High School category, Page 391
Penn-Trafford baseball making strides in offseason, wins fall league title
With the graduation of the team’s top two pitchers, Nolan Marasti and Dylan Grabowski, Penn-Trafford baseball coach Lou Cortazzo knew he had to get some younger pitchers some work. So Cortazzo got the Warriors into two leagues, played 31 games (going 27-4) and ended up winning the West Penn Fall...
Penn-Trafford’s Antolena Damico hitting all the right notes for future in golf, dentistry
Things are starting to line up for Penn-Trafford senior Antolena Damico. She recently committed to play golf at Washington & Jefferson College and pursue a degree in dentistry. She wants to be an orthodontist and plans on majoring in biology and chemistry. Damico, who carries a 4.6 grade point average,...
Penn Hills wrestlers build confidence with success at early season tournament
Penn Hills wrestling coach Jeremy Packer set up the team’s schedule so things would get progressively tougher. Competing at the Southwest Kickoff Classic at Valley High School was the right way to build confidence. Penn Hills had three wrestlers — Daemon Phipps (121 pounds), Julian Lavender (127) and Jacen Wright...
Penn Hills notebook: Charles Morris picks up coach of the year award
The Penn Hills football team collected plenty of accolades from the Big 56 Conference. Indians coach Charles Morris was selected as the Northeast Conference’s coach of the Year. Penn Hills had eight players selected to the first team for all-conference. Julian Dugger and Amir Key were selected to on the...
Gateway sports notebook: Boys basketball team earns pair of early-season wins
The Gateway and Allderdice boys basketball teams played close throughout their nonsection game Dec. 5 at Allderdice High School. The Gators led by three at halftime and by two at the end of the third quarter before holding on for a 56-51 victory over the Dragons. The win moved Gateway...
Sewickley Academy boys basketball looks to show growth during challenging times
There’s only one direction the Sewickley Academy boys basketball team wants to go in 2023-24. That is up. After finishing 3-18 last year, first-year coach Jim Dudas said the Panthers have been adjusting well while learning a new system. “I am optimistic we will show significant improvement on both sides...
Quaker Valley volleyball players scoop up awards after memorable season
Talk about a landslide vote. Eight members of the Quaker Valley girls volleyball team were honored as all-section selections in 2023. Two seniors, right-side hitter Annica Kagle and middle hitter Katelyn Clark, and two juniors, outside hitter Molly MacDonald and setter Vanessa Pickett, were named to the first team. Kagle...
Mimi Thiero provides spark for young Quaker Valley girls basketball roster
Oumou “Mimi” Thiero is a still-growing 6-foot-4 sophomore guard/forward who was an all-section selection last year. Thiero was named by Trib HSSN as a 4A player to watch “who has perhaps the highest ceiling of any player in WPIAL girls basketball.” And she showed why with her two-game production in...
Senior guard Joe Coyle, Quaker Valley boys start season on right foot
Joe Coyle is back for his senior year in the Quaker Valley boys basketball program. And what a splash he made to start the season. A talented 6-foot-1 guard, Coyle was the Quakers’ leading scorer and a first-team all-section selection last year. Much is expected of him this season; he’s...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 9, 2023
High schools Basketball Boys Saturday’s results Jack Twyman Tournament At Central Catholic Penn Hills 54, Moon 53 Gateway 49, Central Catholic 44 The Clash at New Castle Central Valley 53, Union 51 Knoch 62, Grove City 49 Beaver Falls at New Castle, (n) Mike Rettger Memorial Tournament Consolation West Mifflin...
High school roundup for Dec. 9, 2023: Penn Hills, Gateway win at Central Catholic tournament
Khalil Wall scored 16 points to lead Penn Hills to a 55-53 boys basketball win over Moon at the Jack Twyman Tournament at Central Catholic on Saturday. Robert Thomas added 14 points and Lamire Redman had 10 for Penn Hills (1-1). Elijah Guillory had a game-high 23 for Moon (1-2)...
North Allegheny loses to defending champ St. Joseph’s Prep in mercy rule state final
MECHANICSBURG — In the 11 years since North Allegheny last reached the PIAA finals, the landscape in the state’s largest classification has shifted to the east. More often than not, the state title has belonged to Philadelphia Catholic League power St. Joseph’s Prep, and not even the largest school in...
