High School category, Page 335
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Knoch’s Jackson Bauman, St. Joseph’s Isabella Thomas
Isabella Thomas Class: Freshman School: St. Joseph Sport: Gymnastics Report card: St. Joseph freshman Isabella Thomas finished fourth out of 37 competitors in the all-around with a score of 34.850 in the Intermediate I division at the WPIAL gymnastics championships Feb. 10. Thomas placed eighth in bars (8.600), fourth in...
Norwin girls wrestling boasts 2 WPIAL champs in inaugural event
It was quite a day for the Norwin girls wrestling program Saturday at the first WPIAL girls wrestling championship at North Allegheny. The Knights crowned two champions and had three others advance to the PIAA West Regional on March 2 at Canon-McMillan. Sophomore Josephine Dollman became the school’s first WPIAL...
At WPIAL girls wrestling, Plum’s Claassen sisters keep promise to grandmother
Plum’s Claassen sisters kept their promise Saturday. They vowed to their ill grandmother, Marilynn Claassen, they would bring home medals from the first WPIAL girls wrestling championship at North Allegheny. Sophomore Alaina Claassen was going to present her with a gold medal, and freshman Addison Claassen was going to give...
‘It means we belong:’ WPIAL girls celebrate inaugural wrestling tournament
It was a day of firsts at the WPIAL girls wrestling championships Saturday 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 champion...
South Park advances by beating Mt. Pleasant in WPIAL opener
South Park knew who to turn to when it needed a jolt. When it came time to flip a WPIAL girls basketball playoff game in its favor. Junior point guard Brooke Paylo was the fifth-seeded Eagles’ rail to hold onto in a 37-21 first-round victory over No. 12 Mt. Pleasant...
A-K Valley high school notebook: Springdale alumnae Kropelak-Brownback going into UPJ Hall of Fame
Michelle Kropelak-Brownback, a standout track star at Springdale in the mid to late 1990s, is one of seven athletic greats who make up the 15th Athletics Hall of Fame class at Pitt-Johnstown. The six-time WPIAL champion and four-time PIAA place-winner showed her versatility at Pitt-Johnstown by competing in as many...
Keystone Oaks girls take down Burrell, get rematch with No. 1 Avonworth
Keystone Oaks will get another shot at No. 1 The Eagles, runners-up to Avonworth in Section 2-3A, got a game-best 15 points from junior Alayna Wagner and 12 more from senior Bailey Rieg in a 49-34 WPIAL first-round victory over Burrell on Saturday at South Park. Keystone Oaks, which improved...
Fox Chapel notebook: Swim team happy to bring large contingent to WPIAL meet
Expect the Fox Chapel presence at Pitt’s Trees Pool to be a strong contingent. The Foxes have hit a number of WPIAL Class 3A individual qualifying times and will be looking to push a number of athletes through to the state swimming championships. “It’s a super exciting time coming up...
Focus on defense, taking care of basketball propels Fox Chapel boys into playoffs
Will Siegel is proud of the role he plays on defense for the Fox Chapel boys basketball team, and Siegel and his teammates want to make sure they don’t waste their effort on one end with mistakes on the other. Avoiding turning the ball over on offense is paramount for...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Camp planned to honor late Southmoreland coach
The legacy of “Fred” lives on at Southmoreland. Organizers have put together an event to not only help young football players improve their skills but also to honor the memory of a beloved coach. The Coach Ron “Fred” Frederick Memorial Youth Football Camp will be 10 a.m. to 1 p.m....
North Allegheny notebook: NA girls earn No. 3 seed for WPIAL playoffs
North Allegheny’s girls basketball team was awarded the No. 3 seed in Class 6A when the WPIAL playoff pairings were announced Feb. 12. The Tigers (20-2) will host No. 6 Upper St. Clair (12-10) on Thursday in the opening round. The winner advances to play the winner of No. 2...
North Allegheny boys put layoff to good use ahead of WPIAL playoffs
When other WPIAL basketball teams were probably prepping for their playoff openers, the North Allegheny boys took batting practice in the high school gym. They certainly had time to spare. That’s because North Allegheny and everyone else in the Class 6A bracket got a 10-day layoff before starting their postseason...
Drive to improve, helpful mentors lead Franklin Regional grad to Division I football
Gentle giant Max Leven had a goal when he left Franklin Regional, but for him to achieve that goal, he felt he needed some fine-tuning. If he was going to be ready to play NCAA Division I college football, the 6-foot-8, 285-pound Leven had to smooth out some rough edges....
