High School category, Page 708
Sewickley Academy girls basketball comes together during challenging season
After reaching the WPIAL semifinals the past two seasons, the Sewickley Academy girls basketball team hoped to make another strong run in the playoffs this year. But the SA girls team, much like the SA boys, had to replace five starters from 2020-21. The team finished sixth in Section 1-2A...
Second-half improvement makes tough season ‘enjoyable’ for Sewickley Academy boys
It was a rough year for Sewickley Academy basketball. SA’s boys team lost six of its last seven games to end up 3-13 overall and 1-8 in Section 1-2A. “Due to covid concerns, we had only two practices and no games for over two weeks,” SA coach Win Palmer said....
Penn-Trafford juniors score top 5 finishes at WPIAL rifle championships
They took different paths to get there, but Penn-Trafford juniors Seth Baughman and Mallory McRae ended up right next to each other in the final results of the WPIAL rifle championships Feb. 10 at the Dormont-Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen Club. Baughman placed fourth with a score of 200-17x and five center...
Penn-Trafford notebook: Hockey team gearing up for playoffs
The Penn-Trafford hockey team is ready to make a postseason run after picking up a pair of late-season wins: defeating West Allegheny, 3-2, and Indiana, 5-1. The Warriors were scheduled to face Latrobe on Feb. 17 and Shaler on Feb. 2 to close the regular season. Heading into those two...
Vegas trip a rewarding experience for Pittsburgh Elite youth flag football teams
Changing venues for the NFL Flag Bowl didn’t sour the experience for members of the Pittsburgh Elite flag football program. Instead, having the event moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas provided some good opportunities for the four teams that qualified. The Pittsburgh Elite team, which featured 9U, 11U, 12U...
Pine-Richland wrestling primed to peak for postseason
It’s already been a strong year for Pine-Richland wrestling, going 12-3 with a trip to the WPIAL team tournament, and with individual season approaching, a group of Rams have positioned themselves to make more noise. Pine-Richland has four wrestlers who won 30 or more matches this season, and that doesn’t...
Pine-Richland looks to make another playoff run
The regular season didn’t go quite the way the Pine-Richland boys basketball team would’ve wanted, but it finds itself in a similar position to last year. And everyone in the Rams locker room would like to have an encore to last postseason. The Rams made a run to the WPIAL...
First trip to PIAA meet memorable for Plum competitive spirit squad
The Plum competitive spirit team made a long journey this season from a spring and summer of training all the way through to its first appearance on biggest high school stage for the sport in Pennsylvania. Along the way, coach Amanda Anderson, in her fifth season with Plum, said the...
Plum trio blazing trail for girls wrestling in district
High school girls wrestling in Pennsylvania is gaining momentum on a weekly basis. In December, North Allegheny and Canon-McMillan faced off in the first-ever girls dual match between WPIAL schools. At around the same time, Kiski Area became the 31st school in Pennsylvania to sign on to the movement to...
Gateway girls hope strong finish provides momentum for next season
Despite not having the entire season it wanted, the Gateway girls basketball team finished on a positive note with three wins over its final four games. The finish was something coach Curtis Williams hoped to see and was something the returning team members can build on going into the offseason....
Shaler swimmer finds success in pool, open water
Circumstance didn’t keep Noah Long out of the water. Opportunities to swim inside were limited by the pandemic, so the Shaler junior decided to try an open water event. Moraine State Park holds monthly races during the summer, and Long signed up in 2020 to give it a go. Long...
Shaler hockey team overcomes slow start to get back in playoff race
Shaler’s push for the hockey playoffs was one that seemed distant at the start of the year. The Titans lost seven of their first nine games, including four losses by four goals or more. But Shaler shook that off and found its footing, running off five consecutive wins to get...
‘Undermanned’ Thomas Jefferson wrestling team finds ways to win
Heavy graduation losses deemed it a rebuilding year for the Thomas Jefferson wrestling team. The Jaguars scraped together a 4-1 section record and were 10-9 overall Feb. 9 following their 39-30 loss to Bethel Park. “Losing seven seniors has hurt us. The team has been undermanned all year,” TJ coach...
