Chris Harlan stories, Page 101
Star freshman Rodney Gallagher leads Laurel Highlands past Mars in WPIAL Class 5A thrillerVideo
There are 131,504 residents in Fayette County, and Rodney Gallagher might’ve hugged them all Friday night. But first, the Laurel Highlands freshman needed to draw a foul and make two free throws with 4.8 seconds left to defeat two-time defending champion Mars, 52-51, in the WPIAL Class 5A final at...
Mars’ Carmody, Laurel Highlands’ Gallagher share spotlight in WPIAL 5A final
One is a 290-pound senior signed to play football at Notre Dame. The other is a 150-pound freshman with Division I basketball offers. Mars’ Michael Carmody and Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher are much different athletes, but they have this in common: Both stepped into the bright spotlight this season and...
North Catholic upends two-time defending champ Lincoln Park in Class 3A title game
Isaac DeGregorio sensed that the run was coming. North Catholic hadn’t led since the opening minutes, but scored 13 consecutive second-half points Thursday night to defeat top-seeded Lincoln Park, 65-56, in the WPIAL Class 3A boys basketball championship at Petersen Events Center. A four-point deficit suddenly became a nine-point lead,...
North Catholic seeks better shooting night in championship rematch with Lincoln Park
Nearly a year after the loss, North Catholic coach Dave DeGregorio forced himself to watch the video of his team’s WPIAL championship. Some parts were worse than he’d remembered. The Trojans had a dismal shooting night and lost 62-50 to Lincoln Park in the WPIAL Class 3A finals. DeGregorio watched...
Butler rallies past USC in overtime, earns return trip to WPIAL finals
Doubt crept into Ethan Morton’s mind for a moment Wednesday night as Butler trailed by five with less than a minute left. But it didn’t linger. “I caught myself just for a half second thinking, ‘Oh crap, down five with not much time left,’” Morton said. “But I knew better....
Mars’ Michael Carmody flexes muscles against Chartiers Valley, returns to WPIAL finalsVideo
Michael Carmody has already won two WPIAL basketball championships and contributed to both, but the Mars senior wasn’t responsible for leading the Planets to Petersen Events Center either time. It’s a far different story this year. Carmody’s romp through the WPIAL playoffs continued Tuesday night with 27 points and 22...
Baldwin assistant hired as Bishop Canevin’s 4th football coach in 4 years
Bishop Canevin has hired former Baldwin assistant Richard Johnson as football coach, the school announced Tuesday. He becomes the Crusaders’ fourth coach in four years. Johnson spent the past two seasons at Baldwin, where he worked as a varsity assistant and middle school head coach. He was chosen from among...
Lincoln Park earns 5th straight trip to WPIAL finals with whistle-heavy win over AliquippaVideo
Nobody wanted 56 fouls called, but nobody was too surprised, either. “Aliquippa and Lincoln Park is physical. That’s the way it is,” Lincoln Park coach Mike Bariski said. “One game three years ago, we had 62 fouls. Nobody’s backing down. It’s two tough communities, Midland and Aliquippa. Everybody comes to...
WPIAL announces sites, times for basketball semifinals
The UPMC Events Center at Robert Morris will host a WPIAL basketball playoff doubleheader Wednesday. The WPIAL will take both Class 6A boys semifinals to RMU’s new arena. Central Catholic plays Mt. Lebanon at 6:30 p.m., and Butler faces Upper St. Clair at 8 p.m. Semifinal sites and times were...
Mt. Lebanon’s Patrick Anderson among nation’s best after TSTCA Indoor Championship
Mt. Lebanon senior Patrick Anderson ran one of the fastest 3,000-meter times in the nation this season at the TSTCA Indoor Championship Saturday at Edinboro. The North Carolina recruit finished in 8 minutes, 39.15 seconds, which ranked him ninth-best nationally this winter and first in Pennsylvania, according to Milesplit.com statistics....
Strong 2nd half carries Upper St. Clair past Pine-Richland, into semifinals
Maybe it is the team’s gritty style. Maybe it is coaching adjustments, or maybe it is just the names on the roster. Whatever the reason, Upper St. Clair often is better after halftime than before, a trait that let the fourth-seeded Panthers regroup and defeat No. 5 Pine-Richland, 62-59, on...
Laurel Highlands scores with 3.5 seconds left, stuns No. 1 Penn Hills in WPIAL quarterfinalsVideo
Laurel Highlands coach Rick Hauger called for a timeout, but the crowd was still raucous from Penn Hills’ game-tying 3-pointer. “Thank goodness they didn’t hear me,” Hauger said. Laurel Highlands fought through the trap that had Hauger worried, and senior Keandre Cook banked in a game-winning runner with 3.5 seconds...
