Defense, special teams carries Mt. Lebanon past NA, into 1st WPIAL title game since 2000
For the first time since 2000, Mt. Lebanon is headed to the WPIAL championship. No. 1 Mt. Lebanon (11-0) got on the board first and refused to relinquish its lead during a 28-17 victory over No.4 North Allegheny (7-5) to punch its ticket to the Class 6A finals and snap...
Pine-Richland softball focused on adding punch at the plate
Pine-Richland softball coach Gary Shepard has always emphasized pitching and defense as the core tenets of his philosophy for winning games on the diamond. However, this season, the Rams coach is tweaking his approach to incorporate more work at the plate in an effort to increase his team’s scoring output....
Pine-Richland baseball program has no plans to lower bar
The defending WPIAL Class 6A champion Pine-Richland baseball team is entering the season fully aware of how others may perceive them. After enjoying two titles in the last three years, the program graduated 11 seniors from last year, including four Division I players. While replacing a host of pedigreed players...
Pine-Richland’s Vacula earns trip to PIAA swimming championships
At the WPIAL Class AAA swimming championships Feb. 27-28 at Pitt’s Trees Pool, Trent Vacula turned in the best 200-yard individual medley time in Pine-Richland history. The Rams sophomore finished in 1 minute, 56.83 seconds to take sixth in the event and earn a spot on the podium. His time...
Pine-Richland’s Spencer brothers each win wrestling championships
Pine-Richland’s Cole Spencer snared his first WPIAL wrestling title Feb. 29 at Canon-McMillan High School, earning his status as a champion after edging Kiski Area’s Sammy Starr, 2-1. To make the win even sweeter, Spencer (38-0) clinched career win No. 100 with the victory at 152 pounds, and did so...
Pine-Richland competitive spirit takes 9th at nationals
The Pine-Richland competitive spirit team recently brought its strong 2019-20 campaign to a close, finishing its season with a ninth-place finish in the small varsity division at the 2020 UCA National High School Cheerleading Championships on Feb. 7-9 in Orlando, Fla. After battling with more than 50 of the most...
Pine-Richland boys take positives from season after frustrating playoff loss
The Pine-Richland boys basketball team’s season was brought to a halt Feb. 22 as it was toppled by Upper St. Clair, 62-59, in the quarterfinal round of the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs. In the decisive contest at North Hills, the Rams (15-9, 7-3) scored 42 points in the first half...
Ethan Morton, No. 1 Butler outlast Peters Township in double-overtime barnburner
It took four quarters, two overtimes and 32 points and a buzzer beater from Ethan Morton for No. 1 Butler to finally escape a tough No. 9 Peters Township (14-10) team, but escape they did in a 78-76 victory in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball playoffs....
Alexander, Pine-Richland shine at WPIAL gymnastics championships
The Pine-Richland gymnastics team capitalized on strong group-wide performances in the both the vault and beam events to finish in fourth place overall at the WPIAL gymnastics championships Feb. 15 at Moon. The Rams took third in the team standings for both the vault and beam, collecting a score of...
Aquinas Academy fencers improving ahead of postseason push
With just a couple of matches left in the regular season, the Aquinas Academy fencing teams still are jostling for at-large qualifying bids for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Fencing Association league postseason championship tournament. Both the boys and girls teams have a 2-4 record. Because of the significant logjam in the...
Pine-Richland grad Rourke making most of senior season with Gannon women’s basketball
Since stepping onto campus four years ago, Gannon women’s basketball player Chelsea Rourke has appeared 111 games. In that time, she has amassed more than 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. At this point, the senior forward and Pine-Richland alum is relishing each game remaining in her time with the Golden...
North Hills swimmers prepare for WPIAL meet
North Hills will be sending 13 swimmers to compete at the WPIAL Class AAA championships Feb. 27-28 at Pitt’s Trees Pool. To add to that, the program has qualified to compete in all three relay events on both the girls and the boys side at the district meet. Strictly based...
