High School category, Page 920
After 5-month search, Shady Side Academy has new nickname
Shady Side Academy officially has a new mascot and nickname — the Bulldogs. The SSA Board of Trustees began a five-month search process in July after they decided to discontinue the use of the Indian as the school’s mascot and team name. During their search for a new mascot, a...
Trib HSSN Top 20 Stories of 2020: Burrell’s streak continues
The most unique year in our lifetime is coming to an end. With so many mass starts and stops, highs and lows, just about all walks of life were affected by the coronavirus in 2020. High school sports were no different. The first two and a half months of the...
After wild offseason, Kiski Area’s Enzo Morlacci ready to prove himself
Kiski Area wrestler Enzo Morlacci has had quite the year, but he’s made the most of the past seven months. “It’s been weird, but I couldn’t have asked for it to lay out any better,” Morlacci said. “I met some amazing coaches, and I got a lot better. I wouldn’t...
Subsection wrestling tournaments among ideas WPIAL board to consider
The WPIAL wrestling committee wants subsection tournaments added to the individual postseason schedule this winter as the league adjusts to covid-19 restrictions. The move would let additional wrestlers compete in the postseason while also complying with a PIAA directive to limit brackets to no more than eight athletes. “Everybody would...
Trib HSSN Top 20 Stories of 2020: After delayed start, fall sports move forward
The most unique year in our lifetime is coming to an end. With so many mass starts and stops, highs and lows, just about all walks of life were affected by the coronavirus in 2020. High school sports were no different. The first two and a half months of the...
New A-K Valley basketball coaches go through obstacles of another shutdown
The first year at the head of a program can be tough for any new coach, but imagine taking over a program in the middle of a pandemic. Then, as some might have expected, everything just stops. Practices. Games. In-person, face-to-face camaraderie. Everything. It’s all put on pause for three...
Greensburg Salem shuts down athletics until Jan. 26
Greensburg Salem athletes received some sobering news Friday when the school district announced that all sports will be halted until Jan 26. The decision, according to athletic director Frank Sundry, wasn’t easy, but it came after school officials listened to health experts about the current spread of the coronavirus. All...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Football standouts still mulling college offers
While Ethan Carr of Penn-Trafford, James Sanders of Jeannette and Jack Dilts of Kiski Area were the only Division I football signees from Westmoreland County on Wednesday, a number of others from the area could sign in February when the NCAA regular signing period begins. It runs from Feb. 3...
Trib HSSN Top 20 Stories of 2020: Butler boys basketball ends title drought
The most unique year in our lifetime is coming to an end. With so many mass starts and stops, highs and lows, just about all walks of life were affected by the coronavirus in 2020. High school sports were no different. The first two and a half months of the...
PIAA will consider relaxing 15-practice requirement for winter sports teams
Will the PIAA let athletes skip practice? Some coaches hope so. Currently, rules require all teams to complete 15 preseason practices before starting regular-season competition, but the PIAA board on Tuesday will consider reducing that number to 10. If not, that practice requirement could become a hindrance for teams that...
Athletes motivated to stay in shape during pause in high school sports
With repeated shutdowns of school sports and closing of local gyms, high school athletes have had to find their own ways to train throughout this year as they prepared for fall and winter sports. Now, due to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf “pausing” high school sports until Jan. 4, the ball...
Mars’ Blair Gerlach wins national coach of year award
Most people will be more than happy to throw away calendars from 2020 and hang a new docket on the wall. While the year has been downright revolting to the masses, it has been pretty good to Mars girls soccer coach Blair Gerlach. The leader of the Fightin’ Planets received...
New dates set for Powerade, Southmoreland wrestling tournaments
The Powerade Holiday Tournament has a new date. Tournament director Frank Vulcano said the event will take place Jan. 29-30 at Monroeville Convention Center. Powerade originally was scheduled for Dec. 28- 29, but Gov. Tom Wolf’s order to halt high school athletic until Jan. 4 in hopes of helping slow...
