High School category, Page 1114
Quaker Valley trio looking forward to PIHL All-Star Game
Quaker Valley’s hockey team continues to climb the PIHL Class AA standings. With a handful of games left in the regular season, the Quakers (7-4-0-2) were atop the Northwest Division with 16 points. Josh Bemis, Max Quinn and Colin Rice have played key parts in the team’s surge. The trio...
Penn-Trafford wrestler Zona trying to attain elusive spot in PIAA tournament
Tony Zona has had a successful wrestling career at Penn-Trafford. The 170-pound senior has won more than 75 matches and placed at the postseason section tournament in each season. But there is one last thing Zona wants to accomplish: qualify for the PIAA tournament. “I haven’t done that yet in...
Pine-Richland girls basketball pushing through adversity
There’s good luck. There’s bad luck. And then there’s the luck the Pine-Richland girls basketball team has had to suffer through during its 2019-20 season. Nearly half of the players have been hit with injuries. The team has six players who are missing time with injuries. Of those six, five...
Freshman Vinnie Cugini leads potent offense for Aquinas boys basketball
On Jan. 7, the Aquinas Academy boys basketball team won the first WPIAL section game in school history, besting Section 3-A foe St. Joseph, 76-73. Three days later, the Crusaders (4-8, 2-4) started their first section winning streak by beating Propel Montour, 80-49. The winning streak since has been snapped...
Franklin Regional wrestling again features strong lineup of lightweights
When the Franklin Regional wrestling team was winning WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA titles earlier this decade, the Panthers featured a nearly unbeatable lineup from 106 to 160 pounds. Devin Brown, Spencer Lee, Gus Solomon, Dom Giannangeli, Tyler Smith, Michael Kemerer, Josh Maruca and Josh Shields all went on to...
Shady Side Academy boys basketball needs to surge in 2nd half of schedule
The Shady Side Academy boys basketball team is in need of a second-half surge in section play if it harbors any playoff hopes. As of Jan. 16, the Indians were 5-7 overall and 2-4 in the section. “If we are going to make the playoffs, we need to be better...
Herald spotlight athlete: Shady Side Academy’s Maya Groff
Maya Groff, a senior at Shady Side Academy, helped the swimming and diving team defeat Knoch last week with a first-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley and 200 free relay. Groff, a team captain, is undecided about college but plans to major in chemistry. Here’s a closer look at...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 17, 2020
Basketball Boys Friday’s results WPIAL Class 5A Section 1 Albert Gallatin 63, Greensburg Salem 62 McKeesport 81, Laurel Highlands 77 Woodland Hills 48, Gateway 43 Section 2 Chartiers Valley 60, Trinity 59 Montour 55, West Mifflin 34 Moon 46, West Allegheny 42 South Fayette 65, Thomas Jefferson 60 Section 3...
High school roundup for Jan. 17, 2020: South Fayette knocks off Thomas Jefferson
With the score tied heading into the fourth quarter, the South Fayette boys basketball team went out and snagged an upset win Friday night. Joey Alcorn and Brandon Jakiela scored 14 points apiece as the Lions (8-5, 5-3) knocked off No. 5 Thomas Jefferson, 65-60, in Section 2-5A. Drew Franklin...
A.J. Nelson makes game-winning shot as Sto-Rox edges Apollo-Ridge
Sto-Rox’s A.J. Nelson was well below his 16 point-per-game average Friday against Apollo-Ridge. But Nelson’s put-back of a missed free throw with 8 seconds left in the game proved to be the difference as the Sto-Rox Vikings defeated the Apollo-Ridge Vikings, 62-60, in a key Section 1-2A matchup. Apollo-Ridge, down...
Holiday weekend of great basketball at Woodland Hills makes for busy Saturday
It is a tradition that is growing into a feast for local high school basketball fans. For a second straight year, Woodland Hills once again will host a high school basketball extravaganza with 43 games over four days on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. It began with a couple of...
Luke Kimmich, defense spark Franklin Regional to win over Hampton
Luke Kimmich was starting for Franklin Regional earlier in the basketball season. But the junior guard has changed roles of late, taking over the sixth-man duties for the Panthers. It’s a role he accepted because he understood why the change was made. “We have been bringing him off the bench...
