High School category, Page 962
Westmoreland high school notebook: Penn-Trafford, Norwin girls to square off
Covid-19 can muck up schedules, but it can’t take away rivalries. Penn-Trafford moved up a notch to Class 6A this season in girls basketball, and the Warriors’ eyes immediately went to a familiar team on their schedule. The move in classification reunited Penn-Trafford with Norwin, and the Section 1 teams...
Franklin Regional faces difficult task in replacing Greg Botta, 2 other coaches
Greg Botta won 177 games in 27 seasons at Franklin Regional. He ranks third all time in Westmoreland County in football wins behind legendary coaches Dick Dilts of Kiski Area (214) and Joe Mucci (184), who led teams at Jeannette and Greensburg Central Catholic. The decades-long coach at Franklin Regional...
PIHL standings through Jan. 17, 2021
Here are the latest PIHL high school hockey standings through Sunday. The PIHL has announced that games for Wheeling Park and Wheeling Central Catholic have been postponed until March 1. Also the Pennsylvania Cup hockey championships are set for April 24. Team – Wins – Losses – Overtime/Shootout Loss =...
Sewickley Academy hockey team starts season on right foot
The Sewickley Academy hockey team may have a small roster made up of just 13 players, but they make up for their lack of depth with hard work and talent, and they have gotten off to a hot start this season. Through four games, the Panthers have already matched their...
Quaker Valley girls basketball hopes to build on signature win over section rival
The Quaker Valley girls basketball team has great expectations this year. They want to lift WPIAL gold and hang a championship banner in their gym. In order to do that, though, coach Tom Demko and the Quakers knew that they would have to get a few signature wins throughout their...
Penn-Trafford hockey set to return after long layoff
It’s been more than a month since the Penn-Trafford hockey team played a game, but the Warriors (4-1) were scheduled to be back on this ice this week against Franklin Regional. The Warriors’ last contest was a 6-5 victory against section rival Latrobe on Dec. 1. They have won three...
Off to good start, Penn-Trafford girls basketball in middle of tough stretch of schedule
When Penn-Trafford girls basketball coach John Giannikas talked about his team prior to the start of season Dec. 9, he felt confident his squad could compete in Section 1-6A. And despite being shut down by Gov. Tom Wolf for a month, Giannikas was pleased with how the team returned from...
Penn Hills makes strong commitment to masks for athletes
The athletes in the Penn Hills community just want to find a way to play sports during the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, the Penn Hills athletic department felt it was necessary to be one of many schools that would mandate wearing masks during competition this winter season. Penn Hills decided...
Gateway wrestlers making up for lost time
Gateway wrestlers and their coaches were looking forward to the start of official practices Nov. 20 when the school district closed its buildings and moved to online learning for a couple of weeks to handle covid concerns and issues. As a result, all athletic activities were shut down. The team...
Gateway boys bowlers leaning on experience
Experience is the calling card for the Gateway boys bowling team. A group of five seniors — Mason Servello, Cody Beckwith, Nathan Clark, Anthony Zappa and Liam Brown — front the Gators in matches as they hope for big things in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Bowling League and beyond. So...
Shaler swimming gets creative to navigate unusual season
There was no perfect way for the Shaler swim team to restart its season following the state-mandated three-week layoff for covid-19 precautions. But having a meet on the road against Chartiers Valley on Jan. 13 gave Titans coach Abi May a good way to ease back into competition. The Colts’...
Freshman goalie playing key role for Shaler hockey team
Shane Ciganik never planned on seeing so much time on the varsity team. The Shaler freshman netminder expected to ease into the high school level. But Ciganik has seen more than his share of minutes for the school’s hockey team. He’s appeared in eight games and was named the starting...
Senior forward confident South Fayette hockey can heat up after slow start
The 2020 portion of this high school hockey season was not kind to South Fayette. A finalist in the PIHL Class A Penguins Cup playoffs two years ago, the Lions struggled out of the gate this season in Class AA with a 1-3-2 record before the season was paused due...
