Chris Harlan stories, Page 10
WPIAL softball rankings: Week ending April 20, 2025
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Hempfield, 12-0, 1 2. Pine-Richland, 10-3, 3 3. Seneca Valley, 8-2, 2 4. Canon-McMillan, 8-6, 5 5. North Allegheny, 5-6, 4 Out: none Class 5A 1. Penn-Trafford, 10-1, 1 2. Franklin Regional, 10-3, 4 3. Shaler, 8-3, 2 4. North Hills, 10-3, NR...
WPIAL baseball rankings: Week ending April 20, 2025
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 8-2, 1 2. Seneca Valley, 7-4, 3 3. Norwin, 8-6, NR 4. Canon-McMillan, 10-4, 2 5. Butler, 7-4, 4 Out: Central Catholic (5-7, 5) Class 5A 1. Pine-Richland, 11-1, 1 2. Shaler, 8-3, 2 3. Plum, 10-2, NR 4. Fox Chapel,...
Knoch’s Fennell shines at Butler Invitational track meet
Knoch’s Kara Fennell has tumbled and flipped since she was about 3 years old, a lifelong gymnast whose skills are worthy of medals. Except nowadays those are track and field medals. Fennell bettered her own school record and won the girls pole vault title at the Butler Invitational by clearing...
Veteran coach Daryn Freedman takes Ambridge boys basketball job, likes program’s potential
The standings paint the Ambridge boys as a distressed basketball team: only seven section wins in four years and none this winter. Daryn Freedman says he sees more. “I had gone down there and recruited a couple of players between my years at Penn State (Greater Allegheny) and Point Park,...
WPIAL elects 2 newcomers to board of directors for 2025-26 school year
The WPIAL board of directors already has two new members for next school year. Moon athletic director Alan Alcalde and Norwin athletic director Mike Burrell earned seats on the WPIAL board in election results announced Wednesday. They secured two of the 10 at-large seats up for election every spring for...
PIAA survey asks: Should high school basketball have a shot clock?
Reset the clock on the shot clock debate. The PIAA will soon send schools a survey asking whether they want a shot clock added to high school basketball. That’ll rekindle a debate that somewhat stalled three years ago after a different PIAA survey showed opinions were evenly split, prompting the...
PIAA administrator cautions WPIAL schools after Justice Department sues Maine over transgender policy
A few hours after the Justice Department said it was suing Maine over its transgender athlete policy, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi cautioned WPIAL schools to discuss the topic with their solicitors. “The White House is using Title IX and the Civil Rights Act to really make sure that people...
WPIAL announces 2025 James Collins Scholar-Athlete Award winners
The WPIAL announced the 20 winners of its annual James Collins Scholar-Athlete Award, with each receiving a $1,000 scholarship. Earning the 10 boys awards were Beaver’s Tyler Biss, Fox Chapel’s Milo Chiu, Fort Cherry’s Shane Cornali, Central Catholic’s Bradley Gompers, Pine-Richland’s Bradan Lenz, Peters Township’s Colton Lusk, South Fayette’s Luke...
Former East Allegheny football coach plans fundraising dinner for grad needing kidney transplant
Dom Pecora knows football, but the former East Allegheny coach also has a knack for food as a restaurateur. After learning that one of his former players needs a kidney transplant, Pecora decided to put his cooking skills to work to raise money. Pecora is hosting a pasta dinner April...
Freshman pitcher keeps grip in soggy conditions, keys victory over Deer Lakes
Gray clouds filled the sky, temperatures slid into the 40s and rain was falling sideways. Yet somehow Freeport’s Owen Westendorf made Tuesday look like a beautiful day for baseball. Unfazed by the nasty weather, the freshman right-hander stayed on the mound for six solid innings, a gritty effort that led...
Former WPIAL executive director Larry Hanley dies
Larry Hanley, who served a nine-year stint as executive director of the WPIAL, died Saturday. He was 83. Hanley was the league’s top administrator from 1997-2006 and was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame in 2008. He was the league’s second full-time executive director and brought a more diplomatic...
WPIAL baseball rankings: Week ending April 13, 2025
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 5-2, 1 2. Canon-McMillan, 8-2, 2 3. Seneca Valley, 5-3, 4 4. Butler, 6-3, 3 5. Central Catholic, 5-4, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Pine-Richland, 8-1, 1 2. Shaler, 7-3, 2 3. Bethel Park, 7-3, 3 4. Franklin Regional, 7-1,...
WPIAL softball rankings: Week ending April 13, 2025
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Hempfield, 8-0, 2 2. Seneca Valley, 7-1, 1 3. Pine-Richland, 5-3, 3 4. North Allegheny, 5-4, 4 5. Canon-McMillan, 6-5, NR Out: Norwin (3-6, 5) Class 5A 1. Penn-Trafford, 7-1, 1 2. Shaler, 6-2, 4 3. West Allegheny, 6-3, 3 4. Franklin Regional,...
