High School category, Page 3
Season of growth and improvement ends with playoff loss for Chartiers Valley girls
For the second year in a row, the Chartiers Valley girls basketball team saw its season come to an end at the hands of Baldwin in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. A year after a veteran Colts team gave the Highlanders all they could handle in a 73-72 first-round loss,...
Chartiers Valley boys buy in, evolve into dominant force in Class 5A
When Corey Dotchin took over as head coach of the Chartiers Valley boys basketball team ahead of the 2024 season, his major goal for the program was to “put a competitive team on the floor that’s a WPIAL title and section title contender year in and year out.” In the...
Thomas Jefferson boys, girls pack powerful 1-2 punch
It was magical. The 2025-26 regular season could be considered the best combined performance by Thomas Jefferson basketball teams in school history. Dom DeCicco is in his 19th year of coaching the boys team. “I think it’s great,” DeCicco said. “Matt (Gould) has done such a remarkable job with the...
Joey Nix finds perfect touch — again — for Thomas Jefferson bowling
Some bowlers never are able roll a 300 game in a lifetime. Thomas Jefferson senior Joey Nix has accomplished the feat twice during his decorated high school career. Nix tossed his second 300 on Jan. 14 at Spins Bowl, his home alley located on Buttermilk Hollow Road in West Mifflin...
South Hills Record notebook: Thomas Jefferson gymnasts wear WPIAL crown
Thomas Jefferson won the WPIAL team championship in gymnastics for the second year in a row. It marked the second time the Jaguars captured back-to-back titles as they also were WPIAL champions in 2019 and 2020. The TJ girls posted their best final score since 2020 with 142.209 total points...
Brentwood’s Deng Mu makes immediate impact on WPIAL basketball scene
Deng Mu always knew he’d eventually move to the United States. With both of his parents being American citizens, it was only a matter of time before he was reunited with them. What he didn’t know was that basketball would be a central part of his new American life. “I...
Thomas Jefferson’s Emmett Forte earns coveted Breisinger Award
His forte on the Thomas Jefferson football team was tackling. Off the field, he’s a valuable mentor for the younger players. Emmett Forte, a 5-foot-10, 195-pound senior running back/linebacker, is the recipient of this year’s prestigious Breisinger Award. “I’m honored to be held and looked at in the highest standard...
Sewickley Herald notebook: Junior wrestler marches into WPIAL tournament
Seven wrestlers at Quaker Valley qualified for the WPIAL tournament. The qualifiers from the Class 2A Northern Section tournament were seniors Bruce Anderchak (121) and Matt Danna (160), juniors Trey Dunlap (189) and Harper Sipes (145), freshmen Angel Perez (285) and Jake Neff (172) and sophomore Damien McClay (133). “I...
Sewickley Academy girls notch playoff win to remember
No. 10 Monessen went into its WPIAL Class A girls basketball playoff game Feb. 16 at Sewickley Academy with high hopes, only to see its sails deflated by a strong defensive effort by the home team. The seventh-seeded Panthers immediately jumped out to a 13-0 first-quarter advantage en route to...
2 Quaker Valley wrestlers become 3-time section champs
Quaker Valley seniors Matt Danna and Bruce Anderchak captured their third section championships Feb. 14 at the WPIAL Class 2A Northern wrestling tournament held at Keystone Oaks. “Matt and Bruce both won their third titles,” QV coach Austin Heinl said. “They are now tied with the most section titles won...
Sewickley Herald playoff notebook: Sewickley Academy roster loaded with sharpshooters
Notes and quotes from the WPIAL basketball playoffs: • Sewickley Academy senior Amare Spencer’s celebrated his 18th birthday Feb. 16 at the Panthers’ WPIAL playoff win at home against Greensburg Central Catholic. Spencer connected on one of the 13 triples recorded by Sewickley in the 77-17 victory with 6:11 remaining...
St. Joseph to host Eden Christian in WPIAL Class A girls consolation bracket
WPIAL basketball playoffs Girls Class A Consolation semifinal 9-Eden Christian (11-10) at 5- St. Joseph (13-10) 7 p.m. Tuesday Winner plays: Winner of 7-Sewickley Academy (14-10)/6-West Greene (17-7) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in fifth-place consolation final (site TBD) Players to watch: Jocelyn Spinelli, St. Joseph; Hannah Wallace, Eden Christian Layup...
‘It’s all about advancing’: Jeannette faces rival Clairton with WPIAL finals berth on the line
Jeannette is being cautious as it moves ahead in the WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball bracket. The Jayhawks don’t want to step in a bear trap. Jeannette (21-1) will take on Clairton (18-3) for a third time this season when the teams meet at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the semifinals...
