Bill Hartlep stories, Page 16
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Kiski Area’s Hannah Hill, Burrell’s Kwade Kirchartz
Hannah Hill Class: Freshman School: Kiski Area Sport: Softball Report card: Kiski Area’s softball team is off to a 3-0 start, and second baseman Hannah Hill has been a major catalyst. The freshman went 3 for 3 with four RBIs in Tuesday’s 15-0 win over Woodland Hills. She then was...
PIAA Class 4A girls basketball championship breakdown: Lansdale Catholic vs. Blackhawk
PIAA Class 4A girls basketball championship Lansdale Catholic vs. Blackhawk Noon Saturday, at Hershey’s Giant Center On the air: TV: PCN; Radio: WMBA-AM 1460, WBVP-AM 1230, WBVP-FM 99.3 Streaming audio: TribHSSN.TribLive.com PIAA titles: Lansdale Catholic 0; Blackhawk 4 (1999, 2000, ‘14, ‘15) Lansdale Catholic (27-2) Coach: Eric Gidney Probable starting...
PIAA Class 3A boys basketball championship breakdown: West Catholic vs. Deer Lakes
PIAA Class 3A boys basketball championship West Catholic vs. Deer Lakes 2 p.m. Saturday, Hershey’s Giant Center On the air: TV: PCN PIAA titles: West Catholic 0; Deer Lakes 0 West Catholic (19-10) Coach: Miguel Bocachica Probable starting lineup No., Name, Ht., Yr., Pos. 0, Adam Clark, 5-10, sr., G...
Like Deer Lakes, West Catholic taking aim at 1st PIAA boys basketball title
Coach Miguel Bocachica says he’s just a guy who opens the gym at West Catholic Preparatory High School. He credits his players’ hard work as the primary reason the Burrs earned their first District 12 boys basketball title earlier this month and are set to play Deer Lakes at 2...
PIAA Class A girls basketball championship breakdown: Our Lady of Lourdes Regional vs. Union
PIAA Class A girls basketball championship Our Lady of Lourdes Regional vs. Union Noon Friday at Hershey’s Giant Center On the air: TV: PCN. Streaming audio: TribHSSN.TribLive.com PIAA titles: Lourdes 1 (1994); Union 0 Lourdes Regional (22-7) Coach: Mike Klembara Probable starting lineup No., Name, Ht., Yr., Pos. 0, Masie...
Deer Lakes joins select group of A-K Valley basketball teams to reach PIAA finals
Chants of “We want chocolate” were music to the ears of the Deer Lakes boys basketball players Tuesday as they finished off a 61-56 victory over Penn Cambria in the PIAA Class 3A semifinals. The win earned the WPIAL champion Lancers (21-8) a trip to Hershey for their first appearance...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Freeport’s Kira Schrecongost, Kiski Area’s Parker Sterlitz
Kira Schrecongost Class: Sophomore School: Freeport Sport: Swimming Report card: Schrecongost earned a bronze medal in the 100-yard butterfly (56.16 seconds) and finished sixth in the 200 individual medley (2:07.31) at the PIAA Class 2A swimming championships Wednesday and Thursday at Bucknell. The Freeport sophomore also helped the 200 medley...
2023 WPIAL Class A softball preseason breakdown
Union edged West Greene, 3-2, to capture its first WPIAL Class A softball title last season. The Scotties ended West Greene’s run of five straight WPIAL championships. Both teams advanced to the PIAA quarterfinals and are again expected to contend for the district title. Here is a rundown of the...
A-K Valley PIAA basketball playoff capsule: Games for Saturday, March 18, 2023
PIAA basketball playoffs Boys Class 3A Deer Lakes (19-8) vs. Neshannock (20-7) Noon Saturday, North Allegheny Senior High School, McCandless District-place: Deer Lakes 7-1; Neshannock 7-4 Winner plays: Winner of 6-1 Penn Cambria (23-5)/10-1 Franklin (23-4) Tuesday in PIAA semifinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Bryce Robson, Deer Lakes;...
2023 WPIAL Class 2A softball preseason breakdown
Neshannock’s perfect 2022 season will be tough to match, but the Lancers have their sights set on defending their section, WPIAL and PIAA Class 2A softball titles this season. Coach Jackie Lash likes her lineup’s speed and power as well as the Lancers’ experienced pitching. Several teams hope to challenge,...
2023 WPIAL Class 3A softball preseason breakdown
Avonworth’s softball team enters the 2023 season with a lot of targets on its proverbial back. The Lopes won section, WPIAL and PIAA championships last season, rolling to an 8-1 win over Deer Lakes in the district final and beating Lewisburg, 7-2, for the state title. They certainly will be...
2023 WPIAL Class 4A softball preseason breakdown
Beaver’s softball team has won two straight WPIAL Class 4A championships in addition to capturing the 2021 PIAA title and finishing last season as state runners-up. Things will look a bit different without dominating pitcher Payton List in the circle for the Bobcats. She is now at Virginia Tech after...
