High School category, Page 977
Westmoreland notebook: Norwin’s Giansante back on recruiting trail
Anthony Giansante isn’t ready to give up on playing Division I football. In fact, he might be more enthusiastic now than before he started getting scholarship offers. Giansante, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound lineman from Norwin, is back on the recruiting trail, proactively reaching out to schools that had already recruited him...
Mars’ Blair Gerlach, George Williams of Seneca Valley tabbed state’s top coaches
Blair Gerlach directed the Mars girls soccer team to back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA championships. He also doubled up on one of the state’s top honors. Gerlach was named the Class AAA coach of the year by the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association, becoming the first repeat winner in the classification since...
Mt. Pleasant girls hope to benefit from experience this season
At the high school level it’s a rarity for a team to have its entire roster back from the previous season, but it’s a welcomed reality for longtime Mt. Pleasant girls basketball coach Scott Giacobbi. The Vikings did not graduate anyone and bring back a group of five seniors and...
Mt. Pleasant boys basketball enters season under new leadership
T.J. Kravits had just finished his season coaching at Marion Center. Being a basketball fan, he looked at the schedule and decided to take a trip to Mt. Pleasant to see a game against Geibel. At the time he didn’t know he was seeing his future team play, but he...
Plum girls looking to take next step with experienced, talented roster
The Plum girls basketball team was on the brink of the first section title in school history last season but fell a game short. After a loss in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs to Penn Hills, the Mustangs finished their season 14-7. It was their first...
Plum boys looking to develop consistency, return to playoffs
The Plum boys basketball team just missed out on a playoff appearance last season. The Mustangs were hovering between fourth and fifth place in Section 3-5A and needed crucial wins down the stretch to secure their first playoff berth since the 2015-16 season. They dropped three of their final five...
Pittsburgh Public Schools postpones City League winter sports until January
Pittsburgh Public Schools has delayed the start of winter sports in the City League until at least January. According to a news release Thursday, the district’s athletic committee met the day before and recommended postponing basketball, wrestling and all other winter sports seasons. The district said the committee will reconvene...
Elizabeth Forward leads Interstate all-conference vote with 8 first-team picks
Elizabeth Forward celebrated the second undefeated regular season in school history, an achievement that was rewarded in the all-conference voting. Senior defensive end Chase Whatton was named Defensive MVP in the Class 3A Interstate, and seven teammates also earned first-team honors in a vote of conference coaches. The Warriors’ Mike...
Central Valley sweeps individual awards on Northwestern 6 all-conference team
Much like during the season, Central Valley again stood atop the Northwestern Six, this time in the all-conference voting. The undefeated WPIAL and PIAA champions earned 14 first-team spots in the Northwestern Six and swept the individual awards as well in a vote of conference coaches. The Warriors won every...
Chartiers Valley basketball’s Aislin Malcolm commits to Pitt
Chartiers Valley junior Aislin Malcolm already has two wins on her future home court. Malcolm, who won back-to-back WPIAL girls basketball titles at Petersen Events Center, committed Wednesday to Pitt. The 5-foot-10 guard held more than a dozen Division I offers including Penn State, West Virginia and Duke. Malcolm was...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 2, 2020
Hockey Thursday’s schedule Class AAA Canon-McMillan at Cathedral Prep at Erie Bank Sports Park, 8:15 p.m. Class AA Hampton at Armstrong at Belmont Sports Complex, 7 p.m.; Shaler at Hempfield at Kirk S. Nevin Arena, 7:15 p.m.; Thomas Jefferson at Mars at Baierl Ice Complex, 9:10 p.m. Class A Blackhawk...
Emily Daugherty hired as Ligonier Valley girls basketball coach in unanimous vote
It’s official. Emily Daugherty is the new Ligonier Valley girls basketball coach. And the 2010 Ligonier Valley graduate is eager to get started. The Ligonier Valley school board voted 9-0 on Wednesday to hire her to replace Tim Gustin, who was recently hired as the boys coach. Daugherty, 28, is...
Trib 10: WPIAL football teams had record-tying weekend in Hershey
For the fifth time in the 33-year history of the PIAA playoffs, three WPIAL football champions returned home from the central part of the state with PIAA gold. It is tied for the most PIAA championships won in a year by WPIAL teams. Pine-Richland in Class 5A, Thomas Jefferson in...
