High School category, Page 55

Latrobe boys volleyball coach Drew Vosefski said he was concerned about playing Penn-Trafford for a third time. Even though Latrobe had won the previous two section matches, the Wildcats faced a different Penn-Trafford squad in the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals May 15 and Vosefski’s worries became reality. The sixth-seeded Warriors...

When a team reaches the second round of the PIAA Class 5A playoffs in consecutive seasons and is the reigning WPIAL champion, losing in the opening round of the WPIAL playoffs is not acceptable. But the 2025 Penn-Trafford baseball team has to live with it, and the returning members of...

Ron Porter III wasn’t following a timeline that suggested he could go from promising prospect to WPIAL Class 3A long jump champion. Following the end of the football season, the Penn Hills senior didn’t have the easiest ramp-up to the spring season. Porter pulled his hamstring during the indoor track...

Penn Hills athletic director Steph Strauss always wants to keep an eye out for whatever can help the district’s athletic programs. When she became aware of the NFL’s grant program to help schools with money for new turf, Strauss wanted to make sure Yuhas McGinley Stadium would see some benefits....

The Gateway boys tennis team had its sights set on a run to the PIAA Class 3A championship match when it kicked off its tournament May 13 against District 3 third-place finisher Manheim Township at Pure Athletex in Marshall Township. The Gators, led by the singles trio of seniors Adam...

A writer without a pen, a warrior without a sword — actors can’t perform without their tools. So, what would one make of a track team without a track? Athletes on the Chartiers Valley track and field team will say they did a lot of work to achieve personal bests...

The goal for the Chartiers Valley softball team every year is playing into June. In the past four seasons, the team made it to the semifinal round of the WPIAL playoffs and qualified for the state playoffs. This year, the team came up inches shy of making it five years...

Sylvia Kashak was the undisputed top distance runner on the Thomas Jefferson girls track and field team the past few years. And, now, she is a certified WPIAL champion. Kashak posted a record-breaking time of 2:13.06 in the girls 800-meter run at the WPIAL Class 3A championships May 14 to...

The WPIAL recently recognized the recipients of the 34th annual WPIAL James Collins Scholar-Athlete Award with 20 candidates selected from a group of 158 nominees. The girls’ award winners consisted of Laurel’s Tori Atkins, Thomas Jefferson’s Alison Chalovich, Greensburg Central Catholic’s Alexandra Hoffman, Knoch’s Giona Lavorini, Montour’s Joelle Ludwick, Quaker...

It had been a lengthy span since the Baldwin baseball team advanced to the WPIAL playoffs. Rookie coach Scott Wolf, a Brentwood baseball product, changed the direction of the program in 2025. The Highlanders qualified for the Class 5A district tournament by finishing as the Section 4 runner-up with a...

The Quaker Valley girls track team did not want to be outdone by the boys team and easily returned home from the PIAA Track and Field Championship with a first-place title. The girls outscored Lewisburg, the Day 1 leader, 54-47. Senior Jay Olawaiye led the way with the Class 2A...

High schools Baseball WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Tuesday’s schedule Championship Norwin (14-8) vs. Seneca Valley (16-6) at EQT Park, 1 p.m. Class 5A Tuesday’s schedule Championship Pine-Richland (20-3) vs. Shaler (16-6) at EQT Park, 7 p.m. Third place Bethel Park (18-5) vs. Peters Township (15-8) at Ross Memorial Park, 4...

Lily Liotta School: Burrell Class: Freshman Sport: Track and field Claim to Fame: Liotta placed 10th in the girls PIAA Class 2A long jump Friday at Shippensburg University. Last week at the WPIAL individual championships, she finished seventh in the long jump with a distance of 17 feet, 6 1/4...

One of the more accomplished junior players in the state, Belle Vernon’s Max Henson decided to play high school tennis for the first time this season. The rest of the PIAA wishes he hadn’t. Belle Vernon doesn’t have a tennis team, but it does have a state champion as Henson...

When asked if there was any pressure on his team to capture a third straight WPIAL title, Shaler coach Paul Stadelman admitted the Titans put it on themselves. “Some of our inexperience and youth adds to the pressure,” Stadelman said. “I think a lot of times the team we played...

Derry senior Sophia Mazzoni and Greensburg Central Catholic junior Jerry Davis achieved their goals Saturday at the PIAA track and field championships. They returned to Westmoreland County with gold medals. It was the second gold for Mazzoni in the Class 3A javelin and a first for Davis in the 2A...

Belle Vernon’s Aubrey Brown is only a freshman, but she already has Division I college coaches interested in her game. The 6-foot-1 forward, who made an immediate impact at the varsity level last season for the Leopards, received a scholarship offer last week from Kent State. Brown averaged 10.9 points,...

Lauren Howard School: Hempfield Class: Junior Sport: Softball Claim to fame: Howard, a Virginia commit, finished 4 for 4 with a double, triple and three RBIs as top-seeded Hempfield (20-1) defeated Canon-McMillan, 8-2, in the WPIAL 6A semifinals. Hempfield will face Seneca Valley on Wednesday for the WPIAL championship. Howard,...

SHIPPENSBURG — Mohawk senior Jaxon Schoedel knew early on during the 3,200-meter Class 2A final Saturday that the race was his at the PIAA track and field championships. All he was focused on was defending his title, but he got a lot more. Schoedel finished in 8 minutes, 59.34 seconds...

SHIPPENSBURG — There can be tears for many reasons at the PIAA track and field championships. If someone saw Mackenzie Magness of Freeport crying after winning the Class 2A girls pole vault Saturday morning, one might assume it was because the gold medal meant so much to her. It did,...

North Allegheny was back in its familiar position of favorite entering this year’s WPIAL boys volleyball playoffs. That wasn’t necessarily the case last year when North Allegheny lost to Shaler in the 3A finals, but the Titans subsequently dropped down to Class 2A and the Tigers brought back a team...

The WPIAL announced start times for the six softball finals Wednesday and Thursday at PennWest’s Lilley Field in California. The championship schedule starts with the Class 4A final at noon Wednesday, followed by Class 6A at 2:15 p.m. and Class 5A at 4:30 p.m. The Thursday schedule begins with the...

The WPIAL announced times for its six baseball championship games Tuesday and Wednesday at EQT Park in Washington. The schedule includes an earlier than usual start Wednesday to accommodate Class A finalist Serra Catholic, which has a graduation ceremony that evening, WPIAL administrator Vince Sortino said. The Class 6A, 5A...

Baseball season ended a little earlier than expected for Franklin Regional. The campaign started well for the Panthers (10-9), but they ended the season on a six-game losing streak. Every one of the late-season losses came against playoff teams. The Panthers entered the final two weeks of the season a...

Ella Van Norman feels like the way races are structured sets up Shady Side Academy’s 3,200-meter relay team for success. The Bulldogs’ largest concern during every race is getting the baton to the next person in the best possible position. Shady Side Academy’s 3,200 relay team — consisting of Rhyley...