High School category, Page 28
Thomas Jefferson fends off furious comeback bid from Amon Hawthorne, Penn Hills in 5A quarters
Entering the fourth quarter of Friday night’s WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal matchup with a 21-point lead over Penn Hills, Thomas Jefferson knew that it wasn’t a sure thing. Despite the large cushion, both coach Dom DeCicco and star forward Nick Trklja acknowledged that there was work to be done. Neither...
Upper St. Clair grinds out Class 6A quarterfinal win over North Allegheny
There were times during the WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinal between Upper St. Clair and North Allegheny that it looked like both teams hadn’t played a real game in nearly two weeks. Then there were times against two strong half-court defenses that both teams executed well on offense. In...
Penn Hills’ Amon Hawthorne pours in 44 points, including 30 in 4th quarter, in loss to Thomas Jefferson
Penn Hills senior guard Amon Hawthorne didn’t know how many points he had, but he knew his team was coming back. That’s all that mattered to him on an epic night. Hawthorne poured in 30 of his career-high 44 points in the fourth quarter but No. 6 Penn Hills fell...
Shady Side Academy boys ride another upset to WPIAL semis
Jim Dudas practically was speechless. When he did manage to utter a sound, his voice was so hoarse he was barely audible. And that’s OK with the Shady Side Academy boys basketball coach, who is in his first season at the Fox Chapel-based private school. The 13th-seeded Bulldogs did most...
South Park finally solves Ligonier Valley defense, moves into 3A semifinals
Third-seeded South Park was struggling mightily offensively in the first half of its WPIAL Class 3A boys basketball quarterfinal matchup with No. 11 Ligonier Valley on Friday night. The Eagles trailed only by three points, but they were shooting a woeful 6 of 29 from the field. “(Ligonier Valley) took...
Burrell’s Bertucci has eye on WPIAL Class 2A title as individual wrestling tournament moves to semis
Julian Bertucci’s black headgear wouldn’t snap into place. The Burrell 145-pound senior looked toward the bleachers and caught the blue-and-white set teammate Jacob Stewart tossed him. Bertucci, who is the top seed, battled through the wardrobe malfunction to pin Beaver County Christian’s Cole Stroupe and then knocked off Ligonier Valley’s...
With Norwin’s Landon Sidun on top, 121-pound bracket proves challenging in WPIAL Class 3A
When you have the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the country in your weight class and you want to be a state champion, you have two choices. You either find a new weight class to compete in or accept the challenge of trying to beat the best. Norwin junior Landon Sidun...
Norwin girls, behind career night from Lenyn Brozeski, race past Hempfield and into girls semifinals
Norwin watched the movie “Secretariat” this week for inspiration. Then the host Lady Knights went out and turned their quarterfinal game into a one-horse race. A monster second quarter Friday night propelled No. 2 seeded Norwin to a 57-42 victory over No. 7 Hempfield and its fourth straight semifinal appearance....
Julian Semplice, Chartiers Valley pull off wild comeback to thwart Shaler upset bid
Led by Julian Semplice, top-seeded Chartiers Valley used all its horsepower to rally from 12 points down with five minutes to play for a 69-66 victory over No. 9 Shaler in the WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinals Friday night. Semplice finished with 29 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Semplice scored...
Westmoreland high school basketball playoff preview capsules for Feb. 21, 2026
Girls Class 5A Semifinals 6-Penn-Trafford (19-5) vs. 2-Thomas Jefferson (21-2) Noon Saturday at Norwin Winner plays: Winner of 12-Peters Township (15-9)/1-South Fayette (23-1) in championship 7 p.m. Feb. 27 at Petersen Events Center Players to watch: Torrie DeStefano, Penn-Trafford; Maggie Spell, Thomas Jefferson Layup lines: Penn-Trafford is back in the...
Kiski Area, Plum wrestlers looking to join 1st class of 3-time WPIAL girls champs
Five wrestlers at Saturday’s WPIAL girls wrestling championships at Mt. Lebanon hope to earn the distinction of becoming the district’s first three-time champions. Two of them are from the Alle-Kiski Valley. Kiski Area senior Ava Golding, a Pitt-Johnstown commit, and Plum senior Alaina Claassen, who will wrestle at Washington &...
A-K Valley high school basketball playoff preview capsules for Feb. 21, 2026
Boys Class 4A Semifinals 1-Quaker Valley (19-3) vs. 13-Deer Lakes (12-12) 3 p.m. Saturday at Pine-Richland Winner plays: Winner of 2-North Catholic (18-5)/3-Knoch (20-4) at 9 p.m. Thursday in WPIAL championship at Petersen Events Center Players to watch: Zachary Washington, Quaker Valley; Evan Moore, Deer Lakes Layup lines: Quaker Valley...
