Chris Harlan stories, Page 39
Blackhawk preparing to change football coaches days before camp starts
Add one more name to the list of schools with new head football coaches. Zack Hayward is expected to be hired Tuesday night as athletic director at Chartiers Valley, bringing an end to his five-year tenure as football coach at Blackhawk. The WPIAL and City League already counted 25 coaching...
2023 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Westinghouse’s Kyshawn Robinson
Westinghouse reached the state finals last fall with a senior-heavy lineup, so the Bulldogs are destined for a down year, right? Not so fast. “That’s what a lot of people think, but we have a lot of underclassmen,” said sophomore Kyshawn Robinson, who started at cornerback as a freshman. “We...
2023 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: North Catholic’s Brady O’Hara
Being tall isn’t a new experience for North Catholic’s Brady O’Hara. “In my kindergarten class, I remember there was everyone else and then there was me, two heads taller than everyone,” said O’Hara, now a 6-foot-6 junior who plays tight end and defensive end for the Trojans. His size has...
‘No one has a better answer:’ PIAA relying on principals to identify transgender athletes
High school principals in Pennsylvania are asked to identify transgender athletes as male or female under PIAA rules, while other states empower a health care provider or use a student’s birth certificate to make that decision. There is no national consensus when it comes to determining a high school athlete’s...
2023 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: West Mifflin’s Rico Steele
Rico Steele earned all-conference honors a year ago as a big-bodied brawler, but the West Mifflin lineman spent the offseason reinventing himself. He’s still big (6-foot-4, 305 pounds) and willing to brawl, but the rising senior sees himself as a different player nowadays, one who’s a little more nimble. He...
Recruiting by H.S. coaches under microscope after Shady Side basketball coach’s suspension
A one-year suspension is the punishment for any PIAA coach caught recruiting, but is that rule taken seriously in every case and in all corners of the state? Cardinal O’Hara, a member of the Philadelphia Catholic League, recently hired a new boys basketball coach, and some of his candid comments...
WPIAL suspends Shady Side Academy girls basketball coach Jonna Burke for recruiting violation
When the parents of a basketball player from another school followed her on Twitter, Shady Side Academy coach Jonna Burke checked their profiles and sent them a direct message. “I am really impressed with (your daughter),” Burke wrote. “I’ve seen the highlights she posted and love her athleticism! If you...
2023 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Mt. Lebanon’s Connor Young
Watching game film of last season was Mike Collodi’s way to learn quickly about the Blue Devils roster he inherited after Mt. Lebanon hired him as football coach. No. 55 caught his eye. At 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds, lineman Connor Young certainly looks the part of a future Division I...
1-and-1 free throws eliminated in basketball rule changes approved by PIAA
The one-and-one free throw has effectively fouled out of Pennsylvania high school basketball. The PIAA board on Wednesday approved an updated rulebook that changes the way fouls are counted and the number of bonus shots a player receives. Starting next season, players who traditionally would receive a one-and-one bonus will...
PIAA expands competitive-balance rule to include baseball, softball, soccer and other sports
The PIAA competitive-balance rule that now targets only football and basketball is expanding to include more team sports and some individual ones. Under the rule, teams that have postseason success and add too many transfers are forced into a higher classification to compete against opponents with larger enrollments. The PIAA...
2023 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Bishop Canevin’s Jason Cross
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of 25 profiles of the members of the Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team. Jason Cross arrived at Bishop Canevin as an undersized freshman and then missed much of his ninth-grade football season with a broken collarbone from a trampoline mishap....
Oakland A’s select Brownsville outfielder Derrick Tarpley in MLB Draft
Brownsville maybe isn’t a familiar stop for some MLB scouts, but the Oakland A’s visited multiple times this spring to see senior outfielder Derrick Tarpley. Other clubs checked on him too, but the A’s sent multiple layers of scouts his way. “They would call me and tell me they were...
USA Today names 3 WPIAL greats among best high school quarterbacks in history
Who was the best high school quarterback in history? It’s a debate that’ll never be resolved, but three all-time great WPIAL passers made the list when USA Today tried recently to answer that question. In fact, one of them, Beaver Falls legend Joe Namath, was named the all-time best high...
