High School category, Page 275
Senior triple jumper wins East Allegheny’s 1st PIAA track gold medal
SHIPPENSBURG — East Allegheny senior Lorenzo Fancher entered the PIAA Track and Field Championship seeded No. 1 in Class 2A triple jump. And he left Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium as he came, still No. 1. Fancher became the first track athlete from East Allegheny to win a PIAA title...
Westmoreland high school athlete of the week: Norwin’s Brookelyn Kotch and Penn-Trafford’s Brandon Roher
Brookelyn Kotch School: Norwin Class: Senior Sport: Softball Claim to fame: Kotch did something many pitchers have not done in recent years: She beat Hempfield. Kotch scattered six hits, did not issue a walk and struck our four while forcing 13 flyouts as Norwin upset top-seeded and defending WPIAL Hempfield,...
A-K Valley high school notebook: Deer Lakes’ Cochran named section MVP
Deer Lakes senior outfielder Ryan Cochran’s fielding and hitting made Section 3-3A coaches stand up and take notice this spring, and the Lancers veteran was awarded in a vote as the section’s MVP. Cochran led Deer Lakes with an average of better than .450 throughout the season and fronted the...
Butler’s Drew Griffith breaks PIAA championship record in 3,200, but national mark must wait
SHIPPENSBURG — Drew Griffith won his second PIAA gold medal and broke a state championship record Saturday, but unlike a day earlier, the Butler star didn’t take a run at any national marks. He’ll save that for summer. The senior won his second title in two days at the PIAA...
Freeport’s Michael Braun adds 2nd state medal to his collection
SHIPPENSBURG — After crossing the finish line at Seth Grove Stadium, distance runners are ushered to the infield turf where they can go in a few different directions. Some make their way toward the shade of their team tents, which Freeport’s Michael Braun did a year ago. But this year,...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Freeport’s Mady Kirsch, Burrell’s Stevie Hasson
Mady Kirsch School: Freeport Class: Sophomore Sport: Hockey Report card: Kirsch scored two goals and had an assist to lead the East girls hockey team to a 4-1 win over Northeast in a PIHL girls hockey game Thursday. She has 18 goals and five assists this season for East (5-5)....
Cross country champion Jaxon Schoedel of Mohawk adds PIAA title in 3,200 meters
SHIPPENSBURG — Mohawk’s Jaxon Schoedel was stuck in a slow heat for the 1,600 meters a day earlier, but the 3,200 meters had everybody in one big group Saturday. That’s how he likes it. “Yesterday was about racing the clock and today was about racing one of the best distance...
WPIAL track stars dominate girls 3,200-meter runs at PIAA meet
SHIPPENSBURG – How dominant were Shady Side Academy senior Chelsea Hartman and Mt. Lebanon senior Logan St. John Kletter in the PIAA 3,200-meter races? They both lapped some opponents by the sixth lap of their races Saturday at the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium....
Hempfield’s Peyton Murray returns to top of podium in PIAA Class 3A discus
SHIPPENSBURG — This time, it was Peyton Murray’s turn to shine. The Hempfield Area senior reclaimed the Class 3A discus title Saturday at the PIAA track and field championships at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium. Murray defeated solid challenges from Strath Haven senior Gavin Schmidt, who threw a 177 feet,...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Softball all-star game in the works
An all-star game for the top senior softball players in the WPIAL is in the works. Plum coach Phil DiLonardo came up with the idea, and three other coaches are helping to make the game a reality: Tom Sorce of Shaler, Jim Armstrong of Franklin Regional and Jenna Muncie from...
Plum softball team look ahead to promising future after 1st-round loss
The Plum softball team has grown to not appreciate the field at Gateway High School, considering a trio of recent playoff fates there. Three years ago, as the No. 3 seed for the WPIAL Class 5A tournament, the Mustangs were shut out by Fox Chapel. Last year, in the No....
Plum baseball uses early playoff exit as learning experience
When Trinity’s Logan Daniels tallied a two-run single for the final runs of a three-run top of the 11th inning in a WPIAL Class 5A first-round playoff game May 15 at Gateway, No. 5 Plum had its collective backs against the wall. The Mustangs did the best they could to...
