High School category, Page 348
Pine-Richland’s James Cardinali to play football at Navy
As a junior, James Cardinali was a 210-pound lineman on the Pine-Richland junior varsity football team who seemed like a longshot to play in college. That was before he went to work to make a massive transformation to his body and that has led to an equally big development for...
After defending Allegheny County title, Plum wrestlers turn attention to WPIAL playoffs
The Plum boys wrestling team won last year’s Allegheny County Tournament title with two champions and a runner-up among 11 place finishers. The Mustangs edged Pine-Richland by 23 points. Coach Mike Supak said this year’s title defense would be a tougher challenge. But his wrestlers, he said, were up to...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports for Jan. 27, 2024: Battle for 1st set in Section 2-A girls hoops
While there are a couple of events involving plenty of district boys and girls basketball teams, the most important high school basketball game is a Saturday afternoon special between the two top teams in WPIAL girls basketball Section 2-A. Front-running Monessen is 5-0 atop the section as it prepares to...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 26, 2024
High schools Basketball Boys Friday’s results Class 6A Section 1 Seneca Valley 61, Butler 56 Central Catholic 63, Pine-Richland 49 North Allegheny 71, New Castle 63 Section 2 Mt. Lebanon 51, Baldwin 46 Upper St. Clair 48, Hempfield 39 Canon-McMillan 51, Norwin 47 Class 5A Section 1 Bethel Park 90,...
Lincoln Park’s ‘big two’ share the wealth in win over North Catholic
The motto on Lincoln Park’s shirts says “one more,” which coach Mike Bariski translates into “one more pass.” That might seem like wishful thinking, since the Leopards have a couple of elite players who can dominate one on one and score without any passes at all. But that’s not so,...
High school roundup for Jan. 26, 2024: Thomas Jefferson stands tall with key section win over Peters Township
Noah Prosser scored 17 points to lead Thomas Jefferson to a 70-58 victory over Peters Township in a key Section 1-5A boys basketball matchup Friday night. Nicholas Trklja and Evan Berger each scored 15 for the Jaguars (13-3, 6-0). Mickey Vaccarello had 17 and Jack Dunbar finished with 13 for...
Mt. Lebanon fends off Baldwin to stay atop section
Searching for its first section crown in nearly 40 years, Baldwin entered Friday’s road game at Mt. Lebanon tied for first place in Section 2-6A with the Blue Devils and Upper St. Clair. The Highlanders knew they had a tough hill to climb on the road against a team that...
Franklin Regional finds another gear in overtime to get past Penn-Trafford
Franklin Regional needed its leader to find another gear, and that’s what Cooper Rankin did. The senior guard scored 10 of his 26 points in overtime Friday night to power the fourth-ranked Panthers to their third straight victory, a 63-58 decision over visiting Penn-Trafford in Section 3-5A boys basketball. “I...
Belle Vernon runs past Southmoreland in stat-filled ‘track meet’
Given room to run, Belle Vernon feasted on transition points and loaded up the stat sheet Friday night, ringing up a season high for points in an 85-73 victory at Southmoreland in Section 3-4A boys basketball. Junior 6-foot-6 forward Tommy Davis and junior guard Trevor Kovatch had career scoring nights,...
Derry divers sweep gold during Westmoreland County Coaches Association championships
It was quite night for the Derry divers Friday during Day 1 of the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association meet. Derry had two champions and two others earn medals during the diving portion of the event. The swimming portion of the meet begins 10 a.m. Saturday at Derry. Junior Ella Silvis...
Peter Kramer hits winner as Hampton holds off Highlands in OT
Highlands gave Hampton its best shot, but it was Peter Kramer who landed the final blow. Kramer drove the lane and hit a bucket with 4 seconds remaining in overtime to propel the Talbots to a 61-59 victory Friday night at Highlands. After Cam Reigard hit a tough runner in...
Burrell, Kiski Area swimmers set for WCCA meet as they ramp up toward WPIALs
At last year’s Westmoreland County Coaches Association swimming championships, 12 individuals and relays produced times in eight events that surpassed previous meet records. A number of those swimmers are back Saturday at Derry High School to try to do it again in what is one of the fastest high school...
PIAA officials acknowledge competitive balance formula has ‘room for conversation’ in future
A football team that reaches the state finals or semifinals two years in a row “is the cream of the crop in that class,” said PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi, explaining why health and safety concerns are excluded as grounds for appeal under the competitive-balance rule. “It’s tough to make...
