High School category, Page 161
High school roundup for Jan. 25, 2025: Baldwin battles to beat North Hills in 2OT
Caden Cherico scored 22 points to lead Baldwin to a 61-58 victory over North Hills in double overtime at the PBC Hall of Fame Classic at North Hills on Saturday. Nate Wesling added 16 and Max Marzina had 10 for the Highlanders (16-1). Evan Golvash had a steal and layup...
Comeback bid comes up short as Norwin falls to Bishop Guilfoyle at Seton Hill
While their comeback was exciting, the end result left the Norwin girls basketball team wanting more. Norwin surged from 16 points down with a madcap third quarter, but couldn’t complete the rally in a 53-50 loss to Bishop Guilfoyle in the opening game of the Shootout at Seton Hill on...
Belle Vernon hits glass to beat Knoch in matchup of Class 4A contenders
Belle Vernon missed its share of shots after halftime Saturday, but somehow those misses kept finding their way into the basket. The Leopards were focused on the offensive glass and sparked a fourth-quarter run with a string of putback baskets to defeat Knoch, 54-50, in the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Hall...
WPIAL boys basketball rankings: Week ending Jan. 26, 2024
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Upper St. Clair, 17-1, 1 2. Seneca Valley, 11-7, 2 3. Central Catholic, 10-6, 4 4. Imani Christian, 9-6, 5 5. Fox Chapel, 13-4, NR Out: New Castle (13-3, 3) Class 5A 1. Montour, 14-1, 1 2. Baldwin, 15-1, 3 3. Chartiers Valley,...
WPIAL girls basketball rankings: Week ending Jan. 26, 2024
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Upper St. Clair, 12-4, 1 2. Seneca Valley, 11-5, 2 3. Norwin, 9-5, 3 4. Canon-McMillan, 10-6, 4 5. Mt. Lebanon, 10-7, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Peters Township, 14-2, 1 2. South Fayette, 16-1, 2 3. Penn-Trafford, 17-0, 3 4. Thomas...
Mt. Pleasant swimming sweeps 2A titles at WCCAs; Franklin Regional boys, Latrobe girls win in 3A
In the final Westmoreland County Coaches Association swimming meet of their high school careers, the Mt. Pleasant senior quartet of Lily King, Kiersten O’Connor, David Mutter and Joseph Gardner went out in style Saturday. Three of the four set records as the Vikings boys and girls teams finished second out...
Syracuse offers Southmoreland freshman Anthony Smith
Freshman Anthony Smith’s first NCAA Division I scholarship offer has come in. Some might say it is a surprise it took this long. The Southmoreland quarterback grabbed an offer from Syracuse on Saturday while visiting the university. “It feels great,” Smith said. “It has been something I have been dreaming...
Westmoreland athletes of the week: Penn-Trafford’s Torrie DeStefano, Derry’s Jake Hauser
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. Torrie DeStefano School: Penn-Trafford Class: Junior Sport: Basketball Claim to fame: Perhaps the missing piece to a championship puzzle, DeStefano returned from a knee...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Three Norwin players get college offers on same day
St. Francis (Pa.) came to Norwin looking for football talent and left with three potential prospects. The Red Flash extended preferred walk-on offers to three senior Knights players and all-around good buds in Michael Crnkovic, Mike Strutt and Colin Bruno. The offers rolled in on the same day. If they...
Southmoreland freshman Mickens gets Division I football offer
Jackson Mickens, a freshman defensive end and receiver at Southmoreland, already has a Division I football offer. Akron extended a full scholarship to Mickens (6-foot-1, 215 pounds), who had 11 sacks in his first season of high school football. He also caused three fumbles. On offense, Mickens had 35 receptions...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Knoch’s Neah Ewing, Kiski Area’s Travis Shearer
Neah Ewing School: Knoch Class: Junior Sport: Basketball Claim to fame: Ewing led the Knights (8-8, 7-2) with 17 points in a 47-40 win over Burrell on Monday night. The junior guard then tallied 15 points in a 39-33 win versus Highlands on Thursday night. Both wins helped move Knoch...
Big stage awaits North Allegheny junior gymnast
A gymnastics trip to Las Vegas prevented North Allegheny junior Sarah Patterson from competing at last season’s WPIAL individual championships. This season she left nothing to chance. Patterson, a Level 9 gymnast and one of the program’s top all-around performers, will take part in the WPIAL individuals this season after...
