Dave Mackall stories, Page 17
Penn-Trafford boys top Kiski Area to earn playoff spot
Penn-Trafford is hot at the right time. In a playoff atmosphere on the Warriors’ home court Friday night, P-T won its third consecutive boys basketball game and fourth in the past five to clinch a WPIAL playoff spot in its final test of the regular season. Jason Sabol scored 18...
Indoor season provides opportunity to shine for Hempfield track athletes
The numbers don’t lie. Hempfield’s track and field program produces some eye-popping figures. On a recent Saturday at the PennWest Edinboro Sports and Recreation Center, three members of the Hempfield girls indoor team produced elite numbers at a Tri-State Track Coaches Association meet. With hundreds of boys and girls from...
Frazier drops Highlands in WPIAL team tournament
There’s a new kid on the mat. Upstart Frazier, whose wrestling program is in its seventh season of PIAA competition, is moving on in the WPIAL Class 2A team tournament in its first season in the playoffs. The Section 2 champion Commodores earned a pair of playoff victories Wednesday night...
After closed-door meeting, Latrobe hockey joins hunt with Class 2A contenders
It’s been a far-from-perfect scenario since the Latrobe hockey team held a closed-door meeting in early November following a pair of uninspired losses that produced just two goals and dropped the Wildcats’ record to .500 after just four games. Despite his team having outscored its first two opponents by a...
Robert Morris extends winning streak; Kahliel Spear hits 1,000
For Robert Morris, reaching the .500 mark in the Horizon League men’s basketball standings this late in the season could be a reason to celebrate. Just don’t tell coach Andy Toole. “When you’re worried about making the right play for the team, you’re not worried about stats,” Toole said Sunday...
Robert Morris men get past Detroit Mercy, Antoine Davis to record 1st win in series
The marquee moments have been few since the Robert Morris men’s basketball team joined the Horizon League three years ago. The Colonials are a combined 13-34 since ending their long union with the Northeast Conference, where they won nine tournament championships, the last in 2019, their final year in the...
Burrell wrestlers handle Greensburg Salem to win 20th straight section title
It was a mere formality Wednesday night for No. 2 Burrell to secure its 20th consecutive WPIAL section wrestling title. On their home mat, the Bucs took advantage of five Greensburg Salem forfeits and claimed all but two matches in a 57-6 rout of the outmanned Golden Lions to win...
Cold-shooting Duquesne drops 2nd in row as Fordham rallies to win
Perhaps a new voice is needed in the Duquesne men’s basketball camp — temporarily, at least — after two sluggish offensive showings have led to a pair of losses and derailed the Dukes’ surprising, early-season momentum. Following the latest setback — Saturday’s 65-58 decision to Fordham at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse...
Greensburg CC boys avenge loss to Riverview with big 2nd half
It was a date circled on the calendar at Greensburg Central Catholic, a chance to avenge its only section loss in boys basketball. On Friday night at GCC, the first-place Centurions evened the score with Riverview, erupting in the second half to erase a six-point deficit and beat the Raiders,...
Plum wrestlers dethrone Kiski Area, claim section title
Plum wrestling coach Mike Supak rolled out a few last-minute changes to his lineup Wednesday night and the plan paid off as the visiting Mustangs halted Kiski Area’s dominating run of six WPIAL section titles in impressive fashion. “This win puts us in a better position” a happy Supak said...
After claiming 1st WPIAL title, Mt. Pleasant swimmers again off to strong start
Looking the part of an established vet, the swagger of promising swimmer Lily King was evident as she emerged from the Mt. Pleasant locker room and headed toward an exit. Just a sophomore, the 5-foot-11 King already is a Pennsylvania high school champion in three events. “She’s fast, and she...
Freeport boys pull away for rout of Greensburg Salem
Freeport trailed host Greensburg Salem by a point at the end of the first quarter Friday night before the Yellowjackets erupted with back-to-back 25-point outbursts in the second and third and went on to bury the Golden Lions, 72-27, in a WPIAL Section 1-4A boys basketball game. A running clock...
