Chris Harlan stories, Page 98

Quaker Valley transfer Hunter Robison’s hopes to wrestle this season were dashed by the PIAA. The WPIAL previously ruled the state-ranked sophomore ineligible for the postseason and the PIAA agreed with that decision Tuesday, leaving him unable to compete in team or individual tournaments this winter. The WPIAL Class 2A...

Basketball coach Matt Clement was a junior on the team’s roster the last time Butler won a section title, but he watched Tuesday night as that 28-year wait finally ended. Clement, his players and the school’s large student section all celebrated as Ethan Morton made two free throws with 5.6...

WPIAL rankings Girls basketball Class 6A 1. Norwin, 13-2, 2 2. Bethel Park, 14-1, 1 3. North Allegheny, 13-3, 3 4. Mt. Lebanon, 14-3, 4 5. Upper St. Clair, 9-5, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Chartiers Valley, 17-0, 1 2. Woodland Hills, 15-2, 2 3. Trinity, 13-2, 3 4....

WPIAL rankings Boys basketball Class 6A 1. Fox Chapel, 17-0, 1 2. Butler, 13-4, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 13-4, 3 4. Pine-Richland, 11-5, 4 5. Upper St. Clair, 14-3, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Chartiers Valley, 12-4, 2 2. Penn Hills, 12-4, 1 3. Mars, 12-3, 4 4. Shaler,...

MECHANICSBURG — Aliquippa accepted its football team’s fate Wednesday and the school ended efforts to stay in Class 3A. School administrators were scheduled to appear before the PIAA board and argue their appeal, but instead they cancelled that hearing on the advice of Aliquippa’s school board, said athletic director Brandon...

Quaker Valley wrestler Hunter Robison, a talented midseason transfer from General McLane, might not suit up for the Quakers this season. The WPIAL denied Robison’s request for a postseason waiver at a hearing Monday in Green Tree, leaving him ineligible for the upcoming team and individual tournaments. PIAA rules also...

The WPIAL ruled a pair of Greensburg Central Catholic transfers ineligible Monday. The board declared girls basketball player Bailey Kuhns and football player Mark Mizerak both ineligible based on transfer paperwork submitted by the schools, WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley said. Their previous schools flagged the transfers as possibly motivated...

The WPIAL board voted Monday to call in school administrators and boys basketball coaches from Propel Andrew Street and Leechburg to address allegations of racial slurs. A date has not been scheduled. The section basketball game between the two schools was cut short in the final minute Friday after Propel...

The WPIAL has witnessed a decline in football attendance, so it took steps Monday to address those concerns. The board approved an updated conference alignment that keeps the six classification format preferred by 70% of schools, but also attempted to quiet complaints about unwanted travel. To make that happen, the...

The Big 33 Football Classic’s Super Bowl streak continues with help from a former WPIAL athlete. All 54 Super Bowl matchups have included at least one former player from the high school football all-star game, a streak that San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Kevin Givens and kicker Robbie Gould, and...

WPIAL rankings Girls basketball Class 6A 1. Bethel Park, 13-0, 1 2. Norwin, 11-2, 2 3. North Allegheny, 11-3, 3 4. Mt. Lebanon, 12-3, 4 5. Upper St. Clair, 9-4, NR Out: Baldwin (10-5, 5) Class 5A 1. Chartiers Valley, 15-0, 1 2. Woodland Hills, 13-2, 2 3. Trinity, 11-2,...

WPIAL rankings Boys basketball Class 6A 1. Fox Chapel, 15-0, 1 2. Butler, *10-4, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 11-4, 3 4. Pine-Richland, *9-4, 4 5. Upper St. Clair, 13-2, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Penn Hills, *11-2, 1 2. Chartiers Valley, 10-4, 4 3. Shaler, 11-4, 2 4. Mars,...

The WPIAL has already requested a weekend at Heinz Field for the football finals, but it’s too early to say which classifications will play their championships at the North Shore stadium. That’s because this is a realignment year for the PIAA, a resorting of teams that occurs across the state...

High school basketball teams from seven states are headed to Woodland Hills this weekend for the Martin Luther King Weekend Stand Against Violence Showcase, a four-day event that features 41 boys and girls varsity games. The showcase starts Friday. In the field are two teams that are ranked nationally. The...

District 10 accepted Butler’s football team as an associate member Wednesday after the WPIAL endorsed the move. The WPIAL board had previously rejected the football team’s request to leave District 7 and join District 10, but later sent a letter in support of this limited arrangement. As an associate member,...

WPIAL football will have some smaller conferences and handpicked nonconference matchups next season, but schools don’t want a radical overhaul. A significant majority of WPIAL schools preferred “Proposal 1” for football realignment, a plan that maintains six classifications and separates schools according to enrollment size rather than geography. School administrators...

The PIAA competitive-balance rule seems particularly harsh on lower-income communities like Aliquippa, said athletic director Brandon LeDonne, where residents tend to be more transient. “Parents change jobs, guardianship changes, living situations change,” LeDonne said. “Sometimes they change like some of us change underwear. It’s kind of unfortunate.” The new rule...