High School category, Page 572
After winning county title, Franklin Regional wrestler Juliano Marion wants more
Franklin Regional junior Juliano Marion captured his second Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association wrestling title on Jan. 6, and now he has his eye on becoming the next three-time county champion. Marion (15-3) was one of two Panthers to claim county title at Greensburg Salem. The other was senior Gavyn Beck...
Sheets siblings fuel Hampton swim teams
The Hampton boys and girls swimming teams seem to be headed in different directions, but they have one thing in common. Senior Ben Sheets is the top swimmer for the rebuilding two-time WPIAL Class 2A champion boys team, and his freshman twin sisters, Lainey and Libby, are off to fast...
Hampton competitive spirit team reaches PIAA championships for 1st time in 5 years
The Hampton competitive spirit team has something to cheer about. The Talbots qualified for the PIAA championships for the first time in five years after a clean routine and top-five finish at the WPIAL competitive spirit finals Jan. 7, at Hempfield. Hampton, which already had qualified for the Universal Cheerleaders...
Settled in at 107 pounds, Fox Chapel sophomore emerges as top performer
Landon Funk didn’t have a secure spot in the lineup during his freshman season on the Fox Chapel wrestling team. Throughout the season, Funk had to wrestle off with Michael Worsen for the spot at 106 pounds. Funk didn’t always win and would voluntarily bump up to 113 pounds. What...
Freshman sparks bounce-back season for Fox Chapel girls
Lyla Jablon didn’t have to worry about slowly discovering the chaos of playing girls varsity basketball. The Fox Chapel freshman guard was thrust into an uncomfortable situation early in the season. The Foxes lost leading scorer Skye Byrnes to a broken ankle and had two other starters out with injuries...
Greensburg Salem catcher Gionnah Ruffner to play at Seton Hall
Gionnah Ruffner will take her powerful softball swing to the Big East. The junior from Greensburg Salem made a verbal pledge to play at Seton Hall. The power-hitting catcher also had an offer from Akron. “When I arrived on campus, the first thing I told my dad was I knew...
Mars aces midterm test with 37-point win over No. 1 Chartiers Valley
After a week of big tests in the classroom, the Mars boys basketball team passed another on the court Friday night. Mars senior Tasso Sfanos scored a game-high 31 points and the Planets used their size advantage to rout No. 1 Chartiers Valley, 71-34, in a one-sided section win that...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Jan. 14, 2023: Tournament action on hardwood
Mid-January seems like a perfect time to get away and hit the road. That’s exactly what five district basketball teams are doing this weekend. The undefeated Blackhawk (11-0) girls team heads north to the Big Apple where it will take on Nazareth Regional (5-5) out of Brooklyn on Saturday in...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 13, 2023
High schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Friday’s results Class 6A Section 1 Central Catholic 55, Butler 33 New Castle 55, Pine-Richland 49 Seneca Valley 64, North Allegheny 42 Section 2 Upper St. Clair 65, Canon-McMillan 39 Baldwin 71, Hempfield 61 (2OT) Mt. Lebanon 69, Norwin 50 Class 5A Section 1 Ringgold...
Landon Butler scores 1,000th point to propel Latrobe past Penn-Trafford
Landon Butler admitted he became a little sensitive when the ball went through the net just before halftime Friday night. He had chills for a second or two. “Emotions kind of picked up, there,” Butler said. “I had tears in my eyes.” Butler, a senior guard at Latrobe, took a...
High school roundup for Jan. 13, 2023: North Hills’ Royce Parham beats buzzer; Bryce Epps breaks South Allegheny record
Royce Parham dropped a game-high 34 points and sank the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to lead North Hills to a 62-61 overtime victory over South Fayette in Section 4-5A boys basketball Friday night. Jake Pollaro added 13 points for North Hills (10-2, 4-0). Michael Plasko put up 29 points,...
3-pointers from McKeesport’s Malina Boord help cool off Penn-Trafford girls
Malina Boord wears No. 3. How appropriate. The senior from McKeesport found her shooting touch from 3-point range early and propelled No. 1 McKeesport to a 59-35 victory over No. 3 Penn-Trafford on Friday in a clash of top-five Class 5A girls basketball teams in Harrison City. Boord connected on...
