Chris Harlan stories, Page 94
Woodland Hills halts sports workouts to re-evaluate covid-19 guidelines
Woodland Hills was the first WPIAL school to resume summer workouts, but the Wolverines halted those sessions this week to re-evaluate their covid-19 guidelines. The shutdown is temporary, said athletic director Ron Coursey, who expected teams to resume workouts within a week or two. He wanted to dispel rumors that...
Shaler uses caution, sends football players home over covid-19 concerns
Choosing to take a cautious approach, Shaler coach Jim Ryan sent his football team home early from workouts Tuesday after learning a family friend of a player could have contracted covid-19. The unidentified player wasn’t believed to have had any direct contact with the person, Ryan and athletic director Clint...
Penn Hills hires former Seton Hill star Chris Giles as boys basketball coach
When Chris Giles found out he would be Penn Hills’ new boys basketball coach, he immediately shared the news with the coach he was hired to replace. “Out of respect,” Giles said. “It was his program. Coach DeRose was a mentor of mine. I’m a big ‘respect’ guy.” Penn Hills...
Trib HSSN boys athlete of the year: Pine-Richland’s Spencer transforms from star QB to champion wrestler
It’s not uncommon for Pine-Richland’s Cole Spencer to be heavier in the fall than in the winter, a transformation that takes him from standout quarterback to champion wrestler. His accomplishments, however, loom large year round. As a junior, Spencer ranked third among all WPIAL passers last fall with 2,994 yards....
Trib HSSN looks back at the top high school sports stories of the 2019-20 school year
11.1.19 West Greene running back Ben Jackson became the first WPIAL football player to rush for 3,000 yards in a season. The senior finished with 3,076 yards on 203 carries and also scored 50 touchdowns. 11.4.19 Mt. Lebanon senior Patrick Anderson defended his PIAA Class AAA cross country title, becoming...
Report: West A’s Austin Hendrick signs $4 million contract with Cincinnati Reds
Former West Allegheny star Austin Hendrick signed with the Cincinnati Reds on Friday. Hendrick, picked in the first round of the MLB Draft this month, signed for $4 million, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis. The slot value for the 12th overall pick was $4,366,400. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound outfielder is the...
Canon-McMillan girls soccer coach David Derrico resigns after 2 decades
Canon-McMillan girls soccer coach David Derrico, who won a state title with the Big Macs, resigned this week after two decades with the team. Athletic director Frank Vulcano announced Derrico’s departure Friday. The school board officially accepted his resignation Thursday night. “Dave was a state champion coach that will be...
Sto-Rox hires football coach LaRoi Johnson as AD, opens coaching jobs
The Sto-Rox school board hired football coach LaRoi Johnson as athletic director Thursday night and voted to hand him a clean slate of coaches. The board voted to open the coaching positions for all sports except football, board member Ken Hohman said. However, opening the positions to applicants doesn’t mean...
Wanting to keep family close, Justin Walther accepts Winchester Thurston basketball job
While searching for a boys basketball job, coach Justin Walther wanted a high school that would treat him like family, but just as importantly, a place he could share with his family. That became imperative after his mother’s death in early June. “My parents have been a great part of...
Aliquippa seeks applicants to replace boys basketball coach Dwight Hines
The Aliquippa school board is accepting applications for a new boys basketball coach, a decision that stunned coach Dwight Hines, whose tenure appears to be over. Hines said he can’t understand the move. “That’s one thing you’ve got to ask the board members,” he said. “They didn’t call me in....
Serra Catholic hires A.J. Corso as boys basketball coach
Serra Catholic hired A.J. Corso to take over the boys basketball team, the school announced Thursday. Corso replaces coach Justin Walther, who resigned in May after four seasons. Corso worked two seasons as a ninth grade coach under Walther and also coached middle school basketball at Upper St. Clair. Walther...
Radio station. Food truck. Dance studio? Jamal Woodson’s energy earns him Baldwin basketball job
Jamal Woodson isn’t wrong when he says he’s got an energetic personality. How else could he create an AAU basketball program, work as general manager of a radio station, operate a food truck, manage an up-and-coming singing star and run the Abby Lee Dance Company studio? Now, add head coach...
2 Pa. football teams, 1 from WPIAL make MaxPreps preseason Top 100 rankings
Defending WPIAL champion Central Catholic was one of two Pennsylvania football teams ranked in the MaxPreps preseason Top 100. The Vikings were ranked 92nd nationally. The other Pennsylvania team to make the rankings was defending PIAA Class 6A champion St. Joseph’s Prep, which defeated Central Catholic in last year’s state...