Leechburg girls coach shares special bond with team as they build for future
Leechburg girls basketball coach Andre Carter has a special bond with his team. When he was named varsity coach in 2018, Carter also coached the junior high team. Now, he has a roster full of players he watched come up through the system. “This year is my first year that...
Beaver Falls football rallies around trainer touched by coronavirus tragedy
As an athletic trainer for high school sports teams, Dan Summers made it his responsibility to keep Beaver Falls football players safe from coronavirus. Hand sanitizer was taped to the back of his golf cart, and he used a water sprayer to cool athletes from a safe distance during practice....
Run-and-gun Leechburg boys looking to keep pedal to the floor
Last season, the Leechburg boys basketball team loved to run, play fast and create as many scoring opportunities as possible. “The more chances the better,” Leechburg coach Damian Davies said. They did so successfully, too. The Blue Devils averaged 70 points per game, which was tied for the second-highest in...
Monessen girls basketball looks to maintain momentum after playoff season
After struggling for several seasons, the Monessen girls basketball program blossomed last year, going 8-4 in section play and 15-8 overall. The 15 victories were more than the four previous seasons combined. Also, coach Janine Vertacnik recorded her 300th career victory Feb. 6 at Mapletown. “I didn’t know what to...
Monessen boys basketball sets sights on 40th straight playoff berth
Many people express concerns when approaching 40. But for the Monessen boys basketball program, reaching 40 is an admirable goal. The Greyhounds secured their WPIAL-record 39th consecutive playoff appearance last season, and the team is relishing its chances to hit the 40 mark this season. “It’s an expectation at Monessen,”...
Trib HSSN WPIAL girls soccer all-stars: Ellie Coffield led Mars to new heights
Player of the year Ellie Coffield Mars, Sr., MF With both arms raised high, Ellie Coffield stretched the PIAA championship trophy toward the sky, her face framed in pure joy on a cold November night in Hershey. The Mars senior standout and her teammates reveled in winning another state title,...
Trib HSSN WPIAL boys soccer all-stars: Dane Beller came through in clutch for Mars
Player of the Year Dane Beller Mars, Sr., F The Mars Fightin’ Planets were pressing. They were down a goal in a physical PIAA championship game with a state title at their fingertips. Senior forward Dane Beller was issued a yellow card midway through the second half, and while his...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 1, 2020
Hockey Tuesday’s results Class AA Penn-Trafford 6, Latrobe 5 (OT) Shaler 6, Armstrong 4 Mars 3, Meadville 2 West Allegheny at Franklin Regional, (n) Class A North Hills 7, Fox Chapel 0 Class B Wilmington at Neshannock, (n) Ringgold 6, Avonworth 0 To report scores, email ptrsports@triblive.com. Visit TribHSSN.triblive.com/scores for...
High school roundup for Dec. 1, 2020: Penn-Trafford hockey wins OT thriller
Xavier Solomon scored the game-winning goal to lead Penn-Trafford to a 6-5 overtime victory over Latrobe in a PIHL thriller Tuesday night. Fletcher Harvey scored his first goal of the season with less than 10 seconds left in regulation to tie it for Latrobe (2-2-1). Nico Martucci had two goals...
Beloved Jeannette football coach Joe Mucci dies of coronavirus at age 86
Joseph G. Mucci was a legendary football coach in Westmoreland County. But he was much more than that, according to his former assistant coaches, players and people in the community. The beloved coach and administrator at Jeannette and Greensburg Central Catholic influenced a lot of people whose lives he touched....
Girls basketball preview: Coaching hire coming soon for improving Ligonier Valley
When Tim Gustin became the Ligonier Valley boys basketball coach a month ago, he hoped the district’s school board picked the right person to replace him as girls coach. The Ligonier Valley School Board is scheduled to meet Wednesday and on the agenda is hiring a new girls coach. Athletic...
Boys basketball preview: Ligonier Valley readies for WPIAL
A little more than a month ago, Tim Gustin was preparing the Ligonier Valley girls for their return to the WPIAL after 40 years. Then Ligonier Valley boys coach John Berger decided his regular job, Chief of Police in Ligonier Valley, was too demanding during the pandemic. So Berger stepped...