Westmoreland County high school sports notebook: College offers adding up for Southmoreland sophomore
Southmoreland sophomore Jackson Mickens grabbed his fourth NCAA Division I scholarship offer. The big-play running back and defensive end added Middle Tennessee State to his list, which also includes offers from Akron, Sacramento State and Miami (Ohio). This season, the 6-foot, 215-pounder was an all-Class 3A Interstate Conference first teamer...
Neighborhood Academy boys stifle Monessen for playoff win
For championship basketball teams, usually defense is the calling card. The Neighborhood Academy boys basketball squad has been dominant in Class A all season shutting down teams, and it has not slowed down a bit in the playoffs. The Bulldogs limited Monessen to single digits in all four quarters of...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Feb. 21, 2026
High schools Basketball Boys WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Semifinals Monday’s schedule Upper St. Clair (22-1) vs. Seneca Valley (14-9) at North Hills MS, 7:30 p.m.; New Castle (22-1) vs. Central Catholic (21-2) at North Allegheny, 7:30 p.m. Class 5A Semifinals Tuesday’s schedule Chartiers Valley (21-2) vs. Moon (20-3) at Peters...
High school roundup for Feb. 21, 2026: Top seeds South Fayette, Shady Side Academy reach WPIAL finals
Juliette Leroux scored 20 points as No. 1 South Fayette defeated No. 12 Peters Township, 66-27, in the WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball semifinals Saturday at Keystone Oaks. Ryan Oldaker and Haylie Lamonde added 12 points each while Lailah Wright chipped in 10 points for the Lions (24-1), who avenged...
Norwin’s Sidun claims 1st WPIAL title; Butler’s Sloboda, Belle Vernon’s Brown win 3rd at 3A tournament
It is hard to believe that the best 121-pound high school wrestler in the country, Landon Sidun, had not won a WPIAL championship. You can now add that to his resume. Sidun (44-0, 117-2) pinned Hempfield senior Nico Kapusta with a headlock in the second period for his first WPIAL...
Derry crowns pair of 3-time champs, wins 6 titles at WPIAL Class 2A wrestling tournament
Brady Brown knew how to utilize the intel he had on his opponent for the 189-pound final during the WPIAL Class 2A wrestling championships Saturday at Chartiers Valley. Brown, a junior at Derry, knew he couldn’t take any half measures against Beth-Center’s Malachi Peak. “He’s been at the club recently,...
Top-seeded Quaker Valley fights off upset-minded Deer Lakes in Class 4A semifinals
The sun might have been shining brightly outside Pine-Richland High School on Saturday afternoon, but inside, the clock was ticking down to midnight. With eight-tenths of a second left and his team down by two points, Deer Lakes junior Evan Moore stepped to the foul line looking to send the...
Thomas Jefferson rolls past Penn-Trafford to reach WPIAL finals for 1st time since 2019Video
Thomas Jefferson called a timeout about a minute into the game after Penn-Trafford scored the first five points. “Settle, relax,” Jaguars coach Matt Gould told his girls. “You haven’t done anything wrong or right yet.” The second-seeded Jaguars called another timeout late in the fourth. This time, they really could...
Kiski Area’s Ava Golding, Moon’s Hailey Smarsh, Plum’s Alaina Claassen claim 3rd WPIAL girls wrestling titles
A quintet of wrestlers was chasing championship three-peats at Saturday’s WPIAL girls individual finals at Mt. Lebanon. It was guaranteed one would win a third gold medal in the 142-pound final when two-time titlists Ava Golding, a senior from Kiski Area, and Norwin senior Josepine Dollman punched their tickets to...
Westmoreland athletes of the week: Belle Vernon’s Aubrey Brown, Mt. Pleasant’s Noah Lahm
Aubrey Brown School: Belle Vernon Class: Sophomore Sport: Basketball Claim to fame: Brown, a 6-foot-2 forward who can also play on the perimeter, scored 24 points, including five 3-pointers, as the Leopards defeated Lincoln Park, 85-60, in the first round of the WPIAL 4A playoffs. Brown, who has a college...
Knoch shuts down rival North Catholic to reach Class 4A championship game
At some point in this year’s basketball postseason, there will be a team that will solve the Knoch 2-3 defense. Props will be earned by whichever team finally solves that Rubik’s Cube. With a starting five that has each member standing 6-foot or taller, communication and length have been a...
Butler’s Santino Sloboda, Belle Vernon’s Elijah Brown seeking 3rd WPIAL Class 3A titles
Butler senior Santino Sloboda and Belle Vernon senior Elijah Brown will look to add their names to a growing list of three-time WPIAL wrestling champions Saturday at the Class 3A championships at Canon-McMillan. The list is currently at 89 members. Derry’s Mason Horwat and Brady Brown are also aiming to...
