High School category, Page 784
Armed with valuable experience, Shaler girls basketball ready to take on season
The Shaler girls basketball team became a good example of how the WPIAL holding an open basketball tournament last season could benefit younger programs. The Titans, who finished 4-12 overall and in sixth place in Section 1-6A, wouldn’t have made the playoffs in a typical year. But since Shaler entered,...
Competition for starting jobs energizes Shaler boys basketball
Having a season limited to 13 games by the covid pandemic certainly wasn’t what Shaler boys basketball coach Rob Niederberger hoped for last year. But the Titans won’t have too many players who feel cheated by missed time. Shaler’s entire roster returned, creating one of the more competitive preseasons in...
After graduation losses, Penn Hills girls basketball out to prove doubters wrong
Penn Hills senior guard Eryn Roberson doesn’t like the preseason perception of the program. In a year where the Indians only return four players, Roberson hasn’t felt a lot of positivity surrounding Penn Hills. The disrespect is what has Roberson motivated to propel the Indians as far as they can...
Penn Hills boys basketball ready to attack opponents with sharpened shooting skills
Daemar Kelly doesn’t want to see the Penn Hills boys basketball team bring the ball across half-court, see a zone defense and be timid. The Indians’ 6-foot-5 junior guard plans to be a part of an offense that attacks on instinct. Penn Hills learned its lesson when it was slowed...
Young North Hills girls team focused on development
Jim Dudas knows that building a winner is tough. Trying to do so while playing in an ultra-competitive section and, particularly, navigating covid-19, has made the journey more complex than he likely ever envisioned. But, the third-year North Hills girls basketball coach is optimistic about his young team, and knows...
Led by Parham, North Hills boys in search of consistency
Atop Buzz Gabos’ wish list for the 2021-22 season is consistency. A year ago, with covid-19 issues taking a grip on the North Hills boys basketball program, Gabos had to constantly adapt on the fly. Delays, cancellations and concerns, along with a developing group, led the Indians to a 4-10...
North Allegheny notebook: 7 Tigers earn 1st-team all-conference honors
North Allegheny’s football team was rewarded its 7-5 season that ended in the WPIAL semifinals, when seven players were recognized last week with selection to the Big 5/6 all-conference team for Class 6A. First-team honorees included senior guard Nick Frisco, senior wide receiver Dwayne Taylor, sophomore athlete Khiryn Boyd, senior...
North Allegheny takes on new look with DeGregorio back at the helm
Blue tape forms Xs, boxes and lines on North Allegheny’s basketball court, visual guides put down by boys coach Dave DeGregorio to teach a new offense. The dribble-drive isn’t new to DeGregorio, who has used it for years and won a WPIAL title with the offense at North Catholic. But...
Veteran backcourt has Hampton girls basketball thinking big
Hampton girls basketball coach Tony Howard has a good feeling entering the 2021-22 season. The seventh-year coach returns four starters, including his entire backcourt, from a 15-win Section 2-5A champion. Senior first-team all-section guard Sophia Kelly along with a pair of second-team all-section picks, senior Kayla Hoehler and sophomore Meghan...
Hampton boys basketball poised to rebound with multi-sport athletes
The Hampton boys basketball team will try to bounce back from one of the worst seasons in program history with a bunch of players who have won a lot lately. The Talbots, coming off a 4-16 season, have a roster dotted with versatile athletes who enjoyed success in other sports...
Chartiers Valley girls basketball juggernaut enters season in familiar favorite role
Since moving over from the boys to the girls coaching job at Chartiers Valley, Tim McConnell’s basketball teams have had a direct bull’s-eye on their backs. Winning WPIAL championships and putting together a district- and state-best winning streak will do that for a program. However, when the 2021 WPIAL girls...
Chartiers Valley boys basketball ready to tackle challenge of remaining among WPIAL elite
The Chartiers Valley boys basketball program was already established as a force in the district when Brandon Sensor took over as head coach three years ago. He has done nothing to change that. In his first year, the Colts won 18 games, finished second in their section and lost in...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 4, 2021
High schools Basketball Boys Southwest Christian Athletic Conference Plants and Pillars 58, Cheswick Christian Academy 50 Plants and Pillars 6 19 15 18 — 58 Cheswick Christian Academy 17 13 2 18 — 50 PP: Aiden Rorick 27, Trenton DeRoza 11. CCA: Grant Rochkind 18, Jude Vargo 15, Zephaniah Malloy...
