High School category, Page 966
Baldwin in prime position for another shot at Penguins Cup championship
The coronavirus pandemic has had a profound effect on the Baldwin hockey team. After winning its first 15 games last year, Baldwin advanced to the PIHL Penguins Cup Class AA finals with a 19-1 record and was set to play 18-1 Latrobe in the championship game. The PIHL season was...
Sewickley Academy basketball teams used openers as celebration of hard work
Before Gov. Tom Wolf put a three-week pause on high school athletics across the state, the Sewickley Academy boys and girls basketball teams were able to reward their players for all their hard work with a game. The boys won a nonsection matchup over Cornell, 68-40, and the girls did...
Excitement level high as Quaker Valley basketball teams return from layoff
In the first five minutes of practice on Jan. 4, Quaker Valley girls basketball coach Tom Demko could tell his girls were excited to be back. “We usually warm up with some layups and that told us right there. Wow,” Demko said. “They went hard in the first five minutes,...
Penn-Trafford wrestling coach looking forward to revamped schedule
In a normal year, high school wrestling teams would have already competed in numerous tournaments. But this isn’t a normal year, of course, and the current pandemic has disrupted the winter sports season. High school athletics hit the pause button Dec. 13 when Gov. Tom Wolf halted them with the...
Eager to dive into college wrestling, Penn Hills senior commits to Davis & Elkins
Penn Hills’ Hunter Shields has been wrestling for a decade, and he has been given an opportunity to continue his wrestling career at the collegiate level. Shields, who wrestles at 138 pounds, signed his letter of intent to continue his wrestling career at Davis & Elkins, a NCAA Division II...
Penn Hills senior Noel Roach ready to take physical mindset to Akron
Penn Hills’ Noel Roach has known for months where he wanted to continue his football career at the collegiate level. Roach finally made it official when he put pen to paper and signed his national letter of intent to play at Akron during the NCAA early signing period Dec. 16....
Pine-Richland wrestlers lifting program into elite tier
Pine-Richland wrestling coach Caleb Kolb scanned the room during the Rams first in-person practice of the new year with a big smile. It had been more than three weeks since the team was together for a workout, and he couldn’t contain his excitement. “Just out of nowhere he says, “Man,...
Pine-Richland swimmers on mission with schools records in their sights
Pine-Richland’s youthful swimming and diving teams hope to have breakout seasons built on one more year of experience and new additions. Coach Pete Barry’s confidence in them grows with every practice. “We’re taking advantage of every day we can be together, and we’re going to treat every meet like it...
Plum wrestlers look forward to competition in Section 1B
After more starts and stops to the season than he cares to remember, Plum wrestling coach Mike Supak said he’s anxious to see his team begin competition this week. The Mustangs, who had conducted only a couple of practices before Gov. Tom Wolf’s shutdown orders Dec. 10 as part of...
Plum bowlers happy to be back in action after layoff
The Plum varsity bowling teams didn’t have a lot of time between the return to practice Jan. 4 from the three-week state-government imposed shutdown of high school activities and Monday’s scheduled start of the season. But coach Darryl Pilyih said the dozen combined bowlers on the boys and girls rosters...
Norwin athletes return to action after preaching positivity during shutdown
Tried and true, some Norwin athletes were ready when Gov. Tom Wolf put high school sports on pause again for three weeks. No practice? No problem. That is because they had been through this before. They endured a previous delay in the spring, training on their own and taking part...
Deep roster to play key role for North Hills boys basketball
North Hills boys basketball coach Buzz Gabos has plans for the 10th, 11th and maybe even 12th player on the team’s bench. They won’t all just sit there. After enduring a 31-day layoff, this season will require a group effort, especially in the early weeks, said Gabos, who intends to...
Hampton girls basketball carries momentum through ‘pause’
Hampton had the “best, most intense” three-week preseason in Tony Howard’s 14 years as a girls basketball coach. Then came three weeks with a whole lot of nothing. “They are ready to get back,” Howard said. “There was some excitement building around the team, and we had a lot of...
