Chris Harlan stories, Page 96
PIAA in ‘holding pattern’ waiting for more information from governor
School districts in Lawrence and more than a dozen other Pennsylvania counties will soon enter the green phase, but the PIAA remains in a “holding pattern” waiting to hear what that means for high school sports. Teams can’t resume workouts until cleared by the PIAA. Gov. Tom Wolf announced last...
Miniature Wash High gym showcases ‘underground hobby’ of paper stadiums
Trey Ashby never set foot inside Wash High’s basketball gym, but the Nebraska resident can describe the banners on the wall, the paint colors on the floor and the wooden seats that give the place its character. In fact, Ashby built himself a replica. “In Nebraska, all of our gyms...
WPIAL reveals 2021 baseball schedules with ‘long overdue’ 2-game section series
If a section opponent had a star pitcher, West Allegheny baseball coach Bryan Cornell always assumed his team would face him twice. Next spring, that will change. The WPIAL released revamped baseball schedules Tuesday that have section teams playing a two-game series on consecutive days in 2021. Now, a team...
PIAA approves new classifications, divisions for competitive spirit
Competitive spirit, which became a PIAA sport eight years ago, will see some changes next season. The PIAA board approved a new formula for grouping teams that measures both school enrollment and squad size. As a result, there will be five state champions crowned next winter rather than four. The...
As Lawrence County transitions to green, football coaches eager to start workouts
Lawrence County is about to turn green, but the battery icon on Joe Cowart’s cell phone was trending toward red. The New Castle football coach’s phone started buzzing Friday after Gov. Tom Wolf named Lawrence among 17 counties moving into the green phase of his color-coded reopening system May 29,...
WPIAL reveals section schedules for 2020-21 basketball season
In WPIAL boys basketball, Butler vs. Pine-Richland has become one of the hottest section rivalries, with overtime finishes and single-digit margins driving up the drama. Next season, it’ll be 50% bigger. There are only five teams in Section 1-6A boys for the 2020-21 season, so the WPIAL will allow those...
Foul language, physical contact would earn 2-game suspension under PIAA proposal
The use of foul and vulgar language or physical contact with a PIAA game official, coach or opponent could become a two-game suspension for high school athletes and coaches. The PIAA board discussed a new disqualification rule at Wednesday’s online meeting meant to curb a rising tide of ejections statewide....
PIAA board refers wrestling weight-class reduction to medical committee
The PIAA board referred a proposal to reduce wrestling weight classes to the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee for discussion. The proposal would cut the number of weights from 14 to 13. The PIAA would maintain weight classes 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152 and 160 pounds. However, it...
PIAA denies Lincoln Park appeal, forces boys basketball team to Class 4A
The Lincoln Park boys basketball team must move to Class 4A next season after the PIAA denied its final appeal Wednesday. Athletic director Mike Bariski argued in an online hearing that the PIAA competitive-balance rule shouldn’t force the Leopards or any other team into a higher classification because of the...
New coach Dan DeRose wants to win North Allegheny’s first WPIAL boys basketball title
North Allegheny has never won a WPIAL boys basketball title. If Dan DeRose doesn’t fix that in his time there, the Tigers’ new coach admits he’d be disappointed. The NA school board officially hired the former Penn Hills coach Wednesday night, giving the team a leader who won a WPIAL...
PIAA not ready to endorse NFHS guidelines for reopening high school athletics
The PIAA isn’t ready to endorse the return-to-sports guidelines issued Tuesday by the National Federation of State High School Associations. The lengthy NFHS guidelines cover everything from pre-workout screening, limitations on gathering sizes, requirements for cleaning facilities, the safe use of athletic equipment and athlete hydration. The guide was written...
PIAA board says some teams may resume workouts next month, if governor approves
The PIAA board of directors unanimously supports a county-by-county approach to restarting high school sports, once the governor gives his approval. If that approval comes soon, some schools might resume workouts before July 1. The board discussed Wednesday whether the PIAA should set one restart date for the entire state...
