High School category, Page 294

Some WPIAL baseball teams scramble to find enough pitching to cover their innings, but North Allegheny coach Andrew Heck has a much different dilemma. He’s hoping to find enough innings for all of his pitchers. The Tigers entered this spring with a pitching staff heavy in talented arms — a...

The tennis courts at Hampton Community Park are scheduled to undergo a major renovation this summer, but in the meantime, the Hampton boys team has some work of its own to do. The Talbots return six of their seven top players from last year’s 8-8 team, which reached the WPIAL...

The Aquinas Academy girls basketball team weathered injuries and illness for much of the season, but the Crusaders fought through it. “I didn’t think it affected us that much,” coach Chris Lebakken said, “until it did.” Outscored 21-7 in the third quarter, Aquinas fell to St. Joseph, 65-56, in the...

The Fox Chapel boys basketball team came within 16 minutes of a trip to the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals. The Foxes’ offense just couldn’t produce enough down the stretch to hold off Bethel Park. Fox Chapel, which beat Bethel Park in a fifth-place WPIAL consolation match in late February, ended...

Mackenzie Borkovich felt like she had been kicked in the face during her freshman year at Slippery Rock. The skills that served her well in the pitcher’s circle at Fox Chapel Area High School were going to take some adjusting to be successful in college. After making seven relief appearances...

There has been plenty of March Madness around here — on the hardwood and now, on the ice. After five Westmoreland County teams played for WPIAL basketball championships earlier his month, three underdog hockey teams from the county have reached the finals of the PIHL Penguins Cup playoffs. Greensburg Salem...

Mike Tongel wrestled at the PIAA Class AAA tournament as a senior in 1984. He went 4-1 at 155 pounds and took third place overall. Forty years to the week, his son, Jack, a senior at Plum and a Pitt commit, took his first steps onto a wrestling mat at...

It was another banner year in 2023 for the Plum baseball team. The Mustangs used a walk-off win against Fox Chapel on the final day of the regular season to earn a split of the Section 1-5A title with Penn-Trafford and went on to make the WPIAL semifinals before falling...

High schools Baseball Friday’s results Nonsection Avella at Washington, ppd. Canon-McMillan 4, Central Valley 4 Carlynton 7, Northgate 5 Charleroi at California, (n) Deer Lakes 14, Steel Valley 3 Eden Christian 9, McGuffey 0 Ellwood City 4, Burgettstown 0 Laurel at Riverside, (n) Liberty County (Ga.) 7, Yough 3 Ligonier...

Indiana’s Preston Kessler knows nothing but PIAA championships in the Class 2A boys 200-yard freestyle. The junior freestyle specialist won his third state title Friday evening with a time of 1 minute, 38.57 seconds. While it wasn’t his best time in the event – he swam a 1:38.26 at WPIALs...

Welcome to Quarterfinals Saturday on the Road to Hershey with third-round PIAA basketball games in boys Class 6A, 3A and 2A, along with girls 5A, 4A and A taking center stage. What a difference six weeks make. After losing to rival Greensburg Central Catholic in early January by 27 points...

Peter Kramer scored 22 points to lead Hampton to a 60-54 victory over District 3 champion Eastern York (20-9) in a PIAA Class 4A boys basketball quarterfinal Friday night. Alex Nyilas added 17 points and Liam Mignogna scored 15 for the Talbots (25-4). Hampton will face Lincoln Park in Monday’s...

WPIAL individual swimmers and relays captured nine out of a possible 12 state titles on the first day of the PIAA Class 2A championships Friday at Bucknell University. Mt. Pleasant claimed six of the nine and added a state record to the program portfolio. Junior David Mutter was a big...

If Franklin Regional isn’t sprinting up and down the floor, there is a good chance it isn’t winning basketball games. Transition is the lifeblood of this Panthers team. A Panthers team that has two speeds: fast and turbo-fast. “That’s when our guys are at their best,” coach Jesse Reed said....

SIDMAN — A three-point halftime lead turned into a rout in a hurry for Greensburg Central Catholic. Once the Centurions girls found their legs in their state quarterfinal Friday night, there was no way of stopping them. “We definitely picked it up in the second half. We beat them by...

Leah Shackley is fast. Very fast. The senior from Bedford in District 6 has owned the PIAA Class 2A girls 100-yard butterfly for the past several seasons and came into this year’s meet as the state record holder. She crushed her own record in the finals Friday night at Bucknell...

STATE COLLEGE — When the Spring-Ford girls basketball team defeated Norwin in third game of the season, the Rams got off to a quick start. Friday in the PIAA Class 6A quarterfinals, they did it again. Spring-Ford, the District 1 runner-up from north of Philadelphia, scored the first two baskets...

Hempfield’s Amelia Droste and Freeport’s Mackensie Livingston each reached the finals to lead the WPIBL contingent at the state boys and girls singles bowling championships Friday at Leisure Lanes in Lancaster. Droste qualified third with a six-game series of 1,289, including a 247 game. She defeated CD East’s Rayana Gonzalez...

Blackhawk senior Brecken Finkbeiner and Derry junior Jacob Hauser finished 1-2 at the WPIAL Class 2A diving championships Feb. 23 at North Allegheny. The standout duo, both diving at the PIAA championships for the third time, led the seven-diver WPIAL contingent Friday afternoon at Bucknell University’s Kinney Nataorium. Finkbeiner captured...

WPIAL Class 2A swimmers took the baton from their Class 3A counterparts Friday morning at the PIAA swimming and diving championships at Bucknell University. Several of them over the six boys and six girls preliminary events punched their tickets to the evening’s championship finals heats with shots at state titles....

Deer Lakes and Forest Hills both wear green and gold, so Lancers coach Albie Fletcher wasn’t exactly sure what the supporter breakdown was when he first walked into the gym Wednesday night at Armstrong. He quickly learned that the majority donning the colors were Deer Lakes supporters. “I wasn’t sure...

High school basketball suddenly will be a part of Memorial Day weekend. And fans will be able to post up on the couch to watch the top players in the district play on TV. The plan is for KDKA to televise some of the Roundball Classic all-star basketball games set...

Boys Class 2A Quarterfinals Jeannette (19-9) vs. Fort Cherry (22-6) 1 p.m. Saturday at AHN Arena, Peters Township District seeds: Jeannette 7-6; Fort Cherry 7-3 Winner plays: Winner of 7-1 Aliquippa (23-5)/9-1 Redbank Valley (24-3) on Tuesday in semifinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Markus McGowan, Jeannette; Blake Sweder,...

For a young Bishop Canevin team, 2023 was a year to dip a toe in the water and drink whatever success was possible while building for the future. Well, the future was now for the Crusaders as they belly-flopped into the district postseason waters and came away with gold from...

Three WPIAL underclassman pitchers earned first-team all-state honors last season, and each returns for the 2024 season, hoping to lead her team to a championship. Union captured a second straight district title and finished as the PIAA runner-up behind Mia Preuhs in the circle. WPIAL runner-up Carmichaels has sophomore pitcher...