Chris Harlan stories, Page 46
WPIAL brings back play-in games to determine state basketball playoff qualifiers
No more sitting and waiting. Many WPIAL basketball teams will have their state-playoff hopes in their own hands this winter with the return of a consolation bracket. Rather than the traditional follow-the-winner tiebreaker system used for years, the WPIAL will hold play-in games to decide some PIAA tournament qualifiers. The...
Choosing Hampton’s seed becomes tricky decision with leading scorer ineligible
The chairman of the WPIAL basketball committee largely avoided one of Monday’s most-interesting debates, since it was a topic close to his heart. Where to seed the Hampton boys? As a section champion with a 20-2 record, Hampton has a resume worthy of a top two seed. But the Talbots...
Breaking down the 2023 WPIAL boys basketball playoff brackets
A closer look at the WPIAL boys basketball playoffs, which begin Thursday night: Class 6A Favorite: New Castle was bumped up to the WPIAL’s largest classification this winter, but that move hasn’t slowed the Red Hurricanes. They’re led by a pair of 17-point scorers in seniors Jonathan Anderson and Isaiah...
WPIAL reveals basketball playoff brackets asking: ‘What have you done lately?’
If the season ended three days ago, the Penn Hills boys probably would’ve earned a No. 1 seed in the WPIAL basketball playoffs. So, too, might’ve Mohawk. Instead, losses in their section finales Friday night opened the door for Peters Township in Class 5A and Steel Valley in 3A to...
2023 WPIAL bracketology: HSSN forecasts the boys basketball playoff pairings
The Path to the Pete will be revealed Monday when the WPIAL basketball playoff pairings are announced at 3 p.m. on TribLive HSSN. While we wait to see what the WPIAL basketball committee decides, here’s a look at how HSSN’s Chris Harlan would seed the boys basketball brackets. Check out...
WPIAL girls basketball rankings: Week ending Feb. 12, 2023
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Upper St. Clair, 19-2, 1 2. North Allegheny, 16-4, 2 3. Norwin, 19-3, 3 4. Mt. Lebanon, 15-6, 4 5. Chartiers Valley, 10-9, 5 Out: none Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. South Fayette, 19-2, 1 2. Oakland Catholic, 19-2, 2 3....
WPIAL boys basketball rankings: Week ending Feb. 12, 2023
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. New Castle, 19-2, 1 2. Central Catholic, 13-8, 2 3. Upper St. Clair, 14-8, 4 4. Mt. Lebanon, 14-7, 5 5. Butler, 14-7, 3 Out: none Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Peters Township, 18-3, 2 2. Penn Hills, 16-3, 1 3....
North Allegheny set to host 2nd annual Western Pa. girls wrestling championship
About 35 athletes visited North Allegheny last winter for the first Western Pa. girls wrestling championship, a number that should more than double this time around. That’s how quickly the sport has grown. “I would imagine we’re probably going to be close to 80 to 100 girls,” said North Allegheny...
Rodney Gallagher scores 29, Laurel Highlands tops rival Uniontown in 2OTs
The scouting report on Rodney Gallagher says that if he gets enough late-game chances, he’ll usually make opponents pay. Uniontown stopped his layup at the end of regulation and rejected his runner late in the first overtime Friday night, but Gallagher wasn’t done. The senior started the second OT with...
Central Catholic’s Debaba Tshiebwe follows brotherly advice, posts double-double to defeat Butler
Advice from an older brother can be valuable, especially when your brother is the top college basketball player in the country. Just ask Central Catholic senior Debaba Tshiebwe, whose big brother Oscar is a star for Kentucky. The younger Tshiebwe, himself listed at 6-foot-7, says he has adopted some brotherly...
WPIAL girls basketball rankings: Week ending February 5, 2023
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Upper St. Clair, 17-2, 1 2. North Allegheny, 14-4, 2 3. Norwin, 17-3, 3 4. Mt. Lebanon, 14-6, 4 5. Chartiers Valley, 10-7, NR Out: Butler (10-9, 5) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. South Fayette, 17-2, 1 2. Oakland Catholic, 18-2,...
WPIAL boys basketball rankings: Week ending February 5, 2023
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. New Castle, 17-2, 1 2. Central Catholic, 11-8, 2 3. Butler, 14-5, 4 4. Upper St. Clair, 12-8, 5 5. Mt. Lebanon, 13-4, 3 Out: none Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Penn Hills, 15-2, 1 2. Peters Township, 16-3, 2 3....
Isaiah Boice’s quick recovery helps No. 1 New Castle defeat No. 2 Central Catholic
Isaiah Boice planned to celebrate New Castle’s section title by drinking lots of chocolate milk, the bone-healing beverage he credits for his quick recovery. “Maybe a couple of gallons,” Boice said with a laugh Friday night, after the No. 1-ranked Red Hurricanes clinched at least a share of the Section...
