High School category, Page 319
2024 WPIAL Class 6A baseball preseason breakdown
One of the top high school sports stories in 2023 took place in the WPIAL Class 6A baseball championship game when defending champion Mt. Lebanon took on North Allegheny. For the second time over the last half-century in the WPIAL, a no-hitter was thrown in the highest classification’s title game....
Gateway swimmers find success at WPIAL meet, earn berths to state competition
Gateway sophomore Gunner Raymer briefly faced a measure of adversity right before his 200-yard freestyle swim at the WPIAL Class 3A championships Feb. 29 at Pitt’s Trees Pool. He had a minor equipment failure as his goggles broke. “That kind of gave me an adrenaline rush,” Raymer said. “You obviously...
Gateway bowlers celebrate regional title, look ahead to state competition
When the Gateway boys bowling team wrapped up the Western Regional championship title March 2 at AMF Noble Manor Lanes, coach Joe Bowman got a message from two members of the last Gators team to qualify for the state tournament. “They (Mark Kuehn and Dominic Beau) shared a picture of...
Mike Scerbo named new athletic director at Sewickley Academy
Mike Scerbo knows he has big shoes to fill. But he is undaunted with the task of stepping in for Win Palmer, who died last year after a lengthy career as Sewickley Academy’s director of athletics. In the interim, Heather Border and Kelly Carioto have been serving as assistant athletic...
Sewickley Academy boys proud of accomplishments during difficult season
A winning season. Two victories in the Holiday Bash tournament at North Allegheny. A fourth-place finish and a WPIAL playoff berth out of Section 1-2A. All solid reasons why the Sewickley boys basketball team enjoyed a successful 2023-24 season. “When reflecting on the season based on the initial circumstances and...
Quaker Valley track team takes pride in showing at prestigious indoor state meet
Five of the top athletes in the Quaker Valley track and field program displayed their resolve during the 2023-24 indoor season. Senior Ellie Cain and juniors Jay Olawaiye, Davin “Macky” Gartley, Clark LaLomia and Thomas Debelak all advanced to the Tri-State Track Coaches Association indoor state championships Feb. 25 at...
Penn-Trafford swimmer Patton Graziano looking to finish senior season strong
Penn-Trafford senior Patton Graziano is hoping to end high school career on a good note. A PIAA Class 3A swimming title would be preferred, but he’d be satisfied with breaking his records in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke. He did that at the WPIAL swimming and diving championships March...
Penn-Trafford notebook: Warriors hockey advances in Penguins Cup playoffs
Gavin Paterson scored the tie-breaking goal in the final minute of the second period and Tyler Funk made 31 saves as No. 8 Penn-Trafford knocked off defending champ South Fayette, the No. 1 seed, 4-3, in the PIHL Class 2A Penguins Cup quarterfinals March 4. Ben Zierski, Cam Kiste and...
Penn Hills wrestling program’s rebuilding project taking root
Jeremy Packer believes his two-year project has yielded strong results for the Penn Hills wrestling program. The Indians decided not to compete in a dual meet schedule during the last enrollment cycle to help build the program. Numbers were low because of the pandemic, and Packer felt the Indians needed...
Trip to WPIAL meet sparks Penn Hills swim team
The Penn Hills swim team took a much bigger contingent to Pitt’s Trees Pool this season for the WPIAL Class 3A swimming championships. What made Indians coach Morgan Bush excited for next season was the prospect of seeing all of her swimmers turn in their best times of the season...
Pine-Richland notebook: Vaughn Spencer captures 2nd WPIAL wrestling title
Vaughn Spencer became a two-time WPIAL wrestling champion in style March 2, at Canon-McMillan. Spencer breezed his way through the Class 3A 172-pound bracket, earning a pin in the second period over Latrobe’s Hunter Snyder in the final. He had three pins in his four bouts. Spencer won by fall...
Pine-Richland hockey finds recipe for success with power play, defense
There wasn’t much separation in PIHL Class 3A with four teams finishing within one point of each other, but Pine-Richland has a couple traits that helped them eke into the top seed in the Penguins Cup playoffs. The Rams boast the top-ranked power play and have been exceptional at closing...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for March 9, 2024
High schools Basketball Boys Class 6A First round Saturday’s results Lower Merion 85, Cedar Crest 55 Archbishop Wood 81, Methacton 73 Springfield Delco 59, Abraham Lincoln 43 Spring-Ford 55, Scranton 52 Parkland 65, Plymouth Whitemarsh 35 Chambersburg 72, CB East 41 WC Henderson 80, Hazleton Area 73. Roman Catholic 63,...
