Paul Schofield stories, Page 14
Brashear’s Tamara Humphries steps into semifinal spotlight at PIAA girls wrestling
HERSHEY – Brashear senior Tamara Humphries has been the talk of the PIAA Girls Wrestling Championship. A day after defeating the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the state, she pinned her next opponent, Nanticoke freshman Emily Kivler, to reach Friday night’s semifinals at the Giant Center. She’ll face Canon-McMillan sophomore...
Four WPIAL wrestlers advance to Class 2A semifinals in Hershey
HERSHEY – Derry sophomore Mason Horwat placed sixth in the PIAA 2A Championships in 2024. With his win in the 152-pound quarterfinals Friday morning, Horwat is guaranteed another medal. This year, he wants to be higher on the podium. Horwat is one of only four wrestlers from the WPIAL to...
215-pound bracket packed with WPIAL stars at PIAA Class 3A wrestling
HERSHEY — Are Belle Vernon junior Elijah Brown and Kiski Area junior Cooper Roscosky on a collision course for a third consecutive week? They think so, but they are not looking that far ahead. In fact, the top four ranked WPIAL wrestlers at 215 pounds — Brown, Roscosky, Ringgold senior...
WPIAL wrestlers find tough sledding on 1st day of PIAA Class 2A tournament
HERSHEY — There is no hiding at the PIAA wrestling championships. No matter where a wrestler turns, he is going to face someone good. Three Westmoreland County wrestlers survived the first round Thursday and advanced to the quarterfinals Friday at Giant Center with solid wins. The competition for Derry senior...
U.S. Open countdown rekindles history at Oakmont Country Club
In fewer than 100 days, many of the top golfers in the world will be at historic Oakmont Country Club teeing it up for the U.S. Open. It will be a record 10th time the tournament will be held at the famous venue, and each time a different story has...
High school wrestling notebook: Norwin pair eyes success at PIAA girls tournament
A year ago, the PIAA held its first girls wrestling tournament. Norwin sophomores Karsyn Champion and Octavia Walker enjoyed the experience, but neither was able to earn a medal. Now the Norwin duo hopes getting the experience of competing on the big stage carries them to bigger things this weekend....
Willochell in loaded PIAA weight class; Kapusta looking to stay hot
Things have not gone the way Latrobe senior Luke Willochell had planned for the past two weeks. Indiana senior Nico Fanella has kept Willochell from becoming a Class 3A four-time champion in the WPIAL and PIAA Regional tournaments. But Willochell can erase that bad memory this weekend at the PIAA...
Penn-Trafford grad Carlee Valenta qualifies for NCAA rifle championship
Carlee Valenta, a 2024 Penn-Trafford graduate qualified for the NCAA Division I rifle championship, set for March 14-15, at Kentucky. The freshman at the University of Texas-El Paso set two school records. She is the first Miner since 2012 to compete in the championship. Valenta has had an outstanding season,...
Zach Feldman emerges as game changer for Penn-Trafford boys
When Penn-Trafford boys basketball coach Doug Kelly was watching junior forward Zach Feldman play in the summer, he did not realize how athletic the 6-foot-4 forward was. But Kelly knew he had a player to run his offense through. Feldman, who also is an outstanding baseball player, has continued to...
Hempfield’s Kapusta, Belle Vernon’s Brown keep rolling, 49 from WPIAL qualify for 3A states
So far, so good for Hempfield junior Nico Kapusta. Even though he missed most of the regular season with a left elbow injury he suffered during a preseason tournament, which made him doubtful to compete, Kapusta healed faster than expected. Now he has his eye on winning a PIAA Class...
No seed, no problem for Penn-Trafford’s Luke DeSantis at Class 3A regionals
Sometimes in life, it is the luck of the draw. Penn-Trafford sophomore Luke DeSantis came into the PIAA Class 3A West Region on Friday unseeded. But he made a name for himself by advancing to Saturday’s semifinals with a pair of wins. Any wrestler to reach the semifinals needs only...
Kiski School hires former Greensburg CC, Saint Vincent football coach
The Kiski School announced Tuesday that Aaron Smetanka is the school’s new football coach. Smetanka previously coached at Saint Vincent College and Greensburg Central Catholic. Kiski School is a Westmoreland County private school located in Saltsburg. Smetanka took over as coach at Saint Vincent on Dec. 5, 2018. His six-year...
WPIAL Class 3A wrestlers have tougher road to Hershey
If wrestlers from the WPIAL in Class 3A want to compete in the PIAA championships in Hershey this year, they have an extra tournament to compete in. The PIAA consolidated the Southwest and Northwest Regions to form the West Region for the next two years. The WPIAL wrestlers must compete...
