Chris Harlan stories, Page 60
Rumpler 2nd-place finish at states a boon for North Allegheny girls wrestling team
North Allegheny didn’t have a girls wresting team two years ago, yet the Tigers saw a girl finish second in the state this winter. The team’s success is a credit to the athletes, coach Dan Heckert said, but also shows how far the program has come and how far the...
Mike Wells shakes off sore elbow, leads New Castle to 1st PIAA finals since ’14
Mike Wells’ elbow was still hurting him, but that didn’t hide his happiness as New Castle fans rained Hershey’s Kisses on the Red Hurricanes’ postgame celebration. A day after falling hard at practice, Wells shook off the shooting-arm injury and scored a game-high 26 points Friday night with four 3-pointers...
PIAA reveals sites, times for state basketball semifinals
Peters Township will host a PIAA semifinal Saturday between the Chartiers Valley and McKeesport girls, one of four all-WPIAL pairings in the final four of the state basketball tournament. The Class 5A teams play at noon at the school’s AHN Arena. Also at noon Saturday, the Aliquippa and South Allegheny...
Aliquippa finds ‘happy balance,’ tops Avonworth for 3rd time in PIAA quarterfinals
After missing a few long jumpers in the first quarter, Aliquippa’s D.J. Walker understood why he was being called to the bench and the junior didn’t argue. “He knows,” said Quips coach Nick Lackovich, who wanted his players to work for better shots. “I said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to ….’...
PIAA announces sites, times for Friday’s state basketball semifinals
The PIAA chose Norwin as host site for the rematch of New Castle and Gateway, one of two all-WPIAL pairings in the state basketball semifinals. They’ll meet at 7 p.m. Friday with the winner advancing to Hershey. New Castle defeated Gateway by 10 points when they played Feb. 28 in...
New Castle wins ‘fist fight’ over Penn Hills in low-scoring PIAA quarterfinal
How do you describe a game with more than a dozen blocks, more than two dozen turnovers, and the first team to score 40 points won? “A total fist fight,” New Castle coach Ralph Blundo said, “and we knew that’s what it was going to be.” At the end, his...
Gateway stuns Laurel Highlands, earns 1st appearance in state basketball semifinals
There will be a WPIAL rematch in the state semifinals, but Laurel Highlands won’t be there. The previously undefeated WPIAL champions were stunned Tuesday night by a determined Gateway team that dominated on the glass, piled up second-chance points and celebrated a 55-52 victory in a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal...
WPIAL approves new section alignment for next 2 wrestling seasons
Say goodbye to the subsections. The WPIAL will crown 12 section wrestling champions next winter in a new alignment approved Monday that eliminates the use of subsections in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. This winter’s alignment had only seven sections, with each section divided into two subsections. The new alignment...
WPIAL rejects Butler’s compromise, leaving football team ineligible for District 10 playoffs
The WPIAL rejected a compromise offered Monday by Butler’s administration that would’ve let the school’s football team play in the District 10 playoffs for the next two seasons. The plan proposed by Butler promised that the Golden Tornado would return to WPIAL competition in two years, but the WPIAL board...
‘Relentless’ Fox Chapel tops Allderdice in PIAA battle of district champions
With only one player taller than 6-foot-2, Fox Chapel maybe doesn’t look like a team built to outrebound many opponents. Too short? Too small? “The funny thing about Fox Chapel is, I know this not to be true,” Allderdice coach Devin Crummie said, “but other coaches will say … they...
PIAA announces sites, times for Tuesday’s basketball quarterfinals
The WPIAL is guaranteed to have a boys team in the Class 5A state championship with Laurel Highlands, New Castle, Gateway and Penn Hills all reaching the quarterfinals. They’ll pair off Tuesday in two matchups in a doubleheader at Robert Morris’ UPMC Events Center. New Castle plays Penn Hills at...
Unbeaten Laurel Highlands rallies past Highlands in OT, moves into quarterfinals
Laurel Highlands celebrated its 27th consecutive win Friday night, but this victory over Highlands followed a different script than the first 26. This time, the Mustangs were down by double digits early. A hot shooting start let Highlands jump to a 13-point lead, yet Laurel Highlands battled back behind star...
PIAA girls basketball sites, times set for 2nd round playoff games
Section foes South Fayette and Moon will meet for the third time this season Saturday in a PIAA second-round playoff game at Peters Township. The teams split two regular-season games. Theirs is one of five all-WPIAL matchups in the second round of the girls state playoffs, including a fourth matchup...
