Chris Harlan stories, Page 57

What if basketball sections were determined by a team’s talent level rather than its school enrollment? A group of WPIAL athletic directors presented that idea to the WPIAL board in a proposal that would group teams by ability instead of the number of students in the school, an idea meant...

The racially charged dispute between Penn Hills and Kiski Area wasn’t resolved, so the WPIAL may keep those teams apart in future years. Kiski Area formally asked the WPIAL to keep its teams in separate sections from Penn Hills when new alignments are created, a request the WPIAL board will...

The WPIAL on Wednesday announced winners of the James Collins Scholar/Athlete Awards. This is the 31st year for the awards, which include a $1,000 scholarship for each recipient. The WPIAL chose 20 scholar/athletes from among 142 nominees. The boys awards went to Anthony DiFalco of Franklin Regional, Jake DiMichele of...

Only four miles separate the football stadiums of Pine-Richland and Mars, but the journey that took Eric Kasperowicz from one to the other followed a winding road. The Mars school board voted Tuesday night to hire Kasperowicz as football coach, bringing him back to a WPIAL sideline one year after...

Mars is prepared to hire football coach Eric Kasperowicz, bringing the two-time state champion coach back to the WPIAL a year after his ouster at Pine-Richland. He is the recommended candidate to be hired pending Mars school board approval Tuesday night, according to the meeting agenda. Kasperowicz went 85-18 in...

Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Hempfield, 3-0, 1 2. North Allegheny, 5-0, 5 3. Bethel Park, 2-3, 2 4. Pine-Richland, 2-1, NR 5. Norwin, 1-2, 3 Out: Seneca Valley (2-2, 4) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Armstrong, 5-0, 2 2. Penn-Trafford, 6-0, 3 3. Fox Chapel,...

Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Butler, 5-0, 2 2. North Allegheny, 3-1, 1 3. Seneca Valley, 4-1, 3 4. Norwin, 3-2, NR 5. Upper St. Clair, 3-2, 4 Out: Baldwin (4-3, 5) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Bethel Park, 4-0, 1 2. South Fayette, 5-0, 3...

Morgan Vescovi was hired as North Allegheny’s softball coach in 2019, but counting seasons is always a tricky task because the pandemic erased 2020. Third season? Fourth season? “Maybe 3.5,” she said. What is clear is that for the first time with her as head coach, the Tigers felt some...

After working five years to build up his alma mater’s football program, coach Dan Knause will take on a new project elsewhere. The former Chartiers Valley coach was hired Thursday night as assistant high school principal and football coach at Trinity, a program that seeks its first playoff win since...

A number of Western Pennsylvania boys lacrosse officials are taking a timeout from working varsity games unless WPIAL schools give them a pay raise. The Allegheny Lacrosse Officials Association this winter requested a $90 rate for working varsity games, but the WPIAL athletic directors association instead approved a $2 raise...

Bill Barton, a former assistant college basketball coach at Pitt and Duquesne, is returning to Western Pennsylvania as athletic director at North Catholic. The high school announced his hire Tuesday. Barton works now as athletic director at Saint Joseph Prep, a Catholic school in Boston and will start work at...

A simmering discontent by officials about pay and travel forced Trinity to reschedule a boys lacrosse game, but the WPIAL was optimistic the season won’t be disrupted by a widespread work stoppage. Trinity intended to host Chartiers Valley in a section contest Tuesday night, but the three officials declined in...

2022 TribLive HSSN Boys Basketball Player of the Year Adou Thiero Quaker Valley 6-foot-6, Senior, Guard When your father played college ball for John Calipari and your mother was selected in the WNBA draft, you grow up knowing basketball might be in your future. Adou Thiero liked that idea. “I...

This was a history-making year for WPIAL boys basketball with Our Lady of the Sacred Heart leading the way. The record-setting Chargers were one of three teams that won a WPIAL title with an undefeated record, joining Quaker Valley and Laurel Highlands. All three championships squads are represented here among...

This season marked the end of an era for some WPIAL girls basketball programs or maybe just the beginning for others. Among them, Chartiers Valley says goodbye to a talented senior class that lost just seven games in four years. They were among four WPIAL girls teams to reach the...

Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 1-0, 1 2. Butler, 2-0, 4 3. Seneca Valley, 3-0, NR 4. Upper St. Clair, 2-1, NR 5. Baldwin, 4-1, NR Out: Hempfield (0-3, 2), Norwin (0-3, 3), Mt. Lebanon (1-4, 5) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Bethel Park,...

Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Hempfield, 2-0, 3 2. Bethel Park, 0-2, 1 3. Norwin, 0-1, 2 4. Seneca Valley, 1-0, 5 5. North Allegheny, 2-0, NR Out: Mt. Lebanon (0-1, 4) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Shaler, 3-0, 1 2. Armstrong, 3-0, 2 3. Penn-Trafford,...

At least a dozen pro scouts watched North Allegheny’s baseball scrimmage, an early indication the Tigers have an eventful season ahead. Senior shortstop Cole Young is projected to be a first-round MLB Draft pick this summer, but the team has other goals to accomplish before then, like winning WPIAL and...

The WPIAL has no grounds to ban the Butler football team from the District 10 playoffs, says a lawsuit the school district has filed against the PIAA. The suit was filed last week in Butler County Common Pleas Court on behalf of the school and the parents of two varsity...

Philadelphia teams joined the PIAA basketball playoffs less than two decades ago, and District 12’s top administrator says his schools are here to stay, despite any wishful thinking by opponents. Over the years, some Philadelphia coaches and players have opined that the state tournament didn’t match their excitement for winning...

Reset the clock. The PIAA basketball committee met Wednesday to debate adding a shot clock to Pennsylvania high school games, but decided more time was needed to survey schools statewide, said Hampton athletic director Bill Cardone, who represents the WPIAL on the committee. The committee did reach a couple of...

Shot clock or no shot clock? Pennsylvania’s high school basketball teams should have a better idea whether the clock is in their future after the PIAA basketball committee debates the issue this week. The shot clock will be on the agenda when the committee meets Wednesday, PIAA executive director Bob...

Philadelphia teams joined the PIAA basketball playoffs less than two decades ago, but District 12’s top administrator says his schools are here to stay, despite any wishful thinking by opponents. Over the years, some Philadelphia coaches and players have opined that the state tournament didn’t match their excitement for winning...

Chartiers Valley football coach Dan Knause is a candidate for a job elsewhere, so he resigned Monday after five seasons with the Colts. “I wanted to be fair to the kids,” Knause said. “I didn’t want them to hear from second or third sources. I wanted to do right by...

Traditional public schools won only two of the 12 state basketball titles celebrated this weekend in Hershey, the fewest since the PIAA expanded the sport to six classifications in 2016. The 10 others were won by private and charter schools, leading some public school coaches to question the fairness of...