Chris Harlan stories, Page 39
PIAA expands competitive-balance rule to include baseball, softball, soccer and other sports
The PIAA competitive-balance rule that now targets only football and basketball is expanding to include more team sports and some individual ones. Under the rule, teams that have postseason success and add too many transfers are forced into a higher classification to compete against opponents with larger enrollments. The PIAA...
2023 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Bishop Canevin’s Jason Cross
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of 25 profiles of the members of the Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team. Jason Cross arrived at Bishop Canevin as an undersized freshman and then missed much of his ninth-grade football season with a broken collarbone from a trampoline mishap....
Oakland A’s select Brownsville outfielder Derrick Tarpley in MLB Draft
Brownsville maybe isn’t a familiar stop for some MLB scouts, but the Oakland A’s visited multiple times this spring to see senior outfielder Derrick Tarpley. Other clubs checked on him too, but the A’s sent multiple layers of scouts his way. “They would call me and tell me they were...
USA Today names 3 WPIAL greats among best high school quarterbacks in history
Who was the best high school quarterback in history? It’s a debate that’ll never be resolved, but three all-time great WPIAL passers made the list when USA Today tried recently to answer that question. In fact, one of them, Beaver Falls legend Joe Namath, was named the all-time best high...
North Allegheny’s Kellie McConnell follows familiar path, commits to Duquesne basketball
Kellie McConnell’s family is already linked with Duquesne basketball’s past and present, so she decided to help shape the program’s future as well. The rising senior point guard at North Allegheny has committed to the Dukes, which is somewhat of a family tradition. Her mother Sherri (Hannan) McConnell played basketball...
2023 Pennsylvania All-State Softball Team
Avonworth’s Alivia Lantzy, Seneca Valley’s Lexie Hames and Serra Catholic’s Caroline Malandra earned individual honors Thursday when the all-state softball team was announced. Lantzy was named Pitcher of the Year in PIAA Class 3A, and Hames earned top pitcher honors in 6A. Malandra, a third baseman, was named Player of...
Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher named 2022-23 TribLive HSSN Boys Athlete of the YearVideo
Rodney Gallagher was so good at both basketball and football that the Laurel Highlands star considered for a while trying to play both in college. However, his mindset changed a couple of years ago, and he remembers exactly when. While riding home from watching a Steelers game at Heinz Field,...
Freedom’s Shaye Bailey named 2022-23 TribLive HSSN Girls Athlete of the Year
In an era where specialization is trendy in high school sports, Freedom’s Shaye Bailey doesn’t like that idea. “I’ve always played more than one sport,” said Bailey, who’ll be a senior in the fall. “I did gymnastics and softball, and I switched to basketball when I quit gymnastics. Then I...
2023 Trib HSSN Baseball Player of the Year: Shaler’s Miguel Hugas
The Strath Haven students behind the third base dugout decided to taunt Miguel Hugas with chants of “overrated.” The Shaler senior responded with two blasts over the fence at Penn State’s ballpark, home runs that helped the Titans ultimately win the PIAA Class 5A championship game in extra innings. On...
Looking back: The WPIAL’s top storylines from 2022-23
Nov. 11, 2022 Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak became the fourth coach in WPIAL history with 300 career wins, joining an exclusive list with Jim Render (406 wins), Joe Hamilton (342) and George Novak (306). Cherpak has coached the Jaguars for 28 seasons. Nov. 19, 2022 Two remarkable state title...
Bishop Canevin safety Jason Cross, whose recruiting stock soared, commits to West Virginia
As one of the WPIAL’s hottest football recruits, Jason Cross spent months touring far-flung college campuses, with visits to Virginia Tech, Michigan State, Kentucky, Syracuse and Cincinnati on his calendar. Yet the rising senior at Bishop Canevin says a trip to Morgantown, W.Va., bested them all. “West Virginia definitely takes...
2023 TribLive HSSN Softball All-Stars
Neshannock’s Addyson Frye and Union’s Mia Preuhs were only sophomores this spring, yet the standout pitchers are already two-time WPIAL champions each. They’re proof that you don’t need to be a senior to make a big impact. In fact, this year’s TribLive HSSN Terrific 10 has more sophomores (four) than...
2023 TribLive HSSN Baseball All-Stars
This was a historic spring for WPIAL baseball teams, starting with Riverside’s undefeated run to a state championship, something no other WPIAL team had ever accomplished. But the Panthers weren’t the only ones celebrating a milestone win. Among the others, Mt. Lebanon won consecutive WPIAL titles for the first time...