National association issues detailed guide for reopening high school athletics
Players shouldn’t pass a basketball, hand off a football or share a baseball bat when high school sports workouts first resume, according to guidelines revealed Tuesday by the National Federation of State High School Associations. Also, workouts should include no more than 10 people, whether indoors or outside. The NFHS...
WPIAL adopts 2-game series for section baseball schedules, reveals realignment
The WPIAL adopted a revamped baseball schedule Monday meant to keep teams from pitching their ace twice against the same section opponent. Now, rather than play every team once and then rematch later in the season, WPIAL baseball teams will play a two-game series on consecutive days against every section...
North Allegheny expected to hire Dan DeRose as boys basketball coach
Another high-profile WPIAL basketball coach is expected to switch schools this week. Dan DeRose is expected to be hired as North Allegheny’s boys basketball coach Wednesday, pending school board approval, according to a source. DeRose coached at Penn Hills for the past five seasons and won a WPIAL Class 6A...
PIAA board of directors to discuss restarting sports county by county
Could the PIAA take a county-by-county approach to restarting sports, or should the entire state resume summer workouts at the same time? “We want to have that discussion,” said PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi, who expects that question and others related to the coronavirus shutdown will be addressed Wednesday when...
Dek hockey athleticism earns North Hills lineman 1st college football offerVideo
At 6-foot-5 and around 230 pounds, North Hills’ Matt Hummel is bigger than most dek hockey players. Off-the-shelf sticks are often too short. But the athleticism that lets him play multiple sports also has college football coaches interested in recruiting the offensive lineman. The junior added his first Division I...
Air Force Academy football makes recruiting push into Western Pa.Video
Two military service academies have successfully recruited Western Pennsylvania football players for years. Combined, Army and Navy had seven former WPIAL athletes on their rosters last fall. The Air Force Academy wants to join them. The Falcons have extended offers to a number of WPIAL juniors this spring including at...
Pine-Richland’s Luke Miller wastes no time making commitment to Kent StateVideo
Pine-Richland junior Luke Miller didn’t need long to decide. Two days after receiving a Kent State offer, Miller committed Saturday to the Golden Flashes. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound linebacker and receiver chose the Mid-American school over more than a dozen other Division I offers. Miller took an unofficial visit to the...
Thomas Jefferson linebacker Preston Zandier commits to Youngstown StateVideo
Not often does a university president get involved in football recruiting, but these are unusual times. And of course Youngstown State’s president isn’t your usual school administrator. Thomas Jefferson junior Preston Zandier committed Saturday to YSU, two weeks after a video-conference call with new Penguins coach Doug Phillips, his assistants...
Trinity junior Courtney Dahlquist adds 2 college basketball offersVideo
Trinity junior Courtney Dahlquist, who saw her season cut short by the coronavirus outbreak, added two college offers this week. The 6-foot-3 forward received a Division I offer from UMass Lowell and a Division II offer from IUP, which finished last season ranked seventh nationally. Her AAU team announced the...
Coronavirus pandemic speeds up recruiting for Western Pa. Bruins girls basketball players
If this were any other spring, Corinne Washington would be traveling to Detroit this weekend with her Western Pa. Bruins teammates for an AAU basketball tournament in the Motor City. Instead, the Quaker Valley junior is limited to one-on-one games with her brother and father on an outdoor neighborhood court....
WPIAL reveals new basketball sections for 2020-21 season
Central Catholic coach Brian Urso will use this stay-at-home time to binge watch some game film. He spent his first season at Central learning all about the boys basketball teams to the north and now will study Westmoreland County. “I‘ll have the time,” Urso said. The WPIAL revealed updated boys...
NFHS votes down shot clock mandate for high school basketball
High school teams can still hold the basketball for as long as they’d like. A proposal that would’ve mandated use of a shot clock in high school games wasn’t approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations basketball rules committee, the organization announced Monday. Another proposal that would’ve...
Lincoln Park wants PIAA to define ‘participation’ in competitive-balance rule
Lincoln Park athletic director Mike Bariski is curious about the PIAA’s definition of the word “participation.” Under the PIAA competitive-balance rule, Bariski’s boys basketball team was awarded two success points for participation in this year’s state quarterfinals, exactly enough to force the Leopards into a higher classification next season. Bariski...
