High School category, Page 375
After making history last season, Chartiers Valley girls swim team has new cast of characters
After capturing its first section title in program history last season, the Chartiers Valley girls swimming program is looking to defend its title with a different cast of swimmers. Last season, the Colts finished first in Section 1-2A and finished tied for 22nd place in the WPIAL Class 2A swimming...
Senior Laekyn Flinn sets standard for Thomas Jefferson girls basketball
One of the team leaders for the TJ girls basketball team is 5-foot-9 senior guard/forward Laekyn Flinn, who will continue her career after high school at Frostburg State. Frostburg State is a member of the NCAA Division II Mountain East Conference. “I chose Frostburg because it had everything to offer...
With 4 starters back, Thomas Jefferson boys poised for big season
Thomas Jefferson’s boys basketball team has experience on its side for 2023-24. “We have four out of the five starters back from last year and several good young players that need to step up for us,” coach Dom DeCicco said. “We expect to be competitive. “For us to have success,...
Behind veteran frontcourt, Brentwood girls in position to contend
The Brentwood girls basketball team’s recipe for success includes a little height mixed in with a solid dose of experience. Experience-wise, the Spartans have three returning starters in Mia March, Jessica Yee and Paige Boehm, along with last year’s top reserve, Ay’Maree Henry. As for frontcourt height, March is a...
Veteran Brentwood boys roster aiming for bounce-back season
The 2022-23 season was an anomaly for the Brentwood boys basketball program. A regular WPIAL playoff participant — Brentwood qualified for postseason action for a fifth consecutive season in 2021-22 — the Spartans sat out last year’s playoffs thanks to a 5-16 record and only minimal success against section opponents....
Baldwin boys making strides toward breakout season
Baldwin boys basketball wrapped up the 2022-23 season above .500 with a 12-11 record. The Highlanders lost a tough 80-75 decision to eventual WPIAL champion Central Catholic in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs. Coach Jeff Ackerman and his players are expecting better results in 2023-24. “I think...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 2, 2023
High schools Basketball Saturday’s results Boys AHN/Highmark Tip-Off Tournament Peters Township 69, Altoona 35 Baldwin 74, Chartiers Valley 59 Aquinas Academy Tournament Consolation Cheswick Christian 60, Portersville Christian 42 Championship Aquinas Academy 65, Pittsburgh Christian Academy 34 Armstrong Tournament Consolation Armstrong 57, Westmont Hilltop 56 Championship Kiski Area 69, Deer...
High school girls basketball roundup for Dec. 2, 2023: Payton Collins powers Mt. Lebanon past North Catholic
Payton Collins scored 19 points to lead Mt. Lebanon to a 53-24 girls basketball victory over North Catholic at the North Allegheny tip-off tournament Saturday. The Blue Devils (2-0) took control with a 12-4 run in the second quarter. Alayna Rocco scored 16 for North Catholic (1-1). Apollo-Ridge 40, Leechburg...
High school boys basketball and wrestling roundup for Dec. 2, 2023: Peter Kramer lifts Hampton to North Hills tournament title
Peter Kramer scored 31 points to lead Hampton to a 75-63 boys basketball victory over the host team at the North Hills tip-off tournament Saturday night. Alex Nyilas added 21 points for the Talbots (2-0). Zach Pollaro paced North Hills (1-1) with 25 points. Aquinas Academy 65, Pittsburgh Christian Academy...
Terek Crosby helps Yough overtake Derry in Cougar Tip-off Invitational final
Terek Crosby let his hair down for Saturday night’s final of the Yough Cougar Tip-off Invitational. But the Yough senior didn’t feel comfortable. “I didn’t have a hair tie,” Crosby said. “My hair was bothering me. It was in my face.” His mom gave him a tie at halftime, and...
2nd annual We Serve First girls volleyball classic at Kiski Area draws rave reviews
Saturday’s second annual We Serve First girls volleyball classic at Kiski Area was another successful evening orchestrated to support local athletes. The all-star event, put together by Tim Toy and the We Serve First foundation, assists those who desire to play volleyball at the next level or play club volleyball....
Nazareth Prep runs past Leechburg to win tournament title
Led by a first-year coach and an entirely new starting lineup, the Leechburg boys basketball team looks a lot different this year. On Saturday afternoon, however, the Blue Devils found some unfortunate familiarity: Nazareth Prep raising a trophy at their expense. Powered by junior Will Evans and his 14 points,...
