High School category, Page 828
Bradish tosses no-hitter to lead Latrobe in opener of District 31 Legion semifinals
Jake Bradish has pitched in big games all season for the Latrobe American Legion team, and he has had some great games. But Saturday’s Game 1 of the District 31 semifinals might be his most memorable. Bradish pitched a no-hitter to lead Latrobe to a 4-0 victory against Young Township...
Gateway’s Patrick Body makes verbal commitment to top 10 team
Patrick Body continued a run of Gateway defensive backs heading to NCAA Division I colleges Saturday when he made a verbal commitment to Cincinnati. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound safety picked the Bearcats from a long list of suitors that included Pitt, West Virginia, Akron, Army, Ball State, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Illinois,...
Valley News Dispatch Girls Athlete of the Year: Kennedie Montue, Plum
Consistency was the calling card for recent Plum graduate and basketball standout Kennedie Montue. Four years of sustained success culminated in a senior season in which the 5-foot-11 guard/forward led the WPIAL in scoring at 23.3 points through the Mustangs’ 14 games. Montue said she and her teammates worked hard...
Valley News Dispatch Boys Athlete of the Year: Eli Yofan, Fox Chapel
Eli Yofan made the most of his athletic opportunities during the 2020-21 school year. The rising senior at Fox Chapel performed at a high level while helping navigate his teammates through seasons of covid restrictions and other related uncertainties. An all-section selection in soccer as a sophomore, Yofan made the...
Westmoreland County Girls Athlete of the Year: Olivia Cernuto, Southmoreland
Unless she takes a summer vacation or a few random days off, Olivia Cernuto gets little rest during the sports year. “A few days here and there,” the rising junior at Southmoreland said. When you play three sports to the level at which Cernuto does, rest is immaterial. Cernuto had...
Westmoreland County Boys Athlete of the Year: Christian Zilli, Hempfield
It’s a rare feat when an athlete from a large high school excels in three sports. It happens more often at smaller schools, but usually not in larger classifications. Hempfield’s Christian Zilli is an exception. As a senior, Zilli was the quarterback on the football team, one of the top...
Parade of champions: WPIAL winners from the 2020-21 school year
A look at athletes and teams that brought home WPIAL or PIAA gold during the 2020-21 school year: WPIAL TEAM CHAMPIONS FALL Football 6A – Central Catholic 5A – Pine-Richland 4A – Thomas Jefferson 3A – Central Valley 2A – Beaver Falls A – Jeannette Boys Soccer 4A – Seneca...
A year like no other: The top stories of the 2020-21 school year in WPIAL sports
8.21.20 The PIAA board of directors ignored a “strong recommendation” from Gov. Tom Wolf to postpone sports until January and voted 25-5 to start fall sports as scheduled, ending weeks of worry for athletes, coaches and families. “We know there are no guarantees, but we’re at least making the attempt...
George Guido: Leechburg stadium renovation is good news for soccer players, neighbors
The 75th football season at Leechburg’s Veterans Memorial Stadium promises to be a special one. Despite all the rain this past week, a construction project is on track to have artificial turf installed in time for Leechburg’s football home opener Sept. 10 against Brentwood. It’s part of a $1.1 million...
Westmoreland high school notes: Basketball tournament to honor late Jeannette standout
Almost a year to the day that he was killed in a motorcycle accident, former Jeannette three-sport star athlete Tre Cunningham will be honored through a charity basketball event. The “Tre Cunningham Memorial Basketball Tournament,” sponsored by the Jeannette Educational Foundation, will be July 23-24 at Jeannette High School. Open...
South Fayette boys volleyball makes massive strides in program’s 1st season
All of the spring high school sports teams around the WPIAL and throughout the state were in the same boat this past season. Everybody had to regroup and start all over after losing the 2020 spring sports season to the covid-19 pandemic. Perhaps that was to the advantage of the...
Penn-Trafford notebook: Alex Turowski wins at Diamond Run
Penn-Trafford graduate Alex Turowski has been battling a little midseason slump on the golf course. He hasn’t been playing to his standards. Turowski finished 73rd in a field of 156 at the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Boys Championship at Hershey on June 29. He finished the two rounds at 15-over par...
