High School category, Page 1042
PIHL in a holding pattern, hoping to start season on time
The PIHL hopes to begin its 2020-21 season in early October, but league officials and teams are waiting for clarity on certain issues before going full speed ahead. While many of the programs have been working out on and off the ice in anticipation of a season, PIHL commissioner John...
Tim Benz: Gov. Wolf’s latest high school sports quotes are even more absurd and dismissive than last week’s
Last week, Gov. Tom Wolf made an out-of-nowhere recommendation that scholastic sports be postponed until at least Jan. 1. The PIAA didn’t know that statement was coming. Wolf provided no context for how his office came to that decision. And he put forth no explanation for the logic behind the...
Walkers, runners take to refurbished track at Jeannette’s McKee StadiumVideo
A social media post about the completion and opening of the new track at Jeannette’s McKee Stadium Monday was viewed over 11,000 times. People in the community have been walking and jogging on the oval all week. “All of the feedback we have received from the community has been positive,”...
Gov. Wolf stands behind fall sports shutdown but says ‘I’m just one person’Video
Gov. Tom Wolf said he’s unlikely to change his recommendation to delay youth sports, no matter what the PIAA says, but described his role as “one person that has an opinion.” Wolf, speaking Thursday at a news conference, said he hadn’t read the letter PIAA administrators sent him earlier in...
Norwin expected to name Michael Burrell new director of athletics, activities
The Norwin school board could hire Michael Burrell Jr. as the district’s next director of athletics and activities at its meeting Monday. Burrell was the recommended candidate on a list of new hires on the agenda for the board’s planning meeting this week. He would replace Brandon Rapp, who was...
Memorial bench honors late Penn-Trafford pitcher
Maclean Maund will forever be memorialized on the Penn-Trafford campus. The late Warriors baseball star, who was killed in an auto accident in January not far from the high school, has his own memorial bench overlooking the baseball field near the school’s entrance. The marble bench, perched on top of...
Even with many meets canceled, GCC’s Corinn Brewer finds a way to win this summer
Corinn Brewer went into her first — and last — track competition of the summer with an all-or-nothing approach. Why would she not? She had been training for the AAU Junior Olympics during the first five months of the covid-19 pandemic, and the rising junior at Greensburg Central Catholic wanted...
WPIAL suspends Seton LaSalle assistant baseball coach for recruiting
A Seton LaSalle assistant baseball coach is facing a yearlong suspension for violating PIAA recruiting rules. The WPIAL held a hearing Tuesday for assistant coach David Lee and levied a one-year suspension for sharing social media posts enticing students to attend Seton LaSalle for athletic purposes, WPIAL executive director Amy...
Summit Academy is 2nd WPIAL school to forgo fall sports
Summit Academy won’t play sports this fall, becoming the second WPIAL school to cancel athletics over covid-19 concerns. “This has to do with the health and safety of our students and staff members,” said athletic director Ryan Parrish, noting the school for at-risk boys faces challenges different than others. “Our...
State Rep. Mike Reese, Republican lawmakers take on governor on high school sportsVideo
A recommendation from Gov. Tom Wolf can easily turn into a mandate, said state Rep. Mike Reese, who wants the Legislature to act before that happens with youth sports. The Westmoreland County Republican announced legislation Tuesday that would leave decisions about high school sports in the hands of local school...
Mudcats edge Snappers in Game 3 to win 2020 Daily News League championshipVideo
Eric Fairman may have been at the top of the Mudcats batting order, but on Monday night in the third and deciding game of the 2020 Daily News League championship series, the Thomas Jefferson grad was in the middle of his team’s two rallies. Fairman doubled to set up two...
As high school sports debate continues, Levine stands firm, Republicans plan legislation
State Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine stood firm Monday on delaying youth sports until next year, and two state legislators announced plans to join the debate over high school athletics. Speaking on a conference call with reporters, Levine defended the recommendation issued last week by Gov. Tom Wolf to delay...
2 waive preliminary hearings in Greater Latrobe hazing case
Two former Greater Latrobe Junior High School wrestling coaches waived their rights to preliminary hearings Monday on allegations related to hazing incidents. One of them could enter a probationary program. Court records show David Francis Galando, 44, of Youngstown, is scheduled for an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition hearing Oct. 28. The...