High school basketball teams appreciate, take lessons from pre-shutdown games
Last Friday, 71 WPIAL and City League boys and girls basketball teams kicked off their 2020-21 seasons in the shadow of a looming shutdown that will extend through the first couple of days of the New Year. In the climate of covid uncertainties, the games were a chance for those...
Trib HSSN Top 20 Stories of 2020: Mercifully, Central Valley football wins state title
The most unique year in our lifetime is coming to an end. With so many mass starts and stops, highs and lows, just about all walks of life were affected by the coronavirus in 2020. High school sports were no different. The first two and a half months of the...
North Catholic sweeps MVP awards on Allegheny 7 all-conference football team
Conference champion North Catholic was rewarded with nine first-team spots on the all-Allegheny Seven football team, and three Trojans earned individual awards in a vote of coaches. North Catholic quarterback Joey Prentice was named the conference’s offensive MVP and teammate Mathias Benson earned the defensive award. Jack Friel was honored...
High school basketball teams committed to staying sharp during shutdown
Christian Zilli had his junior baseball season ripped away. The back end of his senior football season also was a casualty of the coronavirus, which dug in its claws and forced the cancellation of two games. But the Hempfield senior is bound and determined to have a basketball season in...
WPIAL finalists Jeannette, Clairton lead all-Eastern Conference football team
WPIAL Class A finalists Jeannette and Clairton combined to earn 19 first-team spots on the all-Eastern Conference football team in a vote of coaches. Clairton led with 10 including senior running back and linebacker Dontae Sanders, who earned two individual awards as both the conference’s top offensive and defensive player....
WPIAL football players sign with Division I FBS, FCS programs
Division I FBS Senior football players from the WPIAL who signed with Division I programs: Name, high school, pos., college • Evan Azzara, Plum, OL, Miami (Ohio) • Derrick Davis, Gateway, S, LSU • Khalil Dinkins, North Allegheny, TE, Penn State • Elliot Donald, Central Catholic, DT, Pitt • Trevor...
Signing day punctuates season of change for Penn-Trafford, Jeannette stars
One moved from wide receiver to quarterback. The other, from quarterback to receiver. Both made sacrifices to make their teams better. Now a pair of talented athletes from Westmoreland County will look to add to the quality of play at two in-state Division I FCS football programs. Senior Ethan Carr...
Deer Lakes soccer standout Michael Sullivan commits to Pitt
His commitment has been quiet, but Wednesday, Deer Lakes senior soccer standout Michael Sullivan announced his college decision with a bang. After leading the Lancers to their second state championship appearance in three years this season, the WPIAL Class 2A Player of the Year said he will play for Pitt....
Trib HSSN Top 20 Stories of 2020: North Allegheny dominates in pool
The most unique year in our lifetime is coming to an end. With so many mass starts and stops, highs and lows, just about all walks of life were affected by the coronavirus in 2020. High school sports were no different. The first two and a half months of the...
Trib 10: Newcomers dominate boys basketball power rankings
Welcome to another season of the weekly Trib HSSN power rankings. Each Thursday during the season, Trib HSSN will unveil the Trib 10, declaring which are the best district teams, period. Well, at least for that particular week. These rankings have zero classification boundaries. On the boys side of our...
Seniors who drove Plum football to new heights make college choices on signing dayVideo
Evan Azzara anchored the Plum offensive line with power for several years. Now, the 6-foot-6, 290-pound senior is signed, sealed and delivered for what he hopes is the same kind of success at Miami (Ohio). Azzara was one of nearly two dozen from the WPIAL and City League to sign...
WPIAL’s 2021 football recruits make commitments official by signing early
For the fourth year, the NCAA allowed college football recruits to sign early, making their commitments official in mid December rather than early February. The early signing period was added in 2017. A number of WPIAL seniors took that opportunity Wednesday and then celebrated on social media. Here’s a look...
