High School category, Page 476

Yough’s girls basketball team made the playoffs for the first time in 13 years this season. The postseason didn’t end the way the team wanted, as the Cougars lost in the Class 3A preliminary round to Beaver Falls, but the feat of reaching the postseason was a major accomplishment for...

Section play is set to begin for nearly all the WPIAL boys volleyball teams this week, with the exception of Section 2-3A which got started last week. As the matches take on more meaning, there was some movement in the weekly Western Pa. Volleyball Coaches Association polls released Monday. In...

The final week of March gives us a taste of spring, spring sports that is, with action from the field, the court and the diamond this week on the TribLive High School Sports Network. Trib HSSN continues coverage of WPIAL softball and boys and girls lacrosse. Plus it’s the spring...

It seems appropriate that on the first day of section play in several WPIAL baseball sections, rain is in the forecast Monday. The popular “section series” begins for teams in Section 1-5A, Section 1-3A, Section 3-3A, Section 4-3A, Section 1-2A, Section 2-2A, Section 3-2A, Section 1-A, Section 2-A and Section...

High schools WPIAL Baseball Sunday’s result Nonsection Montour 4, Avonworth 2 Monday’s schedule Class 5A Section 1 Armstrong at Plum, 4 p.m. Fox Chapel at Penn-Trafford, 4 p.m. Franklin Regional at Penn Hills, 4 p.m. Class 3A Section 1 Beaver Falls at Shenango, 4:15 p.m. Mohawk at Quaker Valley, 4:15...

When asked to reflect on his more than six decades in basketball, Terry Thompson was quick with a clarification. “I’m still coaching, so my career isn’t over. I’m only 80 (years old), you know,” he said with a chuckle. Thompson serves as an assistant boys coach at Conneaut (Ohio) High...

About eight months ago, when he was diagnosed with pediatric brain cancer, Joe Purdue said this: “I am letting God take the wheel on this one.” The Franklin Regional grad and former football player put up a fight as support grew around him, but he could not hang on any...

Wrestler of the year Vinny Kilkeary Latrobe, sr., 127 pounds 2022-23 record: 29-0 Overall record: 131-12 When Vinny Kilkeary won the 106-pound PIAA Class 3A title as a freshman in 2020, he shocked the state. He defeated Bethlehem Catholic’s Tyler Kasak, 14-10, in the semifinals with a great comeback and...

Addison Arndt literally dives headfirst into her winter athletic schedule at Thomas Jefferson. Arndt, a junior, competes as a diver on the TJ girls swim team and as an advanced gymnast as a member of the gymnastics team. She qualified for the PIAA finals in both sports, placing fourth in...

Many of the skaters in the PIHL maintain their time on the ice as members of local club teams. Five Quaker Valley hockey players — four freshmen and one middle schooler — are on club squads that have advanced to the USA Hockey national championships to be held March 30...

The PIHL regular season is a long grind, beginning in October and running into February. Quaker Valley, competing in the Varsity A Gold division, finished fourth behind North Hills, McDowell and North Catholic with a 14-5-0-1 record. The Quakers started out 2-2 then skated to wins in nine of their...

Quaker Valley’s baseball team suffered massive graduation losses last year. Eight of the nine starters in 2022 were seniors, leaving only shortstop Hunter Doherty as the lone returning starter in 2023. Doherty started at second base last season. “We will be competitive,” said Rich Garbee, QV’s first-year coach. “We will...

The Penn-Trafford boys volleyball team came on strong in 2022 by qualifying for the WPIAL playoffs and coming within one victory of making the PIAA tournament. The Warriors (12-7, 8-4) saw their season come to an end with losses to North Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals and Shaler...

Penn-Trafford softball coach Denny Little had his team back at work March 21 after a nonsection loss at Mt. Pleasant. They were working on the fundamentals, especially defensive aspect of the game. Despite the loss, Little said there were some good things he saw from the team. “We play a...

One of the leading returning competitors in the Gateway track and field program this season is junior hurdler Kierra Pitts. A two-time WPIAL qualifier, Pitts, who is known as Kiki, placed eighth in 17:18 in the girls 100-meter hurdles at last year’s WPIAL Class 3A finals. She also competed in...

The Gateway girls 400-yard freestyle relay team was handed the fifth seed at the PIAA Class 2A swim championships at Bucknell. As it turned out, the Gators finished fifth with a time of 3:38.79, beating their prelim time (3:41.65) by more than three seconds. The medal-winning relay team consisted of...

Zac Wurzer isn’t disappointed that the Shaler boys volleyball team can’t hide behind its previous identity as scrappy underdogs. The Titans have become a perennial contender for WPIAL and state success. What will be different this season is the Titans will carry the expectations that come with sustained success. Shaler...

Tom Sorce didn’t want to see the Shaler softball team have a schedule full of guaranteed wins. The Titans softball coach asked the athletic director to give the team a nonsection slate full of games that would provide a test. What Shaler got was a schedule full of opponents from...

Some history was made by the Chartiers Valley swimmers this winter. Success began at the top. Morgan Soulia made the biggest splash as the first-year coach of the Colts girls swimming team. Soulia was a graduate of North Allegheny, where she helped the Tigers win four WPIAL championships and three...

The Chartiers Valley boys and girls basketball teams each enjoyed some highs during the 2022-23 season. However, their campaigns may be more remembered for the low of how they ended. The Colts girls welcomed a new coach in Mike Semplice as the team began the season with a 5-2 record...

West Jefferson Hills announced it was starting the Hall of Fame program during the 2019-20 school year, but the first class never was recognized due to the covid-19 pandemic. The district relaunched its program last fall and re-opened the nomination process. On March 4, WJHSD inducted the members into the...

Baldwin’s Abby Rexrode has made an indelible imprint on WPIAL gymnastics. Rexrode won her second consecutive all-around title in the advanced division at the WPIAL championships Feb. 11 at Moon. By doing so, the 16-year-old sophomore held firm as the WPIAL’s top gymnast. “Abby had a strong all-around performance. She...

High schools WPIAL Baseball Saturday’s results Nonsection North Hills 6, St. Joseph (NJ) 5 Pennsbury 9, Baldwin 5 Pickerington (OH) 16, North Hills 6 Upper Arlington (OH) 4, Latrobe 3 Blackhawk at Albert Gallatin, (n) Uniontown at Morgantown (WV), (n) Basketball PIAA playoffs Championships Boys Class 6A Saturday’s result Reading...

Lauren Weatherton doubled twice and drove in three runs and Sydney DeGram had four hits, including a double, as Latrobe continued its hot start to the season with an 8-3 win over Belle Vernon at the MVI First Pitch softball showcase Saturday. Macie McHugh doubled twice and drove in a...