‘Let Our Kids Play in PA’ rally in Harrisburg to advocate for youth sports
Julie Wagner Burkart never realized how important sports were to her children until the covid-19 pandemic upended their athletic schedules. Burkart has an 11-year-old son who is involved in football, baseball, basketball and wrestling. Her 13-year-old daughter is a competitive dancer who runs for her school’s cross country and track...
WPIAL calls Gov. Wolf’s recommendation ‘uncalculated, inconsistent and unfair’Video
The WPIAL strongly supports playing high school sports this fall despite Gov. Tom Wolf’s recommendation they be postponed until January. “The WPIAL’s response to the governor’s comments … is one of frustration,” WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman said Monday, “due to uncalculated, inconsistent and unfair approach to this guidance.” Scheuneman...
Mudcats walk past Snappers to even Daily News League championship seriesVideo
After dropping the opener of the best-of-three Daily News League baseball championship series, the Quinn Construction Mudcats treated the bottom of the first inning of Game 2 like a walk in the park. The Mudcats sent 11 batters to the plate in the first inning and ended up with two...
Yough baseball finishes 3rd at Region 7 tournament
Yough American Baseball League coach Craig Spisak said he couldn’t have been happier about his team’s effort at the Region 7 tournament this weekend. A third-place finish, the best among the three Westmoreland County American League teams entered in the tournament at Hollidaysburg, made Spisak a proud coach. Yough finished...
John Steigerwald: High school athletes don’t need Gov. Wolf to keep them safe
Let’s see what happens in Sturgis. You’ve never heard of Sturgis? It’s a little town in western South Dakota where at least 250,000 unmasked, un-socially distanced bikers are expected to visit over the next several days. If Gov. Tom Wolf were in charge of the state instead of Kristi Noem,...
Defending champion Snappers come back to beat Mudcats in Game 1 of DNL FinalsVideo
Brandon Whitfield had three hits and drove in four runs as the defending champion Snappers knocked off Quinn Construction Mudcats, 7-3, in Game 1 of the best-of-three Daily News League championship series. The DNL is in its 92nd year of summer baseball for high school, college and post-college players. The...
Yough stays alive in Region 7 tournament; Latrobe, Bushy Run eliminated
Yough stayed alive in the Region 7 American Baseball League tournament Saturday at Hollidaysburg by splitting its games. After losing to Claysburg 6-4 in the opener, Yough bounced back to defeat Bushy Run, 6-3, in an elimination game. Bushy Run and Latrobe won their morning games but were eliminated in...
Plum’s Max Matolcsy verbally commits to Penn
Max Matolcsy wanted to wait until his birthday to announce his college decision. The Plum senior football standout followed through with his wish Saturday morning as he posted to Twitter a verbal commitment to Penn in the Ivy League. Matolcsy said Penn was there from the start of the recruiting...
WPIAL football changes scuttle marquee matchups for Westmoreland County teams
Week Zero, as a name, never seemed to carry much clout in the WPIAL. The moniker was met with a lukewarm reaction and did not make sense to many people when it became a thing several years ago. Many teams just decided to use the opening week for a second...
Bushy Run falls short in Region 7 baseball tournament
Bushy Run failed to hold an early lead and dropped a 6-3 decision to Bedford in the Region 7 American Baseball League Tournament at Hollidaysburg. The Westmoreland County American League Baseball playoff champion took an early 2-1 lead when Bret Andreani had an RBI single and Tommy Kuzinsky was hit...
If PIAA shuts down, AAU teams, other private programs could flourish
Western Pa. Bruins basketball director John Tate jokes that his doctor recommends he eat fewer salt and vinegar chips. In many ways, he views Gov. Tom Wolf’s newest sports recommendation that same way. “I still eat them,” Tate said. The governor on Thursday strongly recommended that all youth sports —...
Latrobe stumbles in Region 7 baseball opener
For the third time in four games, the Latrobe pitching staff has allowed 10 or more runs. That trend continued Friday in the Region 7 Baseball Tournament in Hollidaysburg as Latrobe dropped a 10-1 decision to Claysburg. The Jethawks, the Westmoreland County American Baseball League regular season champion, will drop...
