High School category, Page 392
Penn Hills senior finishes cross country career with fond memories
Sawyer Kinney has been drawn to activities throughout his life that made him feel like he was joining a brotherhood. When the Penn Hills senior thought about what he would like post-college life to be like, he was drawn to a military career the same way he was drawn to...
Penn Hills wins conference title, rivalry trophy to head into playoffs with momentum
The Penn Hills football team was crowned “King of the Hills’ by beating Woodland Hills to end the regular season. The winner of the game being awarded a trophy caught Indians coach Charles Morris off guard. It wasn’t the trophy Penn Hills was ultimately after, but the Indians were happy...
Pine-Richland notebook: Dominant run continues for field hockey team
Led by a pair of goals by Jessica Albertson, Pine-Richland field hockey advanced to another Class 3A field hockey championship with a 3-0 win over North Allegheny in the Class 3A semifinals Oct. 28. The Rams were seeking their fifth consecutive WPIAL championship when they faced No. 2 Peters Township...
Plum girls soccer team reflects on accomplishments after strong season
The Plum girls soccer team sought a return trip to the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals for the fifth year in a row when it faced Montour in a quarterfinal rematch of a regular-season tie game. It was the only blemish in 17 games for the No. 2 Mustangs through a...
After quarterfinal loss, Plum boys soccer looks ahead toward productive offseason
The Plum and South Fayette boys soccer programs were no strangers to each other before meeting Oct. 25 in a WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal at Plum High School. In the 2020 first round, the No. 13 Lions rose up and stunned the No. 4 Mustangs, 2-1, in overtime. Last year,...
Young coaches get their football fix on Norwin staff
Anthony Giansante and Jackson Pruitt were supposed to be playing college football this fall. Giansante should be a redshirt sophomore and Western Carolina, Pruitt a redshirt junior at Youngstown State. But instead, the former high school standouts found football fulfillment on the coaching staff at Norwin. “You don’t get the...
Westmoreland high school athletes of the week: Greensburg Central Catholic’s Eva Denis, Greensburg Central Catholic’s Nick Szekely
Eva Denis School: Greensburg Central Catholic Class: Junior Sport: Volleyball Claim to fame: Denis, who contributes in several ways to the Centurions’ rotation, helped the team reach the WPIAL Class A semifinals. In a 3-2 loss to Serra Catholic, she had 17 kills and five blocks. GCC finished fourth in...
5 things we learned in high school football Week 10: Wildcat formation works for WPIAL teams
The wildcat formation is almost as old as WPIAL football itself, but the run-oriented offense is proving hard to stop. What makes it work? “It’s the mentality of our line and our team in general,” said Moon running back Josh Bladel, who’s becoming a wildcat expert. “We want to play...
Norwin claims 1st WPIAL soccer championship with PK shootout win over North Allegheny
When Norwin started a group chat in the preseason, they called it “Road to Highmark.” When they rattled off back-to-back playoff upsets, they changed the name to, “Highmark.” Maybe now the Knights will label the ongoing text chain, “WPIAL champs.” George Bunovich scored the clinching penalty kick in a shootout...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Nov. 4, 2023
High schools Cross country PIAA championships Boys Saturday’s results Class 3A Individual: 1. Drew Griffith, Butler, 15:23; 2. Nicholas Mazzeo, Lower Merion, 15:44; 3. Jack Bertram, North Allegheny, 15:50; 4. Aidan Maue, Souderton, 16:04; 5. Giovanni Mastromona, Nazareth, 16:05; 6. Cole Casedei, La Salle College, 16:06; 7. Richard Planck, Downingtown...
WPIAL shines at PIAA cross country event with 4 champions
Cross Country is alive and well in the WPIAL. It was a golden day as four of the six PIAA individual champions and two teams brought back titles from Hershey on Saturday. The individual champions were: Butler senior Drew Griffith (3A boys), Ringgold senior Ryan Pajak (2A boys), Mohawk junior...
North Allegheny reclaims its place atop WPIAL Class 4A girls volleyball
After avenging its loss to Pine-Richland in last year’s WPIAL Class 4A championship earlier this week, the North Allegheny girls volleyball team reclaimed its throne with the program’s fifth district title in the last seven years. Top-seeded North Allegheny (16-1) defeated No. 3 Canon-McMillan (15-4) in four sets, 25-21, 13-25,...
Class 2A doubles teams turn in WPIAL’s best showings at PIAA tennis championships
District 1 champions Hannah and Rebecca Kideckel of Lower Moreland won the PIAA Class 2A doubles championship Saturday in Hershey, but they had to go through the WPIAL’s best to get to the top of podium. In the finals, Kideckel defeated WPIAL third-place finishers Katie Hardy and Brea Kelly of...
