High School category, Page 1109
Freeport girls run win streak to seven, top Burrell to clinch playoff spot
The Freeport girls basketball team hasn’t lost since a Jan. 2 setback at North Catholic. The Yellowjackets ran their winning streak to seven games Thursday with a 61-33 Section 1-4A victory at Burrell and remained on a roll heading into Monday’s rematch with the Trojanettes. “I was pleased with the...
Westmoreland boys basketball notebook: Depth boosts Franklin Regional
Franklin Regional has more depth than it did at the start of the season, and the longer bench could be what gets the Panthers into the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. The Panthers (8-9, 5-4), who have won four in a row and five of their last six, have been using...
Balanced scoring effort leading Leechburg boys down the stretch
The Leechburg boys basketball team has been experiencing a bit of success over the past few seasons, and it could be partly attributed to the contribution from a core group of players. Seniors Jake Blumer and Connor McDermott, along with junior point guard Dylan Cook, have given the Blue Devils...
A-K Valley boys basketball notebook: 4 teams starting to find rhythm
Teams began the second half of section play this past week and hope to peak at the right time. Heading into Thursday night’s games, four boys basketball teams from the Alle-Kiski Valley are on winning streaks of three games or more. Fox Chapel (16-0) has dominated all season, with all...
Hard-working Jeannette boys basketball team soaring after slow start
Apparently, there are no actual days off at Jeannette. The boys basketball team did not have practice Monday as coach Adrian Batts gave his players a long weekend. Yet a number of them funneled into the gym after school to get some shots up. They even pulled out the seldom-used...
Slow starts hamper Shaler girls basketball team
Cornelious Nesbit wanted the Shaler Area girls basketball team’s Jan. 20 loss to Butler to serve as a spark. If the Titans want to a spot in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs, they had to learn from their loss to the Golden Tornado. Avoiding slow starts is a must. Shaler...
Defensive pressure helps Shaler reach top of Section 3 standings
Each game requires Shaler Area senior Chris White to rely on his powers of observation. When an opponent is bringing the basketball up the floor, White looks for keys on how to separate them from it. Being out front of the Titans’ press is an opportunity to generate offense. “It’s...
South Fayette swim team makes best of canceled invitational
The South Fayette swimming and diving teams traveled to south-central Pennsylvania for the Big 8 Invitational meet Jan. 17, where they competed against only two schools, including one from their backyard. The girls dominated with 649 points. Central York and West Allegheny placed second and third. The boys came in...
North Allegheny freshman Christina Shi already one of WPIAL’s elite divers
North Allegheny freshman Christina Shi is such an accomplished diver, Tiger diving coach Patti McClure forgets how young she is. Shi placed fourth in the 2018 USA Diving Junior National Championships in the 12-13 girls 1-meter final. She was a regional champion in the 14-15 girls 1-meter and platform events...
Strong leadership puts Hampton spirit squad back on the mat
The Hampton competitive spirit squad has been affected by coaching changes the past two seasons. Last year, it didn’t field a competition team and only cheered at varsity events. But dedication from a strong senior class and a committed new coach, Kathy Long, has the team heading back to nationals....
Chartiers Valley girls basketball player Aislin Malcolm shows poise beyond years
If Aislin Malcolm had any ideas about going through high school as a two-sport athlete, they were quashed at an early age. Basketball always has been her primary sport, but she also played soccer as a youngster. Her brother, Cian, five years older, similarly played lacrosse as his primary sport...
Penn Hills’ Derrell Porter commits to play football at Dartmouth
With National Signing Day fast approaching, some WPIAL football players are still announcing their verbal commitments. Penn Hills defensive tackle Derrell Porter added himself to the list Jan. 20, as he made a verbal commitment to play football at Dartmouth, a prestigious NCAA Division FCS Ivy League school. Porter was...
Penn Hills midfielder Sierra Hankey headed to Washington & Jefferson
Last month, the Penn Hills girls soccer program saw midfielder Taylor Clayborn sign her letter of intent to attend Thiel. This month, midfielder Sierra Hankey announced she will attend Washington & Jefferson in the fall. Although Hankey knew she was planning to attend W&J when Clayborn signed her letter of...