Freshmen stood tall during Franklin Regional’s run to PIAA wrestling tournament
Franklin Regional wrestling ended the team portion of the season Feb. 10 on the mats at the Giant Center in Hershey. Thanks to a unique balance of seniors and some talented freshmen, the Panthers (22-3) made it to Day 3 of the PIAA Class 3A team tournament. While the Panthers...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Feb. 16, 2024
High schools Basketball Boys WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Quarterfinals Feb. 23 schedule Times TBA Pine-Richland (7-15) at Mt. Lebanon (18-4); North Allegheny (11-11) at Baldwin (16-6); Canon-McMillan (10-12) vs. Central Catholic (14-8) at TBA; Butler (15-6) at Upper St. Clair (17-5) Class 5A Preliminary round Friday’s result Woodland Hills 64,...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 17, 2024: Girls Class 3A teams step into spotlight
The opening weekend of the 2024 WPIAL basketball playoffs continues Saturday with the spotlight shining on all eight Class 3A girls opening-round contests. There will be a touch of déjà vu in the air in Greene County when Section 4 co-champion Waynesburg hosts Seton LaSalle at noon. The Raiders and...
High school roundup for Feb. 16, 2024: Clairton’s Iyanna Wade wins battle of top scorers in Class 2A 1st round
In a battle of two of the most dynamic scorers in WPIAL girls basketball, Clairton and Iyanna Wade came out on top Friday night. Wade scored 52 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter and 12 in overtime, to lead the No. 10 Bears to a 78-65 victory over No....
Penn Hills starts, finishes strong in Class 5A win over Thomas Jefferson
Penn Hills played a picture-perfect road game in the first half Friday on opening night of the WPIAL girls basketball playoffs at Thomas Jefferson. Then the Indians nearly flushed it away with a rough third quarter, only to answer the bell in the fourth to take control back and beat...
Montour boys pull away to defeat Southmoreland in WPIAL 4A 1st round
Montour coach Bill Minear said his team works on end-of-the-quarter possessions. That extra work paid off big time Friday in his team’s WPIAL Class 4A first-round game against Southmoreland. The third-seeded Spartans (20-3) scored in the final second of every quarter and defeated the Scotties, 71-44. Montour will face Avonworth,...
South Allegheny surges past Belle Vernon in 2nd half of Class 4A 1st-round clash
With the teams neck and neck entering halftime, No. 10 Belle Vernon and No. 7 South Allegheny both went to the locker room with the belief that they could move on to the second round of the Class 4A WPIAL playoffs to take on No. 2 Hampton. It was the...
With senior guard back from injury, Greensburg Central Catholic girls rout Northgate
While she was cleared to return and was going to need ice treatment after the game, Cara Dupilka wasn’t sure how much she could give Greensburg Central Catholic in the first round of the playoffs after missing three games with a bone bruise in her left foot. “I’m thinking maybe...
Rowan Carmichael’s 32 points lift Avonworth past Highlands in Class 4A 1st round
Highlands’ size can be an advantage, just not against a deceptively sturdy guard who made one big shot after another. Avonworth’s Rowan Carmichael plays bigger than his lean 5-foot-11 frame might suggest. The junior scored a game-high 32 points with five 3-pointers Friday night as the sixth-seeded Antelopes defeated No....
Young Knoch rallies to defeat Beaver in Class 4A boys first round
Knoch coach Alan Bauman bristled when it was suggested his team’s first-round playoff opponent, Beaver Area, was coming into the Knights’ gym Friday night having played a highly challenging regular-season schedule. The Bobcats competed in Section 2-4A along with top-ranked Lincoln Park and No. 5 North Catholic. “We’re pretty good,...
Kiski Area wrestler Gray eager for postseason after being sidelined by shoulder injury
Kiski Area’s Mark Gray made his season debut last Saturday at the Pine-Richland Duals. The junior wrestled just one out of a planned schedule of three matches in his return from a torn labrum in his left shoulder suffered in a match at the Tussle Duals in West Virginia in...
A-K Valley high school basketball playoff preview capsules for Feb. 17, 2024
WPIAL basketball playoffs Girls Class 3A First round 9-Burrell (16-4) vs. 8-Keystone Oaks (15-6) Noon Saturday, South Park High School Winner plays: Winner of 16-Apollo-Ridge (8-13)/1-Avonworth (19-1) Wednesday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Section finish: Burrell 2nd, Section 3; Keystone Oaks, T-2nd, Section 2 Players to watch: Julianna Fisher, Burrell;...
