High School category, Page 711
Plum boys volleyball hunting for Section 2 championship
The Plum boys volleyball team has goals and aspirations of claiming the Section 2-2A championship. Six starters are back from last year’s team which outlasted Trinity, 3-2, in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs before falling to eventual WPIAL champion Seton LaSalle in the quarterfinals. Second-year coach...
Promising performances highlight start of season for Plum track and field
Plum boys and girls track and field coach Stephanie Kennedy witnessed a plethora of promising performances from the more than two dozen athletes who competed at the early-season Altoona Igloo Invitational on April 2 at Altoona’s Mansion Park. “It was awesome,” said Kennedy, who saw three individuals and four relays...
After school record toss, Norwin’s Schmook targets WPIAL, PIAA success in javelin
Aaron Schmook took up throwing an 8-foot toothpick about four years ago. Watching a javelin soar through the spring sky, like it’s going to spear a cloud and pull it down to earth, brings a smile to his face. It is fun for Schmook, a senior at Norwin. But the...
Norwin notebook: Knights take part in PIHL all-star game
Five Norwin hockey players suited up for the PIHL Class A All-Star Game on April 3 at Alpha Ice Complex in Pittsburgh. Sophomore Alex Thomas had an assist, and sophomore Owen Burmeister made 10 saves in net for Team Gold, but Team Blue won the game, 9-4. Senior Logan Fear...
North Allegheny softball team confident after strong start to 2022 season
Morgan Vescovi was hired as North Allegheny’s softball coach in 2019, but counting seasons is always a tricky task because the pandemic erased 2020. Third season? Fourth season? “Maybe 3.5,” she said. What is clear is that for the first time with her as head coach, the Tigers felt some...
North Allegheny notebook: Tigers boys volleyball off to strong start
The North Allegheny boys volleyball team has begun its journey toward contending for a fourth straight PIAA title. The Tigers, ranked No. 1 by the Western PA volleyball coaches association, opened the season by winning their host invitational, going 6-0 in pool play before defeating Penn-Trafford, Manheim Central, Ambridge, Seton...
Trio from Ultimate Gymnastics compete in regionals
Three girls from Ultimate Gymnastics in Delmont were scheduled to compete in the USA Gymnastics Region 7 championship at Virginia Beach on April 8-10. All three were set to compete in the USAG Level 8 all-around competition. They qualified by scoring 35 points at the Pennsylvania Championship at State College....
Allen brothers help Franklin Regional tennis reload
Franklin Regional’s boys tennis team reached the WPIAL Class 3A finals in 2021, falling to Shady Side Academy. And with the graduation of seven players, you would think this would be a rebuilding year. Nope. With the addition of the Allen brothers, the Panthers (8-0, 4-0) just reloaded. Andrew Allen,...
Hampton girls lacrosse looking for new scorers to step forward
The Hampton girls lacrosse team will try to fill the shoes of one All-American with the hands and feet of many. “Megan Cook is irreplaceable,” coach Kelsey (Viets) Burke said of her graduated record-breaking star midfielder. “I don’t know if we will have one person score 60 goals. But I...
Hampton boys lacrosse team features new look
The Hampton Athletic Hall of Fame inducted Andy DeMichiei this past summer for his exploits on the lacrosse field. This spring, the 26-year-old will look to make his impact from the sidelines. DeMichiei, a former All-American with the Talbots, is entering his first season as coach at his alma mater....
‘Maximum depth’ helps Fox Chapel tackle boys tennis season
Fox Chapel is off to its typically strong start in boys tennis. The Foxes were 5-0 headed into a week-long spring break for the school district. Fox Chapel won four consecutive WPIAL team titles from 2016-19. Then the pandemic year of 2020 came along and the season was wiped out....
Armstrong’s Olsen winner of 2nd Willie Thrower Award as top QB in Southwestern Pennsylvania
Cadin Olsen stood tall, literally and figuratively, among a wide-ranging crop of talented quarterbacks in the WPIAL and City League. The 6-foot-5 junior was a running and passing threat for Armstrong during the 2021 season, and the standout helped the River Hawks to an 8-4 overall record, a 5-2 mark...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for April 8, 2022
High school Baseball WPIAL Friday’s results Class 4A Section 2 Montour 6, Quaker Valley 4 Class 2A Section 3 Eden Christian at Northgate, ppd. Nonsection Butler 10, Gateway 0 Freeport 7, Kiski Area 2 Laurel Highlands 8, Trinity 6 Mars 3, North Catholic 2 Mt. Pleasant 11, Armstrong 1 North...