After prolific career at Allegheny, former Norwin receiver moving up to Division I FCS level
Record-breaking wide receiver Declan O’Brien isn’t done catching passes yet. After a brilliant three-year run at Allegheny College, the Norwin product is planning to play a fifth season at a higher level. O’Brien, an All-Region 2 First Team player as a senior, is joining Delaware as a preferred walk-on. O’Brien...
Norwin notebook: Football standout earns ‘surprise’ track gold
Norwin senior Luke Denny was a threat in the Knights’ football offense not only because he could catch passes, but also for what he could do after he caught them. Coaches said Denny had “track speed,” and the standout showed it at the WPIAL Class 3A track and field championships....
North Allegheny notebook: Boys lacrosse, volleyball teams advance to WPIAL finals
Stone Gaertner had nine kills and Peter Bratich added eight kills and three blocks to lead No. 2 North Allegheny’s boys volleyball to a 3-0 win over No. 3 Butler (11-7) in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals May 21. Game scores were 25-13, 25-22 and 25-11. Will Hahn had 21...
New coach plans to carry on ‘winning mentality’ with Franklin Regional hockey
Brian Bearley understands the assignment. A former assistant coach for Franklin Regional hockey under former head coach John Winebrenner, Bearley recently was hired to lead the Panthers. Familiarity with various levels of hockey at Franklin Regional should serve him well. His plan is to maintain a standard already in place...
Hampton girls lacrosse rallies to salvage season
The Hampton girls lacrosse team wobbled into mid-April, putting its streak of WPIAL playoff appearances in jeopardy. But the Talbots found their footing. Hampton won its final four Section 1-2A matches, including a do-or-die showdown with Winchester Thurston in the finale, to salvage an up-and-down season. “At the beginning of...
Hampton girls hockey players spring into action
One of the biggest challenges for the Hampton skaters in the PIHL girls league is something most athletes take for granted. “We didn’t know each other’s names,” junior forward Danica Gynn said of her WPIAL-scattered teammates on Team Central. “Usually we just yell, ‘Yeah,’ or ‘Here,’ or just scream random...
Fox Chapel track goes above and beyond at WPIAL meet
Anna Troutman could have made a few more attempts to extend her winning height at the WPIAL Class 3A championships. But with Troutman as the only competitor left and the rough conditions that day in Slippery Rock, she was halted at 5 feet, 5 inches, which gave the Fox Chapel...
Fox Chapel rowers develop chemistry, qualify for nationals
There are a lot of things that Lucas Gravina enjoys about rowing. When the Fox Chapel senior competes for the club team, he feels a sense of belonging with the people who share the boat. This year, Gravina qualified for the Scholastic Rowing Association of America National Championships in Pennsauken,...
Pine-Richland pole vaulter Nadia Constantakis uses gymnastics skills to place 2nd at states
SHIPPENSBURG — Lifelong gymnast Nadia Constantakis remembers being a newcomer to the Pine-Richland track team, working out with the sprinters and having a revelation. “I wanted something more exciting,” she said Friday, thinking back to her sophomore year. “When I was looking around the track, I saw the pole vaulters...
Undefeated Mars boys volleyball beats Armstrong to reach WPIAL championship goal
Coming into the season, the Mars boys volleyball team had a goal of going undefeated and winning a WPIAL championship. On Friday night, the top-seeded Fightin’ Planets accomplished their goal with a 3-0 sweep of No. 6 Armstrong in the Class 2A title match at AHN Arena at Peters Township....
Trib 10: Power rankings get major shakeup after WPIAL semifinals
The 2024 WPIAL diamond playoffs concluded the final-four round this past week, and it was the end of golden road for four baseball and four softball teams. It also ended their stay in the HSSN power rankings … for now. Four baseball and four softball teams ranked last week in...
Trib HSSN Pennsylvania High School Softball Rankings for May 25, 2024
The top softball teams across the state are taking care of business in the district playoffs with the win-and-advance mentality with just over a week left before the state softball playoffs. There were only four changes to the Trib HSSN state softball rankings with most of the district playoffs heading...
Trib HSSN Pennsylvania High School Baseball Rankings for March 25, 2024
A couple of classes shuffled the deck with some district baseball postseason upsets from this past week. Seven teams vanished from the weekly Trib HSSN state baseball rankings from last week, one week before the start of the 2024 PIAA playoffs. Class 4A and A both saw two teams drop...
