Chris Harlan stories, Page 41
Longtime Hampton athletic director Bill Cardone to retire
Longtime Hampton athletic director Bill Cardone won’t be making as many trips to Mars or Moon, but soon he’ll have plenty of free time to travel the world. Cardone, 67, is retiring this summer after nearly three decades at his alma mater, where he graduated in 1973 as a three-sport...
Plum reliever shuts door on South Fayette in Class 5A quarterfinals
Plum relief pitcher Colin Watson isn’t so worried about how things start but rather how they finish. The Mustangs maybe had a rough beginning to this season, but they’re now headed to the WPIAL semifinals after their top reliever pitched three scoreless innings Monday night. Watson entered with a one-run...
Peters Township’s Brendan McCullough makes key interception in East-West all-star win
Peters Township defensive back Brendan McCullough made a late-game interception Sunday that secured a 24-16 victory for his West team in the PSFCA East-West Big School Game in Harrisburg. The East had fourth-and-goal with 1:19 left when McCullough picked off a pass just short of the goal line. The East-West...
From snowboarding to javelin, North Allegheny’s Alaina Fantaski is a determined champion
North Allegheny senior Alaina Fantaski was a nationally ranked snowboarder in junior high, who also tried fencing and more traditional activities like basketball. “I’ve done every sport,” said Fantaski, but she wanted a new challenge after putting away her snowboard freshman year. “I knew I had to do something and...
Canon-McMillan’s Rose Kuchera wins 4 gold medals while crisscrossing WPIAL track championships
Canon-McMillan’s Rose Kuchera was relaxing in the team’s tent when a teammate asked if she was running the 100-meter hurdles. As defending champ, of course she was. The junior’s hectic schedule for the WPIAL track and field championships included the hurdles, the long jump, the triple jump and the 400-meter...
5 things to watch at WPIAL track and field championships
The WPIAL might be known best for its football hall of famers, but don’t overlook the league’s track and field pedigree. Consider, in the past week, Knoch graduate Jordan Geist won his fourth Pac-12 shot put title at Arizona, and North Allegheny grad Ayden Owens-Delerme at Arkansas won an SEC...
Known for high-flying dunks, Penn Hills’ Daemar Kelly now leaping over high jump bars
Anyone who saw Daemar Kelly finish an alley-oop this winter knows the Penn Hills senior can almost fly. In a gym, on a wood floor, with a basketball in his hands, few around the WPIAL jump higher than him. Yet lately he’s raised the bar — literally. Kelly joined the...
NFHS eliminates 1-and-1 foul shots from high school basketball rulebook
The pressure of shooting a one-and-one is likely to vanish from high school basketball. The national organization that writes the rulebook used by the PIAA has changed the way fouls are counted and the number of bonus shots a player receives. Most notably, the National Federation of State High School...
Former OLSH basketball star Jake DiMichele commits to Duquesne
Former Our Lady of the Sacred Heart basketball star Jake DiMichele, who graduated a year ago as one of WPIAL’s all-time leading scorers, committed Friday to Duquesne. He announced his decision on Twitter. OLSH was a record-setting program when the 6-foot-3 guard was on the court. DiMichele averaged 31.9 points...
Central Catholic linebacker Cole Sullivan commits to Michigan
Central Catholic linebacker Cole Sullivan committed Friday to Michigan, choosing the Wolverines over finalists Duke, Notre Dame, Stanford and Wisconsin. He announced his decision on Twitter. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound junior from North Huntingdon received more than two dozen Division I offers. Rivals.com rated him as a three-star prospect and 17th...
Breaking down the 2023 WPIAL baseball playoffs
Class 6A Favorite: Pine-Richland tied North Allegheny and Seneca Valley atop the Section 1 standings (all with 8-4 records), but the Rams got the No. 1 seed by winning two out of three games over both rivals. Senior Jacob McGuire leads the Rams as a two-way player with a team-best...
WPIAL releases brackets for 2023 baseball playoffs
Who’s No. 1? Pine-Richland, Shaler, Montour, Riverside, Serra Catholic and Union will start the WPIAL baseball playoffs as favorites after receiving No. 1 seeds Friday when the brackets were revealed on TribLive HSSN. The next couple of weeks will decide if those six teams finish on top. The WPIAL playoffs...
WPIAL announces pairings for 2023 softball playoffs
Last year’s winners are back for more. Five of the six softball teams crowned WPIAL champions a season ago will start this year’s playoffs as favorites to repeat. Defending champions Seneca Valley (Class 6A), Armstrong (5A), Avonworth (3A), Neshannock (2A) and Union (A) all received No. 1 seeds Thursday when...
