Paul Schofield stories, Page 124

Iowa sophomore Spencer Lee calls himself a Pokemon nerd. His Iowa teammates call him the baddest man on the planet. You can just call the 2017 Franklin Regional graduate a two-time NCAA Division I champion. With many of his friends and coaches among the throng of hometown fans in attendance,...

The 330 wrestlers who came to Pittsburgh for the 2019 NCAA Division I wrestling championship this weekend weren’t just looking to become All-Americans. They wanted to be national champions. But only 10 wrestlers could claim national-champ status once the tournament ended Saturday, and another 70 joined them as All-Americans. While...

The suspense of which team was going to win another NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship title ended early on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena. Penn State claimed its eighth team title in the past nine years during the morning session and ninth in school history. Penn State has five wrestlers...

There is something about the NCAA wrestling championship that brings out the best in Penn State junior Vincenzo Joseph. The two-time champion punched his ticket to his third final Friday by edging a familiar foe: friend, practice partner from the Young Guns Club and Arizona State junior Josh Shields. Joseph...

It was a match neither Luke Pletcher nor Micky Phillippi really wanted to wrestle, but they had to. The close friends from Westmoreland County battled in the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship quarterfinals Friday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena for the right to become an All-American and a spot...

With three sessions in the books at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, it’s time to look for the best matchups in Friday’s semifinals at PPG Paints Arena. The session will get underway at 8 p.m. These matches should be electric and have fans on the edge of their seats:...

With Day 1 in the books at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, it’s time to look for the best matchups in Friday’s quarterfinals at PPG Paints Arena. There are going to be some good ones, especially at 133 pounds. 5-Jack Mueller, Virginia (19-0) vs. 4-Ronnie Bresser, Oregon State (25-1)...

Micky Phillippi doesn’t know how many times he’s faced Ohio State junior Luke Pletcher on the wrestling mat. “Counting the practice sessions in high school, it was probably thousands,” said Phillippi, a redshirt freshman at Pitt. But when they two square off at noon Friday in the NCAA Division I...

When Latrobe graduate Luke Pletcher walked out on the mat for his first-round match at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on Thursday, he heard a young fan yelling his name. Pletcher said he usually would nod, but when he saw the kid wearing a Latrobe wrestling sweatshirt, he gave...

For Ohio State senior Te’Shan Campbell and Oklahoma freshman Jake Woodley a trip home turned out better than ever after both claimed wins in Round 1 of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena. Campbell snapped a scoreless tie with a takedown in the third...

Former Penn-Trafford and Norwin football coach John Yaccino died suddenly in Florida on Wednesday. He was 78. He was reportedly playing golf near his Ponte Vedra Beach home when he fell ill, according to Hazleton Standard-Speaker Sports Editor Dave Seamon. Yaccino last coached in 1999 at Hazleton, where he was...

With the first session in the books at the NCAA Division I wrestling championships, it’s time to look for the best matchups in Thursday’s second session at PPG Paints Arena. There are going to be some good ones, especially at 133 pounds. (Wrestlers’ seeds are designated before their names.) 5-Luke...

The NCAA Division I wrestling championship begins Thursday, and here are some interesting first-round matches to watch (each wrestler’s name is preceded by his seeding): 28-Gage Curry, American (23-11) vs. 5-Jack Mueller, Virginia (17-0) Mueller (125 pounds) could make some noise in the tournament. Curry isn’t an easy draw. The...

When the NCAA Division I wrestling championships begin Thursday at PPG Paints Arena, there will be one official from Pittsburgh among the 20 picked to work the event. John Hnath, a former Pitt wrestler and Mt. Lebanon graduate and resident, will be working for the 10th consecutive season. Hnath, 51,...

When Spencer Lee last wrestled in Pennsylvania, he lost in the finals of the 2017 PIAA Class AAA championships to Austin DeSanto, who is now his teammate. Lee felt a little betrayed by fans, whom he thought adored him. He didn’t understand at the time that fans love the upset,...

By The Numbers The 2019 NCAA Division I wrestling championships will be held Thursday-Saturday at PPG Paints Arena. Here are some interesting numbers: 3: Franklin Regional graduates who are entered in the event: Iowa sophomore Spencer Lee (125 pounds), Arizona State junior Josh Maruca (149) and Arizona State junior Josh...

The Hempfield High School baseball field’s backstop suffered wind damage during a recent storm. The wind uprooted a pole holding up the backstop and, according to athletic director Greg Meisner, repairs will begin Tuesday. “It should be finished by Thursday,” Meisner said. “It should be ready for the start of...

Derry senior Dom DeLuca wrestled with an injured left knee in the PIAA Class AA semifinals and finals in Hershey on March 8-9 according to wrestling coach Mike Weinell. “We knew he tweaked it on Friday in the quarterfinals, but we didn’t know to what extent,” Weinell said. “Looking back...

Berlin Brothersvalley girls basketball is starting to smell the chocolate. But before their fans can start launching Hershey’s Kisses at them, the Mountaineers have to dispose of section and District 5 rival Shanksville-Stoneycreek for the second time in four tries. That will be Tuesday at a site and time to...

A strong United States team had too much firepower for the Pennsylvania All-Stars in the annual Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic on Friday at Pitt’s Fitzgerald Field House. The U.S. squad raced out to a big lead and cruised to a 29-18 victory. It has won eight consecutive matches. For Kiski Area...

Franklin Regional sophomore Carter Dibert capped his second PIAA wrestling championship by standing on the top of the podium March 9 at the Giant Center in Hershey. Dibert used a five-point move early and defeated Seneca Valley sophomore Dylan Chappell, 7-2, to win the 106-pound title. While Dibert celebrated titles,...