Chris Harlan stories, Page 73

There’s plenty about junior Dwayne Taylor that impresses North Allegheny’s track and field coaches: He’s 6-foot-5 with long limbs and the speed of a sprinter. Taylor has all the physical tools needed to be one of the state’s top jumpers. But it’s quiet conversations at practice that make coach John...

Some might consider Bethel Park sophomore John Chalus the little brother of a Division I baseball recruit, but he certainly wasn’t overshadowed Friday. Chalus drove in the winning run with a walk-off single in the seventh as second-seeded Bethel Park capitalized on a fielding error to beat No. 7 Shaler,...

When Dave DeGregorio resigned at North Allegheny five years ago to coach his sons, a part of him thought he might return someday, if the timing was right. That well-timed moment arrived Wednesday night when the school board officially rehired him for a second stint as North Allegheny boys basketball...

Hampton sprinter Gage Galuska threw his body forward at the finish line, tumbled into a somersault and stayed on the track waiting for his 400-meter time to show on the scoreboard. He wondered, was that finish enough to beat Guinness Brown? The entire WPIAL has chased after the Butler star...

The WPIAL endured a season without track and field last spring, but the championships are back. Individual champions in Class AAA and AA will be crowned Wednesday at Slippery Rock University. Here’s a breakdown of what to know and who to watch. Split schedule To fit under state covid-19 guidelines...

The WPIAL baseball committee’s philosophy is simple: The best team should win section titles and league championships, not the team with one incredibly dominant pitcher. Whether that happens here in the playoffs is impossible to predict, but the baseball committee takes steps each spring hoping for that outcome. Playoff games...

Spectators will be asked to wear masks Wednesday at the WPIAL track and field championships at Slippery Rock University despite the recent change to the statewide mandate. However, policies at other WPIAL events, including playoff games and championships, will vary by venue, WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman said Monday. The...

North Allegheny’s next boys basketball coach already knows the program well. North Catholic coach Dave DeGregorio, who coached North Allegheny from 2004-16, is returning to his old job, pending school board approval Wednesday. Online board records list DeGregorio as the recommended candidate. He’ll replace Dan DeRose, who resigned after one...

Only a handful of schools reach the WPIAL team track championships each year, but the meet has become almost an annual tradition for the North Allegheny girls. Consider, the Tigers returned this spring for the 17th time since 2000, finishing second to Butler in the WPIAL Class AAA meet May...

Class 6A Favorite: North Allegheny owns seven WPIAL titles but hasn’t won since 2013, an eight-year wait that ranks as the team’s longest between hanging banners. So, maybe the Tigers are due. Duke recruit Cole Young, a junior shortstop, is batting .434 with six home runs. Hard-throwing right-hander Kyle Demi...

After enduring a year with no baseball, the WPIAL playoffs are back. The WPIAL announced postseason brackets Friday for all six classifications with North Allegheny seeded first in Class 6A, Franklin Regional in 5A, Montour in 4A, Hopewell in 3A, Seton LaSalle in 2A and Eden Christian in A. Playoffs...

The real brackets for the 2021 WPIAL baseball playoff will be revealed at 3 p.m. Friday on TribLive HSSN. Who’ll draw the No. 1 seeds? Which teams get a first-round bye? Here’s a look at what the WPIAL bracket would look like if HSSN’s Don Rebel and Chris Harlan were...

As Butler runner C.J. Singleton neared the finish line, the junior wondered how close his nearest 800-meter challenger was, so he took a quick glance behind him. “You’re usually not supposed to look back,” he admitted afterward. But it’s understandable. Butler’s top runners rarely had anyone out in front of...

If covid-related cancellations leave section standings unsettled, the WPIAL will have its steering committees determine which teams make the playoffs this spring. That was one of the changes revealed Monday when the WPIAL announced updated postseason plans for baseball, softball, lacrosse and boys volleyball. In a letter to schools, the...

Emma Pavelek had never been to a chiropractor before this past week and was skeptical one could help her painful foot. She’d been diagnosed with a sprain but after five weeks, her injury wasn’t getting any better. So, what did she have to lose? “He felt my foot for one...

The weather app on Melissa Riggins’ smartphone misled her a little. “For some reason, I never check the wind,” she said with a laugh. “I’m like, ‘Oh, 53 degrees, that shouldn’t be that bad.’” It wasn’t good. Yet the talented Shady Side Academy senior fought through steady winds and some...

Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Bethel Park, 13-0, 1 2. Norwin, 12-2, 3 3. Mt. Lebanon, 8-4, 4 4. Hempfield, 9-5, 2 5. Canon-McMillan, 7-7, NR Out: Seneca Valley (9-7, 5) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. West Allegheny, 11-2, 2 2. Penn-Trafford, 11-4, 1 3. North...

Class 6A Rk, Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 15-2, 2 2. Hempfield, 12-6, 5 3. Norwin, 11-3, 1 4. Butler, 11-5, 4 5. Mt. Lebanon, 9-6, NR Out: Seneca Valley (10-7, 3) Class 5A Rk, Team, W-L, Last 1. Franklin Regional, 13-0, 1 2. Bethel Park, 13-2, 2 3....

When North Allegheny sprinter Lola Akindele broke the 60-second barrier in the 400 meters, she was elated. “That was definitely my biggest (statistical) goal of the season and something I really wanted to see for myself because I was always so close,” she said. “Having done that, it was such...

North Allegheny senior Paige Morningstar was named the state’s Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year after leading the Tigers to a fourth consecutive PIAA title last fall. Morningstar is the third North Allegheny player to win the award, joining sister Meg Morningstar (2014-15) and Abby Miller (2018-19). The award was...

Some hurdlers have tunnel vision on the track, focused solely on their lane and uninterested in their competitors. That’s not Dontae Lewis. The West Mifflin senior and reigning WPIAL hurdles champion likes to know who he’s running against. He looks at the entries, studies the times and measures up his...

Six years after her sister won the award, North Allegheny senior Paige Morningstar was named the state’s Gatorade Pa. Volleyball Player of the Year. The 2020-21 award was announced Thursday. A 6-foot setter and Louisville recruit, Morningstar led North Allegheny to an 18-0 record last fall and the program’s fourth...

Will higher-seeded baseball and softball teams host playoff games this spring or could the WPIAL use neutral sites as usual? That’s one question from a list the WPIAL wants to answer this week when the baseball and softball committees meet online Thursday and Friday. The WPIAL also must decide what...

The WPIAL handed Gateway transfers Brett and Brad Birch a good-news, bad-news scenario. Older brother Brett, a junior, is eligible to play football for the Gators next fall, but younger brother Brad, a freshman, remains ineligible, WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman said. The WPIAL held a combined hearing Monday for...

In a letter asking to be rehired, ousted football coach Eric Kasperowicz apologized to Pine-Richland’s school board and administration for his “attitude and behavior” during a contentious late-March interview. “In hindsight I understand the significance of that meeting,” he wrote of a March 29 interview with high school administrators. “The...