Shady Side Academy boys basketball ready to conquer obstacles of season restart
Unlike most teams around Western Pennsylvania, the newly named Shady Side Academy Bulldogs didn’t get an opportunity to start practices on Jan. 4. After taking covid-19 tests that day, the date that teams were permitted to return to practice, the Bulldogs had to wait 48 hours for their results before...
Penn-Trafford boys look to build off strong start to season
Penn-Trafford boys basketball coach Doug Kelly learned a lot about his team during its first game of the season back on Dec. 11. The Warriors used a late 13-4 run to upset No. 3 North Allegheny, 61-50. After that game, high school athletics across the state were shut down by...
Hampton boys basketball eager for restart
Joe Lafko has seen a lot in three decades as a basketball coach, but this is the first season he has held court at a computer screen. During a three-week shutdown of high school winter sports because of the covid-19 pandemic, the Hampton boys basketball team joined for twice-a-week Zoom...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 9, 2021
Basketball Boys Saturday’s results Class A Section 1 Union 79, Cornell 41 Nonsection Beth-Center 65, Jefferson-Morgan 49 Burrell 67, Northgate 39 Lincoln Park 59, Central Catholic 47 Chartiers Valley 66, Fox Chapel 63 Eden Christian 72, Cheswick Christian Academy 28 Ellwood City 60, Wilmington 36 McGuffey 60, Burgettstown 28 McKeesport...
High school roundup for Jan. 9, 2021: Brayden Reynolds powers Chartiers Valley to 3-0 start
Brayden Reynolds scored a game-high 33 points, hit four 3-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Chartiers Valley (3-0) to a 66-63 boys basketball nonsection win over Fox Chapel on Saturday afternoon. Carter Mastovich scored 13 points, including four 3-pointers, in the win. Eli Yofan led Fox Chapel (2-1) with...
Highlands senior Dom Pesci excited for return after missing most of junior season
When the Highlands boys basketball team won its first WPIAL basketball title since 1995 last season, the Rams did so with three talented seniors and several important role players who clicked when the time was right. Current senior Dom Pesci was forced to watch from the bench because he missed...
Coronavirus taking bite out of Allen Deep’s usual basketball showcase schedule
Basketball season in western Pennsylvania would not seem complete without the showcase events organized by Allen Deep. His various charity events, from multiple team shootouts across the region to the season-capping Roundball Classic at Geneve, have become seasonal staples. The WPIAL resumed on-court action Friday, but this unusual season likely...
Westmoreland high school notes: Norwin’s Stecko gives verbal commitment to Mount St. Mary’s
From the first time he watched college baseball on television, Ty Stecko wanted to play at the next level. He believed he could grow into a Division I talent, and his confidence blossomed over time and caught up with his skills. “I believed in myself through my childhood,” he said....
Leading medical expert says some winter sports run greater covid risk than others
With a disclaimer, Dr. Amesh Adalja, a Pittsburgh-based infectious disease and critical care physician, said he is all for winter sports resuming in the WPIAL. He wants to see people active and living their normal lives again. Adalja, who has discussed the effects of covid-19 and “dark days ahead” with media...
High school winter sports set to attempt season with coronavirus waiting around every cornerVideo
In a normal year, real estate is hard to come by on the mats in the Kiski Area wrestling room. Cavaliers wrestlers usually stretch wall to wall as they drill with practice partners and try avoid other teammates doing the same. Over the course of a two- or three-hour practice,...
Limited offseason workouts impacts winter sports coaches, athletes
The winter sports offseason is when players and teams can use their extra time to improve for the following season. They get together, play in fall leagues, hold open gyms and attend summer team camps in order to become more of a team. The time is important as players learn...
Varying mask policies create conundrum for high school athletics
Just before the PIAA soccer finals, Gov. Tom Wolf and Pa. Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced ramped-up guidelines that would make sports teams wear face coverings during competition. The rules later were loosened, and athletes did not have to wear masks during play, only on the sidelines, if...
