High School category, Page 265
Mars boys lacrosse falls to Marple Newtown in deja vu PIAA championship game
STATE COLLEGE — There were no smiles. Just some consoling handshakes and hugs. The Mars Fightin’ Planets didn’t come here Saturday to play second fiddle again. They came to win their second state title in boys lacrosse, and they almost pulled it off. But for the second time in a...
Division I players from A-K Valley come together for high-level summer soccer
Gabe Norris and Michael Sullivan have been friends for close to 16 years as they got to know each other on the soccer pitch at 5 or 6 years of age. No matter the travels through life on and off the field, it has been a bond that’s hard to...
Championships highlight banner school year for Norwin sports
It started with a bang in the fall. It ended with a surprise in the spring. With a bounty of success, Norwin’s 2023-24 sports year called for more space on the gymansium walls as athletic director Mike Burrell placed orders for championship banners. Fall The boys soccer team used its...
Murrysville Star notebook: Franklin Regional grad finds game at WPGA event
After changing his college allegiances, Franklin Regional graduate Chuck Tragesser continues to sharpen his golf game over the summer. Tragesser was medalist at a recent Western Pennsylvania Golf Association Amateur Championship qualifying tournament, finishing with a flourish to advance. A member at Willowbrook Country Club, he made two birdies and...
Optimism reigns after solid season for Hampton boys lacrosse
The Hampton Talbots compete in one of the tougher classifications in the WPIAL — Class 2A boys lacrosse, where Mars has won eight straight WPIAL titles and reached the PIAA finals four consecutive years. Hampton is trying to compete with the Fightin’ Planets and return to the program’s glory days,...
Already honored for soccer, Fox Chapel grad makes conference all-decade team in lacrosse too
Fox Chapel graduate Jessie Thiessen was honored to be named to the North Coast Athletic Conference 40th anniversary all-decade team in two sports. Thiessen, who played lacrosse and soccer, starred for both teams during a busy four years at Allegheny. Thiessen, a 2017 graduate, was chosen for the award, which...
Shady Side Academy senior overcomes injuries to cap career with state track gold
Chelsea Hartman wanted to run more, but she wasn’t sure if her body would allow it. The Shady Side Academy senior was plagued by chronic pain during her freshman and sophomore seasons. First, Hartman battled shin splints. Then, she dealt with stress fractures in her feet. But Hartman persisted, winning...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Franklin Regional cornerback pops up on Division I radar
Jaymier Austin transferred to Franklin Regional when he was a freshman, leaving Penn Hills to play at another WPIAL Class 5A program. “It’s felt like home ever since,” Austin said. While the scenery changed, the expectations did not. Colleges probably would have found the budding football prospect wherever he played....
4th Tre Cunningham Memorial Basketball Tournament is biggest yet
Tre Cunningham’s memory gleams on in Jeannette, and the summer varsity basketball tournament in his name keeps growing because of it. The fourth annual Tre Cunningham Memorial Basketball Tournament, presented by the Jeannette Educational Foundation, is set for June 20-22 at Jeannette High School and Jeannette McKee Elementary. “This is...
High school scores, summaries, schedules for June 14, 2024
High schools Baseball PIAA playoffs Championships Friday’s results At Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, Penn State Class 5A Governor Mifflin 2, Hollidaysburg 1 Class 3A Neumann-Goretti 12, Avonworth 0 Class A Faith Christian 4, Eden Christian 1 Lacrosse PIAA playoffs Championships Saturday’s schedule At Panzer Stadium, Penn State Boys Class...
Avonworth says disputed call in PIAA finals shifted momentum in 12-0 loss to Neumann-Goretti
STATE COLLEGE — Every bit of momentum was on Neumann-Goretti’s side when Andrew Dankanich bounced a game-ending grand slam off the left-field foul pole, handing Avonworth a 12-0 loss in five innings. What shifted that momentum in the PIAA Class 3A final is maybe up for debate. Avonworth coach Jeff...
Blue Mountain stops Elizabeth Forward in PIAA Class 4A championship game
STATE COLLEGE — Elizabeth Forward lost the PIAA Class 4A softball championship game 4-0 to Blue Mountain on Friday afternoon at Penn State’s Beard Field. The Warriors (23-2) managed five singles but never got a runner to third base. The Eagles (27-1), who won their second-straight state title, scored single...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on June 15, 2024: Mars lacrosse, Shaler volleyball seek gold on last day of season
Welcome to the final day of the 2023-2024 high school sports season featuring the PIAA lacrosse and boys volleyball state championship matches. The final day of this school year looks a lot like the final day of the 2022-2023 school season for two district teams. Fightin’ finals again The Mars...