Baldwin, TJ, Brentwood boys make strides during playoff seasons
Here is a rundown on the 2021-22 regular season for boys basketball teams in the South Hills: Baldwin Baldwin junior James Wesling had a record-setting performance that was heard loud and clear around the WPIAL. Opposing players and coaches immediately took notice. A 6-foot-1 guard, Wesling connected for 48 points...
Former WPIAL football stars playing waiting game in hopes of being selected in USFL Draft
T.J. Neal has taken a circuitous route in chasing his dreams of playing professional football, going from major-college programs to living in hotels as he bounced around indoor and spring leagues. The 28-year-old McKeesport native has toiled in obscurity while watching his former teammates at Illinois and Auburn shine in...
Butler boys, South Fayette girls star at TSTCA indoor track meet
Star sprinter Guinness Brown of Butler turned in four first-place finishes, two in individual events and two in relays, to headline the performance of WPIAL athletes at the TSTCA indoor meet at Edinboro on Saturday. Brown won the 200- and 400-meter dashes and was part of winning teams in the...
Szymanski keeps Burrell’s WPIAL champion streak alive
One historic run at Burrell ended this season, but an even longer one continued. Burrell senior Shawn Szymanski used a takedown to defeat Jefferson-Morgan sophomore Chase Frameli, 5-4, at 145 pounds to win a WPIAL Class AA title and extend his school’s streak of WPIAL champions to 23 years. The...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Feb. 19, 2022
High schools Basketball Boys WPIAL playoffs Class 6A First round Tuesday’s schedule North Hills (22-0) bye; Baldwin (12-10) at North Allegheny (14-8), 7 p.m.; Hempfield (7-15) at Mt. Lebanon (14-8), 7 p.m.; Penn-Trafford (9-12) at Upper St. Clair (15-7), 7 p.m.; Fox Chapel (21-1) bye; Bethel Park (16-6) at Pine-Richland...
City League crowns wrestling champions
Allderdice will send 11 wrestlers to the Northwest Regional tournament next month after an impressive showing Saturday at the City League championships at Carrick. The Dragons had three champions — Mike Rosario (120 pounds), Elijah White (160) and Marcus Wahila (215) — as well as five runners-up and three third-place...
Mt. Pleasant’s Pitzer, Frazier’s Lawrence dominate WPIAL 2A tournament
Central Valley senior Ambrose Boni was awarded the Outstanding Wrestler award by the Class 2A coaches Saturday at the WPIAL individual championships, but no one dominated the tournament more than Mt. Pleasant senior Dayton Pitzer and Frazier sophomore Rune Lawrence. Pitzer claimed his third WPIAL title and Lawrence his second...
George Guido: Willie Thrower luncheon set for April 9
On the 20th anniversary of Willie Thrower’s death, it’s a good time to look at the upcoming luncheon to decide the region’s top quarterback. The second annual Willie Thrower Award will be issued April 9 at the New Kensington Quality Inn. Thrower, a New Kensington High School graduate who became...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Kiski Area’s Lexi Colaianni, St. Joseph’s Jimmy Giannetta
Lexi Colaianni Class: Junior School: Kiski Area Sport: Basketball Report card: Colaianni made nine 3-pointers for a game-high 27 points in a 61-37 win over Freeport in Kiski Area’s season finale Monday. It was a school record for 3s in a game. She returned to the lineup after missing last...
Westmoreland H.S. athletes of the week: Norwin’s Adam Bilinsky, Latrobe’s Emma Blair
Adam Bilinsky School: Norwin Sport: Basketball Year: Junior Claim to fame: Bilinsky, who is averaging 17.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2 blocks this season, scored 31 points to lead Norwin (9-10) to a 63-54 win over Franklin Regional in nonsection action Monday. A few days earlier, he finished with 16...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Hempfield senior signs with Duquesne
A torn ACL and the accompanying surgery cost Capri DeCaro her senior basketball season, but the injury did not ward off college suitors looking to recruit the Hempfield senior for track and field. A talented jumper, DeCaro signed last week to join the women’s program at Duquesne. She had one...
Hampton senior Wolfe enjoying best season after biding his time as junior backup
Hampton wrestler Alan Wolfe refused to get discouraged last season, stuck on the bench behind a two-time WPIAL qualifier. Wolfe worked hard every practice, patiently awaiting his chance. This season he is proving it was worth the wait. The 172-pound senior is 20-10 — after winning a combined 14 matches...
