High School category, Page 14
Franklin Regional’s Ceana Copeland makes college decision
Franklin Regional junior Ceana “CC” Copeland committed to play Division II college softball at IUP of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Copeland is a third baseman and utility player for the Panthers. She also had an offer from Seton Hill. “I picked IUP because it really felt like home, and...
Shady Side Academy girls stand tall in final, win program’s 2nd WPIAL title
Jonna Burke looked back at the bench and asked her assistant coach how long the WPIAL Class 3A girls basketball championship game had been going on. The Shady Side Academy coach felt like they had been there for four hours. But the truth was the Bulldogs only needed 82 minutes...
Shady Side Academy happy to extend season into PIAA playoffs
The Shady Side Academy boys basketball team was happy to reap the rewards that come with advancing to the PIAA Class 3A playoffs. The Bulldogs wish they had a little bit more luck with having players available to participate in everything that comes along with it. Shady Side Academy, which...
Fox Chapel coach tries hand at broadcasting for WPIAL basketball championships
Spending 17 years on the bench has provided Zach Skrinjar with a wealth of knowledge about the WPIAL basketball scene. When the Fox Chapel boys basketball coach had an opportunity to put on the headset and do color commentary on Trib HSSN for two championship games at Petersen Events Center,...
Sewickley Academy girls follow slow start with strong finish in run to PIAA tournament
Sewickley Academy’s girls basketball team experienced a turnaround season within 2025-26, thanks to a strong case of player perseverance. The Panthers started out 1-3 and 2-6 as the players adapted to Rob Shazer’s coaching style in his first year as head coach. Sewickley then rang up a seven-game winning streak...
Focus on defense pays championship dividends for Sewickley Academy boys
“Defense wins games; offense just determines by how much.” That has been the mantra of the Sewickley Academy boys basketball team all season, and it came to fruition Feb. 27 in the WPIAL finals at Petersen Events Center. Second-seeded Sewickley turned in another aggressive, laser-focused defensive performance against No. 1...
Amelia Suhayda, Marcus Zhan lead Quaker Valley swimmers at WPIAL meet
Quaker Valley senior Marcus Zhan earned a runner-up finish in the 200-yard freestyle event at the WPIAL Class 2A swimming championships Feb. 26-27 at Pitt’s Trees Pool. Zhan, who attends Sewickley Academy and competes for the Quakers as part of a cooperative sponsorship, turned in a time of 1 minute,...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for March 7, 2026
High schools Basketball Boys First round Class 6A Saturday’s results Central Catholic 48, Allderdice 34 Central York 59, Cheltenham 54 Chambersburg 57, Coatesville 49 Delaware Valley 56, Abington 54 (OT) Father Judge 61, Spring-Ford 45 Imhotep Charter 70, Garnet Valley 40 Methacton 49, Whitehall 46 New Castle 68, West Lawn...
High school roundup for March 7, 2026: New Castle bounces back with PIAA 1st-round win
Kai Cox hit for 22 points as WPIAL runner-up New Castle rolled to a 68-38 victory over Wilson West Lawn in a PIAA Class 6A boys basketball first-round matchup Saturday. Damian Harrison added 19 points and Marino Graham contributed 11 for the Red Hurricanes (24-2), who will take on Methacton...
Norwin’s Landon Sidun, Belle Vernon’s Elijah Brown win 2nd titles; Kiski Area, Connellsville wrestlers also take PIAA 3A gold
HERSHEY — There can be a lot of pressure on a wrestler going after a second PIAA wrestling title. There is a bull’s-eye on their chest, and they expect to get their opponent’s best. Norwin junior Landon Sidun and Belle Vernon senior Elijah Brown did not seem bothered by the...
Only WPIAL 2A finalist, Derry’s Mason Horwat, captures PIAA wrestling silver
HERSHEY — Mason Horwat’s dream of becoming Derry’s next PIAA champion will have to wait for another season. Horwat gave up a takedown in the second period and another in the third and dropped an 11-2 decision to Montoursville senior Gage Wentzel (49-2 this season, 188-32 all time), who was...
Canon-McMillan’s Marlee Solomon repeats, Mt. Lebanon, Moon wrestlers also claim PIAA girls gold
HERSHEY — Having one state gold medal in her collection already, there was only so much Marlee Solomon could do to top her previous achievements. But moving up a weight class, going undefeated and grabbing another state championship did just that. Solomon, a junior from Canon-McMillan, won the PIAA girls...
Season to remember for Ligonier Valley ends with PIAA loss to powerful Bishop Guilfoyle
ALTOONA — The Ligonier Valley boys basketball program was making its first PIAA appearance in seven years Saturday, so it was also the first state tournament for the roster of players on the 2025-26 team. There were bound to be some jitters then, especially since the Rams — who qualified...