2025 regional wrestling preview capsules
Boys Class 3A West Region Where: Canon-McMillan High School When: Friday and Saturday Times: Friday — preliminary round, quarterfinals and first consolation round, 5 p.m. Saturday — second consolation round, 9 a.m.; semifinals and third consolation round, 10:30 a.m.; fourth consolation round, 12:30 p.m.; finals and third- and fifth-place matches,...
Penn-Trafford prepares for Penguins Cup playoff run
Penn-Trafford’s ice hockey team did not end the regular season exactly how it wanted, but first-year coach Brian Zagorac was proud of his team’s effort. The Warriors were hoping to cap the regular season with wins against Latrobe and first-place Fox Chapel. They got a 3-1 win against Latrobe but...
Penn-Trafford notebook: Warriors qualify for PIAA tournament
No matter what happens during the final week of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs, the Penn-Trafford boys and girls basketball teams have already punched their tickets to the PIAA tournament, which begins March 7-8. The boys qualified by upsetting No.2 Baldwin, 60-45, in the first round Feb. 18. The Warriors...
Latrobe’s Luke Willochell among 10 defending champs to reach WPIAL Class 3A finals
The finals are set for the WPIAL Class 3A individual wrestling championships after a couple of battles in Saturday’s semifinals at Canon-McMillan. The finals and placement matches begin at 3:30 p.m. The best semifinal came at 189 pounds where Central Catholic junior Nez Green outscored Latrobe sophomore Hunter Snyder, 16-15,...
FR’s Titus Colangelo pulls off upset, Kiski Area’s Mark Gray hits milestone at WPIAL Class 3A wrestling
Even though he hadn’t beaten Norwin freshman Coleton Klipa in five tries this season, Franklin Regional sophomore Titus Colangelo did not consider the victory over his section rival in the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals Friday an upset. Colangelo has wrestled against Klipa enough times over the years to know what...
Lucas Stanley comes up clutch as Union knocks off top-seeded Greensburg Central Catholic
Greensburg Central Catholic tried to limit Union leading scorer Lucas Stanley with a box-and-one defense. And for most of the game, the strategy worked. But big-time players can still rise to the occasion. Stanley buried a 3-pointer with 1 minute, 35 seconds left for a one-point lead, added a clutch...
2025 WPIAL wrestling championship preview
WPIAL Boys Individual Wrestling Championship Class 3A When: Friday and Saturday Where: Canon-McMillan High School Times: First round 5 p.m. Friday. Action resumes at 10 a.m. Saturday with second consolation round. Semifinals are at 11:30 a.m. and the finals at 3:30 p.m. Returning champions from 2024: Nicholas McGarrity (107) Peters...
Quest for 4th title by Latrobe’s Luke Willochell headlines WPIAL wrestling championships
Earlier this season, Latrobe senior Luke Willochell became the second wrestler in school history to become a Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association four-time champion. He joined Tom Bell (1961-64) on the exclusive list. Bell was the first wrestler from the county to achieve that goal, which has since been matched by...
Latrobe cools off Kiski Area to end playoff drought
Two streaks ended Tuesday in the opening round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. First, Latrobe ended its playoff drought. And secondly, Kiski Area saw its 12-game winning streak end. Senior Max Butler scored 18 of his team-high 26 points in the first half, and Latrobe defeated Kiski Area, 59-51,...
Wrestling notebook: Hempfield’s Kapusta returns with a bang after injury layoff, quick rehab
When Nico Kapusta injured his left elbow during a preseason wrestling tournament in October at Edinboro, he was told by his doctor (James Bradley) that recovery time would be six months. He resigned himself to the notion that his junior season at Hempfield would be lost. His dad, Brian, who...
Trib HSSN high school wrestling rankings for Feb. 18, 2025
Class 3A 107: 1. Nick McGarrity (32-4), so., Peters Township; 2. Zach Rehak (32-6), so., Thomas Jefferson; 3. Beau Fennick (32-6), fr., Franklin Regional; 4. Tommy Gretz (31-7), so., Connellsville; 5. Michael Johnson (34-6), fr., West Allegheny. 114: 1. Nico Kapusta (9-0), jr., Hempfield; 2. Dylan Barrett (28-3), jr., Penn-Trafford;...
Penn-Trafford notebook: Wrestler Dylan Barrett in hunt for WPIAL title
Penn-Trafford junior wrestler Dylan Barrett is a two-time WPIAL placewinner and PIAA qualifier. If things go as planned Feb. 15, Barrett should enter the WPIAL Class 3A championship Feb. 21-22 at Canon-McMillan as the favorite at 114 pounds. Peters Township sophomore Nicholas McGarrity, who defeated Barrett in overtime for the...