KDKA announces 10-game high school football schedule for Pittsburgh’s CW
KDKA will televise regular season high school football games this fall on sister station Pittsburgh’s CW starting with an Aug. 25 contest between Blackhawk and Beaver Falls. The station announced a 10-game schedule Monday that also included North Hills at Upper St. Clair on Sept. 1, South Fayette at Montour...
North Allegheny added more plaques, medals to trophy case during 2022-23 school year
This was another banner year for North Allegheny athletics with teams winning WPIAL titles, PIAA championships, and even a Gatorade Player of the Year award for the school’s top girls volleyball player. Here’s a look back at the top North Allegheny sports stories from the 2022-23 school year: Volleyball dynasty...
Central Catholic wide receiver Peter Gonzalez commits to Penn State
Central Catholic wide receiver Peter Gonzalez, one of the state’s top college recruits, committed Friday to Penn State. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound rising senior had narrowed his college options to Penn State, Miami (Fla.) and Virginia Tech. Recruiting website Rivals.com rated Gonzalez as a three-star prospect and ranked him 29th overall...
Mt. Lebanon’s 7th-inning rally falls short in state finals loss to Father Judge
UNIVERSITY PARK – The Mt. Lebanon baseball players left the state championship game with silver medals, but the Blue Devils’ coach insisted he’d always remembered this team as golden. When they started the year with eight consecutive losses, nobody could’ve predicted then they’d reach the state finals. Yet their dream...
Keystone Oaks defensive back Clinton Robinson commits to Syracuse
Keystone Oaks defensive back Clinton Robinson, who’ll be a senior in the fall, has committed to Syracuse. He announced his decision on Twitter. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound safety chose the Orange over offers from West Virginia, Bowling Green, Howard, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Monmouth, Ohio, Temple and Western Michigan. The recruiting...
Shaler erases 5-run deficit, celebrates PIAA title with walk-off win
UNIVERSITY PARK — Starting pitcher Derek Leas lasted only nine batters before his coach pulled him from the mound, but this state championship will be remembered for its improbable comebacks. In fact, this one was so unpredictable that Leas was the game’s starter, closer and winning pitcher. And that wasn’t...
Riverside makes history as undefeated PIAA baseball champion
UNIVERSITY PARK — In his 55 years as baseball coach at Riverside, Dan Oliastro has seen quite a bit, but he’d never seen this. Nobody else in the WPIAL had either. Riverside finished off an undefeated season with a state championship win over Camp Hill, 4-0, Thursday in the PIAA...
WPIAL awards streaming rights to NFHS Network; future of free viewing of championships in doubt
High school sports fans likely will have to pay to watch WPIAL football and basketball championships after the league awarded video streaming rights for its playoffs to the NFHS Network. The WPIAL informed Trib Total Media of the decision Wednesday. The network is associated with the National Federation of State...
Mt. Lebanon celebrates Senior Week with win over Cedar Cliff, trip to state finals
Many of Tanner Donati’s classmates traveled to Ocean City, Md., to celebrate their recent high school graduation with a week of sand and sun. He traded that vacation for a trip to Penn State. “It’s been a little tough seeing your friends at the beach,” Donati said. “But if you...
PIAA postpones Mt. Lebanon, Shaler baseball state semifinals to Tuesday
WPIAL champions Mt. Lebanon and Shaler were among the baseball teams who had their PIAA semifinals postponed due to rainy weather Monday. Mt. Lebanon made the two-hour trip to Mt. Aloysius College in Cresson, but because the first game of a scheduled doubleheader was delayed by rain and because the...
North Allegheny’s Ray Brinzer takes place among other WPIAL all-time greats
Thinking back to his 109-match winning streak in high school, former North Allegheny wrestler Ray Brinzer admits he was a little surprised. Not surprised that he was winning, but surprised people were keeping track of his wins and losses on the mat. “I was partway through my freshman year before...
Shaler ace Miguel Hugas comes through in PIAA quarterfinal win over Penn-Trafford
The original plan for Shaler ace Miguel Hugas wasn’t to pitch him in the state quarterfinals, but Penn-Trafford ran into the talented Alabama recruit here anyway. Three days after leaving early in the first round, Hugas made another start and scattered six hits as Shaler defeated Penn-Trafford, 4-1, on Thursday...
