High School category, Page 301
Penn-Trafford’s Lett, Hempfield’s Prola get unexpected wins at Lady Spartan/Wildcat Invitational
It was a strange start to the Lady Spartan/Wildcat Invitational on Saturday at Latrobe’s Memorial Stadium. The first two winners — Penn-Trafford’s Ekoulus Lett and Hempfield’s Caleb Prola — didn’t even know they won their races. That’s because they were both in the slow heat in the finals. Lett won...
WPIAL softball rankings: Week ending April 14, 2024
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Seneca Valley, 8-0, 2 2. Hempfield, 4-1, 1 3. North Allegheny, 2-1, 5 4. Pine-Richland, 3-4, 3 5. Canon-McMillan, 3-1, NR Out: Norwin (3-4, 4) Class 5A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Shaler, 6-0, 1 2. West Allegheny, 7-1, 2 3. Penn-Trafford, 5-2,...
WPIAL baseball rankings: Week ending April 14, 2024
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 5-0, 1 2. Hempfield, 9-0, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 6-3, 3 4. Seneca Valley, 5-1, 4 5. Pine-Richland, 7-2, 5 Out: none Class 5A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Shaler, 8-1, 1 2. West Allegheny, 5-1, 2 3. Fox Chapel, 6-2,...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Fox Chapel’s Jillian Haigh, Valley’s Alex Vagnier
Jillian Haigh School: Fox Chapel Class: Freshman Sport: Softball Report card: Fox Chapel freshman Jillian Haigh helped the Foxes (3-3, 2-1) to a pair of wins this week. She threw a one-hitter with nine strikeouts and went 3 for 3 with two doubles in Wednesday’s 11-1 victory over Oakland Catholic...
After taste of success, Norwin volleyball wants more
After reaching the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals last spring, the Norwin boys volleyball team has a taste of playoff success. Now, the Knights are looking to push farther right on the bracket. Five starters are back to help make that happen in senior libero Lucas Churchfield, senior outside hitter Jackson...
Lacrosse a family affair for coaching staffs at Franklin Regional
Anna Stephens Lauer is in her first season as head coach of the Franklin Regional girls lacrosse team. She doesn’t have to look too far for coaching advice. Her brother, Luke Stephens, is the Franklin Regional boys lacrosse coach, while another brother, Ben, is a boys’ assistant and her dad,...
Franklin Regional notebook: Kegerreis brothers find college baseball landing spots
Franklin Regional’s Kegerreis brothers made a lasting impression when they played for the Panthers. When the team needed an extra-base hit, maybe a home run, they often came through. While both went off to play college baseball, they redirected their path at the next level. Freshman Louie Kegerreis, who hit...
Ex-MLB pitcher David Phelps helps launch Aquinas Academy baseball team
Aquinas Academy baseball coach David Phelps knows all about pressure. Phelps pitched in the major leagues for 10 years, striking out sluggers such as Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Andrew McCutchen and Hall of Famer David Ortiz along the way. But this spring has brought a whole new level of tension....
Faced with choice between football, lacrosse at Mount Union, Hampton senior picks both
One thing is certain about Hampton two-sport standout Gabe Gannelli and his upcoming college days. He’s not going to have much free time on his hands. Gannelli, a senior, committed to Mount Union to play football and lacrosse, continuing the sports at which he excelled with the Talbots. “For me,...
Fox Chapel notebook: Senior wins section tennis title
Will Siegel didn’t have a hard time protecting his seed at the WPIAL Section 3-3A boys tennis singles championship. The top-seeded Fox Chapel senior won the section title by beating Shady Side Academy’s Sai Chaudhry, 6-3, 6-1. On the way to the finals, Siegel beat Shaler’s Liam Creagh and Shady...
Led by senior midfielder, Fox Chapel boys lacrosse counts on explosive offense
Ryan Napolitan doesn’t have a shortage of responsibilities running the Fox Chapel boys lacrosse team’s offense. The senior midfielder isn’t responsible for only knowing where he’s supposed to be. Napolitan also will try to direct traffic for his teammates. What the Foxes, who are off to a 3-2 start to...
Inspired by math teacher, Kiski Area grad runs into A-K Valley Sports Hall of Fame
Chances are Melissa Baustert Schaeffer wouldn’t be headed to the Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame without an early nudge from then-Kiski Area track and field coach Bill Halli. Halli is credited with starting the boys and girls track programs during a long career as a Kiski Area teacher, coach...
