Paul Schofield stories, Page 46
Latrobe’s Vinny Kilkeary, Hempfield’s Lucas Kapusta advance to 3A wrestling semifinals
HERSHEY — For Latrobe senior Vinny Kilkeary and Hempfield senior Lucas Kapusta, Friday’s quarterfinal-round matches at the PIAA Class 3A wrestling championships were like a business trip. They handled their business very well at Giant Center. Both advanced to Saturday morning’s semifinals with impressive wins. Kilkeary, looking for his third...
Burrell’s Cam Baker, Cooper Hornack reach PIAA Class 2A wrestling semifinals
HERSHEY — Muncy freshman Gage Swank learned a valuable lesson Friday during the quarterfinal round of the PIAA Class 2A wrestling championships — don’t make Burrell freshman Cam Baker mad. Swank got Baker upset with a series swats to the face during their match at the Giant Center. After a...
Hempfield’s Lucas Kapusta, Penn-Trafford’s Joe Enick rally for 1st-round PIAA wrestling wins
HERSHEY — Hempfield senior Lucas Kapusta has been in a few tight overtime battles this season. So when he trailed Abington Heights sophomore Brian Heard in the third period Thursday, he knew what he had to do and didn’t panic. Kapusta got a takedown with 20 seconds remaining to tie...
Burrell’s Cam Baker, Cooper Hornack advance to quarterfinals in PIAA Class 2A wrestling
HERSHEY — You can never tell how a wrestler will perform the first time he competes during the PIAA individual championships at Giant Center. The venue can be intimidating even for the seasoned wrestlers. It didn’t hurt that Burrell freshman Cam Baker got to compete here a month ago at...
Westmoreland County Scholar/Athlete candidates revealed
There is a new sponsoring judge for the annual Westmoreland County Scholar/Athlete banquet. The presiding judge is Michael Stewart, who replaced John J. Driscoll, this year. The committee, which includes Westmoreland County Athletics and others, met Tuesday to pick the top female and male winners. Only the athletic directors voted...
7 WPIAL wrestlers look for another state title
It’s time to lay it on the line for wrestlers from the WPIAL at the PIAA individual championships that begin Thursday at Giant Center in Hershey. All the hard work and sweat in practice is done. Now the 88 wrestlers who will participate in this year’s tournament — 52 in...
WPIAL individual wrestling rankings: March 8, 2023
Individual Rankings Class 3A 107: 1. Tanner Mizenko, Canon-McMillan (38-8); 2. Santino Sloboda, Butler (37-1); 3. Dylan Barrett, Penn-Trafford (32-13); 4. Ejiro Montoya, Mt. Lebanon (32-8); 5. Gus Stedeford, North Allegheny (29-12); 6. Owen Campbell, Plum (32-8). 114: 1. Luke Willochell, Latrobe (34-2); 2. Ty Kapusta, Franklin Regional (29-9); 3....
Penn-Trafford grad looking for big season on mound, at plate for Washington & Jefferson
Tyler Horvat is beginning his final season for the Washington & Jefferson baseball team. But it probably won’t be his final year of collegiate baseball. The Presidents team captain plans to enter the transfer portal and play on the Division I or Division II level. Horvat is the ace of...
Kiski Area’s Klingensmith wins WPIAL Class 3A wrestling title
It turned out to be quite a weekend for the Kiski Area wrestling program. After a subpar regular season for the Cavaliers, the individual tournament brought out a different animal. Senior Ryan Klingensmith dropped two weight classes over the past month and earned the 121-pound title at the WPIAL/PIAA Southwest...
Latrobe’s Vinny Kilkeary, Waynesburg’s Mac Church win 3rd WPIAL titles
Latrobe senior Vinny Kilkeary and Waynesburg senior Mac Church joined an elite group Saturday at the WPIAL/PIAA Southwest Regional Class 3A wrestling tournament at Canon-McMillan High School. They became the 86th and 87th members of the three-time WPIAL champions club. Kilkeary (25-0) won his third consecutive title by dominating Canon-McMillan...
Latrobe’s Nate Roth starts strong at WPIAL tournament
It’s been a long and difficult journey for Latrobe senior Nate Roth. Arguably one of the top wrestlers in the WPIAL, if not the state, he has never made the trip to Hershey for the PIAA individual championships. Injuries in 2020 and 2022 as well as a controversial slam in...
Penn-Trafford makes baseball coaching change
Two weeks before the start of the baseball season, Penn-Trafford has named a new coach. Lou Cortazzo, who spent the past eight years as an assistant in the Penn-Trafford program, was named interim coach to replace Dan Miller. Penn-Trafford athletic director Kerry Hetrick informed the Tribune-Review that Cortazzo was the...
