High School category, Page 310

In a year of firsts, Norwin doubled up. Two Norwin girls claimed individual championships at the inaugural WPIAL girls wrestling championships held Feb. 17 at North Allegheny, taking their place in program and Westmoreland County history. Sophomore Josephine Dollman and freshman Octavia Walker won championships in their first attempt. Dollman...

Hungry for Hungary. A pair of local martial artists earned qualification to the U.S. Kickboxing Team that will compete in the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations Junior World Championships in the fall in Budapest. Gabby Viola, 13, and Xander Eddy, 15, won national titles recently at the USA Kickboxing Team...

Giavonie Schipani’s personality takes on a different form when he steps on the mat. Off of it, the senior North Hills wrestler is a mild-mannered kid who enjoys quiet time hunting in the woods or fishing on the lake. But when he goes face-to-face with another wrestler? A different side...

When Tony Grenek took over the North Hills girls basketball program before the 2022-2023 season, he did so assuming that, in time, he’d be able to pull the program out of the continual depths it had resided for for years. What he perhaps didn’t fully expect was that the time...

It was a day of firsts at the WPIAL girls wrestling championships Feb. 17, at North Allegheny. Not only was this the inaugural season for girls wrestling across the state, the 13 winners are part of history. Canon-McMillan senior Valarie Solorio always will be known as the first girls WPIAL...

Welcome to opening day of the district final four, the WPIAL basketball semifinals in boys Class 4A and A along with girls 3A and 2A. One standout junior is on his way to 500 points for the season. Another super senior has eclipsed that point total and is headed to...

High schools Basketball WPIAL playoffs Boys Class 6A Quarterfinals Friday’s results Mt. Lebanon 51, Pine-Richland 40 Baldwin 55, North Allegheny 49 Central Catholic 53, Canon-McMillan 27 Upper St. Clair 78, Butler 71 Semifinals Tuesday’s schedule Mt. Lebanon (20-4) vs. Baldwin (17-6); Central Catholic (15-8) vs. Upper St. Clair (18-5) Class...

Baldwin boys basketball coach Jeff Ackermann took his team to look at the school’s trophy case before Friday night’s playoff game. There wasn’t much to see, which was why he wanted them to look. “It’s barren,” Ackermann said. “There was James Wesling’s ball for 1,000 points and nothing much else....

Mt. Lebanon rode a strong defensive effort to a 51-40 win over Pine-Richland in the WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball quarterfinals Friday night. Both teams started slow as the Blue Devils only led 18-13 at the half. “We were a bit rusty,” Mt. Lebanon coach Joe David said. “We didn’t...

Josh Pratt scored 24 points and Cameron Lindsey added 17 as top-seeded Aliquippa flexed its muscles in a 76-50 victory over No. 8 Serra Catholic in the WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball quarterfinals Friday night. Quentin Goode added 10 for the Quips (19-5), who will meet No. 4 Fort Cherry...

For three quarters of their WPIAL Class 6A boys quarterfinal, No. 3 Upper St. Clair and No. 6 Butler went back and forth with both teams unable to build a lead of more than two possessions. Things changed in the fourth quarter, though, as the Panthers turned to their secret...

With seniors Tyree Turner and Franco Alvarez seeing multiple double teams when they had the basketball in the lane, Liam Gallagher saw an opportunity to bail out his teammates and help keep a promising championship run intact. Not that No. 2 seed Greensburg Central Catholic was ever in real danger...

Beware of the cushion. Cam Williams certainly was. When his Northgate boys basketball team took a huge early lead Friday night against Jeannette in the Flames’ eventual 55-44 victory in a WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinal at Mt. Lebanon, it put Williams in an uncomfortable place. “Jeannette has tough kids. They...

Last year, Laurel Highlands came to Highlands for a first-round playoff game and left with a 20-point defeat. What a difference a year makes. The No. 5 Mustangs were held scoreless in the third quarter, but they responded with 23 in the fourth to hold off No. 4 Highlands, 45-33,...

The Blackhawk girls defended their home court and mauled Greensburg Salem, 49-25, in a WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal Friday. The Cougars faced the Golden Lions earlier in the season, and Greensburg Salem took the 20-2 Cougars into overtime. Blackhawk came out on top 40-35, but going into the rematch, Blackhawk...

Elizabeth Forward got downright defensive Friday night, switching from man defense to a zone to stifle No. 6 Knoch and cruise into Tuesday’s WPIAL semifinals. The Warriors forced 25 turnovers, many leading to easy layups in transition, to pick up a 43-31 win over the visiting Knights (14-10). Elizabeth Forward...

When the Mt. Pleasant wrestling team was mentioned the past few seasons, Dayton Pitzer, Jamison Poklembo and Dylan Pitzer stole the headlines. That didn’t bother senior Greg Shaulis. That’s because he knows it’s his time to shine at the WPIAL Class 2A championships at Chartiers Valley. Shaulis (32-4) advanced to...

Jesse Reed was elated after his Franklin Regional boys flattened Gateway, 53-35, in the quarterfinals to keep their title chase on course. After spending a few minutes with family, the third-year boys basketball coach looked around an emptying gym at Norwin on Thursday night and flashed a face-covering smile. It...

WPIAL basketball playoffs Girls Class 2A Semifinals 12-South Side (15-9) vs. 1-Greensburg Central Catholic (18-5) 2 p.m. Saturday at AHN Arena, Peters Township Winner plays: Winner of 3-Serra Catholic (20-4)/2-Aliquippa (21-3) in championship 7 p.m. Feb. 29 at Petersen Events Center Coaches: Brent Darroch, South Side; Chris Skatell, GCC Players...

Blackhawk senior Brecken Finkbeiner maintained the same spot on the podium as last year. Hampton sophomore Gabby Elk moved up two steps. Both left North Allegheny with WPIAL Class 2A diving championships Friday. Finkbeiner finished with a final score of 425.75, outpacing runner-up Jacob Hauser of Derry (395.05) and becoming...

The last time the Cheswick Christian boys basketball team won a Southwest Christian Athletic Conference championship was in 2015 when it captured the second of back-to-back league crowns. Since then, the Chargers have played for the title three times, most recently last season when they fell to Natrona Heights’ Harvest...

Forty WPIAL and City League football players were selected Friday to take part in a pair of East-West all-star games organized by the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association. The two games — one for small-school athletes and one for large schools — are May 19 at Cumberland Valley High School...

WPIAL basketball playoffs Boys Class 5A Consolation tournament 12-Kiski Area (16-8) at 8-Fox Chapel (13-11) Noon Saturday Winner plays: Winner of 7-Gateway (17-7)/11-Bethel Park (12-12) in fifth-place game Wednesday (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Colin Keller, Kiski Area; Jefferson Moorefield-Brown, Fox Chapel Layup lines: Kiski Area dropped a 73-57...

The WPIAL has scheduled four semifinal doubleheaders in the basketball playoffs on Monday. The games are for Class 6A girls, 5A boys, 3A boys and A girls. The schedule includes a rematch between Franklin Regional and Shaler in the Class 5A boys bracket. The teams met in January for a...

The numbers on the scoreboard sure seemed to be stuck. A few days after scoring more than 70 in its playoff opener, Shaler finished the third quarter Thursday tied at 24 in a grinding game that was playing right into its opponent’s plans. The Titans then made only one basket...