Chris Harlan stories, Page 115
WPIAL declares Belle Vernon multi-sport standout Devin Whitlock ineligible
Multi-sport standout Devin Whitlock, who transferred from Monessen to Belle Vernon after his freshman year, was ruled ineligible by the WPIAL. The WPIAL made its decision Monday based solely on the transfer paperwork, which Monessen’s administration did not approve, said WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley. Whitlock can request an eligibility...
North Catholic’s Tess Myers follows family tradition, commits to Duquesne
Four decades after her father committed to Duquesne, North Catholic’s Tess Myers committed Monday to play basketball for the Dukes. The 5-foot-10 guard from Lower Burrell, who ranks among the WPIAL’s top 2020 girls basketball recruits, chose Duquesne from more than a dozen offers, including Colorado, Temple, St. Joseph’s and...
Moon’s Donovan Johnson remains ineligible after WPIAL denies waiver request
The WPIAL denied Donovan Johnson’s waiver request Monday, leaving the Moon basketball star ineligible for his senior season. PIAA eligibility rules limit students to six seasons of a sport after sixth grade. The WPIAL decided previously that Johnson already had reached that limit because he repeated the eighth grade and...
Mars’ Michael Carmody, WPIAL’s top-ranked football recruit, commits to Notre Dame
Almost two years to the day that Robby Carmody committed to Notre Dame basketball, his younger brother Michael committed Sunday to play football for the Fighting Irish. Mars lineman Michael Carmody chose Notre Dame from more than two dozen offers including Pitt, Penn State and West Virginia, along with Auburn,...
Seneca Valley lineman Josh Kaltenberger commits to Purdue
Seneca Valley’s Josh Kaltenberger received his first Power 5 offer Tuesday from Purdue. Three days later, the 6-foot-5, 280-pound center committed to the Boilermakers. Kaltenberger announced his decision Friday on Twitter, saying “I know this was a quick decision, but I know this is where God wants me. There is...
West Mifflin’s Nahki Johnson among 5 scheduled for WPIAL hearings Thursday
Football standout Nahki Johnson, who transferred from Steel Valley to West Mifflin in December, will have his eligibility decided Thursday in a hearing at the WPIAL office. Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound defensive end, will be a junior in the fall. He already lists scholarship offers from Pitt, Penn State, West...
Devon Prep avoids Serra star Mark Black in 7th, dashes Eagles’ PIAA title hopes
UNIVERSITY PARK — Devon Prep challenged Serra Catholic star Mark Black three times Friday, but with two outs in the seventh and first base open, there was no reason to take that chance again. His 14-homer reputation stretches all the way to Philadelphia. Instead, Devon Prep intentionally walked Black and...
‘Nightmarish’ inning costs Beaver in PIAA championship loss to Selinsgrove
UNIVERSITY PARK — This season was mostly a dream come true until the fifth inning Friday, which felt quite the opposite. “Very nightmarish,” said first-year Beaver coach Noah Medich. “I’ll probably have nightmares about that inning.” WPIAL champion Beaver committed three errors and allowed five runs in the fifth inning...
West Perry’s walk-off win dashes Elizabeth Forward’s state title hopes
UNIVERSITY PARK — In his 41 years as a softball coach, Elizabeth Forward’s Harry Rutherford had never seen a play quite like this. West Perry star Tiara Johnson was stealing second and EF catcher Brianna Sersevic’s throw was one of her best, reaching shortstop Anna Resnik’s glove before Johnson reached...
Scott Dibble resigns as Canevin basketball coach, heads to NBA Finals, U.S. Open
Scott Dibble resigned as Bishop Canevin’s girls basketball coach but that didn’t leave his calendar wide open. On Thursday, Dibble flew to Oakland, Calif., for Game 6 of the NBA Finals and will travel down the West Coast to watch the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. “That’s my weekend for...
Frazier softball’s state championship game moved to Friday as PIAA revamps schedule
UNIVERSITY PARK — The PIAA rearranged its softball and baseball championships schedule Thursday and postponed two games to Friday after rain soaked Penn State’s campus. The Class 2A softball final between Frazier and Brandywine Heights was rescheduled for 6:30 p.m., Friday. The game originally was set for 4 p.m., Thursday....
WPIAL basketball star Isiah Warfield transferring from Sewickley Academy
WPIAL basketball standout Isiah Warfield, a 25-point scorer last season at Sewickley Academy, has transferred home to Central Valley for his senior year. The move was not basketball related, said Sewickley Academy coach Win Palmer. “Win was great to us. Sewickley was great to us,” said Isiah’s father Mike Warfield....
