High School category, Page 908
Strong showing has Shaler sprinter eager to compete again, make states
Eloise Facher lined up at the starting line, peering down at a black shirt and shorts before the start of her 60-meter sprint at Youngstown State University. Competing as an unattached runner meant Facher couldn’t be fitted in her typical blue-and-red Shaler Area track attire. “It was definitely weird,” Facher...
Busier schedule suits Shaler bowlers
Ryan Callahan enjoys the Shaler bowling team having two matches a week. The pandemic-forced, compact section schedule keeps the Titans sophomore on his toes. In a normal year, Shaler would have one match a week. So far, the boys are off to a 1-3 start. Shaler’s girls team is 3-1....
Chartiers Valley girls bask, just briefly, in state record winning streak
For months, weeks, even days leading up to Jan. 18, Chartiers Valley girls basketball coach Tim McConnell did not want to talk about or mention “the streak.” Then, once the longest winning streak in PIAA girls basketball history was owned by his Colts, he finally talked about it, but issued...
Carlynton boys basketball back on right track
After three sub-.500 seasons for the Carlynton boys basketball program, the 2019-2020 campaign put the Cougars back on the winning track. Carlynton finished 16-10 overall and reached the WPIAL quarterfinals and the second round of the PIAA postseason. “Last season was a big step for our program,” Carlynton coach Mike...
Thomas Jefferson’s Finnerty off to strong start with tournament titles
Months of painstaking preparation and grueling practice proved beneficial for Thomas Jefferson junior Brian Finnerty. The 172-pound grappler took first place in his weight division Jan. 9 at the season-opening North Allegheny Invitational. “Brian had a great start, winning the tournament and really opening up his offense,” TJ coach Michael...
Thomas Jefferson set for another rivalry matchup with Chartiers Valley girls
The rivalry continues. No two girls basketball teams in the WPIAL have met as many times over the past two seasons as Chartiers Valley and Thomas Jefferson. The Colts have won seven in a row against the TJ girls, including a 64-48 victory in 2019 at the WPIAL Class 5A...
Quaker Valley boys basketball bounces back after close loss to start season
On Jan. 8, the Quaker Valley boys basketball team started their season with a 55-54 loss to Montour in a Section 2-4A game at home. The Quakers didn’t fret, though. They had led for most of the game before the win slipped through their fingers in the second half. So...
Penn-Trafford rifle team continues growing, finding success
The Penn-Trafford co-ed rifle team has come a long way in a short time. The program was started in 2015, and by 2020 the Warriors had developed into one of the WPIAL’s top teams. They placed third in the WPIAL last winter and qualified for the state competition, where they...
Penn-Trafford notebook: Girls basketball coach reaches milestone with win over Norwin
Penn-Trafford girls’ basketball coach John Giannikas took over a struggling program in 2006-07. Since then, the Warriors have continued to improve. Under Giannikas, the program has been headed in the right direction and turned into a playoff regular. Giannikas reached a coaching milestone Jan. 18 when Penn-Trafford (5-0) toppled Norwin,...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 23, 2021
Basketball WPIAL Boys Saturday’s results Class 6A Section 1 Seneca Valley 82, North Hills 75 Class 4A Section 2 Ambridge 56, Hopewell 47 Section 3 Mt. Pleasant at South Park, ppd. Class 3A Section 4 Waynesburg Central 82, Charleroi 58 Class 2A Section 1 OLSH 95, South Side 47 Nonsection...
High school roundup for Jan. 23, 2021: New Castle fends off Lincoln Park
Isaiah Boice and Michael Wells scored 13 points each to help New Castle hold off a late rally by Lincoln Park for a 59-58 boys basketball victory in a matchup of top-ranked teams Saturday. The Leopards (3-3) trailed by 11 after three quarters. L.A. Pratt had 14 points for Lincoln...
High school rifle season looks different this year
Over the past three winters, Madison Herrick enjoyed traveling to different schools for rifle matches with her Plum teammates. The Mustangs senior captain, a veteran of the WPIAL individual championship meet, said though WPIAL’s move to virtual matches for regular-season competition with no travel is out of the norm, it...
