High School category, Page 882
Hampton boys look to grow from tough season
A season that began with a delay ended with a dud for the Hampton boys basketball team. One of the most demanding seasons in coach Joe Lafko’s 25 years at the school concluded with a 73-49 loss to No. 17 seed McKeesport in the opening round of the WPIAL Class...
Junior Jake DeMotte arrives for Fox Chapel, plays key role in playoff victory
Throughout this season, the Fox Chapel boys basketball team has gotten contributions from several players. Junior Eli Yofan has been the go-to-guy, averaging 22 points a game, but JP Dockey, Kent Baldauf, Jake DeMotte and Russell Fenton have all come up big at times as well. “That’s the unique thing...
Second WPIAL wrestling title gives Pine-Richland’s Cole Spencer reason to smile
In the middle of the second period of the WPIAL Class AAA 160-pound wrestling final, Cole Spencer took an accidental shot from Norwin’s Chase Kranitz and realized one of his teeth was broken. “I got a little chip on it, and I asked the ref, ‘Where do I put this?’...
5 Pine-Richland runners test themselves at indoor nationals
Five distance runners from Pine-Richland traveled to Virginia last month to test themselves against some of the best high school competition in the country and came home with solid results. Meredith Price, Audrey DeKunder, Elizabeth Hunkele, Angelina Hunkele and Natalie McLean competed at the 2021 Adidas Indoor Nationals on Feb....
Plum basketball teams enjoy playoff success before bowing out
For the Plum girls basketball team, joy at winning the program’s first playoff game since 2002 on March 1 turned to disappointment the next day as covid issues forced the Mustangs to bow out of the WPIAL Class 5A tournament ahead of a first-round matchup against No. 2 Chartiers Valley....
Experience helps Plum’s Kvortek capture WPIAL gymnastics gold medal in bars event
When Sarah Kvortek placed fifth on bars at last year’s WPIAL individual gymnastics championships at Moon High School, her sights quickly were set on soon rising to the top of the medals podium. The Plum sophomore fulfilled that title goal Feb. 27 as her return to WPIALs brought championship gold...
Union confusion leads Imani Christian basketball team on ride to wrong school
Sixty miles separate the Union Area High School near New Castle from Union High School in Rimersburg, but the districts with matching names continue to cause trouble for bus drivers. For the second time in four years, a WPIAL basketball team ended up at the wrong one. This time, the...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on March 6, 2021: Trinity looks for another upset
With each round of the WPIAL basketball playoffs on a three-day cycle, Saturday is smack dab in the middle of the elite-eight round. Quarterfinals action on Saturday will feature games from boys 5A, boys 2A, girls 6A and girls 3A. Boys quarterfinals • Mars knows all about the value of...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for March 5, 2021
High school Basketball Boys WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Quarterfinals Friday’s results Upper St. Clair 72, Seneca Valley 70 Butler 58, Penn-Trafford 55 (OT) Fox Chapel 74, North Allegheny 56 Pine-Richland 65, Hempfield 61 Semifinals Tuesday’s schedule Upper St. Clair (17-1) vs. Butler (12-8), 6 p.m.; Pine-Richland (12-5) at Fox Chapel...
High school roundup for March 5, 2021: Upper St. Clair boys, girls move into semifinals
Luke Banbury scored 30 points, David Pantelis added 17, and Upper St. Clair defeated Seneca Valley, 72-70, to fend off an upset bid in the WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinals Friday night. No. 1 Upper St. Clair (17-1) will meet No. 5 Butler in Tuesday’s semifinals. Connor Lyczek led No. 9...
Leechburg rallies for double-overtime win over Eden Christian
In a double overtime thriller, No. 6 Leechburg upset No. 3 Eden Christian 45-40 in the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals Friday night at Sewickley Academy. The Blue Devils (9-4) advanced to the semifinals and will play top-seeded Rochester at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Owen McDermott, Eli Rich and Marcus Cleveland scored...
Devin Carney’s buzzer-beating 3 lifts Butler past Penn-Trafford in OT
Ten times Butler’s Devin Carney had taken a shot from behind the arc Friday night and nine of them had missed. In fact, a potential winner at the end of regulation bounced hard off the rim. “One thing about my crew,” Butler coach Matt Clement said, “is they put the...
Southmoreland girls rout Mt. Pleasant in Class 4A quarterfinals
Southmoreland reached the WPIAL semifinals in girls basketball for a second consecutive season by overwhelming visiting Mt. Pleasant, 54-23, in a Class 4A quarterfinal-round game Friday night. Maddie Moore scored 17 points, and Olivia Cernuto added 15 to lead No. 3 seed Southmoreland (15-4), which beat No. 11 Mt. Pleasant...
