TribLive stories, Page 325
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Feb. 22, 2025
High schools Basketball WPIAL playoffs Boys Class 6A Semifinals Monday’s schedule Upper. St. Clair (21-2) vs. Central Catholic (14-9) at Peters Township, 7 p.m.; New Castle (20-3) vs. Mt. Lebanon (17-7) at Mt. Lebanon, 8 p.m. Class 5A Semifinals Tuesday’s schedule Montour (23-1) vs. Chartiers Valley (21-3) at Mt. Lebanon,...
High school roundup for Feb. 22, 2025: Karis Thomas hits for 46 points as Shady Side Academy girls reach finals
Karis Thomas went off for 46 points, hiting nine 3-pointers, to lead top-seeded Shady Side Academy to a 69-33 win over No. 12 Ellwood City in the WPIAL Class 3A girls basketball semifinals Saturday at North Allegheny. Leah Buford added 10 points for Shady Side Academy (24-0), which will play...
North Allegheny sweeps WPIAL Class 3A diving gold
For the second time in four years, North Allegheny divers swept the WPIAL Class 3A championships at their home pool Saturday. Ethan Maravich became the fourth Tigers diver to win the boys title while Maggie Lapina gave North Allegheny its sixth straight girls championship. Maravich (532.30) was one of three...
Belle Vernon overcomes halftime deficit; Davis hits clutch free throw to secure 1-point win over Avonworth
The Belle Vernon boys basketball team faced an eight-point halftime deficit and had several of its starters in foul trouble. Some teams might have cracked under the pressure, but not the Leopards. Led by four players in double figures, Belle Vernon overcame Avonworth as Tommy Davis sank a free throw...
Investigators hope advancements in biometrics, social media could aid in the case of Cherrie Mahan
A 6-year-old California boy was abducted in 1951 and found last year living on the East Coast — 73 years after his disappearance. The discovery was thanks to an AncestryDNA test, the sort sold at drugstores that have people submit saliva samples to create DNA matches that can track family...
Westmoreland County athletes of the week: Southmoreland’s Zoey Murphy, Belle Vernon’s Elijah Brown
The Westmoreland County Athletes of the Week is presented by Smail Kia. Look for the tags and look for the savings at Smail Kia in Greensburg. Zoey Murphy School: Southmoreland Class: Junior Sport: Wrestling Claim to fame: Murphy became her school’s first WPIAL girls wrestling champion, earning a 42-second pin...
North Allegheny girls wrestling program takes solid steps forward
In the second year of PIAA-sanctioned girls wrestling, North Allegheny found itself in a similar position as the first. In 2024, Dan Heckert was named the inaugural WPIAL girls wrestling coach of the year. In the same season, senior Leyna Rumpler was crowned the 155-pound champion. Fast forward to 2025,...
Franklin Regional returns to PIAA competitive spirit championships
The Franklin Regional cheer team returned to the PIAA Competitive Spirit Championships for the first time in five years. The Panthers did not receive a single deduction and advanced to the semifinals, where they again “hit zero” miscues and narrowly missed the finals at Santander Arena in Reading. Franklin Regional,...
Herald notebook: Fox Chapel to be well-represented at WPIAL swim championships
A large contingent of Fox Chapel swimmers will be competing at the WPIAL Class 3A swimming championships Thursday and Friday (Feb. 27-28) at Pitt’s Trees Pool. Here’s a look at the Foxes who earned top 8 seeds: • Senior Sarah Pasquella is seeded first in the girls 200-yard freestyle (1:49.93)...
Point: It’s time to get tough on wasteful spending, starting with USAID
The opening month of the second Trump administration has been marked by incredible speed and progress, especially toward their goal of scaling back the bloat of the federal government. The pace has left an out-of-power Democratic Party reeling. Rather than propose their own spending cuts, most Democrats have decided to...
Counterpoint: First, they came for USAID
It wasn’t until after Martin Niemöller, a Lutheran pastor, ended up in a Nazi concentration camp that he realized he should have done more to help Hitler’s victims. He saw what was happening but he never thought they’d come for him. Of course, they eventually did. And that’s what Americans...
Letter to the editor: Why does the turnpike keep raising tolls?