Laurel Highlands can’t overcome slow start in loss at McKeesport
Laurel Highlands came on strong in the fourth quarter but could not climb out of a big early deficit as McKeesport prevailed 81-77 at home to take sole possession of second place in Section 1-5A boys basketball. Mustangs standout freshman Rodney Gallagher led the team with 21 points, but he...
Jeannette holds on to beat Brentwood, run winning streak to 8
Two streaks continued Friday night at Jeannette. Thanks to two late layups by senior Imani Sanders, Jeannette won its eighth straight game while handing Brentwood its fourth straight loss with a thrilling 43-40 victory in a Section 2-2A battle for first place. Sanders did his damage off the bench for...
Plum starts second half of section play with win over Armstrong
A balanced offensive attack is something every coach hopes for, and on Friday night, it helped the Plum Mustangs kick off the second half of their Section 3-5A schedule on the right note. Nine Mustangs found a way to score and junior Connor Moss led the way with 11 points...
Important questions remain as WPIAL football realignment process continues
The WPIAL has already requested a weekend at Heinz Field for the football finals, but it’s too early to say which classifications will play their championships at the North Shore stadium. That’s because this is a realignment year for the PIAA, a resorting of teams that occurs across the state...
Allegheny County wrestling tournament notebook: Mt. Lebanon’s Luke Stout impresses in quest for fourth title
For the past three years, the Allegheny County tournament has been good to Mt. Lebanon senior Luke Stout. He’s a three-time champ and after earning three pins on Friday at Fox Chapel High School, Stout is making a run at No. 4. “I’ve just wanted to keep doing the same...
Penn-Trafford AD Kerry Hetrick wins award
Kerry Hetrick started wearing glasses lately. While he isn’t quite comfortable with the change, his vision for Penn-Trafford athletics remains clear. And his work in the program does not go unseen. Hetrick, the athletic director at Penn-Trafford, received the Pennsylvania State Athletic Directors Association Distinguished Coaching Educator (DICE) Award. The...
Woodland Hills basketball showcase draws teams from 7 states for anti-violence event
High school basketball teams from seven states are headed to Woodland Hills this weekend for the Martin Luther King Weekend Stand Against Violence Showcase, a four-day event that features 41 boys and girls varsity games. The showcase starts Friday. In the field are two teams that are ranked nationally. The...
High school scores, summaries, schedules for Jan. 16, 2020
Basketball Boys Thursday’s results WPIAL Class 3A Section 3 South Allegheny 65, Deer Lakes 41 Nonsection Baldwin 66, Penn-Trafford 57 Fox Chapel 50, McKeesport 36 Knoch 72, Indiana 57 Mt. Pleasant 60, Elizabeth Forward 57 Penn Hills 92, Latrobe 71 Southmoreland 74, Geibel 59 Norwin at Elizabeth Forward, ppd. District...
High school roundup for Jan. 16, 2020: Woodland Hills hits clutch shots to down Oakland Catholic
Peyton Pinkney and Joi Burleigh hit huge shots down the stretch to lead Woodland Hills to a 55-53 overtime victory over Oakland Catholic in a matchup of ranked teams Thursday night. Pinkney banked in the winning shot from the foul line as time expired in overtime. She led No. 2...
Butler football skips independent route, joins District 10 as associate member
District 10 accepted Butler’s football team as an associate member Wednesday after the WPIAL endorsed the move. The WPIAL board had previously rejected the football team’s request to leave District 7 and join District 10, but later sent a letter in support of this limited arrangement. As an associate member,...
Apollo-Ridge rolls past Burrell for fourth straight victory
The Apollo-Ridge girls basketball team is about to embark on a crucial stretch of Section 1-4A games with matchups against North Catholic, Indiana, Knoch and Freeport. The Vikings will enter that gauntlet with momentum after Thursday’s 61-42 victory over Burrell, their fourth straight win overall and third consecutive triumph in...
Second half of WPIAL section boys basketball tips off Friday
Penn Hills has a two-game lead at the midway point in Section 1-5A boys basketball. The two teams deadlocked in second place square off on the first night of the second half of section play Friday. Both Laurel Highlands and McKeesport are 4-2 in the section and tied for second...
Hampton girls swim team showing growth
The Hampton girls swim team may not be sending a lot of individuals to WPIALs this year, but the training and hard work have paid off. The team is continually showing growth by posting best times, in addition to qualifying for the WPIAL championships in the 200 medley and 400...