PIAA announces details for boys 2nd-round games in Class 5A, 4A and A
The WPIAL got off to a good start Friday in the opening round of the Class 5A, 4A and A boys state basketball playoffs. The district was a combined 13-6 with 5A and 4A teams both going 5-2 while Class A teams from the WPIAL were 3-2. Now 13 boys...
PIAA sets sites for girls 2nd-round games in Class 6A, 3A, 2A
The opening round of the 2024 PIAA girls basketball state playoffs in Class 6A, 3A and 2A was a mixed bag for WPIAL teams. They were perfect in one bracket, slightly above average in another and below the bar in a third. Combined, the 19 district teams went 11-8 in...
High school roundup for March 9, 2024: South Fayette cruises in 1st round to set up meeting with Oakland Catholic
Erica Hall had 14 points to lead three players in double figures as WPIAL champion South Fayette defeated Red Land, 48-20, in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A girls basketball playoffs Saturday. Juliette Leroux scored 12 and Lainey Yater had 10 for the Lions (19-8), who had a...
Frazier’s Rune Lawrence becomes 4-time PIAA wrestling champion
HERSHEY – Frazier senior Rune Lawrence surprised many when he stuck the landing on a backflip after his final match Saturday at the Giant Center. The impromptu move came after his opponent, Muncy junior Austin Johnson, said something to Lawrence following his dominating 6-3 victory at 215 pounds at the...
Burrell’s Joe Makara giving back to sport; three from A-K Valley earn medals
HERSHEY — Even though Burrell didn’t have a wrestler in the PIAA wrestling championship finals, it did have a former two-time PIAA champion roaming the mats as an official. Joe Makara, who won consecutive titles in 2002 and 2003, was on the center mat for two girls finals: 130 and...
Norwin’s Landon Sidun keeps Westmoreland County streak alive by winning PIAA title
HERSHEY — Thanks to Norwin freshman Landon Sidun, the streak of PIAA wrestling champions from Westmoreland County has reached 30 consecutive years. Sidun (42-2) secured that milestone by rallying from an early takedown to defeat Ridley junior Curtis Nelson, 6-3, in the Class 3A 114-pound final Saturday at Giant Center....
Canon-Mac’s Valarie Solorio makes history as 1st PIAA girls wrestling champion
Only one can be first. That is the distinction Valarie Solorio of Canon-McMillan always will have. Solorio won the 100-pound gold medal at the inaugural PIAA girls wrestling championships Saturday at Giant Center in Hershey. Because hers was the first weight class to complete, Solorio became the first PIAA girls...
Upper St. Clair stages furious rally to get past Central Dauphin in PIAA 1st round
For the first 10 minutes of its PIAA Class 6A boys basketball first-round playoff game, it didn’t just look like host Upper St. Clair was suffering through a WPIAL champions funk. It looked like the Panthers were sunk. However, USC battled back and found a way to edge Central Dauphin...
Greensburg Central Catholic boys assert themselves in PIAA win
Tyree Turner dribbled into the open court with nothing between himself and the rim but gravity. While he just barely missed the slam dunk, he immediately recovered, came up with a steal at midcourt and was ready to try again. “I’m like, ‘If I miss this one, I won’t hear...
Plum outduels Freeport for girls regional bowling title
Plum and Freeport, the dominant teams at the Western PA Regional girls team bowling championships over the last four years, did battle for the title in a tightly contested championship match Saturday at AMF Noble Manor Lanes. The Mustangs came away with the crown, winning their second consecutive girls singles...
Untimely scoring slumps end Baldwin’s historic season with PIAA loss to McDowell
The scoreboard in Baldwin’s gym showed a good news, bad news scenario for the Highlanders as the fourth quarter got underway Saturday. “They only had 41 points through three,” Baldwin coach Jeff Ackermann said of visiting Erie McDowell. “You’d think you could be winning if you hold them to 41....
Deer Lakes relies on inside game to defeat Mercyhurst Prep in PIAA 1st round
In the last couple of seasons, Deer Lakes has won playoff games in a variety of ways, and Saturday they turned to their inside game. And their domination in the paint helped put another one in the win column. The Lancers scored 46 of their points in the paint in...