When the Pennsylvania Turnpike has closed all toll booths and will be saving $25 million with open road tolling, why does it continue to raise tolls? The turnpike has eliminated so many jobs and has turned the turnpike into a money-making business. I hope there will be a huge investigation...
Letter to the editor: Will there be any survivors of Trump and Musk?
Dear fellow Americans: Can democracy solve the problem? President Trump/Elon Musk = America/Titanic? Any survivors? Tina Bobnar Greensburg...
Shabbat services, book club and more at Sewickley area houses of worship
Antioch Baptist Church 332 Elizabeth St., Sewickley. 412-741-7688. antiochfwbaptistsewickley.org. Morning worship and praise service is at 10:45 a.m. First Sunday Sunday School is at 9:30 a.m. First Friday virtual Bible study is at 7 p.m. A link is available via Pastor Dean’s Facebook page. We are excited to invite you...
Letter to the editor: Highlands coaches save basketball season
I would like to recognize Highlands boys basketball coaches Mike Foster and Steve Bielak for stepping up to save the team’s season. At the beginning of the year, they were the middle school coaches, but after players were dismissed from the team and the previous head coach and assistant resigned...
Editorial: Mayor Gainey needs to own his mistakes instead of being defensive
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey didn’t need to be defensive Thursday. He was speaking at an event celebrating the one-year anniversary of the opening of the Wood Street police substation. “I want to thank our officers,” Gainey said. That’s the way things should have gone: appreciation for the Pittsburgh police officers,...
The Stroller, Feb. 22, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Tickets available for annual...
Letter to the editor: Pa. OPM storage facility important to record-keeping
In 69 years of living, I’ve learned that when someone tries to feed me hogwash, it’s wise to just write them off as dishonest and dishonorable. The other day Elon Musk falsely described the Boyers, Pa., U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Records Center as a “mine shaft elevator,” bringing...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Feb. 21, 2025
High schools Basketball WPIAL playoffs Boys Class 6A Semfinals Monday’s schedule Upper. St. Clair (21-2) vs. Central Catholic (14-9) at Peters Township, 7 p.m.; New Castle (20-3) vs. Mt. Lebanon (17-7) at Mt. Lebanon, 8 p.m. Class 5A Quarterfinals Friday’s results Montour 60, Latrobe 52 Chartiers Valley 51, Moon 44...
Burrell leads way with 5 in semifinals at Class 2A WPIAL wrestling
Burrell led the way with five wrestlers in the semifinals at the WPIAL Class 2A wrestling tournament Friday at Chartiers Valley. Carter Thomas (121 pounds), Julian Bertucci (139), Calio Zanella (152), Isaac Lacinski (172) and Luke Boylan (215) are the Bucs still alive in the championship bracket. Derry, Beth-Center and...
High school roundup for Feb. 21, 2025: Peters Township beats Uniontown for another Class 5A upset
Jake Wetzel scored 18 points as No. 6 Peters Township kept the upsets coming in the WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball bracket Friday night with a 56-52 quarterfinal win over No. 3 Uniontown. Sean Thelk and Dylan Donovan scored 12 points apiece for Peters (17-7), which will meet No. 10...
Michigan, basketball coach Dusty May reach agreement on contract extension
Michigan basketball coach Dusty May has made an impression in his first year at the helm. And the Wolverines made sure he won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel announced Friday that the university and May have agreed to a contract extension. Terms of the deal...
NFL investigators interviewed some massage therapists who have accused Ravens’ Tucker, report says
NFL investigators have been interviewing massage therapists who have accused Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker of inappropriate sexual behavior, the Baltimore Banner reported Friday. The news website cited three women who participated in the inquiry. The Banner has reported accusations from 16 massage therapists from eight Baltimore-area spas and wellness...
Cryptocurrency exchange says it was victim of $1.5 billion hack
A major cryptocurrency exchange says it was the victim of a sophisticated hack that stole about $1.5 billion worth of digital currency, marking one of the biggest online thefts of all time. Bybit said Friday a routine transfer of Ethereum, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, between digital wallets was...
Hampton, Derry divers win WPIAL Class 2A championships
Hampton’s Gabby Elk went back to back and Derry’s Jake Hauser continued his climb up the podium all the way to the top at the WPIAL Class 2A diving championships Friday at North Allegheny. Elk, a junior, won the girls competition for the second straight season, finishing with a score...

