High School category, Page 633
A-K Valley Senior Spotlight: Deer Lakes’ Kyle Blackwell
Kyle Blackwell spent his past four seasons playing volleyball at Deer Lakes. The right-side hitter always had a passion for the sport and was motivated to play after watching his older sister, Allison Blackwell, play for the Lancers. Blackwell was the team’s only senior this season. On Senior Night, he...
Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Mt. Pleasant’s Abby Swank
Coming into 2022, Mt. Pleasant’s softball team was without six seniors from the previous season. And in 2021, the Vikings won both a WPIAL and a PIAA championship, so it is a memory no one would soon forget. With the inexperience on the team this year, Mt. Pleasant started 2-6...
Breaking down changes to the 2022-23 WPIAL field hockey alignment
The WPIAL released new section alignments for the next two-year cycle in all sports, and changes will be implemented starting this fall. This summer, the Tribune-Review will break down changes for each of the WPIAL sports. Here’s a look at the upcoming WPIAL field hockey season: 2021 WPIAL championships Class...
2022 TribLive HSSN Softball All-Stars
In WPIAL softball, there’s no requirement for underclassmen to wait their turn. Just take a look at this year’s champions. Many of them relied on freshmen and sophomores in key roles on their journey to the WPIAL or state finals. Among them, Neshannock freshman pitcher Addy Frye led the Lancers...
2022 TribLive HSSN Baseball All-Stars
This was a good year around the WPIAL for dominant pitchers and slick-fielding shortstops. North Allegheny’s Cole Young should hear his name called next month during the MLB Draft, but the senior shortstop wasn’t the only impact player around Western Pennsylvania this spring. Among the others, Bethel Park’s Evan Holewinski...
2022 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Penn-Trafford’s Joe Enick
Editor’s note: The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized July 15 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. Referred to as “the best finisher” Penn-Trafford has had in the John...
Sirianni twins make unforgettable impact on Quaker Valley tennis program
They formed a firm foundation for the Quaker Valley boys tennis program the past four years. Twin brothers Mike and Will Sirianni were top-flight singles players at QV since their freshman season. “As a coach, if someone came to you and said you will ‘inherit’ twin brothers who will define...
1st state playoff victory headlines Quaker Valley boys lacrosse season
Quaker Valley’s boys lacrosse season started early and ran late. “This was a historic and fun season,” coach Chip Hansen said. “This started with the senior dinner in February when the seniors set their goals to win the section, finish in the top three of the WPIAL and win a...
New coach presiding over positive offseason for Penn Hills football
The excitement still hasn’t worn off for Charles Morris. Spending time working with his players on the Penn Hills football team feels right. Morris, a 2005 Penn Hills graduate who spent time as an assistant at Gateway and Plum, is excited to take over the Indians program with his first...
Pine-Richland hosting Future College Athlete field hockey clinic
For years it has been Donna Stephenson’s mission to grow the game of field hockey in Western Pennsylvania. So, when she was presented with a unique opportunity to host a clinic featuring instruction from nationally renowned coaches and former USA national players it was a no-brainer. Pine-Richland will host a...
With North Allegheny grad at helm, Penn State goes on run to club baseball World Series
The top-seeded Penn State D1 club baseball team went into the bottom of the ninth down 3-1 against Florida State in the semifinals of the National Club Baseball Association World Series in Greenwood, S.C. With a win, the Nittany Lions would get to play Florida State again for a berth...
Murrysville Star notebook: Palmer Jackson earns All-American honors
Some might say Palmer Jackson’s golf game is a 9 out of 10. No golfer is perfect. The game won’t allow for it. But Jackson had nine top-10 finishes this past college season, which also points to excellence. The junior from Notre Dame is one of the top players in...
Hampton’s Marshalwitz motivated to join brother on Youngstown State mound
Playing a sport on the same team with a brother is a goal that siblings often have. Playing a sport at the NCAA Division I level with a brother, however, is something that Cam Marshalwitz gets to experience. Casey Marshalwitz, Cam’s brother, is going into his senior year with Youngstown...