PIAA announces playoff sites, times for boys basketball 2nd round
Peters Township will host a clash of champions Saturday when WPIAL champion Fox Chapel faces City League champion Allderdice in the PIAA boys basketball playoffs. Second round games are Friday and Saturday. The playoff schedule includes a third matchup between section foes Shady Side Academy and South Allegheny, who split...
Allderdice advances in PIAA playoffs with overtime win against Central Catholic
Mike Quigley has a favorite rim in Allderdice’s gym, one that he’s found is a little softer than the other. The senior surely likes it even more now, after making consecutive 3-pointers just 37 seconds apart in overtime as Allderdice overcame a dreadful start to defeat Central Catholic, 45-43, in...
Penn Hills refuses to play Kiski Area sports teams this spring over alleged racial taunts
Penn Hills won’t play games against Kiski Area teams this spring because of racial taunts allegedly made by fans during a recent middle school volleyball game. In a letter sent Monday to school district families and staff, Penn Hills superintendent Nancy Hines said “several boys” in the Kiski Area student...
PIAA releases sites, times for Friday 2nd-round basketball playoff games
The PIAA released sites and times for second-round matchups in the state basketball playoff scheduled for Friday. That list includes boys classifications 5A, 4A and A, along with girls classes 6A, 3A and 2A. Those six classifications played first-round games on Tuesday. PIAA basketball playoffs Friday’s second-round games Class 6A...
‘Special run’ might await Quaker Valley after PIAA 1st-round win over Hickory
The Hickory boys basketball team was in Hershey last winter, playing at Giant Center with a chance to win a state championship. When this year’s tournament wraps up in a few weeks, Hickory coach Chris Mele won’t be surprised if Quaker Valley finds itself in that same spot, vying for...
After incident in WPIAL semifinals, should postgame handshake lines continue?
Should handshake lines disappear from the WPIAL? No, says the league’s top administrator, even though one of the WPIAL’s best basketball players will miss the first round of the PIAA playoffs after a postgame confrontation. WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman said eliminating handshakes would essentially absolve players and coaches of...
Sites, times revealed for 2022 PIAA girls basketball 1st-round playoff games
The PIAA on Sunday posted sites and times for first-round games in the state girls basketball playoffs. Here’s a list of games involving WPIAL and City League teams. Class 6A Tuesday’s games 3-7 Red Lion (19-6) at 7-1 Mt. Lebanon (23-1), 6 p.m. 3-5 Central York (21-6) at 7-2 Upper...
PIAA announces sites, times for 2022 boys basketball 1st-round playoff games
The PIAA on Sunday posted sites and times for first-round games in the state boys basketball playoffs. Here’s a list of games involving WPIAL and City League teams. Class 6A Wednesday’s games 3-7 Cumberland Valley (19-7) at 7-1 Fox Chapel (24-1), 6 p.m. 6-1 State College (9-14) at 7-2 North...
Fox Chapel stuns top-seeded North Hills to win 1st WPIAL title in 45 years
Eli Yofan celebrated with the WPIAL trophy in his hands Saturday night, but he also acknowledged the fingerprints his teammates left all over this championship win. The Foxes’ star senior made only one basket in the game, a quiet night offensively for the team’s leading scorer, so No. 2 seed...
2022 WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball championship breakdown: North Hills vs. Fox Chapel
WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball No. 1 North Hills vs. No. 2 Fox Chapel 7 p.m. Saturday, Petersen Events Center On the air: Video livestream: TribHSSN.TribLive.com WPIAL titles: North Hills 0, Fox Chapel 1 (1977) North Hills (24-0) Coach: Buzz Gabos 5, Alex Smith, 6-3, sr., G 10, Will Blass,...
2022 WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball championship breakdown: OLSH vs. Fort Cherry
WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball No. 1 OLSH vs. No. 2 Fort Cherry 1 p.m. Saturday, Petersen Events Center On the air: Video livestream: TribHSSN.TribLive.com; Radio: 95.3 FM, 1450 AM WPIAL titles: OLSH 3 (2019, ’20, ‘21), Fort Cherry 1 (1961) Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (22-0) Coach: Mike...
Rodney Gallagher’s free throws in final second of double OT lift Laurel Highlands past New Castle in WPIAL Class 5A final
Same arena. Same prize. There was a little less time on the clock when Rodney Gallagher walked to the foul line this year, but he made sure the outcome was also exactly the same. The Laurel Highlands junior stirred memories of his freshman heroics by drawing a foul with three-tenths...
