Paul Schofield stories, Page 9

When competing in a track and field section with Norwin and Hempfield, the chances of making the WPIAL Class 3A team playoffs are slim. The Penn-Trafford boys team has defied that logic that the past two seasons by qualifying for WPIALs and last year reached the finals. But if the...

Derek Carr and Kylie Anthony are this year’s candidates from Penn-Trafford for the Westmoreland County Scholar/Athlete Excellence Award. The duo are outstanding athletes and solid students. Carr played football and basketball for the Warriors. He ranked 47th of 303 in his class with a 4.2 cumulative GPA. Anthony played volleyball...

Franklin Regional’s boys tennis team has put itself in good position to qualify for the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs. The Panthers (4-1, 4-4) are in second place in Section 1-3A behind Gateway. They still have matches against Norwin, Penn-Trafford and Plum. They have defeated Connellsville, Hempfield, Latrobe and Kiski Area....

South Hills Classic meet organizer Rich Wright said the 21st annual track and field invitational will go as scheduled despite expected inclement weather Saturday at Baldwin High School. There are more than 30 schools entered in the early-season meet. Wright said action begins at 10 a.m., and the pole vault...

Derry track and field coach Mark Curcio was excited for his girls squad coming into the season. But that joy turned to disappointment after the PIAA released the 2025-26 enrollment perimeters, which moved Derry from Class 2A to Class 3A. “Four girls and 10 boys moved us up,” Curcio said....

On Tuesday, Norwin used an aggressive approach on offense to defeat Hempfield in Game 2 of their three-game WPIAL Section 2-6A baseball series. On Wednesday, it was Hempfield that was the more aggressive team. The Spartans defeated the Knights, 5-2, to take two of three in the series. Hempfield won...

If Judge Michael Stewart was impressed with the 2024 Westmoreland County Scholar/Athlete nominees, then he was amazed with the 2025 class. Stewart is the sponsoring judge of the annual banquet. This is his third year as the sponsor after replacing retired Judge John J. Driscoll in 2023. That is how...

Since Penn-Trafford won the 2019 PIAA Class 5A softball title, the team that has presented the most problems is Armstrong. The River Hawks have won five of the six meetings, including a heartbreaking loss in the WPIAL semifinals in 2024. But Penn-Trafford coach Denny Little is hoping things are changing....

The U.S. Open is not the only big golf event in Western Pennsylvania this summer. There are several Tri-State Section PGA and Western Pennsylvania Golf Association events for golf pros and amateurs. The Pennsylvania Golf Association also will host events across the state, and there are numerous junior events, including...

Penn-Trafford boys volleyball Jim Schall said he saw some encouraging things from his team from the North Allegheny tournament March 22. Despite going 3-5 against some of the top teams in the state — the likes of Central York, Manheim Central, North Allegheny and Canon-McMillan — Schall felt it was...

Greensburg Salem’s Colton Writt recently captured two junior wrestling state titles. He was among nine wrestlers from Westmoreland County to win titles at the Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling tournament and/or the Keystone State tournament. Writt won the 8U 75-pound title at the PJW tournament and the 74-pound title in the 7-8...

Penn-Trafford softball’s Denny Little has had quite a run since becoming the Warriors’ head coach in 2016. A perennial playoff participant, the Warriors won a PIAA Class 5A in 2019 and covid may have taken another in 2020. Since then, a powerful Armstrong team has been in the Warriors path....

Penn-Trafford junior Dylan Barrett (38-7, 106-32) earned a seventh-place medal at the PIAA 3A wrestling tournament March 8 at the Giant Center in Hershey. Barrett, competing at 114 pounds, finished second to Hempfield junior Nico Kapusta at the WPIAL tournament and was third at the PIAA West Regional. He opened...

Wrestler of the year Maddox Shaw Thomas Jefferson, sr., 152 pounds 2024-25 record: 38-1. Career record: 166-14 A knee injury forced Maddox Shaw to miss almost a month of the season. But it didn’t prevent him from winning a second PIAA Class 3A title or his third WPIAL title. Or...

Wrestler of the year Cooper Roscosky Kiski Area, jr., 215 pounds 2024-25 record: 41-8. Career record: 113-23 If it were not for Belle Vernon junior Elijah Brown, Kiski Area junior Cooper Roscosky probably would have been a PIAA 3A champion. But Roscosky just could not solve Brown in five meetings...

Wrestler of the Year Elijah Brown Belle Vernon, jr., 215 pounds 2024-25 record: 48-1. Career record: 127-19 Belle Vernon junior Elijah Brown has become a cult hero in the school district. And why not? When you are the school’s first WPIAL wrestling champion, people look up to you. The district...

Franklin Regional swimming coach Dan Taylor talked before the season about a bright future. His girls squad did not disappoint, and the boys are on track to return to power. The girls placed seventh at the PIAA Swimming and Diving Championship on March 12-15 at Bucknell University in Class 2A...

The 28th annual Cager Classic, featuring senior basketball players from Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler and Westmoreland counties, will be held at Highlands High School. Practice is April 3, the skills competition April 4 and the games — 5:30 p.m. for the girls and 7:30 p.m. for the boys — April 5....

Franklin Regional has won three WPIAL baseball titles, the last coming in 2021 when it defeated Bethel Park, 2-1, in the championship game. Is this the year the Panthers add a fourth title? Veteran coach Bob Saddler said he’s excited about this year’s squad, which returns five starters from a...

There was a rumor amongst some wrestling coaches that this was the last year the PIAA individual wrestling championships would be held at Giant Center in Hershey. That rumor is false. While there is a rift between the PIAA and Hershey Entertainment, mainly because the PIAA moved the football and...

Can the Penn-Trafford baseball team repeat as WPIAL Class 5A champions? History will say no, but that’s OK with third-year Warriors coach Lou Cortazzo. “We were not ranked in last year’s preseason poll, and we won,” Cortazzo said. “And we are not ranked this year. That is OK, I like...

JOHNSTOWN — Jeannette coach Adrian Batts felt his basketball team did not put out great effort in its first two PIAA playoff games. If the Jayhawks have hopes of winning their second PIAA title, things must change. It took Jeannette (25-2) more than a quarter to find a groove Wednesday...

Thomas Jefferson senior Maddox Shaw is the only wrestler selected to represent the WPIAL on the Pennsylvania squad in the 51st Pittsburgh Wresting Classic on March 29 at the AHN Arena at Peters Township High School. The Pennsylvania squad will face a powerful United States squad at p.m. Before the...

Sometimes all you need is a bounce. Fox Chapel got that midway through the third period Tuesday to earn a trip to the PIHL Class 2A Penguins Cup final. Hayden Ferra happened to be at the right spot at the right time. After teammate Lian Wiseman dumped the puck behind...