Trib HSSN 2021-22 WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball preseason breakdown
Thirty years ago, Penn Hills was winding down one of the most dominant stretches in district girls basketball history, winning a seventh straight WPIAL Class AAAA title. This year, North Allegheny is trying to three-peat and capture a fifth WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball championship in the last six years....
Trib HSSN 2021-22 WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball preseason breakdown
When it comes to 6A boys basketball this season, bigger might be better. A year after Upper St. Clair won the WPIAL 6A boys basketball championship with one starter over 6-0, most of the top players in the classification check in at 6-1 and taller. Here is a rundown of...
Plum’s Kaitlyn Killinger chosen as Valley News Dispatch Girls Soccer Player of the Year
The Plum girls soccer team surrendered two goals in a game just three times in the 2021 season. One was in the WPIAL Class 3A championship game against Mars, and the other two came against Section 3 rival Oakland Catholic. The second matchup between the Mustangs and Eagles, the section...
Plum’s Luke Kolankowski selected as Valley News Dispatch Boys Soccer Player of the Year
Luke Kolankowski has always seen himself as a facilitator in the offense for the Plum boys soccer team. “I feel that a nice assist and getting a teammate a goal is better than getting a goal yourself,” Kolankowski said. “No matter who scores, the win is the most important thing.”...
Sydney Lindeman takes Tribune-Review Westmoreland Girls Soccer Player of the Year honors
Soccer players can get pigeon-holed into a position and the duties that come with it. Franklin Regional senior Sydney Lindeman took the midfielder tag and stretched it three ways. Sure, she lived up to the job description, working the ball between defenders and forwards to create the best scoring opportunities....
Franklin Regional’s Anthony DiFalco again named Tribune-Review Westmoreland Boys Soccer Player of the Year
Special talents such as Anthony DiFalco don’t come along often. So when the four-year prep career of a player of his caliber comes to a close, the accomplishments, the full body of work, tend to be that much more impressive. Consider what DiFalco did at Franklin Regional: • He was...
Trib HSSN WPIAL girls soccer all-stars: Steel Valley’s Salopek takes game to next level
TribHSSN Fab 15 Player of the Year Kelsey Salopek Sr., F, Steel Valley As a Kent State commit, Kelsey Salopek already was on the WPIAL radar, but she took her individual talents a step farther as she led Steel Valley to its first WPIAL championship in its first try. The...
Trib HSSN WPIAL boys soccer all-stars: Franklin Regional’s DiFalco caps remarkable career
Trib HSSN Fab 15 Player of the Year Anthony DiFalco Sr., F, Franklin Regional Special talents like Anthony DiFalco don’t come along that often. So when the four-year prep career of a player of his caliber comes to a close, the accomplishments, the full body of work, tend to be...
Springdale boys basketball expects winning ways to continue
Winning is contagious. That’s what first-year Springdale boys basketball coach Kobi Phillippi loves about his team. The success his players had in fall sports rolls right into basketball season. “A lot of our kids are multisport athletes,” Phillippi said. “I think a lot of the kids have good coaches in...
Experienced backcourt gives Penn-Trafford postseason hope
Since the inception of the six PIAA classifications, the Penn-Trafford boys basketball team has followed a steady uptrend. The Warriors had just five wins during the 2016-17 season, but finished with double-digit wins the past three seasons and advanced to the WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinals a year ago. Getting back...
Springdale girls basketball team ready to make noise in playoffs
There’s an air of quiet confidence and cautious optimism that surrounds the Springdale girls basketball team, and there should be. Coming off their first postseason appearance since the 2012-13 season, Springdale feels like it has all the necessary pieces. Simply put, it’s postseason or bust. “We built this from the...
Penn-Trafford girls basketball looking to take next step after reaching playoffs last season
The Penn Trafford girls basketball team made a return to the WPIAL playoffs last winter. The Warriors, who finished 10-7 and 9-5 in Section 1-6A, started the season with six consecutive wins but stumbled down the stretch before falling to Baldwin in the first round of the playoffs. This year’s...
