High School category, Page 889
Hempfield throwers looking to dominate at WPIALs, PIAAs
Not everyone’s yard has a throwing circle in it. Dave Murray’s does, and he thanks his wife, Amanda, for allowing it. It has paid dividends over the years as Hempfield has produced top-notch throwers year after year. This season has a chance to be the best of all. Murray has...
Penn-Trafford Star notebook: Volleyball team avenges Hempfield loss
The Penn-Trafford boys volleyball team turned in quite a performance in its Section 3-AAA rematch against Hempfield on May 4. Jarred Schoffstall had 38 assists as Penn-Trafford won its ninth consecutive match by defeating the Spartans, 3-0, by the scores of 25-14, 26-24 and 25-23. Hempfield won the first meeting,...
Small numbers help Penn Hills track put emphasis on training, improving
Low numbers was never something Penn Hills track and field coach Lee Zelkowitz wanted to experience. But for this season, having fewer kids on the roster actually has been a help in terms of bringing an inexperienced group up to speed. Competing at the West Mifflin Last Chance meet gave...
Penn Hills baseball focused on future
Penn Hills baseball got the offensive jolt it needed during its final Section 2-5A series of the season. Facing rival Woodland Hills, the Indians plated 20 runs in two games to close the section schedule on a positive note with 14-4 and 6-3 victories. The 14 runs in the first...
Racing each other lifts Pine-Richland’s Hunkele sisters to top performances
Angelina and Elizabeth Hunkele love to compete. Growing up in a running family with their dad, Mark, who is the Pine-Richland track coach, the sisters have been on plenty of family runs. They basically have been training together their entire lives. Sometimes they have to race against each other, and...
Gateway athletes set for WPIAL championship meet
The Gateway track and field spring season was one of growth and discovery for a number of athletes breaking into varsity competition for the first time. Only a few of the Gators had experience at meets from the 2019 season before spring 2020 was wiped out because of the covid...
Tough schedule prepares Gateway for WPIAL baseball playoffs
The Gateway baseball team went through a lot during the regular season with a roller coaster of game results while overcoming a midseason covid pause. But the Gators came through on the right side and earned a spot in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. Coach Mark Wardzinski said he was...
Slugging siblings make mark at Chartiers Valley
Western Pennsylvania is roughly near the midway point between Berkeley, Calif., and London, England. After Kip Kinchington played rugby in England and his wife Edwina swam at Cal-Berkeley, they settled and started a family in Collier Township. They produced two kids in the early part of the century that are...
Late coach’s influence seen in growth of Bishop Canevin boys volleyball program
It’s hard not to talk Bishop Canevin volleyball without talking about the late Kevin Walters. While he is known more for the six championships he won as a coach in girls volleyball, he was also a big part of starting the Crusaders boys volleyball program seven years ago. “He was...
Thomas Jefferson hockey bids farewell to coach Bill Crousey, welcomes former NHL player
Bill Crousey’s legacy as Thomas Jefferson’s hockey coach is firmly cemented. After 12 fulfilling years behind the bench, Crousey has stepped aside from the coaching ranks. Former TJ hockey player John Zeiler was hired to take over. Zeiler led the Jaguars to three state titles from 1998-2000, then eventually went...
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...
