High School category, Page 647

A trio of Pine-Richland girls youth basketball teams will have a chance to take on some of the top competition in the state. The fourth, fifth and sixth grade teams qualified for the state youth basketball tournament March 18-20 in State College. Newly hired Pine-Richland football coach Jon LeDonne helps...

Tales of hockey players and their superstitions have been told since skates first hit ice, but Pine-Richland captain Alex Erlain wants nothing to do with them. “I hate superstitions,” he said. “It’s my goal not to have any. I don’t want anything to get in my head.” He wouldn’t even...

Arontay Heningcamp’s debut match at the WPIAL/Southwest Regional Class 3A wrestling tournament didn’t exactly go the way he had hoped. The Gateway junior suffered an 8-0 major decision loss to Chartiers Valley junior Brady Joling in the first round. But instead of folding his tent, Heningcamp bounced back and scored...

Hunter Raymer was no stranger to big swim meets before the WPIAL Class 3A championships March 3 and 4 at Pitt’s Trees Pool. But the Gateway freshman still marveled at the spectacle that is the WPIAL meet, with its packed pool deck, boisterous spectator section and intense races over the...

Although the Sewickley Academy boys basketball team finished with just three wins and sat out the WPIAL 2A playoffs, it nonetheless was a memorable time for the players on the squad. SA coach Win Palmer praised the four seniors on this year’s team — Sean Donohue and Saverio Mignella in...

Kaley Simqu helps form the defensive nucleus for the Plum girls soccer team and has been a part of a strong run of success the past three seasons. The junior said she is looking forward to her final season with the Mustangs as they hope to make another run to...

Sam Schohn knows all about swimming at the PIAA Class 2A championships. But last year, the state meet was moved to a high school because of covid logistical issues with Bucknell. Now, Schohn is ready to test his mettle back at Bucknell on Friday and Saturday as the state championships...

Adou Thiero was not going to be denied. The Quaker Valley senior finished with 31 points, 17 rebounds and seven blocks to lead the top-seeded Quakers to a 61-52 win March 3 against No. 2 Montour in the WPIAL Class 4A championship game at Petersen Events Center. The WPIAL title...

High schools Basketball Boys PIAA playoffs Class 6A Saturday’s result Second round Fox Chapel 61, Allderdice 52 Sunday’s schedule Lower Merion (25-3) vs. Abington (17-11) at Bensalem, 3:30 p.m.; Scranton (22-2) vs. Garnet Valley (18-10) at Bethlehem Freedom, 4 p.m.; Roman Catholic (20-4) vs. Central Dauphin (18-5) at Liberty, 3...

There hasn’t been much separating the Moon and South Fayette girls basketball teams all season. They tied for second place in Section 1-5A with 7-3 records, splitting a pair of regular-season matchups. They were evenly matched again in a PIAA Class 5A second-round matchup Saturday. This time, the Tigers got...

HERSHEY — It was an up-and-down PIAA Class 2A wrestling championship for Burrell sophomore Cooper Hornack. There were many highs and a few lows as Hornack ended the tournament with a fourth-place finish in the 120-pound weight class. He dropped a 1-0 decision to Bald Eagle Area junior Coen Bainey....

HERSHEY — Again, the WPIAL showed its might at the PIAA Class 3A wrestling championships. The WPIAL had seven champions, the most by any district in the state, and a total of 33 earned medals over the three-day tournament at Giant Center. Winning their second PIAA titles were Latrobe junior...

Freeport qualified for the step-ladder finals of the Western Pennsylvania Regional girls team bowling championships Saturday in North Versailles by a narrow margin — just three pins. The rest of the field should have eliminated the Yellowjackets when they had the chance. Freeport knocked off third-seeded Penn-Trafford and second-seeded McKeesport...

Olivia Cernuto School: Southmoreland Sport: Basketball Year: Junior Claim to fame: Cernuto recorded a double-double (18 points, 12 rebounds) to lead Southmoreland (19-5) to a 45-39 win over Tyrone in the opening round of the PIAA Class 4A playoffs on Mar. 9. “I was happy to see our confidence back....

With only one player taller than 6-foot-2, Fox Chapel maybe doesn’t look like a team built to outrebound many opponents. Too short? Too small? “The funny thing about Fox Chapel is, I know this not to be true,” Allderdice coach Devin Crummie said, “but other coaches will say … they...

HERSHEY — A ritual for Dayton Pitzer after a match is to run sprints. Even after he captured his third PIAA Class 2A title with a first-period pin Saturday at Giant Center, Pitzer was in the hallway running. “I have to keep my cardio up for the (Pittsburgh) classic,” Pitzer...

Kira Schrecengost Class: Freshman School: Freeport Sport: Swimming Report card: Schrecengost captured the 100-yard butterfly title at the WPIAL Class 2A championships last weekend at Trees Pool. She set a school record en route to winning the title with a time of 56.09. She has an older sister, Lexi, who...

Alena Fusetti knows she doesn’t have to be the main scorer on a team with so much depth and balance. But the Blackhawk sophomore had a green light and a feel for the rims Saturday, so she asserted herself in a PIAA Class 4A second-round playoff game. Fusetti poured in...

Going into last season and bumping up from Class 3A to Class 4A, the Burrell baseball team had no idea what to expect. Now, coach Mark Spohn has his Bucs ready to compete in one of the toughest sections in Class 4A, Section 1. “We moved up to 4A, and...

Franklin Regional is not ready to loosen its grip on the WPIAL championship trophy just yet. The Panthers’ baseball team captured its third title last season, first since 2001, and made the PIAA playoffs before finishing 19-2. With eight seniors gone, you might expect a drop-off in talent and outlook....

Maybe the “Snider Mile” will become a thing in the future. Greensburg Salem will honor the memory of one of its top coaches and mentors by naming its track after longtime cross country and track & field coach Steve Snider. Snider died Feb. 28 after struggling with heart complications. He...

If it seems like the Burrell softball team is filled with a lot of fresh faces this season, that’s because it is. The Bucs roster has 10 players, and five of them are freshmen. “They all play travel ball, and they played for a bunch of years,” coach Rick Nealer...

Chris Como lives and breathes Burrell wrestling. It has been that way since he started in the sport in junior high close to four decades ago. As a competitor through high school and college and continuing as a coach with the Bucs for the past 25 years, Como has promised...

His softball team actually outdoors for a practice on the fourth day of preseason workouts, a day before a winter storm watch in the region, Jim Armstrong did a panorama of the mud-caked field at Franklin Regional. He squinted into the bright afternoon sunshine and smiled. “This is a sweet...

HERSHEY – The WPIAL is guaranteed at least two PIAA champions, but they’re hoping for more. The WPIAL advanced 12 wrestlers to the PIAA 3A championship finals Saturday night at the Giant Center after impressive wins in the semifinals. Finals begin at 7 p.m. The two weight classes with all-WPIAL...