (21-5)/7-3 Shaler (24-3) on Friday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Cooper Rankin, Franklin...
Westmoreland high school PIHL playoff preview capsules for March 12, 2024
PIHL playoffs Class 2A Semifinals 8-Penn-Trafford (8-9-0-2) vs. 4-Norwin (12-7-0-2) 7 p.m. Tuesday, Robert Morris University Island Sports Center, Moon Winner plays: Winner of 6-Franklin Regional (11-7-0-1)/2-Thomas Jefferson (18-2-0-0) in championship 6:15 p.m. Monday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, Cranberry Players to watch: Alex Thomas, Norwin; Marco Ferracio, Penn-Trafford Ice...
Father-son duos bring competitive fire to Deer Lakes basketball
When Albie Fletcher got the Deer Lakes boys basketball coaching job two years ago, he asked Todd Rodgers to join his staff. At the time, neither could’ve forecasted they’d watch their sons win back-to-back WPIAL Class 3A championships, but Aiden Fletcher and Collin Rodgers have provided plenty of proud dad...
Westmoreland County high school basketball notebook: Coach brings concepts from Penn State football to Norwin girls team
Brian Brozeski remembers the guidance he received from more established teammates when he made the Penn State football team in the mid-1990s. Former headliners Joe Jurevicius, Brandon Short, Curtis Enis and others, he said, took him under their wing. “I was a scrawny walk-on from tiny Blairsville, but those guys...
A-K Valley high school basketball playoff preview capsule for March 12, 2024
PIAA basketball playoffs Boys Class 5A Second round Fox Chapel (16-11) vs. Bethel Park (14-13) 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at AHN Arena, Peters Township District seeds: Fox Chapel 7-5; Bethel Park 7-6 Winner plays: Winner of 3-3 York Suburban (21-6)/7-1 Moon (24-3) on Friday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Players to...
Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Norwin’s Ava Kobus
There are few better feelings in sports than winning a championship, but being able to win one as a senior is a pretty sweet send-off. That was the case for Norwin’s Ava Kobus, who, along with her teammates, captured the WPIAL Class 6A title March 1 at Petersen Events Center...
A-K Valley Senior Spotlight: St. Joseph’s Maggie Bernat
The St. Joseph girls basketball team has been blessed with height and length from its four senior starters. Julie Spinelli is a 5-foot-11 guard, Emma Swierczewski is a 5-10 swing forward and Anna Kreinbrook is a 6-2 center who can clog the middle. Throw in junior point guard Gia Richter,...
2024 WPIAL Class 5A softball preseason breakdown
Trinity captured its first WPIAL softball title last season by outslugging top-seeded Armstrong, 11-7. Shaler made a run through the PIAA tournament to finish as the state runner-up. All three teams again have some firepower in the lineup and should challenge for the district championship and possibly beyond. Here is...
2024 WPIAL Class 5A baseball preseason breakdown
Shaler turned back the clock to 1980, the last time a Titans’ team realized the goal of winning district and state gold. Behind the arm and bat of Miguel Hugas, Shaler first won the Section 2-5A title, then defeated Fox Chapel and Plum to reach the WPIAL finals, where it...
Norwin girls wrestlers relish special moments during PIAA’s inaugural season
Avalin Barry sat in the black and gold bleachers of North Allegheny High School’s gymnasium, her Sasquatch-patterned sweatpants tucked into a gray medical boot on her right leg and a brown cowboy boot on the left. The Norwin freshman and first-year wrestler wasn’t able to compete in the first WPIAL...
