Chris Harlan stories, Page 30
WPIAL releases brackets for 2024 boys and girls basketball playoffs
When the WPIAL basketball committee met Monday morning to seed the playoff brackets, there was little debate about the No. 1 seeds. Most were obvious choices. In some brackets, two, three and four were tricky to sort out. But maybe the hardest part of putting together this year’s brackets were...
WPIAL bracketology: Chris Harlan, Don Rebel forecast the 2024 boys basketball playoff pairings
The 2024 WPIAL boys basketball playoff field is set with 87 teams in the six classifications. Class 6A goes straight into the quarterfinal round while the five other classifications start with first-round games. Class 4A, 3A and 2A have full 16-team brackets with no byes. Class 5A has 17 teams,...
TribLive HSSN WPIAL girls basketball rankings: Week ending Feb. 11, 2024
WPIAL girls basketball rankings Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Norwin, 18-3, 2 2. Peters Township, 20-1, 1 3. North Allegheny, 19-2, 3 4. Mt. Lebanon, 11-10, NR 5. Chartiers Valley, 14-6, 5 Out: Upper St. Clair (12-10, 4) Class 5A 1. Oakland Catholic, 21-0, 1 2. McKeesport, 18-3,...
TribLive HSSN WPIAL boys basketball rankings: Week ending Feb. 11, 2024
WPIAL boys basketball rankings Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Mt. Lebanon, 18-3, 1 2. Central Catholic, 13-8, 4 3. Upper St. Clair, 15-5, 3 4. Baldwin, 16-5, 2 5. North Allegheny, 10-11, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Moon, 18-3, 1 2. Franklin Regional, 19-2, 2 3. Shaler,...
‘The real deal’: North Allegheny set to host 1st WPIAL girls wrestling championships
North Allegheny will play host to a Western Pennsylvania girls wrestling championship once again, but this time the medals will says “WPIAL.” That’s no small detail, said North Allegheny coach Dan Heckert, adding that there’s increasing excitement since this is the first winter for girls wrestling as a sanctioned high...
Central Catholic grabs section title away from North Allegheny with last-second 3-point play
Central Catholic had trailed for almost the entire game, but a layup and foul shot by sophomore Enzo Khalil with seven-tenths of a second left Friday night lifted the Vikings to a dramatic 58-57 victory over North Allegheny to win the section title. The teams entered the section finale tied...
Central Catholic wide receiver Peter Gonzalez receives NFL Latino Youth Honors award
This is awards season for the NFL, and one went to a high school senior from the WPIAL. Central Catholic’s Peter Gonzalez received an inaugural honor that recognized his football talents and his Hispanic heritage. The Penn State-bound wide receiver emerged from a field of 56 nominees to win NFL...
Imani Christian 4-star junior Dayshaun Burnett makes verbal commitment to Penn StateVideo
Dayshaun Burnett received his first college offer from Penn State almost two years ago, but the Imani Christian junior had a Nittany Lions connection that went back way further. As a youngster, he lived in Churchill near current Penn State assistant coach Terry Smith, and that relationship played a role...
Central Catholic wins black-and-blue battle with Butler
There were two separate stoppages to clean blood off the court at Central Catholic’s Alumni Hall on Tuesday night, showing just how rough a section game between Central and Butler can get. Central Catholic’s Bradley Gompers left for a short while with a bloodied nose, and Butler leading scorer Braylon...
WPIAL to release new football conferences, updated sections for other fall sports
The wait is almost over for WPIAL football teams eager to take a look at the new conferences for the 2024 and ’25 seasons. The WPIAL will release realigned football conferences and updated sections for other fall sports after the board approves them Feb. 19, said WPIAL chief operating officer...
WPIAL boys basketball rankings: Week ending February 4, 2024
WPIAL boys basketball rankings Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Mt. Lebanon, 16-3, 2 2. Baldwin, 15-4, 3 3. Upper St. Clair, 13-5, 1 4. Central Catholic, 11-8, 4 5. North Allegheny, 9-10, NR Out: Butler (14-4, 5) Class 5A 1. Moon, 16-3, 1 2. Franklin Regional, 17-2, 3...
Trib HSSN girls basketball rankings for Feb. 3, 2024
WPIAL girls basketball rankings Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Peters Township, 19-0, 1 2. Norwin, 16-3, 2 3. North Allegheny, 17-2, 3 4. Upper St. Clair, 11-9, NR 5. Chartiers Valley, 14-4, 4 Out: Seneca Valley (12-7, 5) Class 5A 1. Oakland Catholic, 20-0, 1 2. McKeesport, 16-2,...
