Chris Harlan stories, Page 78
PIAA basketball committee wants state semifinals on weekend, not weekday
The state basketball tournament might begin a few days earlier next winter, if the PIAA basketball committee gets its wish. The committee met March 31 and unanimously recommended starting the 2022 tournament on a Tuesday and Wednesday rather than a Friday and Saturday. The intended benefit was to have the...
North Allegheny’s talented lineup, rotation aims to ‘prove something’
In a way, pitcher Kyle Demi personifies North Allegheny’s mindset this season. He’s a big right-hander with a fastball that can reach 90 mph, but most folks around the WPIAL haven’t seen him throw it. On paper, he’s an ace. Yet, before this season, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior never had...
Trib HSSN Softball Rankings: April 11, 2021
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Bethel Park, 5-0, 2 2. Canon-McMillan, 2-2, 3 3. Hempfield, 3-2, 1 4. North Allegheny, 3-4, 5 5. Seneca Valley, 4-1, 4 Out: none Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Connellsville, 4-1, 5 2. Penn-Trafford, 2-3, 1 3. South Fayette, 5-0, NR...
Trib HSSN baseball rankings for April 10, 2021
Class 6A Rk, Team, W-L, Last 1. Norwin, 4-1, 1 2. North Allegheny, 4-1, 3 3. Upper St. Clair, 4-1, NR 4. Pine-Richland, 3-2, 2 5. Seneca Valley, 3-2, 5 Out: Central Catholic (5-2, 4) Class 5A Rk, Team, W-L, Last 1. West Allegheny, 3-1, 1 2. Franklin Regional, 4-0,...
PIAA won’t offer opinion on transgender legislation before reading proposal
The PIAA won’t offer an opinion on proposed legislation barring transgender athletes from girls sports before reading the bill, executive director Bob Lombardi said. Under current PIAA bylaws, the association will accept any gender indicated by a student’s principal. The proposed legislation, unveiled Monday by five Republican state lawmakers, was...
Moon’s Mia Cochran named state’s top girls cross country runner by Gatorade
Moon’s Mia Cochran was named as the state’s Gatorade Cross Country Player of the Year on Thursday, making her only the second WPIAL runner to win the award. The junior won WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA individual titles last fall, following regular-season victories at the PIAA Foundation Invitational and the...
PIAA cuts state track championships to 1-day meets but won’t reduce qualifiers
The PIAA track and field championships are being condensed to one-day meets this spring, but they’ll include the same number of qualifiers as usual. The PIAA board voted Wednesday to have Class AA boys and girls compete May 28 at Shippensburg with the Class AAA meet May 29. Traditionally, the...
OLSH’s DiMichele, Spadafora named Trib HSSN Boys Basketball Players of the Year
Jake DiMichele and Dante Spadafora were the perfect combination this winter, but the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart basketball teammates weren’t always fast friends. “I was in fifth grade; he was in sixth grade,” said DiMichele, remembering back to their days on rival Catholic grade school teams. “Everyone in...
Large, diverse list of candidates seeks WPIAL board of directors seat
This year’s ballot for electing new WPIAL board members has the largest and most diverse list of candidates in recent memory, executive director Amy Scheuneman said. In all, 16 school administrators were on the ballot this spring for one of the 10 at-large seats on the 19-person board. Online voting...
Big 33 Football Classic down to 13 WPIAL players for May all-star game
The Big 33 Football Classic is down to 13 WPIAL athletes for this year’s game after a sixth player withdrew. WPIAL leading rusher and Beaver Falls senior Josh Hough was replaced on the all-star game roster this week. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound running back is a Syracuse recruit and withdrew from...
2021 Trib 10 Boys Basketball All-Stars
This year’s Trib 10 boys basketball all-star team could look a lot like next year’s team. Of the 10 players selected, six are juniors or sophomores. That list includes Laurel Highlands sophomore Rodney Gallagher and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart junior Jake DiMichele, who earned Trib 10 honors for...
2021 Trib 10 Girls Basketball All-Stars
This year’s Trib 10 girls basketball all-star team has an impressive collection of medals. This winter alone, counting both gold and silver medals, these players combined collected eight from the WPIAL and added four more from the PIAA. But for many, this year’s medal wasn’t their first. Chartiers Valley teammates...