Pine-Richland finally solves Peters Township in OT to win 5th straight WPIAL field hockey crown
If anyone was looking for an evenly matched contest with a marvelous display of skill, the WPIAL Class 3A field hockey final was the game to watch. Goals? That would be a luxury the crowd at Cameron Stadium at Washington and Jefferson College would have to wait for. The match...
Hampton knocks off North Catholic to win elusive WPIAL volleyball championship
Going into its championship match against North Catholic on Saturday, the Hampton girls volleyball program had been WPIAL runner-up twice and had never won a district title. Now, the Talbots can finally proclaim themselves WPIAL champions. No. 1 Hampton (22-0) swept No. 2 North Catholic (18-2) in three sets, 25-10,...
South Fayette stuns Hampton to complete surprise playoff run with WPIAL Class 3A title
A dominant force throughout the regular season, the Hampton boys soccer team entered the WPIAL Class 3A championship game hoping for more of the same. Undefeated against 3A competition and having outscored its opponents by a combined 72 goals this season, the No. 2 Talbots took to the Highmark Stadium...
WPIAL announces sites, times for Friday’s football playoff games
WPIAL football playoffs All games at 7 p.m. Friday Class 6A Semifinals No. 4 Mt. Lebanon (5-5) vs. No. 1 Central Catholic (9-1) at Fox Chapel No. 3 Canon-McMillan (6-4) at No. 2 North Allegheny (9-1) Class 5A Semifinals No. 1 Peters Township (11-0) vs. No. 5 Moon (6-5) at...
Penn-Trafford beats Fox Chapel for 8th WPIAL field hockey title in row
If seven is heaven, eight must be something spectacular. One thing is for certain: What Penn-Trafford coach Cindy Dutt has produced as the field hockey coach is nothing short of remarkable. The Warriors attack proved too much for Fox Chapel as Penn-Trafford won its eighth consecutive WPIAL Class 2A championship...
Beaver again thwarts Freeport’s bid for WPIAL volleyball 3-peat
The last time Freeport had a chance for three girls volleyball titles in a row was in 2017 and Beaver ended up thwarting that attempt. Despite a furious rally by the Yellowjackets on Saturday after dropping the first two sets, history ended up repeating itself. Beaver regrouped and got a...
South Fayette nets golden goal in OT to dethrone Moon in Class 3A girls soccer
The nerves of playing in the WPIAL Class 3A girls soccer championship game Saturday at Highmark Stadium didn’t rattle Mia Deramo. The South Fayette sophomore forward has played plenty of high-level games at the venue as part of the Riverhounds’ developmental program. Before Deramo scored the game-winning goal with 1...
Shady Side Academy scores OT winner to beat Aquinas Academy for 5th WPIAL field hockey title in 6 years
After neither team scored in the first overtime of the WPIAL Class A field hockey championship game Saturday at Washington & Jefferson, Shady Side Academy senior Alexa Karet stepped into the spotlight. Karet worked hard to get the ball down into Aquinas Academy’s circle and as her team kept possession,...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Fox Chapel’s Kate Friday, Burrell’s Ryan Croushore
Kate Friday Class: Senior School: Fox Chapel Sport: Soccer Report card: Friday’s goal 35 seconds into overtime Thursday gave Fox Chapel its first WPIAL girls soccer title since 1985 as they defeated No. 1 North Allegheny, 1-0, in the Class 4A title game. The senior midfielder also had two goals...
Serra Catholic defeats Bishop Canevin to capture school’s 1st WPIAL volleyball title
For the Serra Catholic volleyball team, the wait for the program’s first WPIAL title was totally worth it. After losing in the finals to Frazier last year, the top-seeded Eagles showed their poise on the court Saturday afternoon in the WPIAL Class A championship match at Peters Township High School’s...
Avonworth gets past Shady Side Academy to win 3rd straight WPIAL championship
Gianna Babusci knew her teammate Minah Syam had likely scored 15 minutes into the WPIAL Class 2A girls soccer championship Saturday at Highmark Stadium. The fact the goal wasn’t given was immaterial. The Avonworth senior forward believed the Antelopes’ attack was too efficient not to produce more scoring opportunities. “We...
No. 5 Moon thwarts final drive, runs past Gateway in WPIAL 5A quarterfinals
Moon ran the football almost 70 times Friday night, and Gateway coach Don Holl marveled that not once were the Tigers flagged for holding. It was a compliment, but one surely coated with some sarcasm. Moon rolled out an old-school offense that at times used 10 blockers and a wildcat...