Norwin boys take the measure of Latrobe at WCCA Showcase
He rears back for a corner 3-pointer, stretching his arms high and behind his head, the basketball slightly tilted to the right. He lets it go and grins slightly to greet the swish. “Yes, it’s unorthodox and jenky,” Norwin senior guard Dylan McCullough said of his shooting motion. “I didn’t...
Butler’s Drew Griffith tops Ringgold’s Ryan Pajak to win cross country national championship
Drew Griffith is a multi-time WPIAL and state champion and the Pennsylvania cross country record holder for fastest time, but even with all of those accolades, he still has times when he doubts himself. Going into the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championship this weekend, he wanted all negative thoughts...
Kiski Area beats host Hempfield at WCCA Showcase
Corey Smith stepped out of the locker room, took a deep breath and came to the realization his team was fortunate to leave Hempfield with a victory. Fortunate to escape, even. A collective swipe across the brow was in line for Kiski Area after this one. “We went 1-0 today,”...
Westmoreland athletes of the week: Yough’s Autumn Matthews, Southmoreland’s Ty Keffer
Autumn Matthews School: Yough Class: Senior Sport: Basketball Claim to fame: Matthews helped lead Yough (3-1) to a fast start, which included a pair of wins and a championship at the Deer Lakes tip-off tournament. She had 13 points in a 53-13 win over Valley, and chipped in eight in...
A-K Valley high school athletes of the week: Plum’s Megan Marston and Kiski Area’s Isaiah Gonzalez
Megan Marston Class: Senior School: Plum Sport: Basketball Report card: Marston had a hot hand for the Mustangs as they jumped out to a 3-0 start. She kicked off the season with 22 points in a 67-43 victory over Freeport at the Freeport Tip-Off. About 12 hours later, she poured...
Fast start leads Belle Vernon to 2nd straight state championship
MECHANISBURG — There was no suspense in this year’s PIAA Class 3A championship. Belle Vernon made sure of that with another dominating performance starting with the opening kickoff. Anthony Crews scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, and the Leopards (13-1) won their second consecutive state title with a convincing...
Franklin Regional notebook: Boys basketball team sprints out of gates
The ball went up in the jump circle and Franklin Regional took off. Showing a fast-paced style, the Panthers ran to a 2-0 start to open boys basketball season with a pair of wins at the 19th Hempfield Tip-off Tournament. “We’re trying (to run),” coach Jesse Reed said. “That is...
Pine-Richland grad catches on as receiver at Albany
Levi Wentz has found his home in more ways than one. A raw prospect who played just one year of high school football at Pine-Richland, Wentz signed with Old Dominion to play defensive back. But three years later, he’s a wide receiver at Albany and the change of school and...
Led by NAHL-bound Max Rutkowski, Franklin Regional hockey turns things around
After beginning the season 1-4, the Franklin Regional hockey team has turned things around. The Panthers have won three consecutive games and are playing their best hockey of the season, according to coach John Winebrenner. “We made a bunch of lineup adjustments, and the team is playing with confidence,” he...
Aquinas Academy girls hungry to take next step
Playing at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center each of the past two seasons was a dream come true for the Aquinas Academy girls basketball team. Now they just want the dream to have a better ending. The Crusaders return their top four scorers from last season’s team, which lost at the...
Aquinas Academy boys basketball braces for ‘life without Vinnie’
The Aquinas Academy boys basketball team spent more time this offseason in the weight room than ever before. They were getting ready for some heavy lifting. Vinnie Cugini, who scored 3,189 career points to shatter a 30-year-old WPIAL mark, has graduated, leaving behind a nearly 44-point-per-game hole in the Crusaders’...
Shady Side Academy boys look to overcome injuries to key players
The Shady Side Academy boys basketball program will do a lot of on-the-job training this season. Two setbacks to the Bulldogs’ lineup have Shady Side Academy running low on big men. Senior Nate Mallory had knee surgery and will be out for the year. Junior Ben Michaels has a hip...
Defending WPIAL champ highlights talented lineup for Pine-Richland wrestling
Vaughn Spencer went undefeated through the first 28 matches of his varsity career until an injury derailed his shot at his first state title last year. Spencer, a junior, still won a WPIAL title and leads a formidable group of Pine-Richland wrestlers. Bouncing back from injury is nothing new for...