Kiski Area freshmen to square off at WCCA swim meet
Freshmen Parker Sterlitz and Levi Hansen are no strangers to head-to-head competition as the Kiski Area teammates grew up battling each other at various club meets. “Levi and I go way back with racing,” Sterlitz said. “We were up there as the top two most of the time.” Sterlitz and...
Several records on shaky ground at WCCA swim meet
At least three records seem destined to fall in the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday and Saturday at Derry. Norwin senior Ethan Tulenko is seeded first in the boys 200-yard freestyle in 1 minute, 42.97 seconds. His time is close to two seconds faster than...
Waynesburg, Burrell get top seeds in WPIAL wrestling team tournaments
The WPIAL wrestling committee rewarded excellence and history when deciding the pairings for the team tournament. Undefeated and top-ranked Waynesburg, which won a thriller over No. 3 Canon-McMillan in the Section 4 championship Wednesday, received the top seed in Class AAA. Burrell, which has won 13 straight WPIAL titles, was...
Black and blue battle highlights a busy night of WPIAL girls hoops on Thursday
Last year, Peters Township was perfect in cruising to the Section 2-6A title. It was only the third year in over a decade and a half that particular basketball section’s chase did not come down to either Bethel Park or Mt. Lebanon wearing the crown. All seems right with the...
Vincentian boys, Woodland Hills girls debut in Trib 10 power rankings
One team in, one team out. That’s what both the boys and girls Trib 10 this week is all about. The second half of section play saw very little change in the top seven boys and girls basketball power rankings with the exception of Mt. Lebanon and Penn Hills slipping...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 22, 2020
Basketball Boys Wednesday’s results WPIAL Class 3A Section 3 Steel Valley 73, Shady Side Academy 69 Nonsection Armstrong 47, Freeport 38 Beth-Center 65, Mapletown 49 Clairton 70, West Mifflin 67 Hopewell 60, Keystone Oaks 49 Jeannette 65, East Allegheny 33 Riverside 61, Freedom 47 Union 59, Ellwood City 42 Washington...
High school roundup for Jan. 22, 2020: Waynesburg edges Canon-McMillan on ninth tiebreaking criteria
It’s hard to imagine a more closely contested dual meet than the one Wanynesburg and Canon-McMillan waged in the Section 4-AAA championship match Wednesday night. With the score tied 30-30, the match came down to the ninth tiebreaking criteria — total near-fall points. Waynesburg’s Wyatt Henson picked up five back...
Hempfield defeats Kiski Area for section wrestling title
Hempfield needed a stopper when Kiski Area jumped out to a quick lead in the WPIAL Class AAA Section 1 title match on Wednesday. Senior Dillon Ferretti became that person. His first-period pin of Jack Dilts in the 220-pound match sparked No. 4 Hempfield to five consecutive victories and a...
Burrell captures 17th consecutive section wrestling title
Every time Burrell takes the mat, the Bucs are looking to make a statement, and the defending WPIAL Class AA champions did just that on Wednesday at Elizabeth Forward. With a 61-15 win over Southmoreland in the semifinals of the Section 3-AA team tournament and another 61-15 victory over Elizabeth...
WPIAL, Philadelphia-area football teams separated under PIAA playoff proposalVideo
MECHANICSBURG — The PIAA might move Pittsburgh and Philadelphia a little farther apart. Football teams from the WPIAL and the powerful Philadelphia Catholic League won’t share the same side of the state playoff brackets anymore — if the PIAA approves tentative brackets revealed Wednesday for the 2020 and ’21 football...
Freshmen making impact all over A-K Valley girls basketball scene
From the first game of this season, Nina Shaw was a focal point of the gameplan for the Knoch girls basketball team. The freshman point guard was slowed by a concussion, which cost her a couple of games, but she returned and has helped keep the Knights entrenched in the...
Undefeated Southmoreland girls making noise, clamping down on opponents
The locker room at Southmoreland used to be a quiet place, all the ambiance of a library. These days, though, it’s like a heavy metal concert mosh pit before games. “It gets rowdy,” Scotties sophomore guard/forward Gracie Spadaro said. “We all jump around and bang on lockers. Last year, it...