Pine-Richland hires assistant Bob Petcash as boys basketball coach
Pine-Richland stayed in-house Monday night and hired assistant Bob Petcash as its new boys basketball coach. A longtime assistant for the Rams, Petcash replaces Jeff Ackermann, who resigned in May to become Baldwin’s coach. Petcash spent six seasons as a top assistant on Ackermann’s varsity staff after more than a...
WPIAL connections lead Gateway defensive back Shane Thrift to DelawareVideo
Shane Thrift hasn’t visited Delaware’s campus yet, but he’s confident he’ll feel comfortable there. The Blue Hens already have seven former WPIAL athletes on the football roster, so Thrift decided to join them. The 6-foot, 170-pound defensive back and wide receiver announced his commitment Monday. “There are a lot of...
Pine-Richland’s Miguel Jackson identifies 9 finalists, wants to visit every campus
Pine-Richland defensive lineman Miguel Jackson set out to pick eight finalists from his list of 30 college offers, but that task proved harder than expected. “It was difficult to choose,” he said. “I was planning on doing a Top 8, but another school came in.” So, Jackson created a Top...
Montour’s Jaiden Hill sticks with 1st Division I offer, commits to LibertyVideo
Jaiden Hill’s first offer turned out to be his favorite. The Montour rising senior announced he committed Sunday to Liberty, the school that gave him his first Division I offer in March. He’d since added Duquesne and Robert Morris but ultimately stuck with the Flames, an independent FBS team. The...
Q&A with new WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman: Will there be fall sports?Video
As Amy Scheuneman points out, there was no coronavirus pandemic when she agreed to become the WPIAL executive director. While that’s true, she’s certainly not running from the challenge. “One of my favorite movies is ‘The Replacements,’” said Scheuneman, who borrows a line from football coach Jimmy McGinty, played in...
Noel Roach commits to Akron after talks with former Penn Hills teammateVideo
Noel Roach couldn’t visit Akron’s campus, so the Penn Hills senior found other ways to learn about the school and its football program. It helps to have a trusted source on the inside. Roach committed Friday to Akron, where former Penn Hills teammate Corey Thomas is a redshirt freshman on...
WPIAL plans Diversity Advisory Council to better represent minority communities
The WPIAL soon could have a Diversity Advisory Council, created to give a louder voice to the challenges faced by minority communities. Associate executive director Amy Scheuneman shared her idea Thursday with the WPIAL board of directors, who supported the plan and voted unanimously to develop the council at a...
WPIAL eliminates football, basketball pairings meetings in cost-cutting move
The longstanding WPIAL playoff tradition that drew football and basketball coaches to a crowded hotel conference room is ending. The WPIAL board voted Thursday to eliminate pairings meetings in a money-saving move meant to reduce the league’s 2020-21 budget. Concerned covid-19 could cause the WPIAL financial pain, the board unanimously...
PIAA could rewrite co-op rule, making combined teams easier for schools
The PIAA could rewrite its co-op rule this summer, making it easier for two schools to form a combined sports team. Currently, to cooperatively sponsor a sport, school districts must be contiguous, meaning they share a border. But at times, neighboring districts aren’t willing or able to co-op, so schools...
Woodland Hills leads WPIAL football back to practice with workouts ‘normal as any other’
Woodland Hills football coach Tim Bostard checked every player’s temperature and nobody was allowed to shake hands. Otherwise, this was just another Monday in June. “Once the kids got there, it felt as normal as any other day that we would have during the summer,” said Bostard, whose football team...
PIAA approves state football brackets; WPIAL can finalize its playoff plans
The PIAA approved state tournament brackets for all sports except basketball Monday, meaning the WPIAL soon can finalize plans for its football playoffs and championship games. The PIAA football brackets have the Class 6A champion entering the state playoffs in Week 13 (quarterfinals) on Nov. 27-28. The five other WPIAL...
PIAA adopts 2-game suspension for unsportsmanlike actions including ‘racially insensitive comments’
The PIAA strengthened its stance against “ethnic and racially insensitive comments” by making those and other unsportsmanlike actions punishable with a two-game suspension. The board on Monday unanimously approved added discipline for coaches and athletes ejected for the most egregious infractions. That list also includes foul or vulgar language and...