State rep proposes legislation that would allow PIAA to crown separate public, private champs
The PIAA has maintained that splitting public and private schools into separate playoffs is prohibited under a state statute from 1972, but new legislation could rewrite that law. State Rep. Scott Conklin (D-Centre) announced plans Thursday to introduce legislation that would let the PIAA create separate tournaments for boundary and...
Baldwin hires McKeesport assistant Dana Brown Jr. as football coach
Dana Brown Jr. turns 32 on Sunday, but he got an early birthday present Wednesday night. Brown, a McKeesport assistant coach and former standout player for the Tigers, was hired as Baldwin’s football coach, making him one of the younger big-school coaches in the WPIAL. The first-time head coach takes...
Ohio-bound D.J. Walker, 5 other Aliquippa seniors make college commitments official
A group of Aliquippa football seniors including standout safety/wide receiver Donovan Walker announced their college commitments Wednesday, with Walker choosing Ohio. Also announcing commitments were defensive back Nate Lindsey (Fordham) and two-way linemen Neco Eberhardt (Albany) and Jason McBride (IUP). Wide receiver Dorius Moreland signed with Bethany College. Another two-way...
Aquinas Academy’s Vinnie Cugini breaks WPIAL basketball all-time scoring record
There’s a new all-time leading scorer in WPIAL basketball history, but the newly crowned record holder had a somewhat subdued celebration. Aquinas Academy senior Vinnie Cugini broke the WPIAL record with a 33-point effort Tuesday night, bettering a mark that had stood for 30 years, but was slightly disappointed the...
Woodland Hills’ Miles Sanders extends Super Bowl streak for Big 33 Football Classic
The Big 33 Football Classic’s Super Bowl streak lives on, thanks to a former WPIAL star. Woodland Hills’ Miles Sanders, who played in the high school all-star game in 2016, is headed to Super Bowl LVII next month with the Philadelphia Eagles. Every Super Bowl has included at least one...
WPIAL girls basketball rankings: Week ending Jan. 29, 2023
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Upper St. Clair, 14-2, 2 2. North Allegheny, 11-4, 4 3. Norwin, 15-3, 1 4. Mt. Lebanon, 13-5, 3 5. Butler, 10-7, NR Out: Chartiers Valley (9-6, 5) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. South Fayette, 16-2, 1 2. Oakland Catholic, 16-2,...
WPIAL boys basketball rankings: Week ending Jan. 29, 2023
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. New Castle, 15-2, 1 2. Central Catholic, 9-7, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 12-5, 3 4. Butler, 13-4, 4 5. Upper St. Clair, 10-8, 5 Out: none Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Penn Hills, 12-2, 1 2. Peters Township, 14-3, 4 3....
North Allegheny wrestling crowns 2 county champs
North Allegheny’s wrestling team celebrated two individual champions at the Allegheny County Tournament at Fox Chapel, where senior Jayson Flener and junior Aidan Buggey each won their weight class Jan. 20-21. Flener claimed the 145-pound title, Buggey won at 215, and the Tigers finished third overall in the team standings....
No. 1 Lincoln Park uses ‘organized mayhem’ to defeat North Catholic, strengthen section lead
“Organized mayhem” is the way Lincoln Park’s boys basketball team describes its offense. Sure, there are only a few set plays used, and the shooters might put up some surprising shots, but they say that’s all by design. Besides, who can argue with the results? Leopards stars Brandin Cummings and...
6 WPIAL coaches earn NFHS Section 2 honors for 2021-22 sports seasons
Six WPIAL coaches have earned regional honors from the National Federation of State High School Associations for their work in the 2021-22 school year. Seneca Valley’s Brian Blackwell (boys swimming), Neshannock’s Luann Grybowski (girls basketball), Mars’ Bob Marcoux (boys lacrosse), Hempfield’s Suzannah Meyer (competitive spirit), Montour’s Rob Naylor (girls cross...
City League QB among 5 finalists for Willie Thrower Award for 1st time
Westinghouse quarterback Keyshawn Morsillo, who led the Bulldogs on a historic run to the state football finals, was announced Tuesday as one of five finalists for the Willie Thrower Award. Morsillo is the first City League player selected as a finalist in the three-year history of the award, which recognizes...
Central Catholic hires former Seneca Valley, Pine-Richland assistant Ryan Lehmeier as football coach
Central Catholic’s new football coach wasn’t chosen from the school’s alumni list, but that doesn’t mean Ryan Lehmeier isn’t already familiar with the team’s tradition. Eleven times in the past eight years, Lehmeier coached a team on the opposite sideline from Central Catholic, so he can appreciate the success of...
