High School category, Page 319
Penn Hills wrestling program’s rebuilding project taking root
Jeremy Packer believes his two-year project has yielded strong results for the Penn Hills wrestling program. The Indians decided not to compete in a dual meet schedule during the last enrollment cycle to help build the program. Numbers were low because of the pandemic, and Packer felt the Indians needed...
Trip to WPIAL meet sparks Penn Hills swim team
The Penn Hills swim team took a much bigger contingent to Pitt’s Trees Pool this season for the WPIAL Class 3A swimming championships. What made Indians coach Morgan Bush excited for next season was the prospect of seeing all of her swimmers turn in their best times of the season...
Pine-Richland notebook: Vaughn Spencer captures 2nd WPIAL wrestling title
Vaughn Spencer became a two-time WPIAL wrestling champion in style March 2, at Canon-McMillan. Spencer breezed his way through the Class 3A 172-pound bracket, earning a pin in the second period over Latrobe’s Hunter Snyder in the final. He had three pins in his four bouts. Spencer won by fall...
Pine-Richland hockey finds recipe for success with power play, defense
There wasn’t much separation in PIHL Class 3A with four teams finishing within one point of each other, but Pine-Richland has a couple traits that helped them eke into the top seed in the Penguins Cup playoffs. The Rams boast the top-ranked power play and have been exceptional at closing...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for March 9, 2024
High schools Basketball Boys Class 6A First round Saturday’s results Lower Merion 85, Cedar Crest 55 Archbishop Wood 81, Methacton 73 Springfield Delco 59, Abraham Lincoln 43 Spring-Ford 55, Scranton 52 Parkland 65, Plymouth Whitemarsh 35 Chambersburg 72, CB East 41 WC Henderson 80, Hazleton Area 73. Roman Catholic 63,...
PIAA announces details for boys 2nd-round games in Class 5A, 4A and A
The WPIAL got off to a good start Friday in the opening round of the Class 5A, 4A and A boys state basketball playoffs. The district was a combined 13-6 with 5A and 4A teams both going 5-2 while Class A teams from the WPIAL were 3-2. Now 13 boys...
PIAA sets sites for girls 2nd-round games in Class 6A, 3A, 2A
The opening round of the 2024 PIAA girls basketball state playoffs in Class 6A, 3A and 2A was a mixed bag for WPIAL teams. They were perfect in one bracket, slightly above average in another and below the bar in a third. Combined, the 19 district teams went 11-8 in...
High school roundup for March 9, 2024: South Fayette cruises in 1st round to set up meeting with Oakland Catholic
Erica Hall had 14 points to lead three players in double figures as WPIAL champion South Fayette defeated Red Land, 48-20, in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A girls basketball playoffs Saturday. Juliette Leroux scored 12 and Lainey Yater had 10 for the Lions (19-8), who had a...
Frazier’s Rune Lawrence becomes 4-time PIAA wrestling champion
HERSHEY – Frazier senior Rune Lawrence surprised many when he stuck the landing on a backflip after his final match Saturday at the Giant Center. The impromptu move came after his opponent, Muncy junior Austin Johnson, said something to Lawrence following his dominating 6-3 victory at 215 pounds at the...
Burrell’s Joe Makara giving back to sport; three from A-K Valley earn medals
HERSHEY — Even though Burrell didn’t have a wrestler in the PIAA wrestling championship finals, it did have a former two-time PIAA champion roaming the mats as an official. Joe Makara, who won consecutive titles in 2002 and 2003, was on the center mat for two girls finals: 130 and...
Norwin’s Landon Sidun keeps Westmoreland County streak alive by winning PIAA title
HERSHEY — Thanks to Norwin freshman Landon Sidun, the streak of PIAA wrestling champions from Westmoreland County has reached 30 consecutive years. Sidun (42-2) secured that milestone by rallying from an early takedown to defeat Ridley junior Curtis Nelson, 6-3, in the Class 3A 114-pound final Saturday at Giant Center....
Canon-Mac’s Valarie Solorio makes history as 1st PIAA girls wrestling champion
Only one can be first. That is the distinction Valarie Solorio of Canon-McMillan always will have. Solorio won the 100-pound gold medal at the inaugural PIAA girls wrestling championships Saturday at Giant Center in Hershey. Because hers was the first weight class to complete, Solorio became the first PIAA girls...
