High School category, Page 542
Westmoreland high school notes: Ligonier Valley rehires Siko as AD
When Ligonier Valley made the giant leap from District 6 to the WPIAL in 2020, Wesley Siko was the Rams’ athletic director and oversaw the move. But soon after, Siko left to become the AD at Ringgold. Two years later, he is back. Ligonier Valley rehired Siko following the resignation...
Penn-Trafford notebook: Solomon leads Warriors hockey team past Butler
After opening 2023 with two consecutive losses, the Penn-Trafford ice hockey team found the winning touch Jan. 10 with a 6-1 victory against Butler. Penn-Trafford (8-4) lost to Thomas Jefferson, 6-1, and Hempfield, 7-5, the first week of the new year. Thanks to a four-goal and one-assist effort from Xavier...
Gateway girls look to bounce back after narrow section losses
The Gateway girls basketball team started 0-4 in Section 1-5A play, but it was in position to turn some of those games into victories rather than the setbacks they experienced. That’s the assessment of Gators coach Curtis Williams after his team suffered a two-point loss to Plum in December and...
Penn Hills’ Anthony Sipple following in siblings’ underwater footsteps
Anthony Sipple doesn’t need to go far to find resources to help with his swimming career. Eldest sister Stephanie and his middle sister Kristen both swim at Edinboro. Anthony, a freshman at Penn Hills High School, is on the same team as his younger sister, Lauren, who is a junior....
Penn Hills boys welcome challenge of physical section battles
Chris Giles is welcoming of the Penn Hils boys basketball team’s position in the black-and-blue division of WPIAL Class 5A. Only one team in Section 2 allows more than 51 points per game, while no team scores more than 60 points per game. The Indians are ready to dig in...
Pine-Richland swimmers look to build on last season’s success
Pine-Richland girls swimming reached plenty of goals with a young team last year. The Rams had a pair of relay teams — the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay — qualify for the PIAA championship meet, and Sarah Shaffer placed 10th in the state in the 100 breaststroke as...
All-stars help Pine-Richland hockey put slow start in rearview mirror
Josh Folmer was in the middle of his school day when he got a text message from his parents that told him he had made the PIHL All-Star game. Zach Howard clicked on the PIHL website to check where Pine-Richland was in the standings when he noticed the all-star rosters...
Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy soccer standouts pick up postseason honors
Four Quaker Valley athletes were named Section 4-2A boys soccer all-stars in 2022, led by player of the year Nick Allan, a junior defensive specialist. “I was very excited and humbled when I received the award,” Allan said, “because I know this is a big achievement and many great players...
Quaker Valley wide receiver Jakub Pickett recognized for strong senior season
Quaker Valley senior Jakub Pickett has made a name for himself on the football field. Opposing coaches and players have noticed. Pickett, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound wide receiver/defensive back, repeated as a first-team all-conference selection on offense this year. “Jakub has many strengths as a football player,” QV coach Jason Cappa...
Penn-Trafford looks to build off 4th-place finish at WCCA tournament
The sign of a good wrestling team is improvement throughout the season. First-year coach Travis McKillop is seeing that from his Penn-Trafford wrestlers. “We’re starting to get healthy, and some of our younger guys are improving,” McKillop said. “Things are progressing.” Penn-Trafford finished fourth with 173 points at the 70th...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 14, 2023
High schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Saturday’s results MLK Hoops for Harmony At Chambersburg New Town (MD) 59, Aliquippa 41 Imani Christian 91, Theodore Roosevelt (DC) 54 MLK Weekend Showcase At Woodland Hills Woodland Hills 58, Burrell 49 Kiski Area 58, Linsly (WV) 49 Northgate 105, Westinghouse 78 Ron Galbreath Classic...
High school roundup for Jan. 14, 2023: Red-hot Central Catholic stops Lincoln Park
Cole Sullivan scored 18 points and Central Catholic recorded its third straight signature win with a 54-49 victory over Lincoln Park at the Ron Galbreath Classic at Westminster College on Saturday night, Dante DePante added 14 points and Debaba Tshiebwe had 13 for the Vikings (7-5), who gave New Castle...
Norwin’s Savannah Schneck impresses by returning to court after tearing left ACL twice
Savannah Schneck lost her sophomore and junior basketball seasons, and she never will get them back. She spent the better part of 19 months rehabbing an ACL that she tore, had repaired then tore again. Some players never recover from knee injuries like that. But Schneck isn’t some player. She...
