High School category, Page 829
Rotelli’s WPIAL runner-up finish among several meet highlights for Pine-Richland track team
Because of her small stature, Gianna Rotelli feels she is overlooked sometimes when she enters track and field events. After her second-place finish in the javelin at the WPIAL championships, it’s going to be hard for opponents to underestimate her anymore. Rotelli, a sophomore at Pine-Richland, threw a personal- best...
Gateway boys volleyball looks toward future with talented returning lineup
The Gateway boys volleyball team was the underdog as the No. 14 seed when it traveled to Ambridge on May 18 to take on the No. 3 Bridgers, WPIAL champions in 2018 and ’19, in the first round of this year’s Class AA tournament. Gators coach Phil Randolph said the...
Baldwin senior peaks at WPIALs, wins gold in 800
Lena Barakat is one of the smaller athletes in the Baldwin girls track and field program. But she was a giant of a competitor — all 5 feet, 2 inches of her — at this year’s WPIAL Class AAA championships. A senior runner, Barakat logged a career-best time of 2:16...
Section title caps successful season for Baldwin boys track
Baldwin’s boys track and field team capped its spring season by winning the Section 6-AAA championship in nail-biting fashion. The Highlanders posted a 5-0 section record and were 7-1 overall, claiming the 21st section title in boys track and field in school history and first since 2017. “Both the boys...
Sewickley Academy boys lacrosse caps historic season
After a year off because of the coronavirus pandemic and so many unknowns coming into the season, the Sewickley Academy boys lacrosse team entered the campaign with no expectations. And yet the Panthers just completed one of the best seasons in the program’s recent history. Behind seven seniors, including captains...
Quaker Valley baseball finishes season strong
When baseball season started in late March, Quaker Valley got off on the wrong foot, losing back-to-back games against eventual Section 2 champion Montour by a combined 10 runs. That rough start continued, but the Quakers turned their season around in late April, made a playoff push through the beginning...
Penn-Trafford Star notebook: Little, Vecchio named scholar/athlete finalists
Seniors Emma Little and Chase Vecchio were two of the 12 finalists for the Westmoreland County Scholar/Athlete Award on May 25. The award, hosted by Judge John J. Driscoll, was presented at the 65th annual banquet at Ferrante’s Lakeview Lounge. The winners were Mt. Pleasant’s Haylie Brunson and Burrell’s Ian...
Penn-Trafford trio earns WPIAL track medals
To qualify for the PIAA Class AAA Track and Field Championships, athletes must finish in the top four of their events or meet the state qualifying standards if they finish in the top eight. Penn-Trafford senior Julia Hauck earned a trip to the May 29 state meet at Shippensburg University...
Penn Hills shot putter goes back to basics, hits PIAA qualifying mark
Angelo Allen knew something wasn’t right with his approach in the weeks leading up to the WPIAL Class AAA track and field championships. The Penn Hills junior shot putter responded by consulting his team of advisers, including his coaches and dad. “It’s definitely a hand-in-hand process,” said Allen, who qualified...
South Fayette’s Amy Allen claims 4 PIAA medals, wins gold with 400-meter relay
SHIPPENSBURG — When Amy Allen qualified for states as a sophomore, she ran one event and went home. “I didn’t even medal,” said the South Fayette senior, thinking back to 2019. “I was ninth and I was like, ‘So close.’ I just put in the work my junior year since...
George Guido: Riverview chasing WPIAL title but almost never existed
As Riverview prepares for its WPIAL Class A baseball title game Tuesday against Union, now might be a good time to recall that the high school almost never came into existence. Riverview is wrapping up 50 academic years, but the school’s creation wasn’t on the list of proposed school mergers...
Hempfield’s Norris wins gold medal; Spartans girls place 2nd
SHIPPENSBURG — A little more than three inches kept Dan Norris from winning two gold medals at the PIAA Class AAA track and field championships Saturday. Norris kept the Hempfield tradition of great throwers going when he won the discus with a personal-record throw of 195 feet, 10 inches. It...
Plum’s Parker medals in shot put at PIAA championships
SHIPPENSBURG — Plum thrower Logan Parker returned Saturday to Seth Grove Stadium and felt right at home. Soon, it will be his home. A Shippensburg recruit, Parker placed fifth in the boys shot put at the PIAA Class AAA track and field championships. “I got there, and I was walking...