Seton LaSalle coaches Mauro Monz, Jason Pinkston suspended 1 year by WPIAL
Seton LaSalle football coach Mauro Monz and assistant Jason Pinkston are suspended from coaching any PIAA-affiliated team for one year, the WPIAL announced Wednesday. Neither had yet to coach a game at Seton. The discipline comes a day after four school districts raised recruiting allegations against Seton LaSalle’s first-year coaching...
Seton LaSalle football coaches face possible suspension following WPIAL hearing
Administrators from four school districts raised recruiting allegations Tuesday against Seton LaSalle’s football coaches during a lengthy closed-door hearing with the WPIAL, a situation unprecedented in recent memory, WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman said. The WPIAL intends to notify Seton LaSalle on Wednesday of its decision and any possible discipline....
Chartiers Valley held to 27 points in PIAA championship loss to Cardinal O’HaraVideo
HERSHEY — On film, Cardinal O’Hara looked big, strong and physical to Chartiers Valley coach Tim McConnell, so his Colts weren’t surprised by what they ran into at Giant Center. Yet, nobody could’ve foreseen this. Chartiers Valley — which once scored 100 points in a game this season — tied...
PIAA Class 5A girls basketball championship breakdown: Chartiers Valley vs. Cardinal O’Hara
PIAA Class 5A girls basketball championship Chartiers Valley vs. Cardinal O’Hara 5 p.m. Saturday at Giant Center, Hershey On the air: PCN-TV; WJPA-FM 95.3/HSSN How they got here: WPIAL champion Chartiers Valley defeated District 10 champion Warren, 61-38, in the quarterfinals and District 3 champion Spring Grove, 50-33, in the...
North Allegheny girls celebrate 1st PIAA title, top Spring-Ford in state finalsVideo
HERSHEY — North Allegheny’s Lizzy Groetsch and Paige Morningstar were together at Giant Center four years ago when the Tigers last reached the state finals, and they talked then about someday winning a title. Their day arrived Friday. Groetsch shook off early foul trouble to score a game-high 22 points...
OLSH joins elite list as undefeated PIAA boys basketball champion
HERSHEY — For Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, this was the perfect ending. OLSH junior Jake DiMichele had 21 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks, and senior Dante Spadafora added 15 points as the Chargers defeated Philadelphia’s Constitution, 62-49, in the PIAA Class 2A final Friday at Giant Center....
Mohawk basketball seniors find ‘closure’ despite PIAA championship loss
HERSHEY — The PIAA eliminated its on-court medal ceremonies this winter, so Mohawk basketball coach Mike O’Lare awarded them in the team’s makeshift locker room. The two-time WPIAL champions lost to Philadelphia’s West Catholic, 67-56, in the PIAA Class 3A final Thursday night, but O’Lare made certain his players left...
Neshannock girls fall in PIAA basketball finals, plan return trip to Hershey
HERSHEY — Neshannock’s first visit to the state finals ended with silver medals and a runner-up trophy, but before the Lancers left Giant Center, they were already making plans for a return trip. They have no seniors, so why not? “We decided in the little room over there that we’ll...
Constitution will play OLSH in state finals after negative covid tests
HERSHEY — The Our Lady of the Sacred Heart boys basketball team will have an opponent for the state championships. The game was in question over covid-19 concerns, but the Class 2A final against Constitution will be played as schedule at 2:30 p.m. Friday, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said....
PIAA favors full playoff brackets for spring sports ‘if possible’
If the PIAA gets its wish, spring sports will have full state playoff brackets this season rather than the smaller champions-only format used in the fall and winter. “That’s our intention,” PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said Wednesday, two days before spring teams can start regular-season competition. But the bigger...
Short-handed Upper St. Clair falls in state semifinals to ReadingVideo
ALTOONA — There was no short-handed win for Upper St. Clair this time, no sequel to the team’s six-man celebration from a few days ago. But there was no quit either. Upper St. Clair used seven players Tuesday night — one more than last game — and welcomed back coach...
WPIAL to investigate recruiting allegations against Seton LaSalle football
The WPIAL has scheduled a hearing to address recruiting allegations raised by other schools against Seton LaSalle’s football coaching staff. The hearing is scheduled for March 30. The WPIAL board has discussed the specifics of the allegations only in executive session. Seton LaSalle hired Mauro Monz as football coach in...
Foul trouble dooms Lincoln Park in PIAA semifinal loss to Hickory
Twenty-eight times Lincoln Park was whistled for a foul Monday night, yet it wasn’t so much how they fouled but rather who. Hickory senior Peyton Mele went 12 for 13 from the line in the second half and scored a game-high 38 points as the District 10 champion defeated host...