North Allegheny ends 11-year wait, moves on to state finals vs. powerhouse St. Joseph’s Prep
ALTOONA — North Allegheny is headed to the PIAA finals for the first time since 2012, and waiting for the Tigers will be a team that’s dominated the state for the past decade. But that’s a concern for another day. North Allegheny had no worries Saturday after a strong defensive...
Jeannette girls basketball team nearly wins with 3 players on floor
Jeannette started with five and ended with three, but still almost won. The Jayhawks girls basketball team, which only has five players, took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter against Northgate on Saturday at the Aquinas Academy Tournament, but fell short 27-24 despite playing the final five-plus minutes with...
Westmoreland high school notes: Teams will shift classifications next season
Student totals came out last week, but the next two-year enrollment cycle for high school teams will kick in next fall. A number of local programs will be in new classifications. In football, Norwin and Hempfield are moving back to Class 6A after two years in 5A. Latrobe and Kiski...
McKeesport’s Courtney Dunn wins Fralic Award as WPIAL’s top lineman
Matt Miller said Courtney Dunn wanted to be a running back several years ago when the senior lineman was coming up in the McKeesport football program. “His mom told him, ‘You’re too slow to run the ball. Get back to your position,’ ” said Miller, McKeesport’s coach. “We don’t want...
With Royce Parham gone, North Hills boys turn to up-tempo approach
When a team loses a generational talent, and loses him earlier than expected, a reinvention of sorts may have to take place. And that will be the case with the North Hills boys basketball team this season. Following the summer departure of rising senior Royce Parham, a 6-foot-8, four-star Marquette...
Jim Schall steps down as girls volleyball coach at Penn-Trafford
There will be a new person coaching the Penn-Trafford girls volleyball team next year. Longtime coach Jim Schall said he felt it was time to step away. It will allow him to spend more time with his family (wife Nancy and children Patrick and Kate) and focus more on the...
Penn Hills wrestlers set sights on longer postseason runs
The Penn Hills wrestling program will be in a year of transition. The Indians bring back four wrestlers — Cameron Patterson (139 pounds), Julian Lavender (133), Daemon Phipps (114) and Levi Smith (127) — who saw significant time last season. All four finished with double-digit wins, but none escaped the...
With something to prove, skilled North Allegheny boys taking different approach
When a new high school sports season dawns, many coaches are asked what the goals are for their team in the upcoming season. Many give the same responses: “Our goal is to win the section.” “We’re out to make the playoffs.” “We want to lift that WPIAL trophy at the...
Franklin Regional wrestling building toward future
Franklin Regional wrestling coach Matt Lebe said he has a good feeling about his team, especially when it counts once January begins. That’s when he feels his lineup will be set. The Panthers were co-Section 3-3A champions with Norwin and Penn-Trafford last season and Lebe sees another tight race. He...
Spencer Lee tops Nico Megaludis in battle of former Franklin Regional wrestling greats
An all-Franklin Regional matchup in a post-college wrestling match with Olympic-qualifying possibly on the line? Yes, local fans will take a tall glass of that. Spencer Lee, the superstar who went on to a brilliant and albeit injury-plagued college career at Iowa, met Nico Megaludis, a former Penn State standout,...
Behind 7 returning WPIAL qualifiers, Hampton wrestlers determined to snap playoff drought
The Hampton wrestling team’s season-ending banquet last March was more about eyeing the future than remembering the past. Returning seven WPIAL qualifiers from last season’s senior-less roster, the Talbots turned their focus to ending a three-year playoff drought and contending for the Section 5-2A team title. “We didn’t have any...
Meghan Murray-led Hampton girls basketball team a work in progress
Hampton star point guard Meghan Murray is being realistic when she expects the Talbots to start slow this season. With two-fifths of their starting lineup playing deep into November for the school’s WPIAL champion and PIAA finalist volleyball team, the Talbots girls basketball team got a late start to cohesive...
With coach Jonna Burke on sidelines thanks to judge’s ruling, Shady Side Academy girls in position to contend
Jonna Burke feels fortunate to have the assistant coaching staff she does with the Shady Side Academy girls basketball program. It’s made it easier for the Bulldogs to deal with the fallout from a one-year suspension levied on the coach in July. A federal judge has granted Burke an injunction...
