High School category, Page 357
Highlands wrestling routs section rival Knoch
Highlands maintained its unblemished record in Section 5-2A Wednesday with victories in nine of the 13 contested bouts with rival Knoch at a packed Highlands Middle School gym. It all added up to a 45-24 triumph for the Golden Knights, which lifted them to 11-4 overall and 4-0 in the...
No. 2 Connellsville too much for Latrobe wrestlers
Connellsville 44, Latrobe 25 107: Nolan Rice (C) p. Brody Bronson, 3:22. 114: Leo Joseph (L) major dec. Landon Lynn, 12-1. 121: Luke Willochell (L) p. Zach Franks, 4:43. 127: Jacob Braun (L) p. Chase Sparks, 5:10. 133: Kai Vielma (C) tech fall Austin Laidacker, 23-7 (4:33). 139: Julian Ruggieri...
Drake D’Angelo set to take reins of Greensburg Salem athletic programs
A family man with a positive attitude, familiarity of the area and high expectations is primed to oversee athletics at Greensburg Salem. Drake D’Angelo, the current athletic director at Burrell, was hired Wednesday night and will stay closer to home to lead Golden Lions’ sports. He takes over for Dave...
A-K Valley high school notes: Four reach 1,000 career points in basketball
A quartet of the Alle-Kiski Valley’s top basketball scorers this season reached the 1,000-point milestone. Kiski Area senior Isaiah Gonzalez and Plum senior Megan Marston accomplished the feat in games Jan. 2. Marston delivered a 3-pointer in the second quarter of the Mustangs’ 53-43 victory at Woodland Hills to hit...
3 Jeannette legends to be inducted into National High School Football Hall of Fame
With 10 WPIAL championships and two PIAA titles, Jeannette is renowned as one of the top football programs in Pennsylvania. But the Jayhawks’ reputation has made its way to the game’s promised land — Canton, Ohio. Three Jeannette legends who made their mark in the program and beyond will be...
Behind ‘defense first and team ball’ mantra, Monessen girls among Class A’s top squads
From Dec. 2-15, Monessen’s girls basketball team scrimmaged each other so much they started to reach low levels of apathy. Three teams canceled games against them. The thumb-twiddling commenced. Stale practices needed creativity. “We were getting bored only having practices,” coach Janine Vertacnik said. “I tried some fun challenge things...
Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: Greensburg Central Catholic awaits word on injured star Mya Morgan
Greensburg Central Catholic is awaiting word on the playing status of senior leader Mya Morgan. The shooting guard and Cal (Pa.) commit injured her knee during the second quarter of Saturday’s 58-42 nonsection loss at North Catholic. She is expected to miss Wednesday’s game at Oakland Catholic and Thursday’s Section...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Jan. 10, 2024: Top-ranked girls basketball teams collide
Two top-ranked girls basketball teams highlight a light night of WPIAL basketball action Wednesday. Oakland Catholic is undefeated this season with a 12-0 record. What makes that run even more impressive is that 10 of its first 12 games have been on the road. That will change beginning Wednesday. The...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 9, 2024
High schools Basketball Boys Tuesday’s results Class 6A Section 1 New Castle 72, Central Catholic 67 (OT) North Allegheny at Butler, ppd. Pine-Richland 58, Seneca Valley 43 Section 2 Canon-McMillan 52, Hempfield 46 Upper St. Clair 44, Mt. Lebanon 39 Baldwin 74, Norwin 53 Class 5A Section 1 Bethel Park...
Trib HSSN Pennsylvania girls basketball rankings for Jan. 9, 2024
A change at the top in Class 5A kept District 12 from claiming the top spot in the three highest classifications for a second straight week. Defending PIAA champion Archbishop Wood fell from No. 1 to No. 3 in 5A, opening the door for two western powers to slip by...
Trib HSSN Pennsylvania boys basketball rankings for Jan. 9, 2024
One week is in the books in 2024 as the high school basketball regular season inches closer to the midway point. There were few changes from last week’s inaugural Trib HSSN boys basketball rankings across the PIAA. Some teams lost but held on to their top 5 spot based on...
High school roundup for Jan. 9, 2024: Ralphie Blundo shoots New Castle past Central Catholic in OT
Ralphie Blundo scored 34 points to lead New Castle to a 72-67 overtime win over Central Catholic in Section 1-6A boys basketball Tuesday night. Damian Harrison added 14 for New Castle (10-3, 1-2). Bradley Gompers led Central Catholic (6-4, 1-2) with 23 points and Payton Wehner had 14. Aliquippa 55,...