Pittsburgh Hardball Academy provides travel ball opportunity for Penn Hills players
Playing for the Pittsburgh Hardball Academy provided Anthony Sciulli with a chance to play travel baseball he may not have otherwise had. Sciulli, a Chatham commit and 2021 Penn Hills graduate, has always played on more than one baseball team. When Penn Hills didn’t have a American Legion team, he...
Fox Chapel basketball gets boost from summer competitions
Fox Chapel boys basketball coach Zach Skrinjar looks at summer team camps as a good way to self scout and grow as a unit in a more relaxed environment compared to the grind of a WPIAL basketball season. Winning is always good too, no matter where the ball is being...
Speed, versatility help Abby Quickel play key role for Bethel Park softball
Yes, Bethel Park’s Abby Quickel, as her surname suggests, is quick. But as a junior outfielder on the Black Hawks’ WPIAL championship team, the versatile Quickel also displayed her altruism and selflessness. Quickel hit .380 during the WPIAL portion of her team’s schedule and ranked among the team leaders in...
Bethel Park notebook: Owen Peters named U.S. Lacrosse All-American
Owen Peters, a junior goalkeeper on the 2021 Bethel Park boys lacrosse team, was lauded as a U.S. Lacrosse All-American following the spring season. Peters also was voted all-WPIAL and all-section in Class 3A. He made 182 saves and averaged 6.8 goals allowed. “The goalie’s job is to be the general...
TribHSSN Preseason WPIAL Football All-Star team: Brandon Lawhorn-Moore, Kiski Area
The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized July 22 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. The future and the present both are in focus for Brandon Lawhorne-Moore. The road-grading...
District 31 American Legion baseball semifinals set
Young Township finished Friday what it started the day before, defeating Murrysville, 7-2, in a District 31 American Legion playoff game. With the win, Young Township sweeps the best-of-three series. The Renegades held a 7-1 lead in the fourth inning when the game was suspended due to bad weather Thursday...
Jeannette football program soldiers on as transfers, defections decimate rosterVideo
Tyler Horn said his motivation to play football at Jeannette this season is simple. “We know what football means to this town and this community,” the rising senior said. “We’re here to play and can’t let distractions get in the way.” There is no way to sugarcoat it. A WPIAL...
TribHSSN Preseason WPIAL Football All-Star team: Lorenzo Jenkins, Blackhawk
The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized July 22 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. Last season, Blackhawk was 2-1 after three weeks but lost five straight to finish...
New coach brings European flavor to Highlands boys soccer program
As director of coaching for the Highlands Area Soccer Club, Jakub Kasprzyk is heavily involved with the area youth soccer scene. He said he has gained an appreciation for the talent in place in the Highlands School District. The Poland native, 39, now is looking forward to continuing to work...
Record-setting quarterback Johnny DiNapoli leaving East Allegheny
Johnny DiNapoli, who set a WPIAL passing record two years ago, has transferred this summer from East Allegheny to Elizabeth Forward. As a freshman in 2019, DiNapoli passed for 1,728 yards, setting what is believed to be a WPIAL freshman record. He attended East Allegheny the past two school years,...
Seton LaSalle baseball standout, coach’s son Brett Wagner transferring to IMG Academy
Seton LaSalle baseball coach Mike Wagner is losing his favorite player to IMG Academy in Florida, but he’s 100% on board with the kid’s decision. That player is his son. A rising senior, Brett Wagner is transferring to the private sports-oriented high school in Bradenton, Fla. with hopes that his...
Young Township jumps on Murrysville in American Legion playoffs
Young Township struck for seven runs in the fourth inning, and then lightning struck. Rain soon accompanied the lightning, and the inclement weather eventually forced a suspension of Thursday’s District 31 American Legion quarterfinal with No. 4 Young Township leading No. 5 Murrysville, 7-1, in the bottom of the fourth...
North Allegheny again wins Class 6A Trib Cup in dominant fashion
Ben Franklin once said; “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” We can officially modernize that quote by adding North Allegheny winning the Trib Cup to life’s certainties. The Trib Cup is a yearlong competition to determine the top WPIAL sports program in...