Hampton’s Gabriella Elk gets 3-peat; Mt. Pleasant’s Noah Lahm captures WPIAL Class 2A diving gold
After finishing in eighth place last year, Noah Lahm had his sights set higher for his final high school diving season. The Mt. Pleasant senior overcame a late stumble in the 10th round Friday, finishing with a score of 320.00 to capture the gold medal at the WPIAL Class 2A...
Times, sites set for Monday’s WPIAL basketball semifinals
A new week will begin with the second day of the 2026 WPIAL boys and girls basketball final four on Monday. The district semifinals continue with two games each in boys Class 6A, boys 2A, girls 4A and girls Class A third round showdowns. The district semifinals will conclude Tuesday....
High school basketball referee still running the floor at age 80
Once an avid runner, Bob Saxman went from full speed to a jog before finally slowing down. “Knees got creaky,” Saxman said. But he can still get up and down the basketball court. Being a referee is something he just can’t give up. Who’s to say he has to? Saxman,...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Feb. 19, 2026
High schools Basketball Boys WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Quarterfinals Thursday’s results Upper St. Clair 56, Fox Chapel 41 Seneca Valley 45, Hempfield 44 New Castle 67, Mt. Lebanon 49 Central Catholic 64, Imani Christian 39 Semifinals Monday’s schedule Upper St. Clair (22-1) vs. Seneca Valley (14-9); New Castle (22-1) vs....
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 20, 2026: Ex-coach to take on top-seeded Chartiers Valley
Welcome to the final day of the quarterfinals in the WPIAL basketball playoffs with teams in boys Class 5A and 3A and girls Class 6A and 2A claiming the spotlight. He was the man who followed a legend as boys coach at Chartiers Valley. Brandon Sensor took over for Timmy...
No. 1 Blackhawk girls overpower Burrell, reach 5th straight WPIAL semifinal
The top-seeded Blackhawk girls cruised past ninth-seeded Burrell, 50-33, in the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals Thursday to earn their fifth straight trip to the semifinals. The Cougars (21-0) were led by Aubree Hupp, who delivered 22 points — 10 in the fourth quarter — and 12 rebounds. Gracen Sehn added...
Thrill of victory for Seneca Valley, agony of defeat for Hempfield in 6A quarterfinals
This one hurt. With the Hempfield basketball players leaving with tears in their eyes — but their heads held high — coach Austin Butler knew this was a tough, rare feeling for his players. “To our guys’ credit, they hadn’t ever been in a position like this, and I thought...
High school roundup for Feb. 19, 2026: New Castle, Central Catholic move into 6A semifinals
Marino Graham scored 18 points and Kai Cox added 17 as No. 2 New Castle defeated No. 7 Mt. Lebanon, 67-49, in the WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball quarterfinals Thursday night. Damian Harrison added 12 points for the Red Hurricanes (22-1), who will meet No. 3 Central Catholic in the...
Teammates lend hand to big man Ryan Robbins as Upper St. Clair pulls away from Fox Chapel
Ryan Robbins was feasting in the first half against the smaller Fox Chapel front line in No. 1 Upper St. Clair’s first playoff game of its WPIAL Class 6A title defense. By halftime, the 6-foot-7 junior had 16 points. The only problem was that the rest of his team had...
Derry duo looks to join 3-time champs club at WPIAL Class 2A wrestling tournament
If things go as expected this weekend, the Derry wrestling program will add to its growing history. Juniors Mason Horwat (172 pounds) and Brady Brown (189) look to become the fifth and sixth Trojans wrestlers to win three WPIAL titles at the Class 2A championships at Chartiers Valley. If they...
Mallory Clemmer hits winning shot as Geibel Catholic edges St. Joseph in Class A thriller
The Nos. 4-5 matchup between the Geibel Catholic and St. Joseph girls basketball teams had everything a thrilling playoff game should have. Their were impressive runs by each team, a few mistakes under pressure and a big-time hero at the end. In this game, the late heroics belonged to Geibel’s...
Jeannette boys push past Eden Christian, advance to WPIAL Class 2A semifinals
Jeannette didn’t see Eden Christian as an obstacle. It saw the Warriors as an opportunity. Although their WPIAL 2A boys basketball quarterfinal opponent was more of the former than the latter for the better part of three quarters Thursday night. There wasn’t much that came easy for the Jayhawks, who...
Elizabeth Forward avenges regular-season losses, beats Belle Vernon in Class 4A quarters
The third time wasn’t the charm for the Belle Vernon girls basketball team Thursday. After winning both section matchups against Elizabeth Forward, the third meeting between the rivals went to the Warriors. No. 5 Elizabeth Forward moved into the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals with a 61-56 win over the Leopards...
