High School category, Page 1048
Face mask ‘gray area,’ county restrictions cause schools to cancel workouts
Must high school athletes wear face masks during workouts? Masks weren’t required earlier in the week, but some coaches and school administrators aren’t so sure after Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration made wearing them mandatory “when outdoors and unable to consistently maintain a distance of six feet from individuals who are...
From Sidney Crosby to Jim Brown, ranking the greatest high school athletes of all time
Pro football legend Jim Brown was good at lacrosse. Jackie Robinson, long before he broke the color barrier in baseball, was a two-time tennis singles champion. Hockey suited pitcher Tom Glavine well, home run hitter Alex Rodriguez was a terrific quarterback, and NBA guard Danny Ainge, they say, could have...
A-K Valley football teams return to field with protocols in place
Knoch football coach Brandon Mowry couldn’t sleep Tuesday night. He was a like a little kid on Christmas morning. He couldn’t stand the anticipation anymore. “I was up at like 6 a.m. (Wednesday) morning, made my coffee and I told my wife I was leaving,” Mowry said with a laugh....
Adam Kaufman resigns as Moon boys basketball coach ‘to be a dad’
The coronavirus pandemic forced Adam Kaufman to slow down, stay home and spend more time with his family. In his 14 years as a boys basketball coach at Bishop Canevin, Montour and Moon, Kaufman was always on the go, winning three WPIAL titles and a state championship. But while spending...
PIAA optimistic football season starts on time as some states delay their kickoffs
High school football season won’t start on time in neighboring New Jersey, but Pennsylvania has no plans to delay kickoff. “We’re not discussing pushing it back,” PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said Wednesday. “We’re still cautiously optimistic about starting practice on time. We’re just going to take it day by...
Chartiers Valley hoops star Aislin Malcolm adds Penn State offer
Fast-rising basketball talent Aislin Malcolm welcomed another scholarship offer Wednesday as Penn State came calling. Malcolm, a 5-foot-10 guard and two-time WPIAL champion who has not lost a game in her high school career at Chartiers Valley, adds the Nittany Lions to an expanding list of offers. She has others...
Murrysville’s Shilling captures medalist honors at Isaly’s junior event
Murrysville’s Nolan Shilling shot a 1-under par 70 to capture the 15-16 age division at the Tri-State PGA Isaly’s Junior Tour on the Cedarbrook Golf Course Red Course on Wednesday. He finished two shots ahead of Gavin Goodrich of Wheeling, W.Va., who shot a 72. Moon’s Justin Scally won the...
Woodland Hills halts sports workouts to re-evaluate covid-19 guidelines
Woodland Hills was the first WPIAL school to resume summer workouts, but the Wolverines halted those sessions this week to re-evaluate their covid-19 guidelines. The shutdown is temporary, said athletic director Ron Coursey, who expected teams to resume workouts within a week or two. He wanted to dispel rumors that...
Shaler uses caution, sends football players home over covid-19 concerns
Choosing to take a cautious approach, Shaler coach Jim Ryan sent his football team home early from workouts Tuesday after learning a family friend of a player could have contracted covid-19. The unidentified player wasn’t believed to have had any direct contact with the person, Ryan and athletic director Clint...
Central Catholic’s Rocco Salvitti finishes 2nd at state junior championship
John Peters shot a 4-under par 67 during the second round Tuesday to capture the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Junior Boys Championship at the Hershey Country Club. Peters, of Carlisle, shot a 2-over par 73 Monday. First-round leaders Rocco Salvitti of Oakmont and Carson Bacha tied for second with a 1-under...
Derry, South Park standouts win UPMC Comeback Athlete of the Year awards
A pair of determined athletes are the WPIAL’s latest comeback kids. Multi-sport standout Aidan Bushey of Derry and tennis player Haley Spitznagel of South Park were named recipients of the UPMC Comeback Athlete of the Year awards. Bushey is a recent graduate who will continue his golf career at Cal...
High school softball players finding diamonds to play on in pop-up summer leagues
Brooke Cleland is back to doing what she does best on the softball field: launching towering home runs. And she is doing so again in Penn-Trafford green and gold. The rising senior and several of her high school teammates found a way to play some games together after the coronavirus...
Plum bats stay dangerous in WPBL victory
A six-run fifth inning turned out to be the difference for Plum in an 11-7 victory over the Independent Players in Western Pennsylvania Baseball League action Monday at Valley High School. It was the second time in as many games to start the season that Plum (2-0, 2-0) tallied 11...