A-K Valley PIAA basketball playoff capsules: Games for March 15, 2023
PIAA basketball playoffs Boys Class 3A Second round Loyalsock Township (16-11) vs. Deer Lakes (18-8) 7 p.m. Wednesday, Altoona High School, Altoona District-seed: Loyalsock Township 4-3; Deer Lakes 7-1 Winner plays: Winner of 7-4 Neshannock (19-7)/9-1 Brookville (23-2) Saturday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Jaylin Andrews, Loyalsock...
2023 WPIAL Class 5A softball preseason breakdown
Armstrong has reached the WPIAL and PIAA softball title games two straight seasons, and could again challenge for both championships. Several teams hope to compete with the River Hawks, including Bethel Park and Peters Township, which dropped down from Class 6A this season via PIAA realignment. Here is a rundown...
A-K Valley PIAA basketball playoff capsule: Games for March 14, 2023
PIAA basketball playoffs Boys Class 4A Second round Highlands (22-5) vs. Lincoln Park (26-1) 7 p.m. Tuesday, North Allegheny Senior High School, McCandless District seed: Highlands 7-4; Lincoln Park 7-1 Winner plays: Winner of Laurel Highlands (23-3)/Hampton (24-3) Friday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Cam Reigard, Highlands;...
2023 WPIAL Class 6A softball preseason breakdown
The 2023 WPIAL softball season brings a different look to the Class 6A schedule. Gone is the two-section format, as just nine teams remain in the highest classification via PIAA realignment, leading the WPIAL committee to form just one section for Class 6A teams. Here is a rundown of the...
West Virginia women draw No. 7 Arizona in NCAA Tournament
West Virginia’s women’s basketball team is going dancing. The Mountaineers (19-11) earned the No. 10 seed for the NCAA Tournament and will play No. 7 Arizona (21-9) on Friday in College Park, Md. Led by first-year coach Dawn Plitzuweit, the Mountaineers finished the regular season 10-8 in conference play and...
West Virginia men’s basketball earns No. 9 seed, will play Maryland in NCAA 1st round
West Virginia was rewarded for playing one of the toughest schedules in men’s college basketball Sunday night as the Mountaineers received a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The ninth-seeded Mountaineers will play No. 8 Maryland (21-12) at 12:15 p.m. Thursday in Birmingham, Ala. The game will be televised on CBS....
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Highlands’ Jimmy Kunst, Freeport’s Julia Cummings
Julia Cummings Class: Senior School: Freeport Sport: Bowling Report card: Cummings finished second at the Western Regional girls singles bowling championship Friday at AMF Noble Manor Lanes. Cummings rolled a five-game series of 995 to lead in the qualifying round. She then won her semifinal match before falling in the...
A-K Valley PIAA basketball playoff capsules: Games for March 10, 2023
PIAA basketball playoffs Boys Class 5A First round Fox Chapel (15-11) at Exeter (23-6) 6 p.m. Friday, Exeter Township Senior High School, Reading District finish: Fox Chapel 7-7; Exeter 3-1 Winner plays: Winner of North Hills (20-6)/Mechanicsburg (18-8) Tuesday in PIAA second round (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Jefferson...
Early-season tests provided foundation for Deer Lakes’ run to WPIAL title
When Deer Lakes’ boys basketball team took the floor against the top teams in the WPIAL during the district playoffs, the Lancers felt right at home. Mostly because they already had played some of the best teams Western Pennsylvania has to offer. Those early-season tests helped shape the Lancers and...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Fox Chapel’s Sophie Shao, Deer Lakes’ Nate Litrun
Sophie Shao Class: Senior School: Fox Chapel Sport: Swimming Report card: Shao won the 200-yard IM (2 minutes, 2.85 seconds) for the second straight year and the 100-yard butterfly (53.98) for the fourth time at the WPIAL Class 3A swimming championships Thursday at Pitt’s Trees Pool, and then helped Fox...
2023 WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball championship breakdown: New Castle vs. Central Catholic
WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball championship No. 1 New Castle vs. No. 3 Central Catholic 7 p.m. Saturday, Petersen Events Center On the air: Video livestream: TribHSSN.TribLive.com; Radio: KDKA (1020 AM), KDKA (100.1 FM) WPIAL titles: New Castle, 14 (1927, ‘36, ‘82, ‘93, ‘97, ‘98, ‘99, 2012, ‘13, ‘14, ‘17,...
WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball championship: Aliquippa vs. Northgate
WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball championship No. 1 Aliquippa vs. No. 6 Northgate 1 p.m. Saturday, Petersen Events Center On the air: Video livestream: TribHSSN.TribLive.com; Radio: WBVP (1230 AM), WBVP (99.3 FM), WMBA (1460 AM) WPIAL titles: Aliquippa 12 (1949, ‘87, ‘88, ‘94, ‘98, 2000, ‘03, ‘04, ‘06, ‘07, ‘15,...
Deer Lakes celebrates ‘wonderful journey’ by hoisting WPIAL championship trophy
Albie Fletcher gave a joyous bear hug to each of his Deer Lakes players in the moments after the final buzzer sounded Friday night at the Petersen Events Center. It was a moment more than 30 years in the making. The 1993 Deer Lakes graduate, in his first season as...