Gateway boys basketball pounces on Kiski Area
Gateway wasted no time setting the ground rules for its fifth consecutive boys basketball victory, racing to a 21-point lead against homestanding Kiski Area and rolling to an overwhelming 65-43 victory Tuesday night. While Gateway coach Alvis Rogers was delighted with the scenario, Kiski Area’s Corey Smith watched helplessly as...
Greensburg Salem hockey team hungry for more success
It’s been a lot of fun for the Greensburg Salem hockey team to quite often assemble and break bread. The guys seem to enjoy gathering at the conclusion of a spirited practice. A tight-knit group, with most players having been together since middle school, this dogged bunch has mostly craved...
Kiski Area wrestling continues dominance over rival Armstrong
Kiski Area extended its recent dominance of Armstrong on Wednesday night in a high school wrestling series involving neighboring rivals along the border of Westmoreland and Armstrong counties. The Cavaliers completed their third consecutive no-doubt victory over the visiting River Hawks, handing Armstrong its first loss, 48-21. “It was a...
Joe Reece’s 18 points lead Duquesne past Rhode Island
Duquesne’s Atlantic 10 home opener on New Year’s Eve brought out a second layer of hoops fans to The Bluff as the Dukes played host to their largest home crowd of the season Saturday afternoon at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. And, while there were some anxious moments, the Dukes didn’t disappoint...
Bethel Park girls basketball team beats short-handed Plum
Bethel Park came into Latrobe’s two-day holiday girls basketball tournament having won just once in its first seven games. The Black Hawks came away with a pair of victories to stretch their winning streak to three after the latest success Thursday, a 41-36 decision over short-handed Plum. The Mustangs, who...
Deer Lakes boys insist celebration of streak-busting win over OLSH will be short
Happy Holidays, Deer Lakes. The Lancers received an early present leading to the Christmas weekend when, on Thursday, they ended the nation’s longest winning streak in high school boys basketball by defeating two-time PIAA champion Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. The celebration of their decisive 70-55 victory, said their...
Robert Morris men defeat rival St. Francis (Pa.)
Robert Morris met its longest-running rival in men’s basketball Wednesday at UPMC Events Center, and the Colonials for most of the night had their hands full with St. Francis (Pa.). But, after sleep-walking through the first half and falling behind early in the second, Robert Morris finally came together and...
Duquesne hits double-digit wins, rolls past Winthrop
Excitement is building on The Bluff, and with good reason. Duquesne notched its 10th men’s basketball victory of the season Wednesday in its final nonconference game to carry a double-digit win total into Atlantic 10 play for just the fourth time in program history. Dae Dae Grant scored 21 points,...
Duquesne’s offensive struggles continue in loss to New Mexico State
Duquesne’s sudden case of cold shooting continued Sunday, contributing to another underwhelming loss after an encouraging 7-1 start to the men’s basketball season. The Dukes came up empty for a second time in four days at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, losing 73-60 to New Mexico State. Duquesne’s leading scorer, Dae Dae...
Greensburg Salem girls celebrate Mankins’ return with win over Mt. Pleasant
Greensburg Salem ushered in the start of another girls basketball season Friday night on its home court by racing past Mt. Pleasant on the first day of the Greensburg Salem Tip-Off Tournament. Kaitlyn Mankins, playing in her first high school game in nearly 11 months, scored 17 points, and Ashlan...
Valley girls basketball team will measure success by progress
Aelan Wyley has plans to be an architect someday. For now, she’d like to win more basketball games. With the start of the girls regular season approaching, the Valley senior guard good-naturedly laughed off the Vikings’ inability to score points and post victories, acknowledging it’s been much longer since the...
Valley boys have clean slate as rebuilding process continues
After a 1-21 season in his first year as a high school head basketball coach in 2021-22, Valley’s John Stone was undeterred, even as he bid farewell to four senior starters. Incidentally, the Vikings’ fifth starter since has transferred out, leaving them with an overhauled lineup this season. “I love...
Graduations, injury to PG Cernuto leave Southmoreland girls basketball with voids to fill
If Southmoreland’s current run of WPIAL playoff appearances in girls basketball is to continue, the Scotties likely will need to reach deep down for a little something extra this season. It’s one thing to lose to graduation three starters from a 19-5 team that reached the second round of the...
