High School category, Page 277
Gartleys lead another golden effort for Quaker Valley at WPIAL track meet
Mia Gartley is only a sophomore at Quaker Valley. Yet in her two years on the QV girls track and field team, she has won two WPIAL individual titles in the Class 2A girls high jump. Gartley claimed first place May 15 at Slippery Rock University by clearing a height...
Mike Iuzzolino takes over Sewickley Academy boys basketball program
Altoona native Mike Iuzzolino’s has had a distinguished basketball career. Iuzzolino’s proficiency on the basketball court has taken him all over the globe. Most recently, he worked for eight years on the Robert Morris men’s basketball staff, including the last three as associate head coach. Iuzzolino, 56, is settling in...
Fort Cherry relay team wins PIAA gold after coming close in football, basketball
SHIPPENSBURG — Before the state track championships started, Fort Cherry’s relay team of Dylan Wudkwych, Tegan Henke, Shane Cornali and Matt Sieg got a text from the school’s basketball coach. His message was simple: The third time is the charm. “And we got it done,” Sieg said. The school’s football...
Hampton’s Dale Hall golden again, but in a different event, at PIAA meet
SHIPPENSBURG — Hampton’s Dale Hall won a state title in the 800 meters Saturday at the PIAA track championship, a year after winning gold in the 1,600 meters. Winning two different events shows the senior’s versatility. In fact, Hall wants to next try the 2,000-meter steeplechase next Friday during “Night...
Avonworth/Northgate sprinter Hayzes Robinson joins sisters’ tradition with PIAA gold in 100
SHIPPENSBURG — Winning gold medals at Seth Grove Stadium is somewhat of a tradition for the Robinson sisters, one that Hayzes was more than excited to join Saturday. The Avonworth/Northgate senior earned her first by winning the 100-meter dash at the PIAA Class 2A track championship, joining sisters Hunter and...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for May 25, 2024
High schools Baseball WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Championship Wednesday’s schedule Mt. Lebanon (18-4) vs. North Allegheny (16-5) at Wild Things Park, 7 p.m. Class 5A Championship Tuesday’s schedule Penn-Trafford (18-3) vs. Bethel Park (15-6-1) at Wild Things Park, 7 p.m. Third place Wednesday’s schedule Franklin Regional (14-8) vs. West Allegheny...
With ‘perfect’ combination of speed, stamina, Laurel sprinter wins 400-meter gold
SHIPPENSBURG – Laurel junior Tori Atkins had a busy but productive Saturday at the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium. Of the 18 points earned by the Spartans, Atkins was responsible for 14 of them. Atkins placed in three sprint races. She won the Class...
Senior triple jumper wins East Allegheny’s 1st PIAA track gold medal
SHIPPENSBURG — East Allegheny senior Lorenzo Fancher entered the PIAA Track and Field Championship seeded No. 1 in Class 2A triple jump. And he left Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium as he came, still No. 1. Fancher became the first track athlete from East Allegheny to win a PIAA title...
Westmoreland high school athlete of the week: Norwin’s Brookelyn Kotch and Penn-Trafford’s Brandon Roher
Brookelyn Kotch School: Norwin Class: Senior Sport: Softball Claim to fame: Kotch did something many pitchers have not done in recent years: She beat Hempfield. Kotch scattered six hits, did not issue a walk and struck our four while forcing 13 flyouts as Norwin upset top-seeded and defending WPIAL Hempfield,...
A-K Valley high school notebook: Deer Lakes’ Cochran named section MVP
Deer Lakes senior outfielder Ryan Cochran’s fielding and hitting made Section 3-3A coaches stand up and take notice this spring, and the Lancers veteran was awarded in a vote as the section’s MVP. Cochran led Deer Lakes with an average of better than .450 throughout the season and fronted the...
Butler’s Drew Griffith breaks PIAA championship record in 3,200, but national mark must wait
SHIPPENSBURG — Drew Griffith won his second PIAA gold medal and broke a state championship record Saturday, but unlike a day earlier, the Butler star didn’t take a run at any national marks. He’ll save that for summer. The senior won his second title in two days at the PIAA...