After WPIAL Hall of Fame swimming career, Aspinwall native climbs ranks in Marines
Mallory Dietrich has parlayed an outstanding swimming career at Oakland Catholic and the Naval Academy to her rise to captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. The Aspinwall native who graduated from Oakland Catholic in 2006 is now the deputy director of protocol for the superintendent of the Naval Academy in...
Deer Lakes’ Justin Brannagan named 2022 Valley News Dispatch Baseball Player of the Year
2022 Valley News Dispatch Baseball All-Stars Player of the Year Justin Brannagan Deer Lakes, Sr., P/INF Justin Brannagan had a propensity this year for coming up big in clutch playoff scenarios. In February, Deer Lakes trailed Blackhawk by one point in the final seconds of a WPIAL Class 4A first-round...
Burrell’s Katie Armstrong earns 2022 Valley News Dispatch Softball Player of the Year honors
2022 Valley News Dispatch Softball All-Stars Player of the Year Katie Armstrong Burrell, Jr., P If the regular season didn’t already show it, then a WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal game against Belle Vernon proved just how dominant Burrell junior pitcher Katie Armstrong was throughout the spring. Armstrong held a potent...
Penn-Trafford’s Mia Smith takes 2022 Tribune-Review Westmoreland Softball Player of the Year honors
The evolution of Mia Smith’s high school softball career began in 2019 when she was a freshman. A closer two seasons ago when Penn-Trafford won a PIAA championship, Smith took over the lead role in the circle this season and shined. She led the Warriors (20-4) to a runner-up finish...
Latrobe’s Logan Short named 2022 Tribune-Review Westmoreland Baseball Player of the Year
Player of the Year Logan Short Latrobe, Sr., C Latrobe baseball coach Matt Basciano and Latrobe American Legion coach Jason Bush heap praise on senior Logan Short. The Wildcats’ catcher batted .537 this spring and was 0.0013 percentage points from breaking Zach Kokoska’s batting average record. Short did set the...
2022 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Leechburg’s Braylan Lovelace
Editor’s note: The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized July 15 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. When coach Randy Walters talks about Leechburg football star Braylan Lovelace, he...
George Guido: Times have changed for high school coaches
With the recent bombshell resignations of successful, local high school coaches, it’s apparent that outside responsibilities are derailing careers on the sidelines. Deer Lakes boys basketball coach Terence Parham, winner of 86 games in just seven seasons, resigned last week because of his expanded duties with Amazon. Several weeks earlier,...
State playoff loss puts heartbreaking ending on successful season for North Hills softball
Sophia Roncone didn’t bend when facing the pressure of the first round of the PIAA Class 5A softball playoffs. What the North Hills senior pitcher did was turn in one of the best performances of her career. Roncone, a Holy Cross commit, took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against...
Chartiers Valley softball season punctuated by memorable playoff wins
Success isn’t always measured by championships. For a second straight season, the Chartiers Valley softball team enjoyed a strong regular season followed by a deep run in the district playoffs and a season-ending loss in the state postseason. “Overall, I think we had a really good season,” Chartiers Valley coach...
Chartiers Valley girls lacrosse catches lightning in a bottle in WPIAL championship season
The Chartiers Valley girls basketball team’s run of three straight WPIAL championships ended this past season. However, that doesn’t mean the school didn’t mine any gold this year. The Colts girls lacrosse team captured its first district crown this spring, becoming the third girls program to win a WPIAL team...
Decorated senior class leads Bethel Park girls lacrosse to memorable season
Four seniors on the Bethel Park girls lacrosse team were honored as all-section selections this season. Caitlyn Schultz and Riley Miller, both midfielders, were named to the first team while midfielder Tori Krapp and defender Chloe McDaniel were chosen to the second team. Miller also was voted All-WPIAL. Schultz was...
Bethel Park turns PIAA double play with back-to-back championships
The similarities are uncanny. Bethel Park advanced to the PIAA Class 5A championship game in 2022 for the second consecutive season. And for the second straight time, the Black Hawks played for the title June 17 at Penn State’s Medlar Field. The opening pitch both years was scheduled for 4:30...
