Chris Harlan stories, Page 10
Pine-Richland defensive back Jay Timmons commits to Indiana, coach Curt Cignetti
Pine-Richland junior Jay Timmons committed Monday to play football for Indiana and coach Curt Cignetti, who’s already familiar with Western Pennsylvania. Timmons announced his decision on social media. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound defensive back had drawn nearly two dozen college offers. He chose Indiana from a list of scholarships that included...
Stanford lands commitment from Lucas Shanafelt, 2nd football recruit from Peters Township in 2 years
Western Pennsylvania seems like unusual recruiting territory for a West Coast college, but ACC newcomer Stanford is fond of one South Hills school district. Peters Township junior Lucas Shanafelt committed to Stanford on Saturday, making him the second recruit in two years from his high school to choose the Cardinal....
Streak ends: NFL Draft includes no WPIAL players for 1st time since 1993
A WPIAL streak that started more than three decades ago ended quietly Saturday. For the first time in 32 years, no former WPIAL football players were selected in the NFL Draft. The last time that happened was 1993. The streak got started when the San Francisco 49ers picked Ringgold’s Anthony...
In Pitt QB shakeup, Julian Dugger enters portal, ex-Western Carolina star transfers in
Pitt’s quarterback depth chart underwent a major overhaul Saturday. Redshirt freshman Julian Dugger, a Penn Hills graduate, announced he was entering the transfer portal hours after the Panthers landed a commitment from another quarterback, Cole Gonzales, who’s already well connected with offensive coordinator Kade Bell. A 6-foot, 198-pound senior, Gonzales...
WPIAL softball rankings: Week ending April 27, 2025
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Hempfield, 14-0, 1 2. Seneca Valley, 11-2, 3 3. North Allegheny, 9-7, 5 4. Pine-Richland, 11-5, 2 5. Canon-McMillan, 9-7, 4 Out: none Class 5A 1. Penn-Trafford, 14-1, 1 2. Franklin Regional, 12-3, 2 3. Shaler, 10-4, 3 4. North Hills, 13-3, 4...
WPIAL baseball rankings: Week ending April 27, 2025
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 10-5, 1 2. Norwin, 10-6, 3 3. Seneca Valley, 8-6, 2 4. Canon-McMillan, 13-4, 4 5. Butler, 10-4, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Shaler, 9-4, 2 2. Pine-Richland, 12-2, 1 3. Plum, 12-2, 3 4. Fox Chapel, 11-3, 4 5....
Belle Vernon’s Zion Moore to play for top junior college program
Belle Vernon senior Zion Moore, one of the WPIAL’s top basketball players, has committed to Harcum College in suburban Philadelphia. Harcum competes at the highest level of junior college basketball, NJCAA Division I. The team has celebrated five top 10 seasons since the program started in 2005. Last season’s roster...
Hot-hitting North Allegheny uses 7-run inning to take section series from rival Seneca Valley
JJ Mancuso offered up a simple explanation for how North Allegheny suddenly scored 17 runs in two days, snapping a string of light-hitting losses. Sometimes, it’s not too complicated. “We swung the bats much better, obviously,” said Mancuso, who fueled a seven-run rally with two hits in one inning as...
Pine-Richland puts pressure on Shaler, wins opener of key section series
The foul poles on Pine-Richland’s baseball field stand 360 feet from home plate — deeper than those at PNC Park — so there’s a lot of outfield grass to cover. The Rams might call it their home-field advantage. “The biggest thing is just putting the ball in play and putting...
Pine-Richland hires former college assistant, top WPIAL scorer as boys basketball coach
Steve McNees, a former college assistant who ranks among the WPIAL’s all-time leading scorers, was hired Monday as Pine-Richland’s boys basketball coach. McNees, a 2006 Shenango graduate, scored 2,192 points in his high school career and played college basketball at Akron under Keith Dambrot. McNees later served as an assistant...
WPIAL softball rankings: Week ending April 20, 2025
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Hempfield, 12-0, 1 2. Pine-Richland, 10-3, 3 3. Seneca Valley, 8-2, 2 4. Canon-McMillan, 8-6, 5 5. North Allegheny, 5-6, 4 Out: none Class 5A 1. Penn-Trafford, 10-1, 1 2. Franklin Regional, 10-3, 4 3. Shaler, 8-3, 2 4. North Hills, 10-3, NR...
WPIAL baseball rankings: Week ending April 20, 2025
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 8-2, 1 2. Seneca Valley, 7-4, 3 3. Norwin, 8-6, NR 4. Canon-McMillan, 10-4, 2 5. Butler, 7-4, 4 Out: Central Catholic (5-7, 5) Class 5A 1. Pine-Richland, 11-1, 1 2. Shaler, 8-3, 2 3. Plum, 10-2, NR 4. Fox Chapel,...