GoFundMe posted for former Norwin football player Josiah Pastories, who was killed in auto accident
A GoFundMe page is set up for the family of Josiah Pastories, a Norwin graduate and former football player and wrestler who was killed in a one-vehicle accident Thursday morning in northern Butler County. Donations can be made here. Pastories, who was 19, was traveling to his welding job when...
Mt. Pleasant duo eager to compete with best at U.S. Olympic swimming team trials
When the U.S. Olympic team trials begin Saturday, two girls from the Mt. Pleasant swimming program will be competing for a trip to Paris in August. Heather Gardner, a 2020 Mt. Pleasant graduate and a recent graduate of Liberty University, and senior-to-be Lily King will be making their first appearances...
7-time WPIAL champion coach Spencer Stefko steps down at North Allegheny
One of the most successful and unique coaches in WPIAL girls basketball history has resigned. Spencer Stefko has stepped away after 18 years on the sidelines, the past nine as girls basketball coach at North Allegheny. “I hate to lose him,” North Allegheny athletic director Bob Bozzuto said. “He was...
2-time PIHL girls division goals leader Madyson Kirsch of Freeport has busy summer ahead
It might be the offseason for the PIHL, but that doesn’t mean the grind of hockey stops for anyone, including rising junior scoring sensation Madyson Kirsch from Freeport. Kirsch led the PIHL girls division in goals for the second straight season — scoring 21 in 12 games — and helped...
Eden Christian falls to undefeated Faith Christian in PIAA Class A final
STATE COLLEGE — One imperfect inning dashed Eden Christian’s thoughts of playing the spoiler. Instead, Faith Christian scored four runs in the fifth inning and completed a perfect season with a 4-1 victory over Eden Christian in the PIAA Class A final Friday at Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano...
Neshannock caps perfect season with dominant win in state championship game
STATE COLLEGE — In the course of winning 73 of its previous 74 games, Neshannock rarely had opponents who were able to respond to the Lancers’ big plays. For example, entering Friday’s PIAA Class 2A softball finals, Neshannock had shut out its last five opponents. But to finish their second...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for June 13, 2024
High schools Baseball PIAA playoffs Championships At Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, Penn State Class 6A Thursday’s result Hempfield Landisville 3, LaSalle College 2 Class 5A Friday’s schedule Governor Mifflin (21-4) vs. Hollidaysburg (17-5), 4:30 p.m. Class 4A Thursday’s result Holy Ghost Prep 6, Indiana 5 Class 3A Friday’s schedule...
PIAA Class 3A final another step on Shaler boys volleyball’s long road to the top
Light clapping turned to loud chants as the match wore on. Shaler’s top-ranked boys volleyball team was mowing down yet another opponent, making the 100-mile drive east to Altoona High School well worth the time for a dedicated posse of mainly white shirt-clad Titans fans. This was not North Allegheny...
Thomas Jefferson captures 1st softball state title with walk-off win
STATE COLLEGE – Taylor Karpac’s bases-loaded single in the bottom of the eighth inning gave Thomas Jefferson a 2-1 victory over Pittston Area in the PIAA Class 5A softball championship game Thursday evening at Penn State’s Beard Field. Karpac’s hit through the left side of the infield with no outs...
Indiana’s 1st appearance in PIAA baseball finals ends with walk-off loss to Holy Ghost Prep
STATE COLLEGE — Indiana reached the state finals for the first time, but like the WPIAL championship two weeks earlier, the Little Indians again watched someone else celebrate. Holy Ghost Prep’s Mathew Riendeau lined a seventh-inning double into left field for a walk-off win over Indiana, 6-5, in the PIAA...
Fox Chapel graduate Zoe Skirboll sets big goals at Olympic swimming trials
Zoe Skirboll feels fortunate to have the weight of the University of Virginia swim program behind her as she prepared for the U.S. Olympic team trials this weekend in Indianapolis. The Fox Chapel graduate and Cavaliers swimmer feels she will be more prepared for the competition than when she competed...
Sun shines on DuBois Central Catholic in PIAA Class A softball win over Carmichaels
STATE COLLEGE – Carmichaels was facing a tough battle in the PIAA Class A softball championship game Thursday afternoon, taking on a DuBois Central Catholic team making its third state final appearance in six years. The Cardinals’ pitcher, Rylee Kulbatsky, was already known as a dangerous opponent. But the Mikes...