Freeport’s Michael Braun adds 2nd state medal to his collection
SHIPPENSBURG — After crossing the finish line at Seth Grove Stadium, distance runners are ushered to the infield turf where they can go in a few different directions. Some make their way toward the shade of their team tents, which Freeport’s Michael Braun did a year ago. But this year,...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Freeport’s Mady Kirsch, Burrell’s Stevie Hasson
Mady Kirsch School: Freeport Class: Sophomore Sport: Hockey Report card: Kirsch scored two goals and had an assist to lead the East girls hockey team to a 4-1 win over Northeast in a PIHL girls hockey game Thursday. She has 18 goals and five assists this season for East (5-5)....
Cross country champion Jaxon Schoedel of Mohawk adds PIAA title in 3,200 meters
SHIPPENSBURG — Mohawk’s Jaxon Schoedel was stuck in a slow heat for the 1,600 meters a day earlier, but the 3,200 meters had everybody in one big group Saturday. That’s how he likes it. “Yesterday was about racing the clock and today was about racing one of the best distance...
WPIAL track stars dominate girls 3,200-meter runs at PIAA meet
SHIPPENSBURG – How dominant were Shady Side Academy senior Chelsea Hartman and Mt. Lebanon senior Logan St. John Kletter in the PIAA 3,200-meter races? They both lapped some opponents by the sixth lap of their races Saturday at the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium....
Hempfield’s Peyton Murray returns to top of podium in PIAA Class 3A discus
SHIPPENSBURG — This time, it was Peyton Murray’s turn to shine. The Hempfield Area senior reclaimed the Class 3A discus title Saturday at the PIAA track and field championships at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium. Murray defeated solid challenges from Strath Haven senior Gavin Schmidt, who threw a 177 feet,...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Softball all-star game in the works
An all-star game for the top senior softball players in the WPIAL is in the works. Plum coach Phil DiLonardo came up with the idea, and three other coaches are helping to make the game a reality: Tom Sorce of Shaler, Jim Armstrong of Franklin Regional and Jenna Muncie from...
Plum softball team look ahead to promising future after 1st-round loss
The Plum softball team has grown to not appreciate the field at Gateway High School, considering a trio of recent playoff fates there. Three years ago, as the No. 3 seed for the WPIAL Class 5A tournament, the Mustangs were shut out by Fox Chapel. Last year, in the No....
Plum baseball uses early playoff exit as learning experience
When Trinity’s Logan Daniels tallied a two-run single for the final runs of a three-run top of the 11th inning in a WPIAL Class 5A first-round playoff game May 15 at Gateway, No. 5 Plum had its collective backs against the wall. The Mustangs did the best they could to...
After prolific career at Allegheny, former Norwin receiver moving up to Division I FCS level
Record-breaking wide receiver Declan O’Brien isn’t done catching passes yet. After a brilliant three-year run at Allegheny College, the Norwin product is planning to play a fifth season at a higher level. O’Brien, an All-Region 2 First Team player as a senior, is joining Delaware as a preferred walk-on. O’Brien...
Norwin notebook: Football standout earns ‘surprise’ track gold
Norwin senior Luke Denny was a threat in the Knights’ football offense not only because he could catch passes, but also for what he could do after he caught them. Coaches said Denny had “track speed,” and the standout showed it at the WPIAL Class 3A track and field championships....
North Allegheny notebook: Boys lacrosse, volleyball teams advance to WPIAL finals
Stone Gaertner had nine kills and Peter Bratich added eight kills and three blocks to lead No. 2 North Allegheny’s boys volleyball to a 3-0 win over No. 3 Butler (11-7) in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals May 21. Game scores were 25-13, 25-22 and 25-11. Will Hahn had 21...
New coach plans to carry on ‘winning mentality’ with Franklin Regional hockey
Brian Bearley understands the assignment. A former assistant coach for Franklin Regional hockey under former head coach John Winebrenner, Bearley recently was hired to lead the Panthers. Familiarity with various levels of hockey at Franklin Regional should serve him well. His plan is to maintain a standard already in place...
Hampton girls lacrosse rallies to salvage season
The Hampton girls lacrosse team wobbled into mid-April, putting its streak of WPIAL playoff appearances in jeopardy. But the Talbots found their footing. Hampton won its final four Section 1-2A matches, including a do-or-die showdown with Winchester Thurston in the finale, to salvage an up-and-down season. “At the beginning of...
Hampton girls hockey players spring into action
One of the biggest challenges for the Hampton skaters in the PIHL girls league is something most athletes take for granted. “We didn’t know each other’s names,” junior forward Danica Gynn said of her WPIAL-scattered teammates on Team Central. “Usually we just yell, ‘Yeah,’ or ‘Here,’ or just scream random...