Upper St. Clair clamps down on defense to knock off Mt. Lebanon
If defense wins championships, then the Upper St. Clair boys basketball team earned their Class 6A contender card Tuesday. The Panthers played a stifling half-court defense in shutting down and beating top-ranked Mt. Lebanon, 44-39. “Our defense was spectacular,” Upper St. Clair coach Danny Holzer said. “Mt. Lebanon is so...
Colin Masten breaks out of slump, leads Franklin Regional past Latrobe
Colin Masten said he had been in a mini-slump of late. In basketball terms, that means he wasn’t making shots or producing much on the offensive end. “I didn’t play great,” he said. The Franklin Regional senior swingman, who was the team’s sixth man last year, picked a good time...
Kiski Area puts scare into streaking Gateway in Section 3-5A boys basketball showdown
Kiski Area and Gateway came into Tuesday night’s contest in Monroeville heading in opposite directions. The Gators had won eight straight games, and the Cavaliers had dropped their last three. Kiski Area gave Gateway everything it could handle for three quarters before the Gators outscored the Cavaliers by seven in...
Freshmen stand out at WCCA wrestling tournament
Even though the 71st Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association wrestling tournament was minus one of the top freshmen in the state, there still were many youngsters who shined. Three freshmen won titles, three others were finalists and 10 earned medals. Wrestling fans missed out watching Landon Sidun (26-1) of Norwin because...
Greensburg Salem set to hire Drake D’Angelo as athletic director
Greensburg Salem will vote to hire Drake D’Angelo as its athletic director, according to board agenda for Wednesday night’s meeting. D’Angelo is the current athletic director at Burrell and would take over at Greensburg Salem upon his release from the other Westmoreland County school. Dave Zilli, the retiring principal at...
2024 PIHL all-star rosters released
Big games and big performances have filled the first three months of the PIHL regular season. Now, many of those standout players will have the chance to come together at the end of this month to show their stuff in a series of all-star games. The 2024 PIHL all-star rosters...
Trib HSSN WPIAL wrestling rankings for Jan. 9, 2024
Team rankings Class 3A Team (This year’s record) Last week’s ranking 1. Trinity (5-0) 1 2. Connellsville (5-1) 2 3. Canon-McMillan (3-0) 3 4. Franklin Regional (12-0) 4 5. North Allegheny (10-2) 5 6. Norwin (9-4) 6 7. West Allegheny (7-0) 7 8. Latrobe (4-2) 8 9. Bethel Park (6-1)...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 8, 2024
High schools Basketball Boys Monday’s results Class A Section 3 St. Joseph 39, Hillel Academy 34 Nonsection Beaver County Christian 64, Propel Montour 48 Tuesday’s schedule Class 6A Section 1 New Castle at Central Catholic, 7:30 p.m. North Allegheny at Butler, 7:30 p.m. Seneca Valley at Pine-Richland, 7:30 p.m. Section...
High school roundup for Jan. 8, 2024: McKeesport, Oakland Catholic girls win section showdowns
Rachael Manfredo scored 17 points and Brooke Evans added 16 to lead McKeesport to a 53-40 victory over Thomas Jefferson in a matchup of top girls basketball teams in Section 3-5A on Monday night. Maddy Hertzler had 12 for McKeesport (10-1, 4-0). Laekyn Flinn scored 17 points and Riley McCabe...
In a very different rematch, Franklin Regional hockey tops Norwin again
When Franklin Regional and Norwin battled on the ice Nov. 14, the Knights were short-handed and the Panthers breezed to an easy victory. In Monday’s PIHL Class 2A rematch, the game was a lot different. Franklin Regional (8-6) rallied from an early two-goal deficit to defeat Norwin, 6-4, in a...
Battle-tested Norwin girls roll past Hempfield
Norwin has yet to lose to a WPIAL team this girls basketball season. Eight up, eight down. But no matter how much potential the Knights have, this collection of talent is a work in progress. A nonsection schedule that is as thorny as it is taxing has kept them sharp...
Kira Schrecongost leads way for Freeport swimmers
Kira Schrecongost again was an iron woman at the WPIAL and PIAA swimming championships. The Freeport junior last season swam four events — two individual and two relays — on the first day of the WPIAL Class 2A meet at Pitt’s Trees Pool. She earned four medals that day —...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Jan. 9, 2024: South Hills boys basketball rivals meet again
It may not be at the level of Mike Tomlin vs. John Harbaugh in the NFL when it comes to longtime rival coaches, but as far as district boys basketball is concerned, it doesn’t get much better than Joe David vs. Danny Holzer. The two legendary coaches go head to...
