High School category, Page 526
New-look Aquinas girls roster back in WPIAL Class A mix
Rebuilding is a dirty word for the Aquinas Academy girls basketball team. One year after graduating four starters from the most successful team in program history, the Crusaders are top five in the WPIAL Class A rankings and assured of a sixth consecutive playoff berth. The Crusaders opened the season...
Shady Side Academy boys weather storm as injuries hit
The Shady Side Academy basketball team never planned on being a half-court, defensive-oriented team. But circumstances have changed how the Bulldogs have had to approach things down the stretch. Shady Side Academy lost senior guard Ethian Salvia to a torn ACL and has played several games without Eli Teslovich, who...
Boosted by versatile junior, Fox Chapel girls make playoff push
Sarah Slember’s athletic resume isn’t lacking in skills and experience to display. Playing basketball was difficult for Slember because of poor fortune. A pair of sprained ankles as a freshman limited her availability, while a torn ACL halted her sophomore season. Finally healthy, Slember has shown her versatility for a...
Plum’s Moore-Watkins, Thomas sign on to continue football careers
Needing 151 yards to become Plum’s all-time leader in career rushing yards, senior tailback Eryck Moore-Watkins exploded in the 2022 season finale against Indiana. In his final varsity game, he rushed 22 times for a career-best 356 yards and six touchdowns as the Mustangs scored a 46-27 victory. Moore-Watkins finished...
After battling injuries, Plum’s Miller relishes chance to finish high school career on the ice
Zach Miller hasn’t taken lightly the opportunity to suit up this year for the Plum varsity ice hockey team. The Mustangs senior captain led the team in goals with 11 through a tough 5-2 loss to Indiana on Jan. 30. The day before, he was one of several area skaters...
Norwin notebook: Emergency goalie comes through for hockey team
A bout of adversity didn’t stop the Norwin hockey team from winning, and it didn’t stop an offensive player from suiting up and playing goaltender. Norwin had to face Freeport without junior goalkeeper Owen Burmeister, who suffered a concussion while playing for his youth team the previous weekend. Knights coach...
Norwin’s Fleming brothers step into stripes shortly after graduation
It was only last year when Michael Fleming was firing in 3-pointers for Norwin, and two years ago when Nick Fleming was contributing key points and rebounds for the Knights. Now, the brothers are calling fouls and wearing stripes. Like their father, who has officiated basketball, football and other sports...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Feb. 3, 2023
High schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Friday’s results WPIAL Class 6A Section 1 New Castle 67, Central Catholic 53 Butler 66, North Allegheny 55 Seneca Valley 57, Pine-Richland 37 Section 2 Hempfield 67, Canon-McMillan 45 Upper St. Clair 37, Mt. Lebanon 36 Norwin 63, Baldwin 50 Class 5A Section 1 Bethel...
Isaiah Boice’s quick recovery helps No. 1 New Castle defeat No. 2 Central Catholic
Isaiah Boice planned to celebrate New Castle’s section title by drinking lots of chocolate milk, the bone-healing beverage he credits for his quick recovery. “Maybe a couple of gallons,” Boice said with a laugh Friday night, after the No. 1-ranked Red Hurricanes clinched at least a share of the Section...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 4, 2023: Rematches headline team wrestling semifinals
They made history last year when they met in the WPIAL team wrestling 2A finals. Now they will collide again, a round earlier in the district semifinals. No. 2-seeded and defending champion Quaker Valley will battle longtime master of the mat, No. 3-seeded Burrell, on Saturday afternoon. The Quakers are...
Clairton returns to playoffs with win over Jeannette
A year after struggling to a 1-18 season, the Clairton boys basketball team is back in the WPIAL playoffs. The Bears used a strong second-half effort to erase a seven-point halftime deficit and earn a 63-58 win over visiting Jeannette to clinch a postseason berth inside the Paulette Bradford Memorial...
Bryce Epps sparks South Allegheny past West Mifflin with half-court shot
At halftime, West Mifflin held a half-court shot contest for fans in which the winner would receive half of the pot. South Allegheny senior Bryce Epps beat them to the punch. The most prolific scorer in Gladiators program history hit a half-court shot at the buzzer at the end of...
WPIAL clinched: Boys basketball playoff qualifiers through Feb. 3, 2023
The 2023 WPIAL boys basketball playoff field is starting to take shape with only one week left in the regular season. Trib HSSN will once again have exclusive coverage of the WPIAL boys basketball playoffs starting on Monday, Feb. 13 with the Playoff Pairings Show at 3 p.m. as we...
