High School category, Page 508

Aelan Wyley has plans to be an architect someday. For now, she’d like to win more basketball games. With the start of the girls regular season approaching, the Valley senior guard good-naturedly laughed off the Vikings’ inability to score points and post victories, acknowledging it’s been much longer since the...

Imani Christian transfers Robert Sledge and Kylan Holmes are now eligible to play basketball this winter after the PIAA overturned earlier decisions by the WPIAL. The two had appeal hearings Monday. “They were so excited and I understand why,” Imani Christian athletic director Cliff Simon said. “Both had legitimate reason...

After a 1-21 season in his first year as a high school head basketball coach in 2021-22, Valley’s John Stone was undeterred, even as he bid farewell to four senior starters. Incidentally, the Vikings’ fifth starter since has transferred out, leaving them with an overhauled lineup this season. “I love...

The gymnasium at Yough is squeaking with basketball shoes, and there is energy in the air as girls run laps to open a practice. Their giddy chatter echoes off the bleachers. “Our numbers are up this year across the board,” sixth-year coach Mike Gerdich said. Yough will have 17 players...

A drop in classification. A new section. A host of letterwinners returning. Are the stars aligning for Yough to have one of its best basketball seasons in recent memory? Potential is bubbling up but expectations are measured, for now. “We hope so, but we need to win first,” coach Jim...

High schools Football PIAA playoffs Class 6A Semifinals Saturday’s schedule Garnet Valley (13-0) vs. St. Joseph’s Prep (10-1) at Northeast Super Site, Philadelphia, 1 p.m.; State College (13-0) vs. Harrisburg (10-2) at Mansion Park Stadium, Altoona, 1 p.m. Class 5A Semifinals Friday’s schedule Imhotep Charter (10-2) vs. Upper Dublin (14-0)...

Fox Chapel and North Hills, last year’s WPIAL finalists in Class 6A, moved into Class 5A in PIAA realignment in the offseason. But they’re not big-school bullies swooping in to steal the lunch money of smaller schools. Far from it. With one notable exception (see: Preseason Player of the Year),...

It’s become a common theme to list Chartiers Valley among the preseason favorites for the WPIAL Class 5A title. This year, though, the Colts are notably missing from that group. Chartiers Valley, which won the WPIAL 5A title in 2017, ’19, ’20 and ’21 and finished as the district runner-up...

If Southmoreland’s current run of WPIAL playoff appearances in girls basketball is to continue, the Scotties likely will need to reach deep down for a little something extra this season. It’s one thing to lose to graduation three starters from a 19-5 team that reached the second round of the...

From the outside, Jake Kimmich’s college decision seemed easy. Maybe even expected. The Franklin Regional senior soccer player will follow in his brothers’ footsteps and play at Grove City, a Division III program in the Presidents Athletic Conference, keeping a family tradition intact four more years. Matt Kimmich is a...

The St. Joseph girls basketball team pulled off one of the most stunning upsets across all sports in the WPIAL last season when it knocked off three-time defending Class A champion Rochester in the quarterfinals. It did so with a really young team and returns four starters, so there’s excitement...

St. Joseph coach Hart Coleman doesn’t have to look too far to find a way to motivate his group. He can point to one game against Neighborhood Academy last February. The Spartans led for most of the way only to see it slip away late and end in a 61-59...

After missing out on the WPIAL playoffs last season, Southmoreland boys basketball coach Frank Muccino is predicting the Scotties will be better this year. Good enough for a return to the postseason, where Southmoreland recently was a staple before last season? Muccino thinks so, if … “The big issue will...

Here are the latest PIHL high school hockey standings through Sunday: Team – Wins – Losses – Overtime/Shootout Loss = Total Points Class 3A North Allegheny, 7-2-0 = 14 Seneca Valley, 6-1-1 = 13 Central Catholic, 6-2-0 = 12 Peters Township, 5-1-0 = 10 Cathedral Prep, 5-4-0 = 10 Baldwin,...

Things couldn’t have gone much better for Latrobe football coach Ron Prady during his first season. The Wildcats finished 7-5 and reached the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals. The remarkable season included the program’s first seven-win season since 2001, the first winning season since 2011, the first playoff win since 1968...

Coming off of back-to-back runner-up finishes, Franklin Regional’s hockey team is hoping to make a third PIHL finals appearance this season. The only difference is, it wants to be the one to win the Penguins Cup this time around. With 12 seniors graduating after last year, that will not be...

The Freeport hockey team is working hard early on in the season, facing three tough losses but quickly battling back to put together a four-game winning streak. Among the talented players on the roster is senior defensemen Jake Suwan. “The first three games were arguably the hardest games of the...

Dave Heavner wanted to make being a member of the Valley football team centered around expectations. Showing up and working hard at practice wasn’t going to be the be-all, end-all. To stick around, Heavner wanted the Vikings to show they were committed. “We put some rules and regulations into place,”...

For the last several seasons, the Gateway girls basketball team has had one or two top-level players on the roster — a scorer or two who could fill up the stat sheet before matriculating on to the next level to play high-end college basketball. Players like Lexi Jackson, Dynasty Shegog,...

After an impressive playoff run for the Gateway boys basketball team a season ago, things will look a bit different on the hardwood in Monroeville in 2022-23. The Gators upset third-seeded Mars in the WPIAL quarterfinals, gave eventual runner-up New Castle a game in the semifinals and knocked off WPIAL...

The Sewickley Academy girls basketball team has a new head coach. She is not new to the program, however. Jill Capozzi has taken over as head coach after serving as an assistant to Mark Gaither last season. “I left teaching and coaching to raise my children and last year got...

Last season was a learning experience for the coaches and players on the Quaker Valley girls basketball team. The Quakers advanced to both the WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A playoffs in Ken Johns’ first year as floor boss. This season, QV is looking to make more noise in the section,...

Hannah Pugliese doesn’t need to dig into the history books to know what the tradition of the Penn Hills girls basketball program means. All she has to do is talk to volunteer assistant coaches Desiree Oliver and Jade Ely, who have been helping the team out in the preseason. Both...

The Penn Hills boys basketball team got a jolt from what it did beyond the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs last season. While the Indians didn’t bring home a PIAA crown, Penn Hills did leave a remarkable wave behind it during the state tournament. The Indians knocked off Lampeter-Strasburg and East...

The Pine-Richland football team has a two-hour bus ride this weekend and Aliquippa has a three-hour trip ahead. That often comes with reaching the state semifinals. The PIAA has announced sites for the next round of playoff games. Pine-Richland faces District 3 champion Cocalico at Mansion Park Stadium in Altoona...