Chris Harlan stories, Page 27
Corey Dotchin steps down as Highlands boys basketball coach
With his first child on the way, Corey Dotchin decided that a daily commute to Natrona Heights wouldn’t work anymore for him and his growing family. So the Highlands boys basketball coach has resigned after 12 years with the program, including the past three as head coach. He announced Monday...
WPIAL softball rankings: Week ending April 14, 2024
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Seneca Valley, 8-0, 2 2. Hempfield, 4-1, 1 3. North Allegheny, 2-1, 5 4. Pine-Richland, 3-4, 3 5. Canon-McMillan, 3-1, NR Out: Norwin (3-4, 4) Class 5A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Shaler, 6-0, 1 2. West Allegheny, 7-1, 2 3. Penn-Trafford, 5-2,...
WPIAL baseball rankings: Week ending April 14, 2024
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 5-0, 1 2. Hempfield, 9-0, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 6-3, 3 4. Seneca Valley, 5-1, 4 5. Pine-Richland, 7-2, 5 Out: none Class 5A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Shaler, 8-1, 1 2. West Allegheny, 5-1, 2 3. Fox Chapel, 6-2,...
Versatility, commitment let Izzy Costa shine in multiple events for North Allegheny track
North Allegheny’s Izzy Costa had an upset stomach but was still was warming up for the long jump after running the 100 and 400 meters in a dual meet at Butler. It was just then that the PA announcer called all 200-meter runners to the track. Costa had considered sitting...
PIAA taking bids to host basketball championships
Giant Center in Hershey has hosted the state high school basketball finals for more than a decade, but could or should the PIAA championships go elsewhere? As it does every four years, the PIAA is accepting bids from basketball arenas around the state interested in hosting the championship games in...
Basketball coach Rob Niederberger, who lifted Shaler from last place to WPIAL contender, resigns
When Shaler hired Rob Niederberger as boys basketball coach nine years ago, he took over a team mired in last place. He resigned Thursday knowing the next coach will inherit a program that’s in a much better position. The Titans are coming off a 25-win season and a sixth straight...
Robert Morris hires Oakland Catholic’s Eddie Benton as assistant women’s basketball coach
Oakland Catholic girls basketball coach Eddie Benton, who led the Eagles to consecutive section titles, is leaving for a job at Robert Morris. The university announced Tuesday that Benton was joining the Colonials women’s basketball team as an assistant under recently hired head coach Chander McCabe. Benton, a veteran college...
TribHSSN softball rankings for April 6, 2024
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Hempfield, 3-0, 1 2. Seneca Valley, 6-0, 2 3. Pine-Richland, 2-3, 3 4. Norwin, 2-3, 4 5. North Allegheny, 0-1, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Shaler, 4-0, 1 2. West Allegheny, 6-1, 3 3. Trinity, 4-1, 4 4. South Fayette, 3-0, 5...
PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi on public vs. private debate: ‘We have a ‘school’ problem’
While watching private and charter schools again flourish in the state basketball finals, the PIAA’s top administrator said there is a problem, but it’s not what public school advocates might think. “We have a ‘school’ problem,” said PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi, insisting that while some individual schools are likely...
WPIAL baseball rankings: Week ending April 7, 2024
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 3-0, 1 2. Hempfield, 7-0, 4 3. Mt. Lebanon, 5-2, 3 4. Seneca Valley, 5-1, 2 5. Pine-Richland, 4-1, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Shaler, 4-1, 1 2. West Allegheny, 3-1, 2 3. Bethel Park, 3-2, 3 4. North Hills,...
North Allegheny’s depth on display in quest to regain WPIAL boys volleyball title
Opponents may have a dozen or so players in uniform for varsity matches, but North Allegheny boys volleyball coach Dan Long plans to use twice that many. In fact, he counted 26 different players he used in a season-opening tournament the Tigers hosted March 23. It’s not that Long was...
Here’s a new one for WPIAL athletic directors: Game called on account of solar eclipse
Athletic directors are not surprised when rain or snow wreaks havoc on spring sports schedules. But there’s another act of nature — one far more infrequent — that has WPIAL schools rescheduling games slated for Monday. It’s the solar eclipse. The much-anticipated astronomical event will arrive in Western Pennsylvania between...
2024 TribLive HSSN Girls Basketball All-Stars
Terrific 10 London Creach Oakland Catholic 5-8, junior, G Oakland Catholic was a perfect 24-0 with Creach in the lineup. A late-season injury in the WPIAL quarterfinals dimmed the Eagles’ championship hopes, showing just how valuable she was for the Eagles. She averaged 13.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.3 assist and...