Gateway holds on to beat Franklin Regional in a first-place showdown
Franklin Regional boys basketball coach Jesse Reed took Friday’s loss hard. The first-year coach didn’t realize his team had a timeout left during the final 9 seconds and let Gateway run out the clock. Gateway held on to defeat Franklin Regional, 52-50, in a WPIAL Section 3-5A first-place showdown. Gateway...
Freeport boys pull away for rout of Greensburg Salem
Freeport trailed host Greensburg Salem by a point at the end of the first quarter Friday night before the Yellowjackets erupted with back-to-back 25-point outbursts in the second and third and went on to bury the Golden Lions, 72-27, in a WPIAL Section 1-4A boys basketball game. A running clock...
Leechburg rides point guard Marcus Cleveland to win vs. Riverview
Making a play call came quickly to Damian Davies on Friday. The Leechburg boys basketball coach could call out “Georgetown, layup” repeatedly when Blue Devils point guard Marcus Cleveland had the ball. Starting in the second quarter, Cleveland delivered nearly on demand. He finished with 35 points as Leechburg held...
North Allegheny’s Mia Tuman repeats as Gatorade Pa. Volleyball Player of the Year
North Allegheny senior Mia Tuman was recognized as the state’s top girls volleyball player for the second year in a row Friday when she was named Gatorade Pennsylvania Volleyball Player of the Year. This is the fifth time in nine years that a North Allegheny athlete has won the award,...
Pine-Richland football coach Jon LeDonne among 32 nominees for NFL’s Don Shula Award
Pine-Richland football coach Jon LeDonne, who led the Rams to a state title this season, was one of 32 coaches nationwide nominated for the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year award. The NFL announced the full list Thursday. Each NFL franchise nominated one high school coach from...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 12, 2023
High schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Thursday’s result Class A Section 3 Hillel Academy at Aquinas Academy, ppd. Friday’s schedule Class 6A Section 1 Butler at Central Catholic, 7:30 p.m. New Castle at Pine-Richland, 7:30 p.m. North Allegheny at Seneca Valley, 7:30 p.m. Section 2 Canon-McMillan at Upper St. Clair, 5:30...
High school roundup for Jan. 12, 2023: undefeated Blackhawk fends off challenge from Quaker Valley
Alena Fusetti and Kassie Potts scored 16 points apiece to lift Blackhawk to a 48-37 victory over Quaker Valley in a matchup of the top two teams in Section 2-4A girls basketball Thursday night. Oumou Thiero had 12 points and Maria Helkowski added 10 for Quaker Valley (9-5, 3-1). The...
Expectations keep rising for Highlands girls after win over Greensburg Salem
Highlands girls basketball coach Shawn Bennis used the word “discipline” a lot when he addressed his team after Thursday night’s game. His voice echoed in the hallway outside the locker room beneath the gym floor at Greensburg Salem. Bennis was as pleased as he was relieved after a tight, 54-52...
Plum girls hold off furious Kiski Area rally to win
With 3 minutes, 41 seconds left in Thursday’s Section 1-5A girls basketball game at Plum, the host Mustangs held a 15-point lead on Kiski Area and hoped to put the game on ice. But the Cavaliers, led by junior Abbie Johns, wouldn’t go away. Johns scored 10 straight points for...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Jan. 13, 2023: Quaker Valley, South Allegheny to square off
Friday the 13th. It’s a day superstitious folks fear. However, two WPIAL boys programs that haven’t relied on luck in recent years of success collide for first place in Section 4-4A when Quaker Valley visits South Allegheny. After losing in the WPIAL 4A finals to New Castle in 2017, 2018...
Riverview boys find winning formula with balanced scoring effort
The Riverview boys basketball team collected just six wins all of last season and was unable to secure a spot in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs. But things have taken a turn for the better this winter. The Raiders had six wins before the end of 2022 after a 72-64...
Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: Terek Crosby at 1,000 points and counting
Terek Crosby wasn’t sure how many career points he had earlier this season during a holiday tournament at Greensburg Salem. The junior guard from Yough knows now. Crosby became the latest player from his school to reach the 1,000-point milestone Tuesday when he poured in 34 in a 75-40 victory...
Monessen boys keep underdog mentality despite 10-game winning streak
Monessen is going streaking again. Don’t worry, this isn’t a deleted scene from “Old School.” Although their pressure defense can scare the pants off some opponents. The Greyhounds boys basketball team has posted 10 straight wins and has surged to the top of WPIAL Section 2-A. They stand at 10-1...