South Allegheny uses buzzer-beater to defeat Beaver Falls, reach WPIAL semifinalsVideo
Bryce Epps wasn’t having his best shooting night, but suddenly a loose ball was at his feet. With the clock ticking down, the South Allegheny freshman scooped up the offensive rebound and scored at the buzzer as No. 3 seed South Allegheny defeated No. 6 Beaver Falls, 60-58, Thursday night...
West Allegheny hires Dave Schoppe as football coach
West Allegheny looked to its past to find its future head football coach. The school board Wednesday hired Dave Schoppe, a 1988 West Allegheny graduate who’s coached 27 years as an assistant as various schools, said athletic director Dave McBain. Schoppe, 49, was a volunteer assistant at West A last...
Sheldon Cox leads New Castle to WPIAL 1st-round win against Mt. PleasantVideo
If he could’ve changed anything, Mt. Pleasant coach Allan Bilinskyh would’ve picked a gym with tighter rims. He figured that might’ve been his team’s best strategy to slow down New Castle’s shooters Wednesday night. Sheldon Cox scored 29 points and tied a school record with nine 3-pointers as the seventh-seeded...
22 WPIAL football players selected for PSFCA East-West Game
Two WPIAL quarterbacks, Seneca Valley’s Gabe Lawson and Baldwin’s Mason Stahl, were chosen to lead the West all-stars in the PSFCA East-West Game on Memorial Day weekend. They were among 22 WPIAL players selected for the annual all-star event run by the state coaches association. Rosters were announced Wednesday. The...
Senior-led Bethel Park tops North Allegheny, celebrates 1st playoff win since 2016Video
The similarities to two years ago had crossed their minds — same gym, same playoff round — but Bethel Park’s seniors made sure the similarities ended there. Ryan Meis scored 24 points and Thomas DiRienzo finished one rebound short of a double-double as No. 6 seed Bethel Park defeated No....
WPIAL approves section alignments for winter sports, basketball must wait
The WPIAL released updated sections for some winter sports, but basketball won’t be ready for awhile. The WPIAL board approved alignments for gymnastics, rifle and wrestling at Monday’s meeting. However, the WPIAL can’t finalize new basketball sections until after the PIAA decides which teams must move up under its competitive-balance...
WPIAL approves site, schedule change for cross country championships
The WPIAL cross country championships will return to Cal (Pa.) next fall with an overhaul to the race schedule. The WPIAL board approved using the university site Monday with the caveat that the event will alternate girls and boys races with medals awarded after each classification, said WPIAL associate executive...
WPIAL wrestling realignment takes geographical approach
The WPIAL board approved new wrestling sections Monday based more on geography and less on competitive balance. As a result, Class AAA will have a much different alignment next season, said Canon-McMillan athletic director Frank Vulcano, chairman of the wrestling committee. Nineteen of the 45 teams are moving to a...
North Allegheny’s Casey Burton holds No. 1 spot in state long jump rankings
North Allegheny’s Casey Burton ranks first in the state in girls long jump after winning the TSTCA indoor meet Saturday in Edinboro. Her jump of 19 feet, 4½ inches was the best in Pennsylvania this winter, according to Milesplit.com statistics, and ranks ninth-best nationally. Central Dauphin’s Gabriella Recce ranks second...
Chartiers Valley sophomore Aislin Malcolm receives Princeton offer
Chartiers Valley sophomore Aislin Malcolm, who hasn’t lost a game in two seasons, announced a college basketball offer Sunday from Princeton. The Tigers join Pitt, Duquesne, West Virginia, Western Michigan and Kent State as Division I programs recruiting the 5-foot-10 shooting guard. Malcolm is an 18-point scorer for a Chartiers...
Peters Township safety Donovan McMillon announces Penn State offerVideo
Add Penn State’s James Franklin to the growing list of college football coaches hoping to recruit Peters Township junior Donovan McMillon. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound safety announced a scholarship offer Saturday from the Nittany Lions, his seventh new offer in the past nine days. The Penn State offer came a little...
North Allegheny junior Khalil Dinkins adds Penn State offerVideo
The college options for North Allegheny’s Khalil Dinkins jumped significantly this month with scholarship offers from Penn State and Michigan. Overall, he’s added five offers since Feb. 1 with the most recent Saturday from the Nittany Lions. He also added Boston College, Virginia Tech and Tulane in the past two...
Dwindling number of high school officials part of troubling nationwide trend
As a high school basketball official in his early 20s, Joe Strednak wasn’t much older than the athletes on the court. Occasionally, someone would test his poise as the youngest ref on his crew. To him, that came with the job. The 25-year-old from North Braddock is now finishing his...