Acclaimed boxing trainer Tom Yankello among newest inductees in Pa. sports hall of fame
Boxing trainer Tom Yankello and two former Pittsburgh Steelers are among 11 individuals who’ll be honored this month by the Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Yankello, who first started training fighters at the Beaver County Boxing Club in 1991, was chosen as the “Inductee of Distinction”...
Gamble pays off as Colby Weber sparks Shaler to rare 2-game sweep of West Allegheny
Shaler ace Colby Weber left the mound Monday after throwing only 19 pitches, a strategic gamble by his coach that paid off handsomely two days later. His short relief stint kept Weber eligible to pitch again Wednesday, and the 6-foot-6 senior struck out 11 as Shaler defeated host West Allegheny,...
Quaker Valley graduate Adou Thiero declares for NBA Draft after junior season at Arkansas
Quaker Valley graduate Adou Thiero, who emerged as a double-digit scorer for Arkansas, has declared for the NBA Draft. The 6-foot-8, 220-pound junior forward averaged 15.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this winter for the Razorbacks. Thiero played his first two college seasons at Kentucky before following coach John...
Aliquippa linebacker Daiveon Taylor commits to Kent State
Aliquippa linebacker Daiveon Taylor committed to Kent State on Monday, completing a recruiting journey that saw him first pick West Virginia. Taylor announced his decision on social media. A 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior, Taylor was rated by Rivals.com as a three-star prospect. The recruiting website ranked him 29th overall among all...
WPIAL softball rankings, week ending April 6, 2025
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. Seneca Valley, 5-0, 1 2. Hempfield, 7-0, 2 3. Pine-Richland, 3-1, 3 4. North Allegheny, 3-4, 4 5. Norwin, 2-5, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Penn-Trafford, 4-1, NR 2. North Hills, 6-1, NR 3. West Allegheny, 4-3, 2 4. Shaler, 4-2, 4...
WPIAL baseball rankings, week ending April 6, 2025
Class 6A Rank, Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 2-2, 1 2. Canon-McMillan, 7-1, 4 3. Butler, 6-0, NR 4. Seneca Valley, 4-3, NR 5. Central Catholic, 4-2, 2 Out: Hempfield (4-4, 3), Mt. Lebanon (1-6, 5) Class 5A 1. Pine-Richland, 6-1, 1 2. Shaler, 5-3, 2 3. Bethel Park,...
Knoch boys basketball coach steps down after state playoff season
Knoch boys basketball coach Alan Bauman has resigned after leading the Knights to the state playoffs this winter. “It’s a decision we thought was the best thing for both our family and Knoch basketball,” said Bauman, who coached the team for five seasons. “I enjoyed my time there greatly. The...
Aliquippa to host ‘CJ2K vs. World’ charity basketball games Saturday
Aliquippa will host a charity basketball event Saturday featuring high school players from around Western Pennsylvania. The CJ2K vs. World “Bigger than Basketball” Charity Classic includes a girls game at 3 p.m. and a boys game at 4:30 p.m. The rosters contain both high school seniors and underclassmen. Tickets are...
Peters Township’s Natalie Wetzel named 2025 Trib HSSN Girls Basketball Player of the Year
Peters Township’s Natalie Wetzel averaged nearly a double-double this winter for a WPIAL champion, showing off basketball skills that filled stat sheets. What might’ve gone less noticed was her senior leadership on the championship team that started two freshmen. But she said this was an easy group for the team...
Neighborhood Academy’s Courtney Wallace named 2025 Trib HSSN Boys Basketball Player of the Year
The way Courtney Wallace played this winter was beyond words, said Neighborhood Academy coach Jordan Marks, adding simply: “You’ve got to see it to believe it.” Lots of folks did, thanks to the school’s postseason run to WPIAL and PIAA Class A titles. The Yale-bound senior posted a double-double at...
New football coach T.J. Wiley believes he has found perfect fit at Knoch
Knoch ended last football season with fewer than 30 players, an issue new coach T.J. Wiley wants to tackle right away. He‘ll start when he meets the team next week. “The very first thing I’m going say is, ‘I want you to look around and think about people that should...
2025 Trib HSSN Terrific 10 Boys Basketball All-Stars
Terrific 10 Rowan Carmichael Avonworth 6-0, senior, guard Carmichael averaged 31.9 points per game as this season’s top scorer in the WPIAL. He was a 60% shooter overall and shot 40% from 3-point range, where he made 103. He also averaged 6.5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.5 steals for WPIAL...