Montour out of PIHL playoffs after ineligible player controversy
It looked like the Montour hockey team was in great position to make the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League Penguins Cup playoffs two weeks ago. The Spartans were 16-4 and in second place in the Class A Gold Division. But PIHL officials were alerted via a social media post that the...
Westmoreland high school wrestling notebook: Latrobe’s Roth looks for trip to Hershey
Latrobe senior Nate Roth might be the best wrestler in the WPIAL not to qualify for the PIAA individual championships. An unfortunate set of circumstances — injuries and a questionable slam in 2021 — have kept him from a trip to Hershey. Roth gets one final shot at wrestling in...
WPIAL Individual Wrestling Rankings: March 1, 2023
Individual Rankings Class 3A 107: 1. Santino Sloboda, Butler (34-0); 2. Tanner Mizenko, Canon-McMillan (34-8); 3. Nico Kapusta, Hempfield (24-9); 4. Gus Stedeford, North Allegheny (25-10); 5. Owen Campbell, Plum (29-5); 6. Dylan Barrett, Penn-Trafford (28-12). 114: 1. Luke Willochell, Latrobe (30-2); 2. Connor Smith, Seneca Valley (26-6); 3. Ty...
North Catholic steps up, denies Laurel Highlands another trip to WPIAL finals
North Catholic denied Laurel Highlands its fourth consecutive trip to the WPIAL championship game by defeating the second-seeded Mustangs, 74-59, in the Class 4A semifinals Monday at Norwin. The sixth-seeded Trojans combined hot 3-point shooting in the first half with a pressure defense to defeat the Mustangs. North Catholic (19-6)...
Playoff defeat displayed how Penn-Trafford boys ‘grew as the season went on’
When Penn-Trafford’s boys basketball team hosted Peters Township in December, the Warriors were embarrassed, losing by 29 points (74-45). When the two teams met Feb. 17 in the opening round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs, the Indians faced a different Warriors team. Top-seeded Peters Township ended up defeating No....
Penn-Trafford notebook: Hockey team wins as regular season winds down
The Penn-Trafford hockey team had three players score goals in a 3-1 win over Meadville in the next-to-last game of its Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League Class 2A schedule Feb. 20. Meadville (3-14-1) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first period, but goals by Nate Loughner and Bryce Kropczynski in the...
2 wrestlers join exclusive 3-time champion club at WPIAL Class 2A tournament
During the 87 years of the WPIAL championships, only 31 wrestlers have won four titles, and 84 were three-time champions. Laurel senior Grant MacKay and Frazier junior Rune Lawrence now make it 86 three-time winners, and Lawrence has a shot at joining his brother Thayne as a four-time winner next...
Neshannock keeps Yough stars in check in Class 3A quarterfinal win
Normally, a coach will be critical of his team’s offensive performance. Yough basketball coach Jim Nesser’s assessment of his team was the opposite. He was disappointed with the defensive effort. Neshannock knocked Yough into the consolation round Thursday by defeating the Cougars, 53-49, in a WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal at...
Freshman Eric James scores 20 in 4th to help rally North Hills past Fox Chapel
North Hills freshman Eric James put on a show in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal game against Fox Chapel. Maybe he was trying to impress Pitt coach Jeff Capel, who was sitting at the press table watching the game. James scored 20 of his team-high 30...
Northgate adds to breakout season with playoff win over Jeannette
It has been more than 10 years since Northgate won a WPIAL playoff basketball game, coach Cam Williams said. But the way the Flames played Tuesday during the first round of the Class 2A playoffs, they might be in the 2023 tournament for an extended time. Sparked by the duo...
Wrestling notebook: 6 wrestlers look to become 3-time WPIAL champions
During the 87 years of the WPIAL individual championships, only 31 wrestlers have won four titles and 84 three titles. That number could grow over the next two weeks. Three Class 2A wrestlers — Bentworth junior Chris Vargo, Laurel senior Grant MacKay and Frazier junior Rune Lawrence — can become...
WPIAL Individual Wrestling Rankings: Feb. 22, 2023
Individual Rankings Class 3A 107: 1. Santino Sloboda, Butler (31-0); 2. Tanner Mizenko, Canon-McMillan (31-8); 3. Owen Campbell, Plum (27-4); 4. Gus Stedeford, North Allegheny (23-9); 5. Dylan Barrett, Penn-Trafford (26-11); 6. Ejiro Montoya, Mt. Lebanon (26-3). 114: 1. Luke Willochell, Latrobe (27-2); 2. Connor Smith, Seneca Valley (23-6); 3....
Experienced Deer Lakes runs past Ellwood City in boys Class 3A first round
Experience in a WPIAL playoff game can be the difference between a win or loss. Deer Lakes showed that Monday in a Class 3A first-round game against a young Ellwood City team. The senior-laden Lancers used a 15-0 run in the second quarter, sparked by their defense, and cruised to...
