Chris Harlan stories, Page 40
Mt. Lebanon’s 7th-inning rally falls short in state finals loss to Father Judge
UNIVERSITY PARK – The Mt. Lebanon baseball players left the state championship game with silver medals, but the Blue Devils’ coach insisted he’d always remembered this team as golden. When they started the year with eight consecutive losses, nobody could’ve predicted then they’d reach the state finals. Yet their dream...
Keystone Oaks defensive back Clinton Robinson commits to Syracuse
Keystone Oaks defensive back Clinton Robinson, who’ll be a senior in the fall, has committed to Syracuse. He announced his decision on Twitter. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound safety chose the Orange over offers from West Virginia, Bowling Green, Howard, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Monmouth, Ohio, Temple and Western Michigan. The recruiting...
Shaler erases 5-run deficit, celebrates PIAA title with walk-off win
UNIVERSITY PARK — Starting pitcher Derek Leas lasted only nine batters before his coach pulled him from the mound, but this state championship will be remembered for its improbable comebacks. In fact, this one was so unpredictable that Leas was the game’s starter, closer and winning pitcher. And that wasn’t...
Riverside makes history as undefeated PIAA baseball champion
UNIVERSITY PARK — In his 55 years as baseball coach at Riverside, Dan Oliastro has seen quite a bit, but he’d never seen this. Nobody else in the WPIAL had either. Riverside finished off an undefeated season with a state championship win over Camp Hill, 4-0, Thursday in the PIAA...
WPIAL awards streaming rights to NFHS Network; future of free viewing of championships in doubt
High school sports fans likely will have to pay to watch WPIAL football and basketball championships after the league awarded video streaming rights for its playoffs to the NFHS Network. The WPIAL informed Trib Total Media of the decision Wednesday. The network is associated with the National Federation of State...
Mt. Lebanon celebrates Senior Week with win over Cedar Cliff, trip to state finals
Many of Tanner Donati’s classmates traveled to Ocean City, Md., to celebrate their recent high school graduation with a week of sand and sun. He traded that vacation for a trip to Penn State. “It’s been a little tough seeing your friends at the beach,” Donati said. “But if you...
PIAA postpones Mt. Lebanon, Shaler baseball state semifinals to Tuesday
WPIAL champions Mt. Lebanon and Shaler were among the baseball teams who had their PIAA semifinals postponed due to rainy weather Monday. Mt. Lebanon made the two-hour trip to Mt. Aloysius College in Cresson, but because the first game of a scheduled doubleheader was delayed by rain and because the...
North Allegheny’s Ray Brinzer takes place among other WPIAL all-time greats
Thinking back to his 109-match winning streak in high school, former North Allegheny wrestler Ray Brinzer admits he was a little surprised. Not surprised that he was winning, but surprised people were keeping track of his wins and losses on the mat. “I was partway through my freshman year before...
Shaler ace Miguel Hugas comes through in PIAA quarterfinal win over Penn-Trafford
The original plan for Shaler ace Miguel Hugas wasn’t to pitch him in the state quarterfinals, but Penn-Trafford ran into the talented Alabama recruit here anyway. Three days after leaving early in the first round, Hugas made another start and scattered six hits as Shaler defeated Penn-Trafford, 4-1, on Thursday...
Wisconsin lands another WPIAL recruit as Pine-Richland lineman Ryan Cory commits
Six hundred miles separate the University of Wisconsin from Western Pennsylvania, but the Badgers’ football coaches keep attracting WPIAL recruits to Madison. The latest was Pine-Richland’s Ryan Cory, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound offensive lineman who’ll be a senior in the fall. Cory on Tuesday announced his Wisconsin commitment on Twitter. He’ll...
Mt. Lebanon capitalizes on 4-error inning by Manheim Township in PIAA playoff win
Eight miles was how far Mt. Lebanon traveled to reach Boyce Mayview Park, the site of Monday’s state playoff game. That’s the perk for winning a WPIAL title. In comparison, Mt. Lebanon’s opponent rode a bus more than four hours from Lancaster County, and that long journey surely played a...
Former Steeler Jonathan Hayes highlights WPIAL Hall of Fame induction with focus on family
NFL veteran Jonathan Hayes is best known for playing tight end and coaching football, but as a student at South Fayette, his parents made sure he was involved in other activities. In hindsight, he said that was wise. “My dad, my mom, they wanted us to do outside activities, whether...