‘Excellence has to be earned’: North Allegheny swimmers aim to maintain streak of WPIAL championships
The North Allegheny swimming team owns a WPIAL championship streak that’s older than some kids on the roster. The girls have won 15 consecutive WPIAL team titles, a streak that they started in 2009. With seniors Natalie Sens and Greta Mott among the WPIAL’s fastest swimmers again this winter, and...
Mt. Lebanon stakes claim in 6A with win over rival Upper St. Clair
Packed together tightly in a sold-out gym, the Mt. Lebanon student section chanted, “We run 6A,” in the final minutes of Friday’s win over rival Upper St. Clair. Senior guard Nate Girod wasn’t ready to make that bold of a statement quite yet, but in a classification looking for a...
Exquisite timing helps Shaler avenge loss to Woodland Hills
“Exquisite” was the fancy word Brandon London’s teammates urged him to work into his postgame interview. He’d already scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Tuesday night, but the Shaler senior decided to deliver once more for his guys. London used the eloquent adjective to describe the rare 3-pointer he...
Bishop Canevin fires 1st-place boys basketball coach in middle of his 1st season
The Bishop Canevin boys basketball team is close to clinching a section title, but the Crusaders will finish their season with a different coaching staff. First-year coach Damien Cornish said he and his assistants were let go Monday after meeting with school administrators who told him “the player and parent...
Aliquippa grad, current 5A coach understands Quips’ concerns with bump up in class
Can Aliquippa compete in Class 5A football? Yes, says Pine-Richland coach Jon LeDonne, but he also considers the Quips’ concerns about player health to be valid. LeDonne won two state titles as a Class 5A coach and years ago won a WPIAL title as a player for Aliquippa. That football...
WPIAL girls basketball rankings: Week ending Jan. 28, 2024
WPIAL girls basketball rankings Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Peters Township, 18-0, 1 2. Norwin, 14-3, 2 3. North Allegheny, 14-2, 3 4. Chartiers Valley, 13-3, 4 5. Seneca Valley, 12-5, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Oakland Catholic, 18-0, 1 2. Lincoln Park, 17-0, 2 3. McKeesport,...
WPIAL boys basketball rankings: Week ending Jan. 28, 2024
WPIAL boys basketball rankings Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Upper St. Clair, 12-4, 1 2. Mt. Lebanon, 14-3, 2 3. Baldwin, 13-4, 5 4. Central Catholic, 10-6, 3 5. Butler, 14-3, 4 Out: none Class 5A 1. Moon, 13-3, 1 2. Gateway, 12-3, 2 3. Franklin Regional, 14-2,...
Lincoln Park’s ‘big two’ share the wealth in win over North Catholic
The motto on Lincoln Park’s shirts says “one more,” which coach Mike Bariski translates into “one more pass.” That might seem like wishful thinking, since the Leopards have a couple of elite players who can dominate one on one and score without any passes at all. But that’s not so,...
PIAA officials acknowledge competitive balance formula has ‘room for conversation’ in future
A football team that reaches the state finals or semifinals two years in a row “is the cream of the crop in that class,” said PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi, explaining why health and safety concerns are excluded as grounds for appeal under the competitive-balance rule. “It’s tough to make...
6 WPIAL quarterbacks selected as finalists for Willie Thrower Award
WPIAL champions Nolan DiLucia of Peters Township, Logan Kushner of North Allegheny and Matt Seig of Fort Cherry were three of the six quarterbacks named Thursday as finalists for the Willie Thrower Award. The award is given annually to the top quarterback in the WPIAL or City League. The others...
PIAA rejects Farrell’s request to join WPIAL
A week after the WPIAL rejected Farrell’s attempt to join the district, the PIAA also denied the Mercer County school’s request to transfer to the WPIAL. Citing racial issues with schools in District 10, Farrell administrators wanted to rejoin the WPIAL, a district the school used to call home. But...
Aliquippa forced to move to Class 5A football after PIAA rejects appeal
MECHANICSBURG — If the PIAA believes five transfers gave the Aliquippa football team a competitive advantage, Quips coach Mike Warfield wants to know how. The school blitzed the PIAA with statistics about the five players’ limited contributions, the transient nature of the Aliquippa community and even the mismatch in roster...
New coach Marty Spieler brings unique resume, complete with a Kelce tie, to South Fayette
The coaching career of Marty Spieler once crossed paths with the Kelce brothers, but, no, Taylor Swift probably won’t show up at South Fayette games this fall. But that experience early in his career shows how Spieler, who was hired Tuesday at South Fayette as a first-time head coach, brings...