Upper St. Clair stages furious rally to get past Central Dauphin in PIAA 1st round
For the first 10 minutes of its PIAA Class 6A boys basketball first-round playoff game, it didn’t just look like host Upper St. Clair was suffering through a WPIAL champions funk. It looked like the Panthers were sunk. However, USC battled back and found a way to edge Central Dauphin...
Greensburg Central Catholic boys assert themselves in PIAA win
Tyree Turner dribbled into the open court with nothing between himself and the rim but gravity. While he just barely missed the slam dunk, he immediately recovered, came up with a steal at midcourt and was ready to try again. “I’m like, ‘If I miss this one, I won’t hear...
Plum outduels Freeport for girls regional bowling title
Plum and Freeport, the dominant teams at the Western PA Regional girls team bowling championships over the last four years, did battle for the title in a tightly contested championship match Saturday at AMF Noble Manor Lanes. The Mustangs came away with the crown, winning their second consecutive girls singles...
Untimely scoring slumps end Baldwin’s historic season with PIAA loss to McDowell
The scoreboard in Baldwin’s gym showed a good news, bad news scenario for the Highlanders as the fourth quarter got underway Saturday. “They only had 41 points through three,” Baldwin coach Jeff Ackermann said of visiting Erie McDowell. “You’d think you could be winning if you hold them to 41....
Deer Lakes relies on inside game to defeat Mercyhurst Prep in PIAA 1st round
In the last couple of seasons, Deer Lakes has won playoff games in a variety of ways, and Saturday they turned to their inside game. And their domination in the paint helped put another one in the win column. The Lancers scored 46 of their points in the paint in...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Valley’s Tyler Danko, Burrell’s Leah McCandless
Leah McCandless Class: Senior School: Burrell Sport: Bowling Report card: McCandless won the girls singles title at the Western PA Regional bowling tournament Friday at AMF Noble Manor Lanes. She defeated Conneaut’s Lexi Potts in the championship match 211-182. McCandless, who was 11th at regionals and 24th at states in...
St. Joseph earns 1st state playoff win in seniors’ last game on home court
There was history being made by both St. Joseph teams coming into their PIAA Class A first-round game Saturday in Natrona Heights. The St. Joseph Spartans, the senior-laden WPIAL runner-up, had done so much that had never been done before in program history the past several years. But Saturday’s game...
Basketball standout Brice Flenory to take place with uncle, B.B., in A-K Valley Sports Hall of Fame
Longtime local basketball fans might remember Brice Flenory for his deadly fade-away jumper. A 1998 Valley graduate, Flenory apparently hasn’t lost his touch over the years. “My fade-away shot still is unstoppable, even at the age of 45,” said Flenory, who is a dean of students for the Pittsburgh Public...
Westmoreland high school athletes of the week: Mt. Pleasant’s Lily King, Franklin Regional’s Shawn Sinclair
Lily King School: Mt. Pleasant Class: Junior Sport: Swimming Claim to fame: King won three gold medals and a bronze at the WPIAL Class 2A swimming championships last weekend at Pitt’s Trees Pool. She was a repeat winner in the 100-yard freestyle, where she broke her own record with a...
Burrell’s breakout season ends with 4th-quarter struggles in PIAA loss to Bishop Guilfoyle
There were bumps along the way, but the Burrell boys basketball team was where it felt it belonged Saturday afternoon. The Bucs earned a spot in the PIAA Class 3A playoffs by making a surprise run through the WPIAL playoffs as a No. 11 seed. An energized Burrell team surged...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports for March 9, 2024: PIAA basketball 1st round continues
Opening weekend of the 2024 PIAA basketball playoffs continues Saturday with first round games in boys 6A, 3A and 2A, along with girls 5A, 4A and A. Once again this year, all first round games are home contests for the higher seeds unless otherwise determined. The WPIAL playoffs lead to...
Plum swimmers earn berth to PIAA championships
The Plum girls swim team fared well in a number of events at the WPIAL Class 3A championships Feb. 29 and March 1 at Pitt’s Trees Pool. The Mustangs clinched three PIAA appearances — the two freestyle relays and junior Giuliana Ricciuti in the 200-yard freestyle — and were close...
Plum hockey hopes to build off turnaround season
It was quite a turnaround this season for the Plum hockey team. The Mustangs were 3-16 a year ago. The organization’s board of directors felt a coaching change was needed, and Plum hockey alumnus Jon Gratton came on board. The returning team members hit the ice together in August and...