Pine-Richland conquers nerves, Hempfield in advancing to WPIAL Class 6A semifinals
Pine-Richland boys basketball coach Bob Petcash admitted to being nervous about Friday night’s WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinal game at Hempfield. “I was on edge,” Petcash said. “We hadn’t seen them and hadn’t played them in years.” The sixth-seeded Rams didn’t let any nerves show, especially in the fourth quarter, as...
Fox Chapel uses early run to knock off North Allegheny in Class 6A quarters
The Fox Chapel boys basketball team couldn’t have drawn it up any better. Behind 22 points from junior guard Eli Yofan, all five Fox Chapel starters scored in double digits, and the No. 2 Foxes (20-2) took advantage of an early first-quarter run to knock off No. 7 North Allegheny,...
Knoch girls defeat perennial contender Blackhawk, earn 1st trip to semifinals
Even with the late start to the season, March basketball has come to the Knoch girls program. The Knights secured a berth in the WPIAL semifinals for the first time in history Friday night with a 51-45 victory over perennial contender Blackhawk in the Class 4A quarterfinals. Sophomore Nina Shaw...
Sewickley Academy shuts down Greensburg Central Catholic
Sewickley Academy made 19 of 28 free throws and eventually pulled away for a 38-21 victory over Greensburg Central Catholic in the WPIAL Class 2A girls basketball quarterfinals Friday night. No. 4 Sewickley Academy advanced to play No. 1 Neshannock in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Monday. The 12th-seeded Centurions...
Freeport bowler wins regional title with 299 game
Freeport’s Mark Livingston turned in a tremendous performance Friday at the North Versailles Bowling Center. One stubborn 10 pin stopped it from being a perfect performance. Livingston defeated North Allegheny’s Dylan Scheidler 299-193 in the finals of the Western Regional Boys Singles Bowling Championships. After 11 consecutive strikes, Livingston left...
Wrestlers have one last hurdle en route to PIAA championships
To become a PIAA wrestling champion in 2021, wrestlers had to face new challenges, or in this case, another qualifying tournament. Wrestlers from Class AA and Class AAA have one more hurdle, the Super Region, to clear before earning a trip to Hershey for the PIAA championships March 12 and...
A-K Valley wrestlers prepare to punch ticket to Hershey
Normally at this time of the year, wrestlers from around the WPIAL have already punched their ticket to Hershey to compete for a state championship, but this year is like no other. To try to mitigate the spread of covid-19, the PIAA limited the number of wrestlers in each weight...
Westmoreland basketball notebook: Area teams set for rematches in quarterfinals
Rematches will be the order of the day for three Westmoreland County teams as they take to the WPIAL basketball quarterfinals Saturday afternoon. In boys Class 2A, No. 5 seed Jeannette (14-4) will take on No. 13 Winchester Thurston (9-4), a Section 3 opponent that dealt the Jayhawks a 65-60...
Westmoreland basketball playoff capsules: Games for Saturday, March 6, 2021
Boys Quarterfinals Class 5A 10-Latrobe (8-6) at 2-New Castle (18-2) Noon Saturday Coaches: Brad Wetzel, Latrobe; Ralph Blundo, New Castle Winner plays: Winner of 6-Penn Hills (13-4) at 3-Laurel Highlands (13-3), 6 p.m. Wednesday in semifinals About Latrobe: Senior Ryan Sickenberger converted a three-point play with 43 seconds left to...
Shady Side Academy hires Sean Simmons as new athletic director
Shady Side Academy has found its new athletic director, and although the school conducted a nationwide search, it didn’t have to look far for Gene Deal’s replacement. On Friday, Shady Side Academy announced the hiring of Sean Simmons as its next director of athletics. He will succeed Deal, who will...
After exploring college options, WPIAL to keep basketball finals in high school gyms
With gathering limits increased statewide, the WPIAL looked into renting a college venue for its basketball championships, but decided to use high school gyms as originally planned. Petersen Events Center had hosted the championship games since 2015, but Pitt isn’t allowing outside groups to rent its facilities because of covid-19...
WPIAL’s top swimmers gear up for this weekend’s championship meets
Josh Matheny never thought he would be in position to win a WPIAL swimming championship in his home pool. But the Upper St. Clair senior, the three-time defending Class AAA boys champion in the 100-yard breaststroke, will have that chance Sunday as the meet comes to Upper St. Clair High...