H.S. notebook: Belle Vernon’s Dane Anden gets preferred walk-on offer from Pitt
Dane Anden could hardly believe the news. “When I told him, he was ecstatic,” Belle Vernon football coach Matt Humbert said. “He was really excited.” The news was that Pitt has more than the rumored lukewarm interest in the Leopards senior running back, who was a key cog in last...
WPIAL boys basketball rankings: Week ending Jan. 23, 2021
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Upper St. Clair, 7-1, 1 2. North Allegheny, 6-2, 3 3. Fox Chapel, 5-2, NR 4. Mt. Lebanon, 3-2, 2 5. Hempfield, 3-2, 4 Out: Butler (4-3, 5) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. New Castle, 7-0, 1 2. Chartiers Valley, 8-1,...
WPIAL girls basketball rankings: Week ending Jan. 23, 2021
Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 7-0, 1 2. Upper St. Clair, 4-1, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 6-0, 3 4. Penn-Trafford, 6-0, NR 5. Bethel Park, 4-1, 5 Out: Norwin (5-1, 4) Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Trinity, 6-1, 2 2. Chartiers Valley, 7-1, 1...
Kiski Area girls beat Greensburg Salem on buzzer-beaterVideo
Finally, Greensburg Salem took the court for a girls basketball game. A quick start led to an early double-digit lead against Kiski Area, and it appeared a season opener unlike any other was the Golden Lions’ to lose. Turns out, it was Kiski Area’s to win. Despite an 0-for-9 start...
Chartiers Valley’s state-record winning streak snapped at 64 games
The streak is over. Chartiers Valley’s girls basketball team lost for the first time in three seasons Saturday afternoon, snapping their state-record winning streak at 64 games with a 49-42 loss at Trinity. This was a nonsection matchup between the top teams in WPIAL Class 5A, and second-ranked Trinity became...
Fox Chapel shows grit and team mentality in first two wins of season
With a young and inexperienced lineup, Fox Chapel wrestling coach Michael Frank has been preaching to his wrestlers about competing at a high level this season. He’s wanted his guys to go into matches and just give it their all. Early on, the wrestlers have responded. On Jan. 19, the...
Quaker Valley wrestling gets off to a solid start
Quaker Valley wrestlers wanted to come into this season and test themselves against the best teams around. So far, the Quakers have done just that. On Jan. 16, WPIAL Class AA No. 5 Quaker Valley traveled to the Seneca Valley Duals and came away with a record of 3-2 in...
Led by Kelin Laffey, Pine-Richland wrestling ahead of schedule
Pine-Richland’s daily goal is to get 1% better, a mantra coach Caleb Kolb often repeats to his wrestlers. He recently learned the Rams may be a little ahead of schedule after their third-place performance out of 15 teams at the Mid-Winter Mayhem tournament Jan. 16 at the Monroeville Convention Center....
Joey Dudkowski shoots Pine-Richland into contention
Pine-Richland’s Joey Dudkowski can drive to the hoop for a layup, pull up for a mid-range jumper and get off a quick 3-pointer from the perimeter, each with a fluid ease. Down 45-36 late in the third quarter against No. 5 Butler on Jan. 19, the 6-foot-3 junior put his...
Plum girls basketball back in rhythm early-season shutdown
Plum girls basketball coach Steve Elsier said his team has played well as it gets into the meat of its truncated season but knows there are a lot of challenging matchups ahead as the Mustangs hope to claim their first section championship and set themselves up for a WPIAL playoff...
Gideon Deasy makes quick impact in return to Riverview lineup
Gideon Deasy experienced pain in his left ankle through much of his fall cross country season. The Riverview senior multi-sport athlete missed several races but was able to run at the WPIAL championships. He said despite not running his best time, it was a decent performance. Deasy, an all-section performer...
North Allegheny swimmers continue to ‘shoot for excellence’
Swimmers aren’t yet sure how many of them will qualify for the WPIAL championship meet but that’s just the latest twist in what’s been a challenging winter. “The hardest part is there’s so much up in the air still,” North Allegheny coach Patrick Wenzel said. “We don’t know what’s going...
North Journal notebook: North Allegheny wrestlers sweep 3 duals
Nicholas Gorman, Adam Rohan, Aidan Buggey and Brady Leczo had pins to lead North Allegheny to a 63-11 Class 3A, Section 3B wrestling victory over North Hills on Jan. 20. North Allegheny also defeated Shaler and Mars during the quad meet to improve to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in Section...