PIAA reveals sites, times for 1st round of state softball playoffs
Avonworth and Neshannock repeated as WPIAL softball champions this week, but now they’ll try to win back-to-back state titles as well. The state playoffs start Monday. WPIAL 3A champion Avonworth opens the PIAA tournament with a first-round game against Fort LeBoeuf at North Allegheny. Neshannock, the 2A champion, will host...
PIAA announces sites, times for 1st round of state baseball playoffs
The six WPIAL baseball champions will start the state tournament close to home, but nobody will be closer than Riverside. The Class 3A champion Panthers have a home game Monday in the first round of the PIAA playoffs. Riverside hosts Tyrone at 3 p.m. All first-round games are Monday. WPIAL...
Mt. Lebanon’s David Shields no-hits North Allegheny in WPIAL Class 6A baseball championship game
Mt. Lebanon has a knack for no-hitters in WPIAL championship games. Sophomore left-hander David Shields had heard tales about the team’s last one, thrown in 2002 by Chris Koutsavlis, who nowadays runs the Blue Devils’ offseason pitching program. Twenty-one years later, exactly to the date, Shields matched the feat. The...
Venezuelan star leads Shaler to dominant win over Bethel Park in WPIAL Class 5A finals
Miguel Hugas sparked a championship celebration in Shaler Township, but the star senior was sure he’d hear from some happy baseball fans in Venezuela too. Hugas struck out eight in a dominant complete game, and top-seeded Shaler provided him more than enough run support to defeat No. 2 Bethel Park,...
McKeesport’s Jahmil Perryman scores twice as Pennsylvania wins Big 33 Football Classic
McKeesport’s Jahmil Perryman scored twice, and Team Pennsylvania rallied with a late touchdown to win the Big 33 Football Classic, 31-27, over the Maryland all-stars Sunday in Harrisburg. The winning touchdown was a 31-yard pass from Upper Dublin quarterback Colin O’Sullivan to Dallastown receiver Kenny Johnson with 1:15 left. Johnson...
Riverview’s Amberson Bauer runs away with 800 title at PIAA championships
Amberson Bauer prepares for track meets with some visualization, running each stage of a race through his head with mental reps. For a year, he often has thought about Seth Grove Stadium. “Just lying in bed before I go to sleep, I have a lot of time to me and...
Brownsville’s Jolena Quarzo extends family’s winning streak to 5 at PIAA championships
The PIAA had a special guest award Brownsville senior Jolena Quarzo her final state championship gold medal — her older sister Gionna. The sisters combined to win the 3,200-meter title five times in a row, with the younger sister finishing off their dominant run Saturday with a nine-second win in...
Mt. Lebanon’s Logan St. John Kletter breaks PIAA championship record in 3,200 meters
SHIPPENSBURG — At this time last year, Logan St. John Kletter was suffering from a nerve condition in her foot and wondering when she’d run competitively again. She missed WPIALs and states. “I didn’t know if I could ever get back to this,” the Mt. Lebanon junior said Saturday while...
PIAA notebook: Injury knocks highly seeded WPIAL champion out of 100 meters
SHIPPENSBURG — An injury cut short New Castle sprinter Kaevon Gardner’s debut at the state track championships Friday, forcing one of the top athletes in the 100-meter dash to make an early exit. Gardner entered the meet with the second-fastest time in Class 3A, but the sophomore injured a hip...
Freeport senior shakes off rough start, claims PIAA discus medal
SHIPPENSBURG — After her first couple of discus throws produced a foul and a 104-footer, Reese Skiba’s state championship was off to a lackluster start. She could’ve panicked, but she didn’t. “They give us three throws for a reason,” said Skiba, a Freeport senior. “I always tell myself, ‘It’s not...
Brownsville’s Jolena Quarzo defends 1,600-meter title at PIAA track championships
SHIPPENSBURG — Brownsville’s Jolena Quarzo decided to skip more races than usual in her senior year, but this wasn’t a case of senioritis. She was just focused on states. “I said, ‘I don’t want to do too much, get myself tired, burnt out or even get hurt,’” she said. “So...
Coaches wish PIAA team track title could be decided in playoff format like WPIAL
It takes a team effort to win a WPIAL team track title, but that’s not necessarily true for winning a state title. A school with one superstar athlete can sometimes take home a PIAA team trophy. So some WPIAL coaches wish the state might someday adopt the WPIAL team tournament...
‘Tremendous issue’ with foot hasn’t slowed Upper St. Clair sprinter Dani Prunzik entering states
Nobody who saw Dani Prunzik sprint across the finish line at the WPIAL track championships could’ve guessed the Upper St. Clair senior has battled a painful foot injury for almost a year. Once she removed her shoes, only the tape on her right ankle gave it away. “It has been...