Penn-Trafford hockey team working toward strong finish to season
It was a good time for the Penn-Trafford hockey team to take a break. With four games left in the regular season, the Warriors and Latrobe sit on top of Class 2A with 39 points. Latrobe has played one less game. Fox Chapel is third with 34 points and Erie...
Penn Hills wrestling team knows next step in program’s rebuilding efforts
Penn Hills wrestling coach Jeremy Packer has gradually worked on building the depth of the program over the last few seasons. The Indians returned to team competition this season after opting out of the WPIAL schedule the past few seasons. Penn Hills saw its next marker for improvement with how...
Penn Hills soccer carries on tradition of winter indoor tournament
Kevin Truman wanted to maintain the traditions of the Penn Hills boys soccer program, much like his predecessor Ryan Hankey did. For the past 31 years, the Indians have hosted an indoor soccer tournament in the winter to raise money for the program. This year, Penn Hills had a minor...
North Allegheny’s dominant 2012 championship team goes down in WPIAL history
During North Allegheny’s undefeated run to the 2012 PIAA Class 4A football championship, the players often visited a local pizzeria the day after games. “We’d go to eat at Cenci’s,” all-state quarterback Mack Leftwich said. “We’d be 40 deep in there on Saturday mornings after we watched film.” Now those...
Franklin Regional wrestling team crosses off one of its goals with section title
One of the Franklin Regional wrestling team’s goals was met Jan. 22 when the Panthers defeated Norwin to claim the Section 9-3A title. Now it is on to the WPIAL team tournament for the No. 2-ranked Panthers. They were scheduled to play host to first-round and quarterfinal matches on Jan....
Herald notebook: Fox Chapel girls wrestling tops Kiski Area
The Fox Chapel girls wrestling team earned a 33-29 victory over Kiski Area on Jan. 22. Elaine Huang scored a pin in 3:59 at 155 pounds, and Lily McLaughlin (130) earned a 5-0 decision. Atia DiGioia (106), Emma Srodes (112), Kayla Nguyen (118) and Vie Filar (235) earned forfeit wins....
Fox Chapel wrestling’s trademark balance on display at Allegheny County meet
Fox Chapel wrestling coach Michael Frank was proud of how balanced the Foxes’ lineup proved to be at the Allegheny County Championships. The Foxes finished third in the team standings despite not having a wrestler reach the finals. “It shows how well they wrestled as a group,” Frank said. “They...
Fox Chapel girls roster lacks height but isn’t short on talent
Fox Chapel girls basketball coach Marty Matvey went to great lengths to make sure he didn’t miss out on any potential post players for his roster. For one year, Matvey coached seventh grade girls volleyball in the district. The Foxes coach came away with two conclusions: First, he accumulated a...
Elite 18 club volleyball team dominates field in season-opening tournament
The Pittsburgh Elite 18 girls volleyball team started off its club season impressively. Coached by Maggie Smith and Alyson Londot, Elite 18 won the Pittsburgh Ice Breaker Tournament in its division Jan. 11 at the All American Fieldhouse in Monroeville. Not only did they go undefeated in the tournament, they...
Pierce Reinhart claims 121-pound title, helps Bethel Park to runner-up finish at Allegheny County tournament
It’s been a banner season for the Bethel Park wrestling team in 2024-25. And the Black Hawks’ success continued at the Allegheny County tournament held Jan. 17-18 at Fox Chapel. Bethel Park placed second to Thomas Jefferson, which won the tournament with a record-breaking performance. The Black Hawks racked up...
Back from injury, Plum’s Saphia Davis shines at Mid-Winter Mayhem tournament
Saphia Davis wrestled just two matches in December before being forced off the mat because of injury. She made quick work of Burrell’s Cierra Molnar with a 48-second pin in Plum’s season opener and pinned Norwin’s Avalin Barry in 5:55 of their 130-pound bout during a dual match Dec. 18....
Plum trio reaches medals podium at Allegheny County tournament
Each year at the Allegheny County wrestling tournament, one can find Plum wrestlers contending for championships and podium finishes. This year was no exception, as multiple Mustangs were in contention on the second day of the two-day tournament Jan. 17 and 18 at Fox Chapel High School. When all of...
Norwin girls pop right back up after rare losing streak
A losing streak can teach a team a lot about itself, especially a team that isn’t used to losing. Take Norwin, the defending WPIAL 6A champion. The Knights recently dropped three straight — to North Catholic, Shaler and No. 1 Upper St. Clair. They had not endured such a streak...