Pine-Richland swimmers ready for WPIAL meet
With only a couple of meets left to before the WPIAL Class AAA swimming championships, Pine-Richland is solidifying its list of athletes who have earned qualifying times for their respective events. And this season, coach Pete Barry is optimistic about the prospect of his swimmers bringing home medals. “It’s going...
Pine-Richland boys secure big win heading into playoffs
Heading down the home stretch of the regular season, the Pine-Richland boys basketball team had a WPIAL Class 6A playoff spot locked up. Still, the Rams did not lack for motivation as they entered their Section 1-6A finale at Central Catholic. The extra vigor that the Rams brought to the...
North Hills hockey making postseason push
For the better part of the last month, the North Hills hockey team has been in a hard-pressed situation as it strives to qualify for the PIHL Class A Penguins Cup playoffs. The Indians have been tested in one of the most competitive divisions Class A has to offer. The...
Pine-Richland grad Schonbachler prepares for ACC meet
In his third season with the Pitt swimming team, Pine-Richland product Ryan Schonbachler is continuing to improve his resume as a long-distance swimmer while also displaying his versatility by incorporating some intermediate-distance events into his repertoire. With less than a month to go until the ACC championships, set for Feb....
Hard work pays off for Pine-Richland wrestling team
January was a good month for the Pine-Richland wrestling team. It might have been the best month the program has experienced in the past decade. For starters, the Rams captured first place Jan. 18 at the Allegheny County tournament, besting a field of 37 teams for their first win at...
Pine-Richland grad, Duquesne guard Amanda Kalin posts rare triple-double
After dealing with an injury-shortened freshman season and making measured contributions during her sophomore year, Pine-Richland alum Amanda Kalin finally has emerged as a junior for the Duquesne women’s basketball team. Kalin’s development into a versatile contributor for the Dukes (13-6, 3-3 Atlantic 10 through Jan. 23) was on display...
Led by champ Sam Hillegas, North Hills wrestlers have strong showing at county tournament
In terms of both the individual performances of its grapplers and its success as a collective group, the North Hills wrestling team made sure it got its money’s worth out of the fiercely competitive Allegheny County wrestling tournament. Out of 37 participating schools, the Indians (4-5) snared an eighth-place finish...
Pine-Richland girls basketball pushing through adversity
There’s good luck. There’s bad luck. And then there’s the luck the Pine-Richland girls basketball team has had to suffer through during its 2019-20 season. Nearly half of the players have been hit with injuries. The team has six players who are missing time with injuries. Of those six, five...
Freshman Vinnie Cugini leads potent offense for Aquinas boys basketball
On Jan. 7, the Aquinas Academy boys basketball team won the first WPIAL section game in school history, besting Section 3-A foe St. Joseph, 76-73. Three days later, the Crusaders (4-8, 2-4) started their first section winning streak by beating Propel Montour, 80-49. The winning streak since has been snapped...
Pine-Richland competitive cheer takes 1st at WPIAL spirit championships
In the run-up to the 2019 WPIAL competitive spirit championships, several members of Pine-Richland’s team were stricken with the flu, causing practice time to be limited as the bug spread between a number of teammates. Yet when it came time to perform at the WPIAL title event Jan. 4 at...
Experience, versatility key for Pine-Richland diving team
The Pine-Richland diving team might not boast the deepest roster in WPIAL Class AAA, but while in some cases there is strength in numbers, the Rams are counting on deriving their strength from their adaptability and cohesion. To add to those traits, this year’s group also features a number of...
Pine-Richland grad Petcash performing at high level for Binghamton
Pine-Richland product Dan Petcash has been working diligently and carving out minutes for himself in the Binghamton men’s basketball team’s rotation of contributors all season. In the Bearcats’ 13 games, the freshman guard has averaged more than 10 minutes of playing time. Against Hartwick College on Dec. 29, Petcash was...
North Hills swimming teams enjoying improvement this season
While they’re only a handful of meets into their season, the North Hills boys and girls swimming teams are seeing measureable gains in their performances. So far, the North Hills girls (3-0) have seen one pool record, in addition to qualifying three of their relay teams for WPIALs and six...