High school roundup for Feb. 3, 2023: Upper St. Clair claws past rival Mt. Lebanon
Devin Hall scored a game-high 14 points as Upper St. Clair split the season series and moved into a tie for first place in Section 2-61 with a 37-36 victory over rival Mt. Lebanon on Friday night. The Blue Devils (13-6, 7-1) jumped out to a 10-1 lead after one...
Yough boys roll past Mt. Pleasant for 8th consecutive victory
It might have been expected if the Yough boys basketball had suffered a letdown after a huge victory earlier this week. But veteran coach Jim Nesser wasn’t about to let that happen Friday against Mt. Pleasant. He made sure that his team continued to step forward, and after a sluggish...
Laurel Highlands torches reeling Belle Vernon
What could have been a rebirth and momentum builder for the Belle Vernon boys basketball team was anything but that Friday night. Laurel Highlands went into the Belle Vernon gymnasium and embarrassed the out-of-sorts Leopards, 78-59, in front of a capacity crowd. The bread and butter of a Joe Salvino-coached...
Hard-charging Latrobe boys knock off Franklin Regional
The playoff race in WPIAL Section 3-5A boys basketball just got a lot more interesting. Latrobe was one of the teams throwing wrenches into the works. The Wildcats clearly aren’t ready to call it a year just yet, as evidenced by their 66-53 win over reeling Franklin Regional on Friday...
Springdale boys eke out win over Leechburg
The Springdale boys basketball team kept its playoff chances alive by beating Leechburg in a 43-41 thriller Friday night at Donald G. McGhee Fieldhouse. The Dynamos (9-11, 3-7) completed a season sweep of the Blue Devils (8-11, 3-7). Leechburg led 41-39 with under a minute to play, but a John...
State rep proposes legislation that would allow PIAA to crown separate public, private champs
The PIAA has maintained that splitting public and private schools into separate playoffs is prohibited under a state statute from 1972, but new legislation could rewrite that law. State Rep. Scott Conklin (D-Centre) announced plans Thursday to introduce legislation that would let the PIAA create separate tournaments for boundary and...
Burrell wrestling seeks revenge against Quaker Valley in WPIAL semifinals
The last time the Burrell wrestling team didn’t make it to at least the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals was in 2000. While that two-decades-long streak remains intact — Burrell is in the final four with Quaker Valley, Burgettstown and Frazier — the goal, as it always has been for the...
Cinderella Hempfield heads into WPIAL team wrestling semifinals with confidence
When the Canon-McMillan public address announcer was announcing WPIAL Class 3A team championship scores from other sites Wednesday, fans took notice of two finals. “Hempfield 33, Trinity 33, Hempfield wins by criteria. And Hempfield 32, Butler 31.” The scores drew some oohs and aahs. Hempfield wrestling coach Vince DeAugustine said...
Breaking down the 2022-23 WPIAL wrestling semifinals
WPIAL team wrestling championship Class 3A Semifinals 10 a.m. Saturday at Peters Township High School No. 1 Waynesburg (12-2) vs. No. 4 Connellsville (14-4) Path to semifinals: Waynesburg defeated Fox Chapel, 54-9, in first round and Plum, 48-14, in the quarterfinals. Connellsville defeated Franklin Regional, 46-18, in the first round...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Feb. 2, 2023
High schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Thursday’s results Class 4A Section 2 North Catholic 66, Central Valley 47 Class A Section 3 Neighborhood Academy 50, Hillel Academy 18 Friday’s schedule WPIAL Class 6A Section 1 New Castle at Central Catholic, 7:30 p.m. North Allegheny at Butler, 7:30 p.m. Seneca Valley at...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 3, 2023: Class 6A heavyweights to collide
The first Fray-day in February is littered with plenty of key WPIAL boys basketball games. One of them is a battle between the two top-ranked teams in Class 6A with first place in Section 1 at stake as New Castle (16-2) visits Central Catholic (11-7) on Chuck Crummie Court. The...
WPIAL clinched: Girls basketball playoff qualifiers through Feb. 2, 2023
The 2023 WPIAL girls basketball regular season is winding down and the playoff field is growing. Trib HSSN will once again have exclusive coverage of the WPIAL girls basketball playoffs starting on Monday, Feb. 13 with the Playoff Pairings Show at 3 p.m. as we unveil the brackets to the...