High school roundup for April 8, 2022: Walker’s triple sparks Montour
Nick Walker tripled home three runs to lead Montour to a 6-4 victory over Quaker Valley in Section 2-4A baseball Friday. Mason Sike picked up the win for the Spartans and Dylan Mathiesen recorded a save. Cole Fleck and Matt Luchovick doubled for Montour (6-1, 4-0). Zeke Hendricks had a...
Greensburg Salem sprinter Cody Rubrecht looking to build off win
Greensburg Salem junior Cody Rubrecht hadn’t competed in track before this season. Covid-19 prevented him from running his freshman season, and an ankle injury from football during his sophomore season sidelined him last year. But Rubrecht, a standout wide receiver on the Golden Lions football team, is making up for...
Strong showing for Kiski Area at Lady Spartan/Wildcat Invitational
The Kiski Area track and field team didn’t have any first-place finishers Friday at the annual Lady Spartan/Wildcat Invitational, but the Cavaliers did have numerous athletes earn medals. The Kiski Area girls 3,200-meter relay team of Julia Snider, Lily Murphy, Ellie Hecker and Eliza Miller placed second to Hempfield with...
Kim Johnson named Valley’s interim athletic director
Kim Johnson has spent the past 30 years teaching the students of the New Kensington-Arnold School District. Whether it was about the intricacies of biology or proper technique in the backstroke, she has made an impact on countless students who have passed through the halls of Valley High School. For...
Trinity hires former Chartiers Valley football coach Dan Knause
After working five years to build up his alma mater’s football program, coach Dan Knause will take on a new project elsewhere. The former Chartiers Valley coach was hired Thursday night as assistant high school principal and football coach at Trinity, a program that seeks its first playoff win since...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for April 7, 2022
High school Baseball WPIAL Thursday’s results Class 4A Section 2 Montour at Quaker Valley, ppd. Class 3A Section 2 Ambridge 10, Steel Valley 0 South Park 3, Avonworth 2 Section 4 Charleroi 6, McGuffey 4 Class 2A Section 1 Washington at Beth-Center, ppd. Section 4 Fort Cherry at Brentwood, ppd....
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on April 8, 2022: Early season battles for 1st place on softball diamond
Gray and cold and a chance of rain … welcome to another day of WPIAL softball. If the weather holds out, it will be a busy day of section softball action with 55 scheduled games. In Section 4-5A, three teams are tied for first place with 2-0 section records. Two...
Trib 10: Returning state champs top 1st edition of baseball, softball power rankings
As spring tries to power winter into a thing of the past (good luck), district baseball and softball teams are also flexing their muscles and feeling the power three weeks into the 2022 season. The inaugural baseball and softball Trib 10 of 2022 features 11 teams that did not finish...
High school roundup for April 7, 2022: Lafferty boys lead South Park to sweep of Avonworth
Austin Lafferty tripled and Drew Lafferty drove in a pair of runs to lead South Park to a 3-2 victory Avonworth, competing a two-game Section 2-3A baseball sweep Thursday night. Brandon Clifford gave up two runs and struck out nine in six innings to earn the win for the Eagles...
Apollo-Ridge slugger off to scorching start
Knocking in 13 runs would be a relatively good statistic for most high school baseball players in Western Pennsylvania … for a season. Brandon Butler needed just two games to reach that mark in what could be a special 2022 campaign for the junior shortstop and his Apollo-Ridge teammates. Butler...
Piper provides perfect pitching performance for Ligonier Valley softball
Cheyenne Piper arrived at the ballpark Wednesday ready to play. She didn’t know, however, she would be pitching. Just perfect, she thought. Perfect, indeed. The sophomore from Ligonier Valley tossed a perfect game as the Rams blanked visiting Punxsutawney, 7-0, at Donaldson Softball Field. Not bad for her first start....
Westmoreland baseball notebook: 2-game series well liked
Coaches and players seem to like the WPIAL’s home-and-home, two-game series that occur on back-to-back days. Especially the teams that bounce back after a loss in Game One. Franklin Regional and Penn-Trafford split their Section 1-5A opening series, with Franklin Regional rebounding from a 4-3 loss with a 5-0 win....
