Chris Harlan stories, Page 7

For the second day in a row, the WPIAL postponed its baseball and softball playoffs because of rain. An unfavorable weather forecast led the WPIAL to move the Class 3A, 2A and A semifinals in both sports to Friday. There were two sites changes: • In Class 2A baseball, Freedom...

Here are storylines to follow when the PIAA track and field individual championships are held Friday and Saturday at Shippensburg University. The meet starts at 9 a.m. each day. Special season for Quakers Quaker Valley might spark another gold rush. The Quakers have the top qualifying time or height in...

Aliquippa boys basketball coach Nick Lackovich was holding an open gym Wednesday, unaware that the school board gathered nearby was voting him out. Lackovich said he was told his coaching contract was not renewed despite leading the Quips to the WPIAL finals and the state semifinals this past season. The...

An unfavorable weather forecast led the WPIAL to postpone all baseball, softball and lacrosse games scheduled for Wednesday. The baseball and softball semifinals moved to Thursday. The Class 2A girls and boys lacrosse finals are now Friday with the 3A finals remaining on Thursday. Sites and times for the softball...

It takes more than rain to mess up Riverside’s Hare. Riverside senior Zach Hare ignored the dismal weather and threw a no-hitter with 12 strikeouts Tuesday night as the top-seeded Panthers defeated No. 8 Burrell, 11-0, in a WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal at North Allegheny. The rain-soaked game ended under...

Norwin celebrated a walk-off win in nine innings thanks to a swinging bunt that rolled only a few feet. In a way, it summed up the Knights’ grittiness. “There are no style points,” Norwin coach Craig Spisak said after the fourth-seeded Knights rallied late to defeat No. 5 Butler, 5-4,...

A transgender high school student from Eastern Pennsylvania authorized by a judge to compete in girls track did not qualify for the state championships. Plymouth Whitemarsh senior Luce Allen, an openly transgender girl, finished 12th in the 200 meters at the PIAA District 1 championships Saturday. The top five finishers...

Shot clocks or no shot clocks? The PIAA is tabulating results from its recent survey of schools and game officials to gauge their interest in adding the timing devices for high school basketball. But the survey alone won’t decide whether Pennsylvania ultimately adds the clocks, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi...

State champions in team wrestling and competitive spirit will be crowned in Johnstown for the next three years. The PIAA announced 1st Summit Arena at Cambria County War Memorial will host the championships for the 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years. Championship venues for other winter sports were announced last...

The PIAA will let a transgender girl compete in the state track and field championships next week if the Eastern Pennsylvania student qualifies, the PIAA’s top administrator said Friday. The state association for high school athletics changed its policy in February to classify students by “sex” rather than “gender” in...

Waynesburg pitcher Tyler Groves gave up a triple, a double and a single to consecutive batters in the first inning Thursday night, but that wasn’t a sign of things to come. Rather, Freeport got one hit the rest of the way as Groves dug in. The senior right-hander pitched a...

Mohawk’s Jaxon Schoedel’s teammate turned into his hype man at the WPIAL track championships, shouting his name as the senior climbed atop the medals stand for the second time. Schoedel could only laugh. The Penn State recruit was understandably the center of attention after breaking WPIAL Class 2A championship meet...

The drawstring in Tori Atkins’ warmup pants was maybe the toughest opponent the Laurel sprinter faced in her four years at the WPIAL track championships. It’s a freshman year story that the senior can laugh about now as a 10-time champion. Atkins cemented her track legacy Wednesday by winning four...

Record breakers, repeat winners and rain? Here are some storylines to follow when the WPIAL track and field individual championships are held Wednesday at Slippery Rock University. The meet starts at 11 a.m. Again and again and again … and again? Laurel sprinter Tori Atkins can achieve a WPIAL first...

The WPIAL has moved all of Tuesday’s baseball and softball playoff games to Thursday because of rain. The day’s schedule had included first-round games in Class A, 2A and 3A for both sports. Games were rescheduled at the same sites and times. The WPIAL also announced quarterfinal sites and times...

Class 6A Favorite: North Allegheny is the defending champion and owns a record nine WPIAL titles. The Tigers have relied on a trio of college-bound seniors in pitchers Jackson Walsh (Gannon), Nico Varlotta (North Alabama) and Nate Persinger (Cal, Pa.). The three have combined for 111 strikeouts in 84 1/3...

North Allegheny was the only defending champion to draw a No. 1 seed Friday when the WPIAL released brackets for the upcoming baseball playoffs. The Tigers were seeded first in Class 6A. The other top seeds went to Pine-Richland in 5A, Indiana in 4A, Riverside in 3A, Neshannock in 2A...

The 2025 WPIAL baseball playoffs are set with 80 teams, including five of the six champions from a year ago — North Allegheny, Penn-Trafford, Avonworth, Seton LaSalle and Bishop Canevin — hoping to defend their crowns. Seton LaSalle and Bishop Canevin are looking to three-peat this spring. The postseason begins...

Reigning WPIAL softball champions Neshannock and Elizabeth Forward start their title defenses as favorites to repeat. The Lancers in Class 2A and the Warriors in 4A were among the teams earning No. 1 seeds in playoff brackets released Thursday by the WPIAL. The other top seeds went to Hempfield in...

Two-time reigning boys lacrosse champion Mt. Lebanon will start its latest title defense as the No. 1 seed in the WPIAL playoffs. The Blue Devils (12-4) drew the top spot in WPIAL Class 3A, and South Fayette (17-0) was seeded first in 2A in brackets released Thursday. The playoffs start...

Two-time defending champion Mars was picked as the favorite to win another WPIAL girls lacrosse title in playoff brackets revealed Thursday. Mars (15-1) received the No. 1 seed in Class 2A, and Pine-Richland (15-2) drew the top spot in 3A. The playoffs start Monday and Tuesday with first-round games, leading...

The Norwin boys hadn’t won a WPIAL team track title in almost 50 years, but senior hurdler Ryan Schiller had hungered for one for months. A title and maybe a steak dinner. “I made a bet with some friends,” he said. “I told them they were going to have to...

Indiana pitcher Greg Minnick was offered a chance to see the red rocks of West Texas while in geology class last spring. It started with a telephone call. A Texas Tech assistant baseball coach was on the other end, offering the hard-throwing right-hander a scholarship to pitch in Lubbock. He...

The WPIAL had 19 boys basketball players earn all-state honors Sunday, and two were voted as the player of the year for their PIAA classifications. Neighborhood Academy senior Courtney Wallace was named as the top player in Class A, and Aliquippa’s Josh Pratt earned the honor for 3A in a...