Chris Harlan stories, Page 23
Seneca Valley’s Lexie Hames, Neshannock’s Addy Frye top 2024 all-state softball teams
Two WPIAL softball players, Seneca Valley’s Lexie Hames and Neshannock’s Addy Frye, were named Pennsylvania’s top pitcher and player when all-state teams were announced Friday. Hames was voted the state’s overall player of the year and Frye was pitcher of the year as chosen by the Pennsylvania High School Softball...
Armstrong’s Emma Paul named 2023-24 TribLive HSSN Girls Athlete of the YearVideo
Emma Paul discusses her gold-medal year with TribLive HSSN’s Don Rebel on the Rebel Yell podcast. • • • • • About nine days was how long Emma Paul had to transition seasons from basketball to softball, but the Armstrong senior was largely responsible for that quick turnaround. She had...
Butler’s Drew Griffith named 2023-24 TribLive HSSN Boys Athlete of the YearVideo
Drew Griffith discusses his record-setting year with TribLive HSSN’s Don Rebel on the Rebel Yell podcast. • • • • • Butler senior Drew Griffith broke a national record on a track in Boston and smashed another record at the state championships in Shippensburg. Yet, neither is necessarily his favorite...
PIAA asking Commonwealth Court for emergency stay to force Aliquippa football to Class 5A
With football season only weeks away, the PIAA has asked the Commonwealth Court for an expedited hearing that could force Aliquippa into a higher classification. The PIAA wants to promote the Quips from Class 4A to 5A under its competitive-balance rule, but that move was blocked in May by a...
2024 Pa. State Baseball Coaches Association all-state team includes 44 players from WPIAL, City League
More than 40 WPIAL and City League baseball players earned all-state recognition Monday as chosen by the Pennsylvania State Baseball Coaches Association. Twenty-two of those players earned first-team honors, including three from recent WPIAL champions: Bishop Canevin’s Tyler Maddix (Class A), North Catholic’s Blake Primrose (4A) and Seton LaSalle’s Gio...
Top stories of the 2023-24 school year in WPIAL sports
Here’s a look back at the biggest high school sports stories of the 2023-24 school year. Oct. 11, 2023 Moon’s Bill Pfeiffer, in his 28th season, became the first girls soccer coach in the WPIAL to win 500 career games. Pfeiffer and the Tigers later celebrated winning a third straight...
WPIAL will tweak girls basketball sections to move Greensburg Central Catholic to 3A
The WPIAL must amend its girls basketball section alignment for next season to move Greensburg Central Catholic from Class 2A to 3A. The reigning WPIAL champs were promoted to the higher classification by the PIAA competitive-balance rule. However, that move wasn’t known by the WPIAL administration and basketball committee while...
Newly hired boys basketball coach Brandon Sensor sees Shaler as ‘right opportunity’
When Brandon Sensor resigned at Chartiers Valley four months ago, the boys basketball coach insisted that wouldn’t be the end of his coaching journey. His tenure there ended undesirably, but that didn’t mean he’d take just any job. “I wanted the right opportunity,” said Sensor, who believes he has found...
Shaler poised to hire boys basketball coach Brandon Sensor
Former Chartiers Valley boys basketball coach Brandon Sensor is close to returning to the WPIAL. Sensor is the recommended candidate to be hired at Shaler, according to the agenda for Wednesday’s school board meeting. He would replace Rob Niederberger, who resigned in April after nine seasons. Shaler is coming off...
WPIAL reveals updated section alignments for winter sports including basketball, wrestling
The big-school classification in WPIAL boys basketball is getting a little bigger this winter, but not big enough for more than two sections. The addition of Fox Chapel, North Hills, Connellsville, Woodland Hills and Imani Christian gave the WPIAL 16 boys teams in Class 6A, which the basketball committee chose...
PIAA to appeal Beaver County judge’s decision that kept Aliquippa in 4A football
The PIAA is taking its legal battle with Aliquippa to Commonwealth Court, hoping to undo a Beaver County judge’s ruling that says the Quips can play football in Class 4A next season. Common Pleas Judge James Ross on Monday denied a request from the PIAA to put his May 23...
Avonworth says disputed call in PIAA finals shifted momentum in 12-0 loss to Neumann-Goretti
STATE COLLEGE — Every bit of momentum was on Neumann-Goretti’s side when Andrew Dankanich bounced a game-ending grand slam off the left-field foul pole, handing Avonworth a 12-0 loss in five innings. What shifted that momentum in the PIAA Class 3A final is maybe up for debate. Avonworth coach Jeff...
