High School category, Page 684
After season to remember, Highlands softball team excited for encore
The Highlands softball team now is the hunted. After Golden Rams fashioned an 18-6-1 record and made a run to the WPIAL Class 4A championship game and PIAA semifinals last season, the returning players and a couple of newcomers to the lineup hope to hold off the challenges from within...
Strong returning core has Highlands baseball team thinking of longer playoff run
Last season, the Highlands baseball team came into the WPIAL quarterfinals on a six-game winning streak but left with a third loss of the season to Blackhawk. Now, as a new season dawns, the Golden Rams, with 10 seniors and a solid nucleus of key starters back, hope to take...
WPIAL Class 3A swimmers, divers hope to make their marks as PIAA championships begin at Bucknell
After a one-year hiatus, the PIAA Class 3A and 2A swimming and diving championships are back at Bucknell University. Covid logistics moved the meets last year to Cumberland Valley High School. The change in venue didn’t hinder the WPIAL’s ability to make its mark with numerous championships and medal-winning performances....
New Castle wins ‘fist fight’ over Penn Hills in low-scoring PIAA quarterfinal
How do you describe a game with more than a dozen blocks, more than two dozen turnovers, and the first team to score 40 points won? “A total fist fight,” New Castle coach Ralph Blundo said, “and we knew that’s what it was going to be.” At the end, his...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on March 16, 2022: Avonworth, Aliquippa square off
Welcome to Quarterfinals Wednesday in the PIAA basketball playoffs. The Avonworth boys basketball team has accomplished a lot this season. • The Antelopes reached the WPIAL championship game as the No. 8 seed before falling to Shady Side Academy. • They reached the 20-win mark by advancing to the state...
TJ’s Bilski nets hat trick, FR’s Knizner scores OT winner in Penguins Cup semifinals
Thomas Jefferson scored four second-period goals, including a hat trick by Colby Bilski, and skated past Penn-Trafford, 6-2, in the PIHL Cup Class 2A semifinals Tuesday at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center. . The victory puts the Jaguars in the Penguins Cup championship game against Franklin Regional on...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for March 15, 2022
High schools Basketball Boys PIAA playoffs Class 6A Quarterfinals Wednesday’s schedule Lower Merion (26-3) vs. Scranton (23-2) at Bethlehem Freedom, 7:30 p.m.; Roman Catholic (21-4) vs. Cheltenham (30-1) at Cardinal O’Hara, 7:30 p.m.; North Hills (26-1) vs. Archbishop Wood (19-7) at Chambersburg, 5 p.m.; Northampton (21-7) vs. Fox Chapel (26-1)...
High school roundup for March 15, 2022: Dynamic duo carries North Catholic into state semifinals
Alayna Rocco and Dacia Lewandowski each recorded double-doubles, leading WPIAL champion North Catholic to a 60-52 victory over Forest Hills in the PIAA Class 3A girls basketball quarterfinals Tuesday night. Rocco had 26 points and 10 rebounds. Lewandowski had 22 points and 10 boards. The Trojanettes (22-5) broke a 42-42...
Gateway stuns Laurel Highlands, earns 1st appearance in state basketball semifinals
There will be a WPIAL rematch in the state semifinals, but Laurel Highlands won’t be there. The previously undefeated WPIAL champions were stunned Tuesday night by a determined Gateway team that dominated on the glass, piled up second-chance points and celebrated a 55-52 victory in a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal...
A-K Valley, Westmoreland County swimmers thrilled to return to state meet at Bucknell
A sense of normalcy is back at the PIAA swimming and diving championships, and for the numerous qualifiers from the Alle-Kiski Valley and Westmoreland County schools, it only adds to the anticipation. The championships return to Bucknell. Spectators return. The lineups for each event are back to 32 for each...
Hempfield baseball ready to make another run after reaching WPIAL finals
If there was one thing that stood out about the 2021 Hempfield baseball team, it was solid pitching. With the WPIAL’s new pitching rules, playing section games on back-to-back days, the Spartans had the luxury of being deep on the mound. Hempfield finished 16-9 overall and tied with Norwin with...
New leader, same expectations for Hempfield softball team
While there will be a new captain running the Hempfield softball ship this season, first-year coach Tina Madison said the expectations of the program will remain the same. Madison replaces legendary coach Bob Kalp, who retired after the 2021 season after coaching the Spartans for the past 25 seasons and...
Freeport softball team has designs on keeping up its playoff streak
Freeport softball has been in the playoffs 12 consecutive times, and with an experienced core returning along with younger talent, it will look to continue the streak. “We’ve made playoffs every year that I’ve been here, which is a pretty good accomplishment, and that’s a credit to the girls and...