WPIAL girls basketball rankings: Week ending Jan. 15, 2023
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Norwin, 12-1, 1 2. Upper St. Clair, 10-2, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 9-4, 3 4. North Allegheny, 7-3, 4 5. Chartiers Valley, 7-4, NR Out: Peters Township (8-6, 5) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. McKeesport, 12-1, 1 2. South Fayette, 12-2,...
WPIAL boys basketball rankings: Week ending Jan. 15, 2023
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Central Catholic, 6-5, NR 2. Mt. Lebanon, 9-4, 2 3. New Castle, 11-1, 1 4. Butler, 10-3, 3 5. Upper St. Clair, 8-6, 4 Out: Norwin (7-5, 5) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Penn Hills, 8-2, 2 2. North Hills, 10-2,...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Apollo-Ridge’s Brinley Toland, Highlands’ Bradyn Foster
Brinley Toland Class: Senior School: Apollo-Ridge Sport: Basketball Report card: Toland scored 21 points Thursday as Apollo-Ridge (11-2, 3-1) defeated Burrell, 57-45, in a Section 3-3A girls basketball game. That followed the point guard’s 17-point effort Monday night when the Vikings scored a 50-43 victory over Deer Lakes. Also a...
Plum wrestlers look forward to Allegheny County tournament
Last year, the Plum wrestling team took home 10 place medals and a third-place team finish from the Allegheny County tournament at Fox Chapel. The Mustangs return to Fox Chapel on Friday with nine of those 10 medalists set to compete — Vinnie Citrano graduated — and coach Mike Supak...
North Allegheny notebook: Wrestler Nathan Monteparte gets 100th career win
North Allegheny senior wrestler Nathan Monteparte hit the 100-career victory milestone on Jan. 11. The 139-pound grappler scored a 12-3 major decision over Butler’s Kase Chopp. The Tigers, however, couldn’t capitalize on that momentum and dropped a 29-23 decision to the Golden Tornado. It was Butler’s first win over North...
North Allegheny inline hockey team thrives outside spotlight
North Allegheny has a high school sports team that’s undefeated this winter, a motivated roster that’s trying to avenge a second-place finish from last year. Yet, most folks probably know little about the program, said inline hockey coach Dom Manz, who hopes the team’s success might spark renewed interest in...
After winning county title, Franklin Regional wrestler Juliano Marion wants more
Franklin Regional junior Juliano Marion captured his second Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association wrestling title on Jan. 6, and now he has his eye on becoming the next three-time county champion. Marion (15-3) was one of two Panthers to claim county title at Greensburg Salem. The other was senior Gavyn Beck...
Sheets siblings fuel Hampton swim teams
The Hampton boys and girls swimming teams seem to be headed in different directions, but they have one thing in common. Senior Ben Sheets is the top swimmer for the rebuilding two-time WPIAL Class 2A champion boys team, and his freshman twin sisters, Lainey and Libby, are off to fast...
Hampton competitive spirit team reaches PIAA championships for 1st time in 5 years
The Hampton competitive spirit team has something to cheer about. The Talbots qualified for the PIAA championships for the first time in five years after a clean routine and top-five finish at the WPIAL competitive spirit finals Jan. 7, at Hempfield. Hampton, which already had qualified for the Universal Cheerleaders...
Settled in at 107 pounds, Fox Chapel sophomore emerges as top performer
Landon Funk didn’t have a secure spot in the lineup during his freshman season on the Fox Chapel wrestling team. Throughout the season, Funk had to wrestle off with Michael Worsen for the spot at 106 pounds. Funk didn’t always win and would voluntarily bump up to 113 pounds. What...
Freshman sparks bounce-back season for Fox Chapel girls
Lyla Jablon didn’t have to worry about slowly discovering the chaos of playing girls varsity basketball. The Fox Chapel freshman guard was thrust into an uncomfortable situation early in the season. The Foxes lost leading scorer Skye Byrnes to a broken ankle and had two other starters out with injuries...
Greensburg Salem catcher Gionnah Ruffner to play at Seton Hall
Gionnah Ruffner will take her powerful softball swing to the Big East. The junior from Greensburg Salem made a verbal pledge to play at Seton Hall. The power-hitting catcher also had an offer from Akron. “When I arrived on campus, the first thing I told my dad was I knew...
