Chris Harlan stories, Page 77
6 WPIAL players chosen for Class A all-state boys basketball team
Six weeks after Bishop Canevin’s Dom Elliot and Kevaughn Price shared a championship court with Rochester’s Devon Hemer and JD Azulay, the four WPIAL Class A finalists are together again. They were among six WPIAL boys basketball players who earned all-state honors Monday in a vote of sports writers. All...
Lizzy Groetsch, Aislin Malcolm among 20 WPIAL girls basketball players named all-state
North Allegheny’s Lizzy Groetsch and Chartiers Valley’s Aislin Malcolm each added another statewide honor to their resumes. Groetsch, a senior, and Malcolm, a junior, each earned Pennsylvania Player of the Year honors in their classifications when girls basketball all-state teams were announced Monday. Groetsch was named the state’s top player...
All-state boys basketball teams revealed this week starting with non-PIAA schools
The all-state boys basketball teams will be announced over a seven-day span starting today with players from non-PIAA member schools. In years past, all-state organizers added those athletes to the PIAA classification teams but split them into their own group this winter. The all-state honors for PIAA schools will be...
WPIAL Softball Rankings: April 24, 2021
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Bethel Park, 8-0, 1 2. Norwin, 7-2, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 7-3, 4 4. Pine-Richland, 6-4, 5 5. North Allegheny, 6-6, 3 Out: none Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Penn-Trafford, 7-3, 1 2. Chartiers Valley, 7-3, 2 3. West Allegheny, 9-2,...
WPIAL Baseball Rankings: April 24, 2021
Class 6A Rk, Team, W-L, Last 1. Norwin, 9-1, 1 2. North Allegheny, 10-2, 2 3. Seneca Valley, 9-2, 3 4. Butler, 9-3, NR 5. Hempfield, 7-5, 4 Out: Upper St. Clair (6-5, 5) Class 5A Rk, Team, W-L, Last 1. Franklin Regional, 9-0, 1 2. West Allegheny, 8-2, 2...
North Journal notebook: North Allegheny doubles team claims section title
After winning a section singles title earlier this month, North Allegheny’s Chase Davidson doubled his medal haul April 21 when he teamed up with Shomik Telang to win a Section 2-AAA doubles crown. The duo defeated Anthony Lounder and Rohan Maheshwari of Moon, 6-2, 6-2, at North Allegheny. Davidson had...
Seton LaSalle appeals football coaches’ suspensions to PIAA
Seton LaSalle has appealed to the PIAA to overturn discipline handed down by the WPIAL for recruiting violations. Head coach Mauro Monz and assistant Jason Pinkston were suspended from coaching any PIAA-affiliated team for one year following a WPIAL hearing March 30. Four school districts had raised allegations against Seton...
Pine-Richland cites ‘pattern of hazing, intimidation’ in letter firing coach Eric Kasperowicz
Ousted football coach Eric Kasperowicz “expressed minimal concern for hazing or empathy for the students” during a 2½-hour interview with Pine-Richland administrators in late-March, according to a letter the school district sent him cutting ties. The three-page letter dated April 14 notified Kasperowicz his contract wouldn’t be renewed and detailed...
Neil Walker hopes Pine-Richland avoids ‘huge black eye’ from football coach controversy
Retiring pro baseball player Neil Walker, one of Pine-Richland’s most famous alums, hopes the controversial ouster of the school’s football coach doesn’t become “a huge black eye” for the community. The 2004 Pine-Richland graduate spoke Wednesday with reporters and discussed plans to retire after 12 MLB seasons with the Pirates,...
North Allegheny tops Mt. Lebanon, celebrates back-to-back Penguins Cup titlesVideo
North Allegheny goalie Josh Bailey didn’t mince words Monday night. The second period, when he was peppered with 20 shots and the puck stayed trapped inside NA’s blue line, was bad. “Terrible,” he said. “It was terrible.” Yet, Bailey was very good. Against a Mt. Lebanon attack determined to test...
WPIAL grants eligibility to pair of football players
The WPIAL granted eligibility to Central Catholic’s Jayden Thrift and McKeesport’s Jake Miller, two football players who switched schools this winter. Each took part in separate eligibility hearings Monday at the WPIAL office in Green Tree. Thrift, a freshman, transferred from Norwin. Miller, a junior, came from Plum. Thrift was...
Fired football coach Eric Kasperowicz reaches out to Pine-Richland to ‘come to a resolution’
With students, parents and community members demanding Pine-Richland rehire Eric Kasperowicz, the ousted football coach has asked school administrators to meet with him and “come to a resolution quickly.” The Pine-Richland football coach and his assistants were fired last Wednesday. Kasperowicz re-applied for the school’s head coach position Friday and...