Westmoreland PIHL playoff preview capsule for March 16, 2022
Class A Semifinals 4-Norwin (15-4) vs. 1-Fox Chapel (20-1) 6:45 p.m. Wednesday at RMU Island Sports Center Coaches: Mike Robinson, Norwin; Cam Raidna, Fox Chapel Winner plays: Winner of 7-McDowell (13-8)/3-Quaker Valley (16-5) in the championship game at 8:45 p.m. March 21 at UPMC Lemieux Sports Center, Cranberry Ice chips:...
After rebuilding year, Freeport baseball ready to contend again
Freeport baseball started from scratch last year. The cancellation of the 2020 season because of the pandemic left a gap between the 2019 team that made the state playoffs and last year’s team. Ed Carr and his staff spent the season bridging that gap, and and the coach believes the...
On night of upsets, Seneca Valley dethrones North Allegheny, Peters Township trips Pine-Richland in Penguins Cup semis
Seneca Valley’s Andrew Davis scored off a goal-mouth scramble with under seven minutes remaining in regulation and the Raiders made the goal stand up, defeating the two-time defending Penguins Cup champions North Allegheny, 2-1, in the first of two PIHL Class 3A semifinal games Monday night. Peters Township blanked Pine-Richland,...
WPIAL approves new section alignment for next 2 wrestling seasons
Say goodbye to the subsections. The WPIAL will crown 12 section wrestling champions next winter in a new alignment approved Monday that eliminates the use of subsections in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. This winter’s alignment had only seven sections, with each section divided into two subsections. The new alignment...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for March 14, 2022
High schools Basketball Boys PIAA playoffs Class 6A Quarterfinals Wednesday’s schedule Lower Merion (26-3) vs. Scranton (23-2) at Bethlehem Freedom, 7:30 p.m.; Roman Catholic (21-4) vs. Cheltenham (30-1) at Cardinal O’Hara, 7:30 p.m.; North Hills (26-1) vs. Archbishop Wood (19-7) at Chambersburg, 5 p.m.; Northampton (21-7) vs. Fox Chapel (26-1)...
2 from WPIAL earn silver medals at state girls wrestling championships
The 2022 MyHouse Pennsylvania Girls High School State Championship was held Sunday at Cumberland Valley High School. The tournament drew nearly 300 wrestlers from 115 schools. The WPIAL had two second-place finishers: Canon-McMillan’s Chloe Ault (136 pounds) and North Allegheny’s Leyna Rumpler (148). Five others earned medals for finishing in...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on March 15, 2022: Shenango gets 4th crack at Neshannock
High scoring, mid-scoring or low scoring — none of those have worked yet for the Shenango girls basketball team against rival Neshannock. The Wildcats are 0-3 against the two-time WPIAL champion Lancers this season, setting the stage for a fourth meeting that will produce a trip to the final four...
Trib HSSN Boys Basketball Player of the Week for March 14, 2022
In the past, WPIAL basketball championship game participants always had to deal with the title game hangover. Winners had to come down from cloud nine to prepare for the upcoming PIAA playoffs a week later while championship game losers to had refocus to prepare for the state playoffs. That changed...
Trib HSSN Girls Basketball Player of the Week for March 14, 2022
Being the son or daughter of a high school basketball coach has its ups and downs. One of the benefits is the gym is your playground. Having plenty of hours to work on your skill set while watching and learning doesn’t hurt. Would anybody watching North Catholic sophomore Alayna Rocco...
WPIAL rejects Butler’s compromise, leaving football team ineligible for District 10 playoffs
The WPIAL rejected a compromise offered Monday by Butler’s administration that would’ve let the school’s football team play in the District 10 playoffs for the next two seasons. The plan proposed by Butler promised that the Golden Tornado would return to WPIAL competition in two years, but the WPIAL board...
Senior class hopes to turn around Greensburg Salem baseball’s record in close games
Eight seniors return to Greensburg Salem, hoping to help the Golden Lions’ baseball team back to the WPIAL playoffs for the first time since 2019. With the 2020 season shut down by the coronavirus pandemic, 2021 brought a return to the diamond with little success as Greensburg Salem struggled to...
New coach sees potential on Greensburg Salem softball roster
It is Bill Wright’s first high school season as a varsity softball coach, but he knows his players well. Wright enters his fifth year in the Greensburg Salem system as the school’s new head coach, a move that occurred late following the January resignation of former coach Alyssa Bates. “It’s...