Eden Christian falls to undefeated Faith Christian in PIAA Class A final
STATE COLLEGE — One imperfect inning dashed Eden Christian’s thoughts of playing the spoiler. Instead, Faith Christian scored four runs in the fifth inning and completed a perfect season with a 4-1 victory over Eden Christian in the PIAA Class A final Friday at Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano...
Indiana’s 1st appearance in PIAA baseball finals ends with walk-off loss to Holy Ghost Prep
STATE COLLEGE — Indiana reached the state finals for the first time, but like the WPIAL championship two weeks earlier, the Little Indians again watched someone else celebrate. Holy Ghost Prep’s Mathew Riendeau lined a seventh-inning double into left field for a walk-off win over Indiana, 6-5, in the PIAA...
PIAA Class A baseball championship preview: Eden Christian vs. Faith Christian
The PIAA baseball championships return Thursday and Friday to Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, where the games have been held since 2011. The WPIAL is sending three teams to Happy Valley this season, including Eden Christian in the Class A final. The Warriors are trying to become the...
PIAA Class 3A baseball championship preview: Avonworth vs. Neumann-Goretti
The PIAA baseball championships return Thursday and Friday to Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, where the games have been held since 2011. The WPIAL is sending three teams to Happy Valley this season, including Avonworth in the Class 3A final. The Antelopes are trying to help the WPIAL...
PIAA Class 4A baseball championship preview: Indiana vs. Holy Ghost Prep
The PIAA baseball finals return Thursday and Friday to Penn State, the state championship host since 2011. The WPIAL is sending three teams to Happy Valley this season starting with Indiana in the Class 4A final. The Indians are trying to become the third WPIAL team in four years to...
WPIAL basketball standout Meleek Thomas leaving Lincoln Park for Overtime Elite pro league
WPIAL basketball standout Meleek Thomas is leaving Lincoln Park to join Overtime Elite, a professional league and academy for 16- to 20-year-olds based in Atlanta. Thomas, a rising senior, is considered a top 10 college recruit in the 2025 class. The 6-foot-4 guard won consecutive WPIAL and PIAA titles at...
Avonworth reaches 1st PIAA championship game after fast start in state semifinal
HOMER CITY — Extra-inning wins had become Avonworth’s specialty in these playoffs, but the Antelopes weren’t waiting around this time. Leadoff batter Brandon Sapolsky drove the game’s first pitch to the fence for a double, keying a three-run inning as Avonworth took an early lead in a 5-3 win over...
Acclaimed senior class accomplished plenty for North Allegheny baseball
The worst day for any high school baseball coach is cut day, says North Allegheny’s Andrew Heck. That’s when the roster gets whittled down before the season opener. But in his mind, there is also a close second. That’s whenever the season ends short of the state finals. For North...
Former WPIAL, Wild Things player James Meeker gets MLB call-up from Brewers
Former WPIAL baseball player James Meeker, a North Allegheny graduate who got his professional start with the Washington Wild Things, was called up to the major leagues Friday for the first time. The Milwaukee Brewers promoted the right-handed pitcher from Triple-A Nashville, where he was 1-0 this season with a...
PIAA announces semifinal sites, times for 2024 state softball playoffs
Neshannock and Laurel won’t travel far for the next round of the PIAA softball playoffs and neither will Chartiers-Houston or Carmichaels. Those four teams will square off in two all-WPIAL matchups in the state semifinals Monday. Neshannock and Laurel meet at Mohawk while Chartiers-Houston and Carmichaels play at Peterswood Park...
PIAA releases semifinal sites, times for 2024 state baseball playoffs
WPIAL baseball teams Avonworth, Eden Christian and Indiana learned the site and time of their state semifinal games when the PIAA released the schedule Friday. The semifinals are Monday. Avonworth’s bus is headed to Homer City, Eden Christian travels to Slippery Rock and Indiana will ride to Bellefonte. The semifinal...
Seneca Valley’s Lexie Hames named Gatorade Pa. Softball Player of the Year
Seneca Valley pitcher Lexie Hames was named Gatorade Pennsylvania Softball Player of the Year on Friday, making her the first WPIAL athlete to win the award in six years. The junior is a two-way standout for the Raiders, who won the WPIAL Class 6A title for the second time in...
Unlikely hero pitches unsinkable Avonworth to another extra-innings win
Carson Franc kept working on his pitches and believing his time on the mound could come, despite having thrown very few innings all season. The Avonworth sophomore turned out to be right, he was ready and his Antelopes are headed to the state semifinals after grinding out another extra-innings win....
