High School category, Page 839
Hurdles a natural fit for Brentwood multi-sport standout Cesia Garcia
Cesia Garcia has hurdled her way to a rewarding career in the Brentwood track and field program. She has been competing in track since the seventh grade and is a top hurdler for the Spartans. “In middle school, we encourage the kids to try every event,” Brentwood coach Mike Cramer...
Sewickley Academy girls lacrosse soars into WPIAL playoffs
The Sewickley Academy girls lacrosse team has put together a special season heading into the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs. With an overall record of 13-1 and a Section 2 mark of 9-1, the Panthers sit in second place in their section with their only loss coming against defending WPIAL champion...
Quaker Valley rallies for 1st WPIAL title since ’03
Two years ago, the Quaker Valley boys tennis team came up just short of winning its first WPIAL title since 2003, falling to Indiana, 3-2, in the WPIAL final. Ever since, the Quakers have been looking for redemption. On May 12, after earning the No. 1 seed in the WPIAL...
Penn-Trafford’s Whipkey sets new goals after winning county title
Joe Whipkey has already reached his main goal of his senior season. Now the Penn-Trafford athlete set some new goals. After winning the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association 800-meter title in 2 minutes, 3.94 seconds May 1, he turned his focus to success at the WPIAL Class AAA meet and earning...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for May 15, 2021
High schools Baseball Saturday’s result Nonsection Avonworth 7, Quaker Valley 6 WPIAL playoffs Class 6A First round Friday’s schedule Upper St. Clair (8-9) vs. Canon-McMillan (8-10) at West Mifflin, 4 p.m. Quarterfinals May 22 schedule North Allegheny (17-3) vs. Upper St. Clair/Canon-McMillan winner at Shaler, 2:30 p.m.; Mt. Lebanon (11-7)...
High school roundup for May 15, 2021: Latrobe softball handles North Allegheny
Jordan Novak went 4 for 4 as Latrobe tuned up for the WPIAL softball playoffs with a 12-7 nonsection victory at North Allegheny on Saturday afternoon. Kayla Williams and Bailey Watson had three hits apiece for the Wildcats (10-4). Ashley Solenday hit a three-run home run and Emily Condon had...
North Allegheny’s Lizzy Groetsch caps high school career with Roundball Classic MVP
It’s been quite a past several months for North Allegheny senior Lizzy Groetsch. The 5-foot-11 guard led her school to the Class 6A WPIAL and PIAA titles and was named Trib HSSN Player of the Year and state 6A Player of the Year. Saturday at Geneva College, Groetsch capped her...
George Guido: Highlands softball team’s new field a hit
Highlands is celebrating its first section softball title since 2005, and the Golden Rams did it in the first year of their new field. During the offseason, a number of parents and community volunteers converted a former PONY baseball field on the high school campus to softball. The field is...
Westmoreland notebook: Norwin, Hempfield could meet in baseball, softball playoffs
Norwin and Hempfield could meet again in the WPIAL baseball and softball semifinals, and that could mean at least two local teams making the Class 6A finals. The teams split their section series. The baseball teams shared a section championship. The WPIAL playoffs begin this week, and the local matchups...
Distance runners Carter, Miller ready for 1st crack at WPIAL girls championships
Fox Chapel’s Laura Carter and Kiski Area’s Eliza Miller first meet in competition in fall 2018 as seventh-grade cross country runners. Two years later, they were among the WPIAL’s top high school cross country runners, and they were separated by 5 seconds in the Class AAA WPIAL finals in October....
Ligonier Valley junior Higgins turning heads in the javelin
Ligonier Valley junior Miles Higgins turned some heads recently. When Higgins won the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association javelin with a throw of 180 feet, 4 inches, it became the top throw in either classification in the WPIAL. Higgins goes into Wednesday’s WPIAL Class AA track and field championship at Slippery...
North Allegheny ready to rehire Dave DeGregorio as boys basketball coach
North Allegheny’s next boys basketball coach already knows the program well. North Catholic coach Dave DeGregorio, who coached North Allegheny from 2004-16, is returning to his old job, pending school board approval Wednesday. Online board records list DeGregorio as the recommended candidate. He’ll replace Dan DeRose, who resigned after one...
