Chris Harlan stories, Page 75
North Catholic sprinter Trevor Paschall wins 1st PIAA gold in 200, silver in 400
SHIPPENSBURG — Trevor Paschall’s state championship meet wasn’t going quite how he’d imagined. The North Catholic sprinter saw his relay team disqualified for a missed handoff, and then he was edged at the line in the 400 meters, finishing second by six-hundredths of a second. But along came the 200,...
Waynesburg’s Taylor Shriver clears 13 feet, wins long-awaited PIAA pole vault title
SHIPPENSBURG — Waynesburg pole vaulter Taylor Shriver needed three tries to clear her first bar at the state championships, an 11-foot jump that’s normally routine for the senior. But then she soared to new heights. Shriver cleared 13 feet to set an outdoor personal record Friday and won the state...
Thoughts of hospitalized teammate carry Aliquippa relay team to 5th-place finishVideo
SHIPPENSBURG — He should have been here, said the four sprinters on Aliquippa’s relay team, whose thoughts were with their fifth teammate, hospitalized in Pittsburgh. Aliquippa placed fifth in the 400-meter relay Friday at the PIAA Class AA track and field championships, but instead of cheers, the Quips tried not...
Shady Side Academy’s Melissa Riggins joins elite list with 6 PIAA gold medals
SHIPPENSBURG — Matching the speed she showed circling the track, the public address announcer at Seth Grove Stadium declared Melissa Riggins a three-time state champion in the 1,600 meters as soon as she crossed the finish line. A little later Friday, Riggins also won the 800 meters for the third...
Patience pays off in PIAA gold for Deer Lakes runner Carson McCoy
SHIPPENSBURG — In hindsight, Carson McCoy decided he probably made his move too early at the WPIAL championship, ultimately finishing second. Given a do-over at the state meet, the Deer Lakes junior took a more patient approach to the 1,600 meters. McCoy ran with a crowd for much of the...
Aliquippa to compete at state track meet with teammate, critically injured in shooting, in thoughts
Aliquippa’s track team arrived Thursday in Shippensburg, a day ahead of the state championships, but the Quips made the trip with one fewer sprinter than they’d hoped. Antonyo Anderson wasn’t with them, yet his teammates were thinking about him, coaches Sherman McBride and Vashawn Patrick said. The 16-year-old was shot...
PIAA might seek alternate site for softball championships at Penn State
The state softball championships are scheduled for next month at Penn State, but there’s a chance the PIAA will need to find an alternate site. The university currently has the total capacity at Nittany Lion Softball Park capped at 190 people, PIAA associate executive director Melissa Mertz said Wednesday when...
WPIAL reveals championship schedule for baseball finals
The WPIAL baseball finalists in Class 6A and 4A will play under the lights at Wild Things Park next week. The schedule for the six championship games has North Allegheny and Hempfield playing at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, and Montour and New Castle meeting at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Also playing Tuesday...
Bethel Park’s walk-off win caps fierce pitchers’ duel with West AlleghenyVideo
Bethel Park’s Zack Sackett stood in the first-base dugout at Matulevic Field and watched two of the WPIAL’s gutsiest pitchers duel for 41 outs Tuesday without allowing a run. Inning after inning in a WPIAL Class 5A semifinal, West Allegheny right-handler Gavin Miller and Bethel Park lefty Eric Chalus kept...
North Allegheny returns to WPIAL finals after 10-run win over Butler
North Allegheny’s Joe Manesiotis surely was a little surprised when Butler intentionally walked the batter ahead of him to load the bases. The senior already was 3 for 3 with three RBIs before delivering the game-ending hit, a run-scoring single in the sixth that brought on the 10-run rule as...
Montour celebrates 1-run win over Quaker Valley in WPIAL 4A quarterfinals
With two runners on, no outs and trailing by a run, Montour’s Mason Sike was told to be ready to lay down a bunt. To his surprise, the bunt sign never came. “I was really thinking it was going to happen, and he gave me the green light,” said Sike,...
Rain alters WPIAL baseball, softball playoff schedules Monday
Rain forced the WPIAL to revamp Monday’s playoff schedules for baseball and softball, moving some games to new sites and postponing others to Tuesday. In baseball, the Class A and 4A quarterfinals will be played Monday — some at new sites — while semifinal games in all other classifications were...
‘Revitalized’ Gary Goga hired as Keystone Oaks boys basketball coach
Boys basketball coach Gary Goga, who built Peters Township into a WPIAL championship program in his 15 seasons there, is ready for another challenge. His next project: Keystone Oaks. Newly hired, Goga scheduled his first open gym for Monday night, the first step in building up a basketball program that...
‘It was meant to be,’ says new Woodland Hills boys basketball coach Eugene Wilson
A few weeks after its coach resigned midseason, the Woodland Hills boys basketball team made a trip to Ringgold for a nonsection game this past winter. Woodland Hills was on its way to a winless season and lost by 10 points. But as Ringgold’s coach that day, Eugene Wilson saw...
Quick corrections lead North Allegheny’s Taylor to WPIAL triple jump title
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...
Sophomore’s clutch hit carries Bethel Park past Shaler into Class 5A baseball semifinals
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,...
‘Perfect timing’ leads Dave DeGregorio back to North Allegheny as boys basketball coach
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...
Fantastic 400 finish between Hampton’s Galuska, Butler’s Brown headlines WPIAL Class AAA meet
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...
WPIAL track and field championships: What to know for Wednesday’s meet
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...
After adding 2-game series to regular season, what’s next for WPIAL baseball?
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...
Mask policies for spectators will vary at WPIAL postseason events
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 ready to rehire Dave DeGregorio as boys basketball coach
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...
North Allegheny girls pleased with runner-up finish at WPIAL team championships
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...
Trib HSSN baseball bracket breakdown
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...
WPIAL reveals brackets for 2021 baseball playoffs
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...
