High School category, Page 1249
Versatile Mackenzie Zang helps lift TJ softball into playoffs
Her name might be last on the alphabet chart, but her hitting style ranks first on her team. Junior utility player Mackenzie Zang led the Thomas Jefferson softball team in hitting during the regular season with a .463 batting average. She finished with a team-high 25 hits in 54 at-bats,...
Franklin Regional’s Huczko tries ‘something new,’ wins WPIAL pole vault title
Winning the WPIAL Class AAA pole vault title was the furthest thing on Jo-Michelle Huczko’s mind when she decided to compete on the track and field team this spring at Franklin Regional. “I was looking for something fun to do, so I decided to give track a shot,” Huczko said....
2-sport standout Linhart racked up accolades at Fox Chapel
This is the fourth in a series of profiles of the 2019 Fox Chapel Sports Hall of Fame inductees. The banquet will be June 8 at Harmar House. For more information, contact Jim Perry at gymbeck63@aol.com. Molly (Linhart) Campbell graduated from Fox Chapel in 2006 and excelled in soccer and...
South Hills notebook: Thomas Jefferson baseball excels under 1st-year coach
Notebook items from around the South Hills: • Thomas Jefferson’s baseball team won four consecutive games down the home stretch to finish in a tie for first place with Ringgold in Section 3-4A. Under the guidance of first-year coach Tim Vickers, the Jaguars ended the regular season with an 11-3...
Griener leads Brentwood to 5th straight WPIAL playoff berth
Brandon Griener could be considered the “big man on campus” if he played a different position on the Brentwood baseball team. Instead, Griener, a senior pitcher/catcher, is known more as the “big man behind the plate” for the Spartans. The three-year starter led Brentwood to a fifth consecutive WPIAL playoff...
Sopata a consistent force for Baldwin baseball
Andy Sopata proved to be Mr. Consistent for the Baldwin baseball program. After hitting .393 last season, the senior center fielder posted a .396 batting average this spring. Sopata led the Highlanders in batting average, at-bats (53), runs (17), hits (21), doubles (six), stolen bases (13), on-base percentage (.459) and...
Sewickley Academy girls lacrosse proud of accomplishments
Sewickley Academy’s last moments on the field this season were filled with celebration, just not the way they had envisioned it. The girls lacrosse team’s dreams were dashed Thursday, one season after losing in the WPIAL Class AAA championship game. The lost to Shady Side Academy, 12-5, in the quarterfinals....
Quaker Valley baseball takes next step, excited about future
The Quaker Valley baseball season came to a close Wednesday with a swing of the bat as Brenden Gray’s two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning led South Park to victory in a WPIAL Class 4A first-round matchup. Gray’s home run gave South Park a 2-1 lead. The...
Penn-Trafford’s Colligan takes 6th at WPIAL championships
Penn-Trafford’s Chris Colligan came up short in his bid for a trip to Shippensburg for the PIAA track and field championships Friday and Saturday. The Warriors senior finished sixth with a mark of 6 feet, 3 inches in the high jump at the WPIAL Class AAA championships last Thursday at...
Pine-Richland’s Bryant garners WPIAL gold in 300 hurdles
The Rams were on the charge at the 2019 WPIAL Class AAA track and field championships last Thursday at Slippery Rock, toppling a school record and earning a handful of bids to the PIAA meet. For the most part, it was the Pine-Richland girls who led the charge in the...
After winning WPIAL discus title, Plum’s Linhart looks forward to PIAA meet
Hunter Linhart will return to the place he recorded a career-best in the discus. The Plum senior had a top toss of 147 feet, 7 inches at last year’s PIAA Class AAA championship meet at Shippensburg. He placed 10th. Now, Linhart, the newly minted WPIAL discus champion — he bested...
Plum baseball team misses playoffs for 1st time in 13 seasons
It was a matter of when, not if, and everyone knew it had to end some day. Nobody wanted it to happen on their watch. But for the first time in 13 seasons, the Plum baseball team did not show up in a WPIAL postseason bracket. “It was a disappointing...
