High School category, Page 523
Trib HSSN wrestling all-stars: Latrobe’s Vinny Kilkeary earns top honors with run to 3rd state title
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...
Thomas Jefferson junior dives headfirst into 2-sport winter schedule
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...
Quaker Valley hockey players to play in national championships
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...
Optimism abounds for Quaker Valley hockey after playoff season
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...
New-look Quaker Valley lineup aims to bring aggressiveness, hard work to diamond
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...
Penn-Trafford volleyball looking to carry momentum from strong playoff showing
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 looking for new leaders to emerge
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...
Hurdler, distance runner among returning standouts for Gateway track team
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...
Relay team leads Gateway swimmers at WPIAL, PIAA meets
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...
With sustained success, Shaler boys volleyball sheds underdog label
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...
Shaler softball expects tough early schedule to pay dividends
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...
Chartiers Valley girls swim team takes big step forward with 1st section title
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...
Chartiers Valley basketball teams focus on highlights after seasons end early
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...
Sports luminaries highlight long-awaited West Jefferson Hills Hall of Fame inductions
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 remains 2nd to none in WPIAL gymnastics
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 school scores, summaries and schedules for March 25, 2023
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...
High school roundup for March 25, 2023: Latrobe softball off to sizzling start
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...
Freeport girls coach goes out with a win as West sweeps East at Cager Classic
Melaina DeZort’s favorite spot on the basketball court to shoot is the corners. In the second half of the Cager Classic, she found her happy place and started hitting to help Team West overcome a double-digit deficit. DeZort, a senior at Freeport, had 11 of her game-high 14 points in...
Ohio State recruits beat Penn State recruits, Pa. squad falls at Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic
Vinny Kilkeary and Rocco Welsh ended their high school careers with wins at the 49th annual Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic on Saturday at Peters Township. And the future Ohio State commits did it by defeating two Penn State commits. This could be the start of a good wrestling rivalry. While Kilkeary...
Second-period surge helps LaSalle College beat Peters Township for Class 3A state hockey title
The LaSalle College Explorers broke a 1-1 tie with four second-period goals on their way to a 7-3 victory over Peters Township on Saturday, capturing their seventh state high school hockey championship. “The second period is what hurt us,” said Peters Township coach Rick Tingle. “We came back in the...
Archbishop Wood stops South Fayette in PIAA Class 5A girls title game
HERSHEY – South Fayette’s first trip to the PIAA Class 5A girls basketball championship game started off well enough, with Erica Hall scoring on the Lions’ first possession and Maddie Webber adding a couple field goals quickly after that. But South Fayette lost its shooting touch while Archbishop Wood never...
Westmoreland H.S. athletes of the week: Latrobe’s Josie Straigis and Yough’s Jack Sampson
Josie Straigis School: Latrobe Class: Senior Sport: Softball Claim to fame: Straigis helped power Latrobe to a 3-0 start with her bat and her arm. She delivered a walk-off home run to beat Norwin, 9-8, in the opener. In that game, she went 4 for 4 and hit for the...
Valley News Dispatch wrestling all-stars: Burrell’s Cooper Hornack gets top honor
Wrestler of the year Cooper Hornack Burrell, jr., 127 pounds 2022-23 record: 43-6 Career record: 116-19 Two weeks after winning his first PIAA Class 2A wrestling title, Burrell junior Cooper Hornack said his achievement still hasn’t registered. Hornack rallied to defeat WPIAL rival Chris Vargo of Bentworth, 2-1, in the...
South Fayette celebrates 1st Pennsylvania Cup championship
On a special day for hockey all across the Commonwealth, special teams were extra special in the Class 2A Pennsylvania Cup championship game between Penguins Cup champion South Fayette and Flyers Cup champion Pennsbury. The teams combined for three power-play goals and three short-handed goals through two periods. South Fayette...
Westmoreland wrestling all-stars: Latrobe’s Vinny Kilkeary earns top honor
Wrestler of the year Vinny Kilkeary Latrobe, sr., 127 pounds 2022-23 record: 29-0 Overall record: 131-12 When Latrobe’s 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,...