Mark Madden: PIAA officials clearly insensitive to Aliquippa’s reality
There are usually two sides to every story. But not in the case of Aliquippa High School football being forced to play at the 5A level despite having 2A enrollment. The Quips are getting railroaded by the PIAA. Consider Southern Columbia, a school in Central Pennsylvania that has won the...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 25, 2024
High schools Basketball Boys Thursday’s results Class 5A Section 4 Moon 58, South Fayette 49 Class 4A Section 4 South Allegheny 59, Avonworth 55 Class 3A Section 2 Seton LaSalle 66, Steel Valley 32 Nonsection Propel Andrew Street 60, Calvary Christian 15 Eden Christian at Chartiers Valley, ppd. Southwest Christian...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Jan. 26, 2024: North Catholic takes another crack at Lincoln Park
It’s a busy night of WPIAL boys basketball on the final Fray-day of January with all 21 district sections now into the second half of section play. One of the marque matchups is a battle for first place in Section 2-4A as North Catholic (10-5) hosts Lincoln Park (13-3). The...
High school roundup for Jan. 25, 2024: Clairton’s Iyanna Wade sets WPIAL single-game scoring record
Iyanna Wade set a WPIAL girls basketball single-game scoring record with 65 points, leading Clairton (14-2, 6-2) to a 81-32 victory over Steel Valley (0-17, 0-9) in Section 3-2A Thursday night. Wade broke the record of 62 set by Maude Searcy of Wilkinsburg in a win over Clairton in 1990....
Valley girls wrestling makes huge strides in program’s 1st few months of existence
Arianna Bernard made history Dec. 28 at the Powerade girls wrestling tournament at Canon-McMillan. She became the first wrestler to represent the newly formed Valley girls program. “I wrestled at Powerade before, so I knew what to expect,” said Bernard, who wears a brace as part of her ongoing recovery...
Mt. Pleasant coach expects tight competition at county swim championship
As Mt. Pleasant swimming coach Sandy Felice prepares her team for the annual Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association meet Friday and Saturday at Derry, she told them to be prepared for a battle. Among the top swimmers entered are the Vikings’ Lily King, Kiersten O’Connor and Joseph Gardner. “I expect Kiski...
Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: Seton Hill to host weekend showcase
Some good basketball could be in store on “The Hill” this weekend. The Shootout at Seton Hill, expanded to two days because of its popularity, will be Saturday and Sunday at Seton Hill’s McKenna Center. There will be 11 showcase games over the weekend, eight boys and three girls. The...
Highlands’ Bradyn Foster rises to occasion for boys basketball team
Bradyn Foster has heard some trash talk on the court this season, but he welcomes it. “A lot of people have told me I’m not good enough to be where I’m going. That’s one of the biggest things,” Foster said in reference to being a Division I recruit. “I like...
6 WPIAL quarterbacks selected as finalists for Willie Thrower Award
WPIAL champions Nolan DiLucia of Peters Township, Logan Kushner of North Allegheny and Matt Seig of Fort Cherry were three of the six quarterbacks named Thursday as finalists for the Willie Thrower Award. The award is given annually to the top quarterback in the WPIAL or City League. The others...
Trinity, Burgettstown awarded top seeds for WPIAL wrestling tournament
The WPIAL wrestling committee didn’t waste much time setting up the team tournament. Hours after teams wrapped up section competition Wednesday night, committee officials gathered to slot out pairings Thursday morning. In Class 3A, undefeated Trinity (8-0) was awarded the No. 1 seed and undefeated Franklin Regional (16-0) was picked...
Stacking wins nothing new for Monessen boys
It is late January, and the WPIAL basketball regular season is headed for its final two weeks. That can mean only one thing: another winning streak for Monessen. The Greyhounds (12-2, 4-1), like they have the past two seasons, strung together another tapestry of wins along their chase to another...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 24, 2024
High schools Basketball Boys Wednesday’s results Class 5A Section 2 Armstrong 63, Plum 62 (OT) Class 4A Section 3 Elizabeth Forward 74, Albert Gallatin 69 Class 3A Section 4 Waynesburg 58, McGuffey 46 Class 2A Section 3 Jeannette 68, Leechburg 21 Class A Section 2 West Greene 46, Monessen 43...