Savanah Abbott leads Bishop Canevin girls basketball into new era
Two program icons that helped Bishop Canevin win the WPIAL Class 2A championship last year, as well as titles in their freshman and sophomore seasons in 2017 and 2018, are playing college ball now. Alyssa Pollice and Diajha Allen left their golden mark on a Crusaders program that has won...
Thomas Jefferson gymnasts happy to compete, aim to defend WPIAL title
The Thomas Jefferson gymnastics program has climbed quickly to elite status. Last year, TJ won its fourth section title in a row, second consecutive WPIAL championship and finished as the state runner-up in the gold division. “We hope to defend the WPIAL title,” coach Jodi Cummings said, “and we hope...
Baldwin gymnasts ready to defend championship
The tag “defending state champion” provides awe-inspiring incentive for the Baldwin gymnasts in 2020-21. This season, the Highlanders are looking to retain their Pennsylvania Classic team title in the silver division. “We hope to be able to qualify for WPIALs and defend our state title,” coach Jodi Cummings said. “Each...
High school roundup for Jan. 16, 2021: Chartiers Valley boys continue sizzling start
Brayden Reynolds scored 25 points and Chartiers Valley stayed undefeated with an 88-81 victory over North Allegheny in a nonsection matchup of top WPIAL teams Saturday night in the MLK Showcase at North Allegheny. Socrates Bulis hit on 5 of 6 3-point attempts and scored 19 points for Chartiers Valley...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 16, 2021
WPIAL Basketball Boys Saturday’s results Tournament MLK Weekend Showcase at North Allegheny Chartiers Valley 88, North Allegheny 81 Nonsection Bishop Canevin 72, Springdale 44 Burrell 66, Kiski Area 51 Butler 80, Knoch 49 Burgettstown at Waynesburg Central, ppd. Central Catholic 51, Bethel Park 41 Laurel 58, Eden Christian 49 McDowell...
WPIAL boys basketball rankings: Week ending Jan. 16, 2021
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Upper St. Clair, 4-0, 1 2. Mt. Lebanon, 2-0, 3 3. North Allegheny, 3-1, 5 4. Hempfield, 2-1, NR 5. Butler, 2-1, 2 Out: Central Catholic (2-2, 4) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. New Castle, 3-0, 2 2. Chartiers Valley, 6-0,...
WPIAL girls basketball rankings: Week ending Jan. 16, 2021
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 4-0, 1 2. Upper St. Clair, 3-1, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 4-0, 3 4. Norwin, 3-0, 4 5. Bethel Park, 1-1, 5 Out: none Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Chartiers Valley, 5-0, 1 2. Trinity, 4-0, 2 3. Thomas...
St. Joseph swimmer Wygonik completes long road back from elbow surgery
Sam Wygonik hoped for the best when he stepped up to the block for the boys 200-yard freestyle Thursday during a dual meet between Fox Chapel and Woodland Hills at Fox Chapel High School. The St. Joseph junior, swimming in a high school meet for the first time since the...
WPIAL coaches have mixed feelings about open basketball playoffs
Yes, we’re open. Derry girls basketball coach Gene Brisbane was coaching the Jeannette boys 37 years ago when the WPIAL opened the playoff door to everybody. The league held a free-for-all tournament where any team that wanted to compete in the postseason could. At the time, Brisbane wasn’t sure what...
Roger Sullenberger, coach with encyclopedic knowledge of Hempfield track, dies at age 75
Roger Sullenberger was a math teacher at Hempfield, but if anyone wanted to know the history of the school’s track program, Sully was the guy to go to. He could recite every record, current or retired, in the school’s history. Hempfield assistant track coach LaRoyal Wilson referred to Sullenberger as...
Fox Chapel boys are looking to rediscover their defensive identity
In recent years, the Fox Chapel boys basketball team has shaped its identity around success on the defensive end. Four years ago, when the Foxes finished 19-4, they allowed an average of 53.4 points, and they haven’t allowed an average higher than that since. They look to keep opponents under...
Fox Chapel girls basketball team shows resolve
After suffering a pair of disappointing losses and some crucial injuries earlier this season, the Fox Chapel girls basketball team persevered for their first victory of the season Jan. 12 when they took down Section 2-5A foe Hampton, 58-49. Fox Chapel’s first two games resulted in a seven-point loss to...