Returning athletes bolster Riverview track and field teams
The Riverview boys and girls track and field teams are fueled by a nucleus of returning, experienced talent, some of whom powered their way to last year’s WPIAL Class 2A championships at Slippery Rock. Veteran coach Dave Illnicki said a mix of those athletes, along with newcomers who are setting...
Plum players learning, improving during inaugural flag football season
Anna Zanchi didn’t know much about American football before coming to Plum as an exchange student from Italy. But she has immersed herself in the game and now is a key member of Plum’s first girls flag football team. “This was all new to me,” said Zanchi, who began her...
Norwin notebook: Former Knights standout picks Pitt wrestling
Pitt it it for Chase Kranitz. The former Norwin wrestling standout is leaving Buffalo after his redshirt freshman season and will compete for the Panthers. Kranitz, and several of his Bulls teammates, left the program after learning that John Stutzman was not returning as head coach. Kranitz went 19-11 this...
Versatility, commitment let Izzy Costa shine in multiple events for North Allegheny track
North Allegheny’s Izzy Costa had an upset stomach but was still was warming up for the long jump after running the 100 and 400 meters in a dual meet at Butler. It was just then that the PA announcer called all 200-meter runners to the track. Costa had considered sitting...
North Allegheny notebook: Tigers freshman Advaita Sircar claims WPIAL singles title
North Allegheny freshman Advaita Sircar made the most of his inaugural WPIAL tournament opportunity as he took down No. 1 seed Adam Memije, a junior from Gateway, in three sets to capture a Class 3A boys tennis singles title. He won the first set 6-2 and saw Memije rally for...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for April 12, 2024
High schools Baseball Friday’s results Class 6A Section 1 Allderdice at Pine-Richland, ppd. North Allegheny at Butler, ppd. Section 2 Central Catholic at Mt. Lebanon, ppd. Norwin at Canon-McMillan, ppd. Class 4A Section 2 Albert Gallatin at Uniontown, ppd. Section 4 Kiski Area at Indiana, ppd. Class 3A Section 1...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on April 13, 2024: With rain subsiding, play ball
As the young kids used to sing, “Rain, rain, go away, come again another day” … or month. The good news for district baseball and softball teams is the rain has stopped and some sunshine is expected Saturday. Now the million dollar question is, can teams take advantage of the...
PIAA taking bids to host basketball championships
Giant Center in Hershey has hosted the state high school basketball finals for more than a decade, but could or should the PIAA championships go elsewhere? As it does every four years, the PIAA is accepting bids from basketball arenas around the state interested in hosting the championship games in...
Basketball coach Rob Niederberger, who lifted Shaler from last place to WPIAL contender, resigns
When Shaler hired Rob Niederberger as boys basketball coach nine years ago, he took over a team mired in last place. He resigned Thursday knowing the next coach will inherit a program that’s in a much better position. The Titans are coming off a 25-win season and a sixth straight...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for April 11, 2024
High schools Baseball Thursday’s results Class 6A Section 1 Allderdice at Pine-Richland, ppd. Butler at North Allegheny, ppd. Section 2 Mt. Lebanon at Central Catholic, ppd. Norwin at Canon-McMillan, ppd. Class 5A Section 1 Shaler 12, New Castle 2 Class 4A Section 3 McKeesport at Thomas Jefferson, ppd. Class 3A...
High school roundup for April 11, 2024: Shaler baseball, Latrobe softball earn wet wins
Brady Alexander tripled, homered and drove in four runs and Dominic Twigg and Maddox Orga combined on a five-inning no-hitter to lead Shaler to a 12-2 win over New Castle (0-9, 0-5) in Section 1-5A baseball Thursday. Twigg struck out seven in four innings and Orga worked the fifth. They...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on April 12, 2024: Softball section showdowns scheduled … if rain stays away
The real winner on Friday might be Mother Nature. The forecast calls for more rain that could wreak havoc with the WPIAL baseball and softball schedule. However, if the forecast is off and games can be played, there are three matchups in Section 4-5A softball that will help determine the...
Burrell gets back to fundamental baseball to get back to winning
On the heels of his team being swept by Shady Side Academy last week, first-year Burrell coach Jay Miller focused on executing fundamentals in situational baseball with his team. Extra-base hits are exciting, but moving runners over with a sacrifice bunt, hitting the ball to the right side of the...