Knoch’s Fennell shines at Butler Invitational track meet
Knoch’s Kara Fennell has tumbled and flipped since she was about 3 years old, a lifelong gymnast whose skills are worthy of medals. Except nowadays those are track and field medals. Fennell bettered her own school record and won the girls pole vault title at the Butler Invitational by clearing...
Veteran coach Daryn Freedman takes Ambridge boys basketball job, likes program’s potential
The standings paint the Ambridge boys as a distressed basketball team: only seven section wins in four years and none this winter. Daryn Freedman says he sees more. “I had gone down there and recruited a couple of players between my years at Penn State (Greater Allegheny) and Point Park,...
WPIAL elects 2 newcomers to board of directors for 2025-26 school year
The WPIAL board of directors already has two new members for next school year. Moon athletic director Alan Alcalde and Norwin athletic director Mike Burrell earned seats on the WPIAL board in election results announced Wednesday. They secured two of the 10 at-large seats up for election every spring for...
PIAA survey asks: Should high school basketball have a shot clock?
Reset the clock on the shot clock debate. The PIAA will soon send schools a survey asking whether they want a shot clock added to high school basketball. That’ll rekindle a debate that somewhat stalled three years ago after a different PIAA survey showed opinions were evenly split, prompting the...
PIAA administrator cautions WPIAL schools after Justice Department sues Maine over transgender policy
A few hours after the Justice Department said it was suing Maine over its transgender athlete policy, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi cautioned WPIAL schools to discuss the topic with their solicitors. “The White House is using Title IX and the Civil Rights Act to really make sure that people...
WPIAL announces 2025 James Collins Scholar-Athlete Award winners
The WPIAL announced the 20 winners of its annual James Collins Scholar-Athlete Award, with each receiving a $1,000 scholarship. Earning the 10 boys awards were Beaver’s Tyler Biss, Fox Chapel’s Milo Chiu, Fort Cherry’s Shane Cornali, Central Catholic’s Bradley Gompers, Pine-Richland’s Bradan Lenz, Peters Township’s Colton Lusk, South Fayette’s Luke...
Former East Allegheny football coach plans fundraising dinner for grad needing kidney transplant
Dom Pecora knows football, but the former East Allegheny coach also has a knack for food as a restaurateur. After learning that one of his former players needs a kidney transplant, Pecora decided to put his cooking skills to work to raise money. Pecora is hosting a pasta dinner April...
Freshman pitcher keeps grip in soggy conditions, keys victory over Deer Lakes
Gray clouds filled the sky, temperatures slid into the 40s and rain was falling sideways. Yet somehow Freeport’s Owen Westendorf made Tuesday look like a beautiful day for baseball. Unfazed by the nasty weather, the freshman right-hander stayed on the mound for six solid innings, a gritty effort that led...
Former WPIAL executive director Larry Hanley dies
Larry Hanley, who served a nine-year stint as executive director of the WPIAL, died Saturday. He was 83. Hanley was the league’s top administrator from 1997-2006 and was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame in 2008. He was the league’s second full-time executive director and brought a more diplomatic...
WPIAL baseball rankings: Week ending April 13, 2025
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 5-2, 1 2. Canon-McMillan, 8-2, 2 3. Seneca Valley, 5-3, 4 4. Butler, 6-3, 3 5. Central Catholic, 5-4, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Pine-Richland, 8-1, 1 2. Shaler, 7-3, 2 3. Bethel Park, 7-3, 3 4. Franklin Regional, 7-1,...
WPIAL softball rankings: Week ending April 13, 2025
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Hempfield, 8-0, 2 2. Seneca Valley, 7-1, 1 3. Pine-Richland, 5-3, 3 4. North Allegheny, 5-4, 4 5. Canon-McMillan, 6-5, NR Out: Norwin (3-6, 5) Class 5A 1. Penn-Trafford, 7-1, 1 2. Shaler, 6-2, 4 3. West Allegheny, 6-3, 3 4. Franklin Regional,...
Acclaimed boxing trainer Tom Yankello among newest inductees in Pa. sports hall of fame
Boxing trainer Tom Yankello and two former Pittsburgh Steelers are among 11 individuals who’ll be honored this month by the Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Yankello, who first started training fighters at the Beaver County Boxing Club in 1991, was chosen as the “Inductee of Distinction”...
Gamble pays off as Colby Weber sparks Shaler to rare 2-game sweep of West Allegheny
Shaler ace Colby Weber left the mound Monday after throwing only 19 pitches, a strategic gamble by his coach that paid off handsomely two days later. His short relief stint kept Weber eligible to pitch again Wednesday, and the 6-foot-6 senior struck out 11 as Shaler defeated host West Allegheny,...