North Allegheny’s Kellie McConnell follows familiar path, commits to Duquesne basketball
Kellie McConnell’s family is already linked with Duquesne basketball’s past and present, so she decided to help shape the program’s future as well. The rising senior point guard at North Allegheny has committed to the Dukes, which is somewhat of a family tradition. Her mother Sherri (Hannan) McConnell played basketball...
2023 Pennsylvania All-State Softball Team
Avonworth’s Alivia Lantzy, Seneca Valley’s Lexie Hames and Serra Catholic’s Caroline Malandra earned individual honors Thursday when the all-state softball team was announced. Lantzy was named Pitcher of the Year in PIAA Class 3A, and Hames earned top pitcher honors in 6A. Malandra, a third baseman, was named Player of...
Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher named 2022-23 TribLive HSSN Boys Athlete of the YearVideo
Rodney Gallagher was so good at both basketball and football that the Laurel Highlands star considered for a while trying to play both in college. However, his mindset changed a couple of years ago, and he remembers exactly when. While riding home from watching a Steelers game at Heinz Field,...
Freedom’s Shaye Bailey named 2022-23 TribLive HSSN Girls Athlete of the Year
In an era where specialization is trendy in high school sports, Freedom’s Shaye Bailey doesn’t like that idea. “I’ve always played more than one sport,” said Bailey, who’ll be a senior in the fall. “I did gymnastics and softball, and I switched to basketball when I quit gymnastics. Then I...
2023 Trib HSSN Baseball Player of the Year: Shaler’s Miguel Hugas
The Strath Haven students behind the third base dugout decided to taunt Miguel Hugas with chants of “overrated.” The Shaler senior responded with two blasts over the fence at Penn State’s ballpark, home runs that helped the Titans ultimately win the PIAA Class 5A championship game in extra innings. On...
Looking back: The WPIAL’s top storylines from 2022-23
Nov. 11, 2022 Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak became the fourth coach in WPIAL history with 300 career wins, joining an exclusive list with Jim Render (406 wins), Joe Hamilton (342) and George Novak (306). Cherpak has coached the Jaguars for 28 seasons. Nov. 19, 2022 Two remarkable state title...
Bishop Canevin safety Jason Cross, whose recruiting stock soared, commits to West Virginia
As one of the WPIAL’s hottest football recruits, Jason Cross spent months touring far-flung college campuses, with visits to Virginia Tech, Michigan State, Kentucky, Syracuse and Cincinnati on his calendar. Yet the rising senior at Bishop Canevin says a trip to Morgantown, W.Va., bested them all. “West Virginia definitely takes...
2023 TribLive HSSN Softball All-Stars
Neshannock’s Addyson Frye and Union’s Mia Preuhs were only sophomores this spring, yet the standout pitchers are already two-time WPIAL champions each. They’re proof that you don’t need to be a senior to make a big impact. In fact, this year’s TribLive HSSN Terrific 10 has more sophomores (four) than...
2023 TribLive HSSN Baseball All-Stars
This was a historic spring for WPIAL baseball teams, starting with Riverside’s undefeated run to a state championship, something no other WPIAL team had ever accomplished. But the Panthers weren’t the only ones celebrating a milestone win. Among the others, Mt. Lebanon won consecutive WPIAL titles for the first time...
KDKA announces 10-game high school football schedule for Pittsburgh’s CW
KDKA will televise regular season high school football games this fall on sister station Pittsburgh’s CW starting with an Aug. 25 contest between Blackhawk and Beaver Falls. The station announced a 10-game schedule Monday that also included North Hills at Upper St. Clair on Sept. 1, South Fayette at Montour...
North Allegheny added more plaques, medals to trophy case during 2022-23 school year
This was another banner year for North Allegheny athletics with teams winning WPIAL titles, PIAA championships, and even a Gatorade Player of the Year award for the school’s top girls volleyball player. Here’s a look back at the top North Allegheny sports stories from the 2022-23 school year: Volleyball dynasty...
Central Catholic wide receiver Peter Gonzalez commits to Penn State
Central Catholic wide receiver Peter Gonzalez, one of the state’s top college recruits, committed Friday to Penn State. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound rising senior had narrowed his college options to Penn State, Miami (Fla.) and Virginia Tech. Recruiting website Rivals.com rated Gonzalez as a three-star prospect and ranked him 29th overall...