Upper St. Clair plants flag on Mount Robbins in PIAA 1st-round win over Cedar Crest
Nobody wanted to use the “H” word afterward, but for two quarters of the PIAA Class 6A first-round playoff game between District 7 champion Upper St. Clair and the No. 8 seed out of District 3, Cedar Crest, the WPIAL championship game hangover was legit. The three-time district champions pounded...
Belle Vernon girls basketball team gets 1st PIAA win in decades
For the first time in 28 seasons, the Belle Vernon girls basketball team is moving on in the PIAA playoffs. The Leopards (23-4) put on a rebounding clinic and pulled away in the second half for a 58-46 Class 4A win on District 9 champion Clearfield’s home floor. “It’s just...
McGowan paces Jeannette to opening PIAA victory
One play after another, Markus McGowan welcomed Jeannette back to the basketball court. First, he turned a couple of steals into layups. Then, he made a smooth fadeaway jumper from just off the low block. By the time he delivered consecutive assists to Noah Sunder and Noah Clary — the...
Central Catholic gets defensive in PIAA first-round win over Allderdice
Central Catholic’s defense smothered Allderdice in the opening round of the PIAA boys basketball tournament Saturday to earn a 48-34 victory. Allderdice (18-9) held a 9-4 lead with three minutes to play in the first quarter, but after a timeout, Central Catholic (23-3) turned up the ball pressure, using a...
Penn-Trafford girls soar to PIAA 1st-round victory
Torrie DeStefano was fortunate. The No. 15 backup jersey that the Penn-Trafford girls basketball team had on hand to replace her usual No. 24 fit her comfortably. The cleaning kit to get the blood that blotted the 5-foot-8 senior guard’s jersey was in the trainer’s office. DeStefano swapped shirts to...
Westmoreland County athletes of the week: Derry’s Patrick Bulger, Jeannette’s Natalie Christoff
Patrick Bulger School: Derry Class: Freshman Sport: Wrestling Claim to fame: Bulger (44-9) recently became a WPIAL and PIAA Class 2A Southwest Regional champion. He also was a section champion and helped Derry win its first WPIAL team title. The Trojans also placed fourth in the PIAA team tournament, the...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for March 6, 2026
High schools Basketball Boys First round Class 6A Saturday’s schedule Cedar Cliff (18-8) at Plymouth-Whitemarsh (22-4), 1 p.m.; Wilkes-Barre (13-10) at Bethlehem Liberty (17-10), 2:30 p.m.; Cheltenham (19-8) at Central York (22-3), 1 p.m.; Spring-Ford (18-8) at Father Judge (15-11), 2 p.m.; Garnet Valley (17-8) vs. Imhotep Charter (21-6) at...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports on March 7, 2026: Allderdice-Central Catholic matchup highlights Day 2 of PIAA 1st-round action
The PIAA basketball first round concludes Saturday in boys Class 6A, 3A and 2A along with girls Class 5A, 4A and Class A. Allderdice has played in 45 PIAA boys basketball postseason games and have nearly split with 23 wins and 22 losses all-time. The Dragons’ last 10 games in...
High school roundup for March 6, 2026: WPIAL champ Shady Side Academy girls pull out 1st-round win in OT
Karis Thomas scored 22 points, including seven in overtime, to lead WPIAL champion Shady Side Academy to a 63-54 win over Marion Center (23-5) in the PIAA Class 3A girls basketball first round Friday night. Kate Benec had 11 points and Leah Buford added 10 for the Bulldogs, who will...
Thomas Jefferson’s Justin Fry cooks New Oxford in PIAA Class 5A 1st round
On Fridays during Lent, it is a tradition for folks to somehow, someway get themselves to a local fish fry. Well on the first Friday in March, the most popular Fry in Jefferson Borough was 6-foot-4 junior Justin Fry. With his teammates struggling, all Fry did was play tough defense...
Greensburg Central Catholic girls take out frustrations from WPIAL loss, roll in PIAA opener
And Greensburg Central Catholic thought section play was over. In 14 WPIAL section games this season, GCC had a winning margin of 44 points. Running clocks were a regular occurrence. The Centurions’ PIAA opener had the feel of one of those games as they coasted into the second round with...
Despite Ava Christopher’s heroics, Norwin falls to Altoona in OT in PIAA 6A 1st round
ALTOONA — With four seconds left in regulation and her team down three, Norwin’s Ava Christopher banked in a 3-pointer to take the game to overtime against Altoona in the first round of the PIAA Class 6A tournament Friday night. It gave the Knights new hope, and another four minutes...