WPIAL adds Pittsburgh Pirates as sponsor for baseball, softball championships
The WPIAL baseball and softball finals will include racing pierogies, T-shirt tosses and a famous green parrot now that the Pittsburgh Pirates have become a presenting sponsor of the high school championship games. The WPIAL announced a two-year partnership with the Pirates on Thursday. The games are not moving to...
WPIAL awards Mars, Peters Township top seeds in boys lacrosse playoffs
Defending WPIAL and state champion Mars will begin its title defense as a No. 1 seed in the WPIAL boys lacrosse playoffs. Mars in Class 2A and Peters Township in 3A received the top seeds Thursday when the WPIAL revealed brackets for the upcoming playoffs. The WPIAL tournaments begin with...
Bob Palko among 5 football coaches chosen for PSFCA Hall of Fame
Bob Palko, who won a record nine WPIAL football titles at West Allegheny and Mt. Lebanon, will be inducted this month into the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Palko was one of five coaches chosen for the 2023 class, joining Gary Gouse (Portage), Rick Keely (Berks Catholic),...
Pine-Richland, Mars draw top seeds in WPIAL girls lacrosse playoffs
Pine-Richland and Mars received the top seeds when the WPIAL announced brackets for the girls lacrosse playoffs Thursday. The two tournaments start with first-round games Monday and Tuesday, and finish May 24 or 25 with championships at Robert Morris. Pine-Richland (15-3), which won the Section 2 title, drew the top...
North Allegheny girls, boys sweep WPIAL Class 3A track and field team titles
North Allegheny track coach John Neff said he had trouble deciding which three girls should run the 3,200 meters Tuesday, mainly because the Tigers had too many good options. Minutes before the race, he had to pick. “The nice thing is, I’m choosing between ‘Great Runner A’ and ‘Great Runner...
WPIAL Baseball rankings: Week ending May 7, 2023
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Pine-Richland, 14-5, 2 2. North Allegheny, 11-5, 1 3. Seneca Valley, 14-4, 4 4. Butler, 9-7, 3 5. Canon-McMillan, 12-5, 5 Out: none Class 5A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Shaler, 14-4, 1 2. Bethel Park, 12-4, 2 3. South Fayette, 13-3, 3...
WPIAL softball rankings: Week ending May 7, 2023
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Seneca Valley, 13-1, 1 2. Hempfield, 14-2, 3 3. Norwin, 13-4, 2 4. North Allegheny, 12-4, 4 5. Mt. Lebanon, 6-9, 5 Out: none Class 5A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Shaler, 16-0, 1 2. Armstrong, 14-1, 2 3. Trinity, 14-1, 3 4....
Moon’s Jacob Puhalla defends McKinney Mile title in Baldwin Invite’s marquee race
Once Jacob Puhalla wins a track title, the Moon runner likes to win it again. The senior emerged Friday from a crowded field in the McKinney Mile to win the marquee event at the Baldwin Invitational for a second year in a row. The race included five runners already committed...
Many WPIAL athletes at Baldwin Invitational embrace challenge of back-to-back meets
Liz Tapper is one of the state’s top throwers, but the Hempfield senior faced a challenge Friday that was new to her and many others at the Baldwin Invitational. They had big meets on back-to-back days. Less than 24 hours after throwing in a WPIAL team track semifinal, Tapper shrugged...
2023 all-state boys basketball team includes 29 WPIAL players
Aquinas Academy’s Vinnie Cugini and Steel Valley’s Makhai Valentine earned all-state player of the year honors Wednesday as two of the most prolific scorers in WPIAL boys basketball. Cugini, who averaged 43.7 points and broke the WPIAL record for career points, was chosen as the player of the year in...
WPIAL team track, boys tennis events postponed Tuesday because of rain
Tuesday’s cold, wet weather led the WPIAL to postpone tennis and team track and field events until later in the week. The first round of the boys and girls team track championships was delayed to Thursday. The meets will remain at the same locations. Most first-round matches in the Class...
Central Catholic linebacker Cole Sullivan narrows college options to ‘Top 5’
Central Catholic already has one junior linebacker committed to a Power 5 school but soon will have another. Cole Sullivan, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound outside linebacker, narrowed his college options when he announced a Top 5 list Saturday with Duke, Michigan, Notre Dame, Stanford and Wisconsin as finalists. He’d received more...