2024 TribLive HSSN Boys Basketball All-Stars
Terrific 10 Nate Brazil Imani Christian 6-0, senior, G PIAA transfer rules forced Brazil to sit out the postseason a year ago, but this time, he played a leading role in Imani Christian winning back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA Class A titles. Brazil averaged a team-best 19.8 points for the Saints,...
North Catholic’s Alayna Rocco named 2024 TribLive HSSN Girls Basketball Player of the Year
There was a time when a basketball gym was the last place Alayna Rocco wanted to be. As a coach’s daughter, she went anyway. “When I was younger, my dad would drag me all the time to go to my brother’s practices,” Rocco said. “I’d be like, ‘Do I really...
Lincoln Park’s Brandin Cummings, Meleek Thomas named 2024 TribLive HSSN Boys Basketball Players of the Year
Brandin Cummings and Meleek Thomas form a dynamic duo for Lincoln Park’s boys basketball team, but they aren’t quite Batman and Robin. “We’re both Batman,” Cummings said. “I don’t think there’s one over the other. We both do a lot of things really well.” That skill set includes winning championships....
WPIAL softball rankings: Week ending March 31, 2024
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Hempfield, 3-0, 1 2. Seneca Valley, 5-0, 2 3. Pine-Richland, 2-3, 4 4. Norwin, 2-2, 3 5. North Allegheny, 0-1, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Shaler, 3-0, 1 2. Armstrong, 2-0, 2 3. West Allegheny, 6-1, 3 4. Trinity, 4-1, 4 5....
TribLive H.S. baseball rankings for March 30, 2024
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 3-0, 1 2. Mt. Lebanon, 3-0, 3 3. Seneca Valley, 2-1, 2 4. Hempfield, 4-0, 4 5. Pine-Richland, 4-1, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Shaler, 2-0, 1 2. West Allegheny, 2-0, 2 3. Bethel Park, 1-2, 3 4. North Hills,...
Behind ‘softball sisters,’ North Allegheny hopes to return to WPIAL finals
North Allegheny has a roster full of “softball sisters,” even though most of the girls aren’t actually related. It’s an informal mentorship program coach Morgan Vescovi adopted a year ago, pairing an upperclassman with a younger teammate from the varsity or junior varsity. The players are able to bond while...
Aliquippa sues PIAA to prevent football team’s promotion to Class 5A
The school with the most wins in WPIAL football history is hoping its next big victory comes in a courtroom. Aliquippa has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the PIAA from moving its football team to a higher classification where opponents would have much larger enrollments. The lawsuit, which is...
Blackhawk finds redemption in Hershey, wins PIAA girls basketball title with 1st-year coach
HERSHEY — Greg Huston wasn’t on the bench last March when Blackhawk lost in the state finals, but he understood the team’s heartache as well as anybody. He was here a dad watching his daughter from the Giant Center seats. “I felt the pain in the stands,” he said, “because...
After winning state football title last fall, Aliquippa adds PIAA boys basketball championship
HERSHEY – Aliquippa finished off a rare PIAA double-double Friday by winning state football and basketball titles in the same school year. But on a roster full of two-sport athletes, this latest celebration was thanks in large part to a sophomore who has focused on only one. Josh Pratt scored...
PIAA Class 4A girls basketball championship preview: Blackhawk vs. Scranton Prep
PIAA Class 4A girls basketball championship Blackhawk vs. Scranton Prep Noon Saturday at Giant Center, Hershey PIAA titles: Blackhawk 4 (1999, 2000, ’14, ’15), Scranton Prep 0 Blackhawk (26-3) Coach: Greg Huston Probable starting lineup No., Player, Ht., Yr., Pos. 5, Andrea Kinger, 5-6, jr., G 11, Alena Fusetti, 5-10,...
Behind Brandin Cummings’ ‘storybook ending,’ Lincoln Park repeats as PIAA Class 4A champ
HERSHEY — Brandin Cummings patiently held for the last shot of the first half, but the Lincoln Park senior didn’t wait around to see if his 3-pointer was good. He’d already turned his back on the shot and was headed toward the Giant Center locker room. It went in, of...
PIAA Class 2A boys basketball championship preview: Aliquippa vs. Holy Cross
PIAA Class 2A boys basketball championship Aliquippa vs. Holy Cross 2 p.m. Friday at Giant Center, Hershey PIAA titles: Aliquippa 5 (1949, ’98, ’94, ’97, 2016), Holy Cross 0 Aliquippa (25-5) Coach: Nick Lackovich Probable starting lineup No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos. 0, Qalil Goode, 6-1, so., G 1, Brandon...