Urged not to apply at Pine-Richland, coaches statewide pledge support for ousted coach Eric Kasperowicz
Dozens of high school football coaches statewide have used social media to announce their support for coach Eric Kasperowicz and his assistants, who were fired at Pine-Richland on Wednesday. Many of the tweets were in response to an email sent by Gateway athletic director/football coach Don Holl, who urged his...
Trib HSSN Softball Rankings: April 17, 2021
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Bethel Park, 7-0, 1 2. Norwin, 6-1, NR 3. North Allegheny, 3-4, 4 4. Mt. Lebanon, 6-3, NR 5. Pine-Richland, 4-3, NR Out: Canon-McMillan (2-4, 2), Hempfield (5-3, 3), Seneca Valley (5-3, 5) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Penn-Trafford, 5-3, 2...
Trib HSSN Baseball Rankings: April 17, 2021
Class 6A Rk, Team, W-L, Last 1. Norwin, 6-1, 1 2. North Allegheny, 7-1, 2 3. Seneca Valley, 6-2, 5 4. Hempfield, 5-4, NR 5. Upper St. Clair, 5-3, 3 Out: Pine-Richland (3-5, 4) Class 5A Rk, Team, W-L, Last 1. Franklin Regional, 6-0, 2 2. West Allegheny, 5-2, 1...
Ousted coach Eric Kasperowicz reapplies to lead Pine-Richland football team
Pine-Richland already has at least one applicant to coach the football team next fall, and it’s someone who knows the program very well. It’s Eric Kasperowicz. Two days after losing his job, Kasperowicz confirmed Friday that he has reapplied. The Pine-Richland administration stirred controversy Wednesday when it declined to renew...
Cowboys QB Ben DiNucci supports Eric Kasperowicz after coach’s surprise firing at Pine-Richland
Ben DiNucci lives 1,200 miles from Pine-Richland but was stunned when word reached him in Texas that his high school football coach had been fired. “At first, like anybody else, I was wondering what the heck was the reasoning or logic behind it?” he said. Now an NFL quarterback with...
Football coach Eric Kasperowicz: ‘No bullying or hazing took place’ at Pine-Richland
A day after being fired, former Pine-Richland football coach Eric Kasperowicz pushed back against any allegation of hazing or bullying in his program, while his assistants described a toxic relationship with the school’s administration. The school district informed Kasperowicz on Wednesday his contract wouldn’t be renewed for a ninth season...
WPIAL awards $1,000 scholarships to 20 scholar-athletes, cancels luncheon
The WPIAL/James Collins Scholar-Athlete Program luncheon was canceled again this spring because of the pandemic, but the $1,000 scholarships will be awarded as planned. The WPIAL announced 10 boys and 10 girls scholarship recipients Wednesday during the league’s annual meeting with school administrators. This is the second year in a...
Pine-Richland fires football coach Eric Kasperowicz 5 months after winning state title
In the span of eight years, Pine-Richland football coach Eric Kasperowicz built the Rams into one of the WPIAL’s best programs with four WPIAL championships and two state titles. Stunningly, that run ended Wednesday. Only five months removed from their latest state championship celebration, the team’s coaches received an email...
WPIAL approves spring championship sites, adopts split schedule for individual track meet
The WPIAL individual track and field championships will be run midweek this spring and have a split schedule, with Class 2A starting first and 3A later in the day. Those were among the changes approved Wednesday when the WPIAL board finalized championship sites for spring sports, a list that features...
WPIAL rules Birch brothers ineligible after transfer from Jeannette to Gateway
Two high-profile transfers now are in limbo. The WPIAL board voted Wednesday to deny athletic eligibility to brothers Brett and Brad Birch, football standouts who transferred last month from Jeannette to Gateway. The WPIAL’s decision was based solely on paperwork, executive director Amy Scheuneman said, after Jeannette administrators flagged the...
Butler’s Devin Carney adds scholarship offer from Duquesne basketball
If Butler’s Devin Carney wants to stay home for college, he now has another Division I option. The 6-foot-1 junior announced an offer Monday from the Duquesne men’s basketball team. The Dukes are the fourth offer he has shared on Twitter. Carney announced an offer from Robert Morris coach Andy...
Pitt, Penn State offer Chartiers Valley’s Lamont Payne after pressure-packed sophomore year
On one side of the field, Chartiers Valley had a senior three-year starter at cornerback. On the other side was sophomore Lamont Payne. So, Payne knew he’d be tested. “Starting as a sophomore is kind of a big deal,” he said. “There’s a lot of pressure on you.” In that...
WPIAL to finalize spring championship sites, plans return to familiar venues
The WPIAL will finalize its championship sites for spring sports when the board meets Wednesday. High school venues were used for fall and winter championships as the pandemic forced tight limits on gathering sizes, but spring sports are expected to return to many familiar sites including Wild Things Park in...