Getting chance to play is great, but Plum’s WPBL team gunning for a title, too
Denny Ayres is getting ready to attend West Virginia with a mechanical and aerospace engineering course of study. College baseball is not in his plans. He hoped successful high school and American Legion seasons would be part of his final year before moving on to Morgantown. Those plans were dashed...
Oakmont’s Rocco Salvitti tied for lead at state junior championship
Oakmont Country Club’s Rocco Salvitti is tied for first place with Carson Bacha after round one of the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Junior Championship at Hershey Country Club. Each shot a 2-under par 69 on the East Course. South Fayette’s Luke Lestini was tied for seventh at 1-over, Fox Chapel’s Adam...
Delmont’s Nuzzo takes first in Isaly’s event at Hannastown
The Tri-State PGA Isaly’s Junior Tour was at Hannastown Golf Club on Monday, and Delmont’s Anthony Nuzzo took the 17-18 division with 4-over 74. Justin Scally of Moon placed second at 5-over 75. Mitchell Sarsfield of Greensburg and Nathan Schachner tied for third at 8-over. Johnstown’s Lukas Cascino took the...
Penn Hills hires former Seton Hill star Chris Giles as boys basketball coach
When Chris Giles found out he would be Penn Hills’ new boys basketball coach, he immediately shared the news with the coach he was hired to replace. “Out of respect,” Giles said. “It was his program. Coach DeRose was a mentor of mine. I’m a big ‘respect’ guy.” Penn Hills...
Mt. Pleasant hires T.J. Kravits as new boys basketball coach
T.J. Kravits has been involved in coaching basketball at various levels for more than 10 years. In one season at Marion Center, he took a team that went 0-22 two years ago to 8-14 last year. Now he hopes to take that success to Mt. Pleasant, where he plans to...
2019-2020 Trib Cup: North Allegheny dominates Class 6A again
It is time to begin announcing the 2019-2020 HSSN Trib Cup winners, which means it’s time to honor North Allegheny in Class 6A again. Every year there has been a chase for the cup, schools in the WPIAL’s highest classification have been taking a back seat to NA. Even a...
Norwin lineman Giansante commits to Western Kentucky
With each video clip he posted on social media, bulked-up Anthony Giansante shared another step on his path to Division I football. Whether he was lifting weights, jumping rope, or improving footwork and hand technique, he let people follow along, including college coaches who could not meet him in person...
Trib HSSN boys athlete of the year: Pine-Richland’s Spencer transforms from star QB to champion wrestler
It’s not uncommon for Pine-Richland’s Cole Spencer to be heavier in the fall than in the winter, a transformation that takes him from standout quarterback to champion wrestler. His accomplishments, however, loom large year round. As a junior, Spencer ranked third among all WPIAL passers last fall with 2,994 yards....
Trib HSSN parade of champions: Remembering the WPIAL’s 2019-20 state champs
WPIAL STATE CHAMPIONS CROSS COUNTRY INDIVIDUAL GIRLS CLASS A Haley Hamilton, Sr, OLSH GIRLS CLASS AAA Mia Cochran, So, Moon BOYS CLASS AAA Daniel McGoey, Sr, North Allegheny TEAM GIRLS CLASS AA South Fayette GIRLS CLASS AAA North Allegheny BOYS CLASS A Winchester Thurston FOOTBALL CLASS 4A Thomas Jefferson GOLF...
Trib HSSN looks back at the top high school sports stories of the 2019-20 school year
11.1.19 West Greene running back Ben Jackson became the first WPIAL football player to rush for 3,000 yards in a season. The senior finished with 3,076 yards on 203 carries and also scored 50 touchdowns. 11.4.19 Mt. Lebanon senior Patrick Anderson defended his PIAA Class AAA cross country title, becoming...
Trib HSSN girls athlete of the year: Morningstar shines bright for champion North Allegheny
Paige Morningstar came to North Allegheny three years ago ready to fill the big shoes left behind by both of her two-sport star older sisters. Now she is following in the footsteps of another Tigers two-sport star in Rachel Martindale. That is because a year after Martindale won the honor,...
Quaker Valley swimmer Sophie Besterman to join sister at Bloomsburg
After turning down an offer to play soccer, Quaker Valley graduate Sophie Besterman will join her sister Amelia on the Bloomsburg women’s swimming team. Besterman, 18, committed to compete for the Division II school next season. Besterman was part of the 200-yard freestyle relay team that placed third in this...