Highlands softball team enjoys rest after beating No. 1 seed
Maera Williams arrived to school Thursday and soon was greeted with a plethora of well-wishes and congratulations for her and her Highlands softball teammates. Roughly 12 hours earlier, the Golden Rams rallied past top-seeded Elizabeth Forward, 6-4, in eight innings in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals and earned the program’s...
West Mifflin’s Dontae Lewis celebrates 300 hurdles title on future college track
SHIPPENSBURG — While his competitors endured the cold rain and wind inside Seth Grove Stadium, West Mifflin hurdler Dontae Lewis found a way to escape. “I kind of sat in my coach’s car all day with the heat all the way up,” Lewis said with a laugh, “and wasted a...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for May 29, 2021
High schools Baseball WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Championship Tuesday’s schedule North Allegheny (19-3) vs. Hempfield (15-7) at Wild Things Park, 7:30 p.m. Class 5A Championship Tuesday’s schedule Franklin Regional (18-1) vs. Bethel Park (18-3) at Wild Things Park, 4:30 p.m. Consolation Wednesday’s schedule Peters Township (10-11) vs. West Allegheny (17-4)...
PIAA Class AAA track and field championships results
Boys At Shippensburg University Class AAA 100: 1. Jaden Brown, Norristown, 10.65; 2. Tyler Yurich, Seneca Valley, 10.71; 3. Julian Saunders, Boyertown, 10.71; 4. Daamon Simpson, Wilson, 10.76; 5. Kristian Phennicie, Dallastown, 10.78; 6. Randy Fizer, Red Lion, 10.84; 7. Drew Gallen, WC Rustin, 10.96. 200: 1. Kristian Phennicie, Dallastown,...
North Catholic’s Nicolas Scheller falls in state tennis finals
Nicolas Scheller’s run through the boys tennis postseason hit a wall in the state finals Saturday afternoon. The North Catholic junior who hadn’t dropped a postseason set won the first set of the finals at the PIAA Class 2A boys singles championships in Hershey but then lost the next two...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Fresh girls hoops coaching faces
A pair of Westmoreland County girls basketball programs will have new coaches next season. Franklin Regional recently hired former Plum coach Bernie Pucka, and Greensburg Central Catholic promoted assistant Chris Skatell to head coach. Both will replace men who coached for three seasons before resigning in the spring. Pucka replaces...
Moon’s Mia Cochran claims PIAA titles in 1,600, 3,200
SHIPPENSBURG – Mia Cochran’s legs went numb during the final three laps of the PIAA Class AAA 3,200-meter run Saturday morning. But it didn’t stop the Moon junior from running away with the title. Cochran pulled away West Chester Henderson junior Jenna Mulhern during the final 800 meters to capture...
Beaver’s Emma Pavelek earns PIAA high jump silver wearing borrowed shoesVideo
SHIPPENSBURG — Emma Pavelek didn’t walk a mile in someone else’s shoes but she did high jump in someone else’s sneakers. Rain forced the high jump indoors Saturday at the PIAA track and field championships, meaning the Beaver senior couldn’t wear her spikes. Pavelek didn’t have any suitable indoor shoes,...
Quaker Valley’s Nora Johns wins state gold in 1st year running 300 hurdles
SHIPPENSBURG — Nora Johns ran the 300 hurdles for the first time this spring, and the Quaker Valley sophomore can remember the thoughts running through her head at the time. “I was like, I just hope to make it to the finish line,” Johns said with a laugh. Two months...
Bethel Park boys lacrosse looks forward to promising future
Bethel Park’s boys lacrosse team ended the regular season in third place in Section 1-AAA at 6-2, behind only Mt. Lebanon (8-0) and Upper St. Clair (7-1) and ahead of Peters Township (5-3) and Canon-McMillan (4-4). The Black Hawks landed the sixth seed for the WPIAL playoffs, then edged No....
Playoff win caps season of growth for Bishop Canevin softball
The Bishop Canevin softball team started the season losing four of its first five games. The Crusaders then won four of the next five contests. It was that kind of spring for the Crusaders, one in which everything balanced out, including their final record of 7-7. “This season was a...
Successful season ends early for Plum baseball
The Plum baseball team had different designs on the 2021 WPIAL postseason than what played out May 19 against Latrobe in a WPIAL first-round game at Norwin. The Wildcats stunned the fifth-seeded Mustangs by jumping out to a 7-1 lead after two innings. Plum coach Carl Vollmer appreciated the fight...