Norwin’s Kolesar qualifies for PIAA championships in 3 events
Norwin senior Jessica Kolesar will be busy Friday at the PIAA Class AAA track and field championships at Shippensburg. That’s because the Cornell commit will be competing in three events after earning four medals at the WPIAL meet last Thursday at Slippery Rock. Kolesar finished second in the 200-meter dash,...
PIAA boys tennis roundup for May 17, 2019: Fox Chapel, Indiana advance to semifinals
Robby Shymansky and Jared Nord earned singles wins in straight sets, and Milo Baron pulled out a three-set thriller to help WPIAL champion Fox Chapel defeat District 1’s Conestoga, 4-1, in the PIAA Class AAA boys tennis quarterfinals Friday in Hershey. Jay Kashyap and Brandon Wei also won in two...
A-K Valley notebook: Highlands, St. Joseph, Springdale have lofty postseason goals
As pleased as Highlands and St. Joseph baseball felt to end years-long WPIAL baseball playoff droughts, and as excited as it made Springdale to make the softball postseason for the first time in nearly two decades, all three teams had loftier goals than that. And all three teams proved themselves...
Distance runner CJ Singleton continues to make history at St. Joseph
CJ Singleton made history in the fall as he became the first St. Joseph athlete to compete at the WPIAL and PIAA cross country championships. The freshman distance runner capped his first cross country campaign with a 20th-place finish in the Class A boys race at Hershey. Singleton added another...
WPIAL releases schedule for softball quarterfinals
The WPIAL on Friday revealed the sites for its softball quarterfinals, which will take place Monday. Classes A, 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A will play their quarterfinal games, with semifinal games set for Wednesday. Class 6A, which had eight postseason qualifiers, played its quarterfinal games this week and has its...
Central Catholic’s A.J. Beatty narrows lengthy offers list to 7 favorites
Central Catholic junior A.J. Beatty, who leads WPIAL football recruits with more than 40 combined FBS and FCS offers, narrowed his lengthy list Friday. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound defensive end announced a Top Seven that included West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Central Florida, Purdue, North Carolina State and Maryland. Rivals...
Watch the best of the WPIAL track and field championships
The TribLive High School Sports Network’s Jess Levo captured all of the action of the 2019 WPIAL Track and Field Championships on Thursday from Slippery Rock University....
WPIAL releases baseball quarterfinal schedule
The WPIAL on Friday released the sites and times for its baseball quarterfinal games, which will take place Monday and Tuesday. Classes A, 2A, 3A and 4A will play quarterfinal games Monday, with 5A and 6A going Tuesday. All semifinal games will take place Wednesday. The full schedule is below:...
Freshmen bolster lineup for Shaler softball team
Misfortune late in the season made the road through the postseason a little more difficult for the Shaler Area softball team. A stray pitch hit all-section shortstop Tori Martrano, giving her a concussion that forced the junior to miss the Titans’ WPIAL Class 5A playoff opener last Thursday. Results from...
Return to track pays off for Carlynton sprinter DeQuay Canton
Just before the start of the 2018-19 indoor track and field season, Carlynton coach Nate Milsom was approached by DeQuay Canton, and the junior caught the coach off-guard with a question: When are workouts starting? Milsom was pleasantly surprised by the inquiry. Canton had been a standout in track as...
Penn Hills softball, baseball players earn postseason honors
Even though the Penn Hills baseball and softball programs didn’t have the type of seasons they were hoping for, five players from the two programs received all-section honors for their play this year. The Indians were headlined by junior center fielder and pitcher Yasmine Logan, who received Western PA Big...
Stellar pitching helps North Allegheny finish regular season on high note
Finishing the regular season on a heater doesn’t lend itself to happy endings. North Allegheny baseball squeaked into the playoffs a year ago, but used the momentum from playing tight games down the stretch to qualify for the PIAA Class 6A playoffs. The Tigers ended this year with eight straight...
North Hills honors future college athletes
On May 10, North Hills High School sent off 16 of its student-athletes with its third annual College-Bound Student Athlete Recognition Reception, celebrating their significant accomplishment in securing a roster spot on a collegiate athletic team. Athletic director Amy Scheuneman implemented the burgeoning tradition at North Hills three years ago...
