High School category, Page 934
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...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for March 4, 2021
High schools Basketball Boys WPIAL playoffs Class 6A First round Quarterfinals Friday’s schedule Seneca Valley (11-9) at Upper St. Clair (16-1), 8 p.m.; Butler (11-8) at Penn-Trafford (13-5), 6 p.m.; North Allegheny (15-6) at Fox Chapel (17-2), 6 p.m.; Pine-Richland (11-5) at Hempfield (12-5), 6 p.m. Class 5A Quarterfinals Saturday’s...
Ellwood City earns validation, upsets Avonworth in WPIAL Class 3A playoffs
There was nothing invalid about Monday’s playoff win, a 52-point preliminary-round victory that officially ended Ellwood City’s decade-long postseason drought. But this one sure felt different. Suddenly, Ellwood City is a team on the rise. Brothers Alexander and Joseph Roth combined for 29 points and Steve Antuono Jr. added 12...
Fox Chapel holds off Penn Hills in WPIAL Class 5A clash
Fox Chapel walked the line in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s WPIAL Class 5A first-round girls basketball game against Penn Hills. All nine of the Foxes’ points over the final eight minutes came on free throws. It was enough to produce a 39-34 victory over the Indians and send them...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on March 5, 2021: WPIAL quarterfinals tip off
With preliminary and first-round games now history, the curtain rises on the WPIAL basketball quarterfinals. The elite eight round tips off Friday. Quarterfinals action Friday will feature games from boys 6A, boys A, girls 4A and girls 2A with one 6A girls game sprinkled in for fun. Boys third round...
High school roundup for March 4, 2021: McKeesport earns date with Chartiers Valley
Avionna Menifee finished with 19 points and Carmen Coles contributed 17 to lead McKeesport to a 59-43 victory over Oakland Catholic in the WPIAL Class 5A first round Thursday night. Haley Hertzler added 10 points for McKeesport (16-4), which will take on No. 2 Chartiers Valley in the quarterfinals. Alexa...
Westmoreland basketball notebook: Mt. Pleasant girls get another shot at Southmoreland
The Mt. Pleasant girls basketball team did not play its best in two section games against Southmoreland, but the Vikings will get another shot against the Scotties. The Section 3 opponents will meet at 6 p.m. Friday at Southmoreland in the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals. Mt. Pleasant (11-7), the No....
South Park boys see big lead threatened before pulling away from Ambridge
South Park had several chances to show Ambridge some mercy in their WPIAL Class 4A first-round boys basketball game Thursday. But the Eagles could not deliver the knockout punch, so they settled for a unanimous 90-72 victory. “Crazy one,” South Park coach Jason Dolak said about his team’s win. “Anytime...
Cold shooting dooms Monessen girls in loss to Union
The same problems that plagued the No. 6 Monessen girls basketball team all season came out in full force in its WPIAL Class A playoff game against 11th-seeded Union. As a result, the Greyhounds’ season ended with a 39-24 loss. The Scotties (10-10) were led by Elise Booker, who had...
South Allegheny tops Ligonier Valley, serves notice in Class 3A
Top-seeded South Allegheny opened up postseason play with a statement victory Thursday. The Gladiators featured three players in double figures and ran away with a lopsided 75-36 triumph over No. 17 Ligonier Valley in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs. SA’s three-headed monster of Antonio Epps (20...