Legislation to split public, private school sports ‘poorly crafted,’ PIAA exec says
Legislation introduced Tuesday to split public and private high school athletics was “poorly crafted” and an “end-around of the (State Athletic) Oversight Committee,” said PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi. Lombardi said he watched state Rep. Aaron Bernstine’s press conference announcing the “Parity in Interscholastic Athletics Act,” legislation created in conjunction...
High school sports proposal would separate public, private playoffs, ax PIAA transfer restrictions
Public and private high schools will compete for separate state championships, and strict transfer rules will vanish under the “Parity in Interscholastic Athletics Act” introduced Tuesday by a Western Pennsylvania state representative. “This impacts hundreds of thousands of students,” said state Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) while announcing his legislation at...
Western Pa. representative readies legislation to separate private, public school playoffs
The executive director of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference sat down with outspoken public school advocates in February for a frank conversation about the current PIAA playoff system. Those talks in Harrisburg, facilitated by state Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence), led to the “Parity in Interscholastic Athletics Act” that the Western Pennsylvania...
PIAA postpones all baseball, softball semifinals involving WPIAL teams
The PIAA postponed many of Monday’s baseball and softball semifinals because of weather to Tuesday, including all involving WPIAL teams. Among the baseball games pushed back were those involving WPIAL teams North Allegheny, Beaver, Seton LaSalle and Serra Catholic. WPIAL softball teams Hempfield, Penn-Trafford, Mt. Pleasant, Elizabeth Forward, Frazier and...
Central Catholic defensive end A.J. Beatty commits to North Carolina
Central Catholic’s A.J. Beatty, who announced more Division 1 offers than any WPIAL football recruit in the 2020 class, cut his long list down to one. Beatty announced his commitment to North Carolina on Sunday night, choosing the Tar Heels over offers from West Virginia, Central Florida, Maryland, N.C. State,...
Aliquippa linebacker Zuriah Fisher adds 5th ACC scholarship offerVideo
Aliquippa linebacker Zuriah Fisher added his fifth ACC offer this week. N.C. State is now recruitinig the rising senior, joining Pitt, Boston College, Syracuse and Virginia Tech on his list of ACC options. Fisher (6-3, 230) announced his Wolfpack offer Friday on Twitter. Rivals ranks him as a three-star recruit...
Union lineman Aaron Gunn announces Michigan State offer
Union’s Aaron Gunn, a rising junior who’s recruiting stock is also on the rise, announced an offer from Michigan State. The 6-foot-4, 305-pound lineman now holds three Power 5 conference offers. He earlier received West Virginia and Kentucky offers, and recently made a trip to Morgantown. The small school standout...
Baseball semifinal sites, times: WPIAL Class 2A finalists rematch at West Mifflin
Twelve days after Seton LaSalle defeated Serra Catholic in the WPIAL championship, the section rivals will rematch in the state semifinals. They’ll play at 1:30 p.m. Monday at West Mifflin. Seton won 11-2 when the teams met May 29 in the WPIAL Class 2A championship at Wild Things Park. Two...
Softball semifinal sites, times: 6 WPIAL teams 1 victory away from PIAA finals
Hempfield is one win away from its fourth consecutive appearance in the state softball championships. The Spartans already knew who they’d play in the semifinals. Now they also know where. Hempfield (18-6) will face District 3 champion Central Dauphin (23-2) at St. Francis University in Loretto at 4 p.m. Monday....
North Allegheny capitalizes on errors to defeat rival Pine-Richland
Twelve errors in three games will eventually catch up to any baseball team, even a talented WPIAL champion. Pine-Richland committed four errors Thursday, including one each in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, and section rival North Allegheny capitalized on all three to win 4-1 in a PIAA Class 6A...
Pine-Richland sack leader Miguel Jackson announces 1st Division 1 offer
Pine-Richland sack leader Miguel Jackson, who earned all-conference recognition last season as a sophomore, announced his first Division 1 offer Wednesday from Akron. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound defensive end had a team-high 14 sacks last season when the Rams won the WPIAL Class 6A title. He also blocked a punt, returned...
PIAA postpones 3 softball playoff games, moves Class 6A baseball quarterfinal
The PIAA postponed three softball games scheduled Thursday at Slippery Rock University and moved the North Allegheny vs. Pine-Richland baseball game to a different site. The Class 6A baseball quarterfinal was switched to LaRoche College at 4 p.m., Thursday due to field conditions at Slippery Rock, the PIAA announced. The...
WPIAL suspends McKeesport basketball assistant 1 year for recruiting
McKeesport pays Troy Blackwell to convince charter school students to return to the school district, but the WPIAL ruled Wednesday that the assistant girls basketball coach’s efforts violated recruiting rules. The issue was that Blackwell sent a social media message to a girls basketball player at a charter school encouraging...