Bethel Park pole vaulter Nirella continues to raise the bar
Isaac Nirella, a junior at Bethel Park, has made great strides in just his second year of pole vaulting competition. “It’s really his first (outdoor season) since he lost last year,” coach Mark Jacobs said. “Isaac has improved so much from last year — over 3 feet so far —...
Brothers-in-law face off for Riverview, Leechburg baseball
A few years ago, Bill Stoops and William Gras, who are brothers-in-law, were sharing the same bench as the head and assistant coach of the Gateway baseball program. On April 30 and May 6 though, the two coaches found themselves in opposite dugouts as Leechburg and Riverview faced off in...
Plum softball, baseball teams turn attention to WPIAL playoffs
The Plum softball team hadn’t played a game in nearly two weeks when it came back May 10 from a covid pause to face Section 1-5A foe Armstrong in a game crucial to each team’s goal of a section title. The Mustangs didn’t show any rust as they got some...
Norwin notebook: Kessler’s home run trot a familiar sight for Knights
Sophomore Madie Kessler wasn’t aiming for Route 30, but those who witnessed her towering home run against North Allegheny believe the ball might have landed on the highway below Norwin High School. An umpire was even impressed, saying he hadn’t seen a ball hit that far. Kessler’s tape-measure blast to...
North Allegheny girls pleased with runner-up finish at WPIAL team championships
Only a handful of schools reach the WPIAL team track championships each year, but the meet has become almost an annual tradition for the North Allegheny girls. Consider, the Tigers returned this spring for the 17th time since 2000, finishing second to Butler in the WPIAL Class AAA meet May...
North Journal notebook: North Hills softball finishes 2nd in Section 3
The North Hills softball team fell just short of a section title last week after falling to Shaler, 9-8, on May 11. In the bottom of the seventh, Shaler’s Cam Murphy hit a two-run home run, and Natalie Spears delivered a two-run double for the walk-off win. North Hills belted...
Franklin Regional softball team hits upswing as playoffs approach
After losing its first two games, the Franklin Regional softball has been a model of consistency. Sort of. A four-game winning streak was followed by four losses. But then, as you might have been able to guess, the Panthers won four more in a row. Coach Jim Armstrong is focusing...
Hampton boys lacrosse surges into postseason
Hampton senior defender Gus Wolf hopes history repeats itself in the WPIAL Class AA boys lacrosse playoffs. But only some of it. “Obviously, our big goal is to be able to see Mars again in the WPIAL championship,” Wolf said. “That would be ideal.” They just want the outcome to...
Shady Side Academy boys tennis celebrates 1st WPIAL title since ’14
All season, Shady Side Academy senior Colin Gramley was hoping at least one tennis match would come down to him. Turns out, on May 12, in Shady Side’s biggest match of the season, Gramley got his wish. The Bulldogs were ahead of Franklin Regional, 2-1, in the WPIAL Class AAA...
Bethel Park’s Malecki, Underwood vaulting to personal best marks
It takes a unique type of high school athlete to compete in the pole vault event. “It does,” said Mark Jacobs, Bethel Park’s pole vaulting coach. “You need that combination of speed, strength and determination that every great athlete needs, but at the same time you need grit and to...
Hampton athletes sprint toward WPIAL track championship meet
The Hampton boys track and field team last month won its first section title in 36 years. Next up for the Talbots is the chance for some individual accolades. Hampton heads into the WPIAL Class AAA track and field championships May 19 at Slippery Rock with a number of highly...
High school scores, summaries and schedule for May 14, 2021
High schools Baseball Friday’s results Nonsection Beaver 7, Keystone Oaks 2 Canon-McMillan 5, South Park 4 Connellsville 5, Derry 4 Freedom 12, Carlynton 8 Freeport 11, Valley 2 Greensburg Central Catholic 11, Apollo-Ridge 7 Indiana 18, Ligonier Valley 6 Knoch 5, Shady Side Academy 1 Laurel Highlands 8, California 1...
High school roundup for May 14, 2021: West Allegheny softball grabs share of section title
Adriana Vicari-Baker went 3 for 3 with two doubles to lead West Allegheny to an 11-1 victory over South Fayette in Section 4-5A softball Friday afternoon. The win moved West Allegheny into a tie with Chartiers Valley for the section title. Emily Nolan doubled, tripled and drove in three runs...
