Latrobe football team earns long-awaited 7-on-7 win on its home field
As Penn-Trafford’s final deep pass attempt sailed out of the end zone and fell incomplete, players from Latrobe jumped into each other’s arms and bounced around in a sudden swell of excitement. For once, the Wildcats got to celebrate on their home field, which hosted the county 7-on-7 passing tournament...
Semifinal schedules set for District 31 American Legion Baseball playoffs
District 31 American Legion Baseball playoffs are scheduled to resume Saturday with two semifinal round games. Regular-season champion Latrobe will play host to rival Unity at 2 p.m at Legion Keener Field. Game 2 of the best-of-three series will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Whitney. Latrobe opened the playoffs...
Behind 3 WPIAL champions, North Catholic lifts 3rd straight Trib Cup in Class 3A
The North Catholic victory tradition continued to ring loud and clear this past school year. Steady contributions across all three seasons, along with a couple of championship runs, helped the Trojans win a third straight Trib HSSN Cup for Class 3A in 2021-22. “North Catholic has a long standing tradition...
Westmoreland H.S. notebook: Penn-Trafford, Greensburg Salem among biggest moves in basketball realignment
Summer is just starting, but the WPIAL has its new basketball sections in place for the next winter season. The biggest movers in Westmoreland County are Penn-Trafford and Greensburg Salem, which are dropping from Class 6A. Penn-Trafford will be in 5A in boys and girls hoops. The Greensburg Salem boys...
Etling delivers winning hit for Southmoreland in Class 3A softball win over Derry
Southmoreland softball players jumped up and stood on the team bench during Tuesday’s playoff opener at Norwin. They were afraid to sit down because a small snake emerged from under the turf and slithered along the bench area before finally disappearing into the woods behind the dugout. Scotties freshman Makayla...
Westmoreland County WPIAL softball playoff preview capsules for May 17, 2022
WPIAL softball playoffs Capsule previews Class 5A First round 12-Latrobe (9-4) vs. 5-West Allegheny (12-4) 6 p.m. Tuesday at North Allegheny Winner plays: Winner of 13-Upper St. Clair (6-14) vs. 4-North Hills (14-3) on Thursday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Jenna Tallman, Sr., Latrobe; Elly Vicari-Baker, So.,...
Westmoreland County WPIAL baseball playoff preview capsules for May 17, 2022
WPIAL baseball playoffs Capsule previews Class 5A First round 12-Thomas Jefferson (13-6) vs. 5-Latrobe (12-7) 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hempfield Winner plays: Winner of 13-Chartiers Valley (9-11) vs. 4-Mars (14-5) on Thursday in quarterfinals Players to watch: T.J. Bucy, Sr., Thomas Jefferson; Logan Short, Sr., Latrobe Last year’s finish: Thomas...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Area players to take part in upcoming Roundball games
Basketball season ended months ago, but the Roundball Classic will bring together some of the top talent from the WPIAL this week. The nine senior all-star games will be Thursday through Saturday at Geneva College in Beaver Falls. Area boys selected are Nick Crum and Noah Wright of Penn-Trafford, Michael...
WPIAL baseball seedings set up Westmoreland County clash in 1st round
When two second-place section teams received better seeds than his section-winning one, Yough baseball coach Craig Spisak didn’t kick up dust. After winning its second section title in four years, Yough was branded with a No. 5 seed in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A baseball playoffs, which...
Westmoreland baseball notebook: Franklin Regional playing well at right time
Franklin Regional won’t get the No. 1 seed like it did last year, but the Panthers have something most of the other teams in the WPIAL Class 5A playoff field don’t have: championship experience. The defending champions, who ran their winning streak to six with a 10-3 win over Kiski...
No changes in final WPIAL Boys Volleyball Coaches Association top-10 polls
WPIAL boys volleyball section play concludes Thursday evening, and the playoff brackets and pairings are scheduled to be released Friday. Several playoff spots, section titles and playoff positioning will be determined over the next four nights. With that, the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its final spring 2022 Class...
OLSH returns to top of Class 2A in latest boys volleyball coaches’ rankings
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is back on top of the Class 2A rankings as the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its Week 6 WPIAL boys top-10 polls Monday morning. The Chargers defeated No. 5 Ambridge, 3-1, in Section 1 play last week and also toppled No. 4...
A closer look at 2022 Westmoreland County Scholar-Athlete honorees
BELLE VERNON Morgan Einodshofer Sports: Soccer and track and field Parents: Susan and Michael Einodshofer Class rank: 1 of 191 GPA: 4.589 College: Undecided Extracurricular activities and honors: Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Award in 2019. … National Honor Society. … Mid Mon Valley All-Sports Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete. … All-WPIAL...
Westmoreland HS notebook: Steelers draft goes from Ricketts to Pickett
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ seismic move to select Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett in the first round of the NFL Draft had fans buzzing, debating and reminiscing. While Pitt has only had one other quarterback go in the first round — former Central Catholic great Dan Marino — Pickett actually followed a...
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Teams playing 1-run thrillers
Westmoreland County games have not lacked late-inning drama lately. Take last Wednesday. If you didn’t walk it off, you probably didn’t win. There were four one-run games that day. • Brady Lane doubled, then scored on an error, as Penn-Trafford clipped Kiski Area, 3-2, in eight innings. • Hempfield dropped...
Westmoreland County softball notebook: Ligonier Valley specializes in perfection
Ligonier Valley has only been in the WPIAL since 2020, but the softball program’s stay has been, in some ways, perfect. How many programs can say they have thrown six perfect games in two years? How many have six perfect games in their history? Senior Maddie Griffin tossed the fifth...
Numerous athletes looking to defend titles at WCCA meet
The best of Westmoreland County will descend on Latrobe’s Memorial Stadium Saturday for the running of the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association track and field championship. This is the 99th year for the boys and 42nd for the girls. Numerous returning champions are back trying to defend their titles. Heading the...
North Allegheny, North Catholic hold on to top rankings in boys volleyball coaches’ poll
North Allegheny and North Catholic kept their places at the top in the Class 3A and Class 2A boys volleyball rankings, respectively, as the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its Week 5 top-10 polls Monday morning. The Tigers solidified their hold on the Class 3A top spot with three...
Young Derry track team finding success ahead of schedule
It wasn’t a picturesque day at Derry track practice Monday. A cold wind was gusting and ice pellets were pelting the distance runners during their workout. But there were no complaints. There was work to do and the runners were fighting through the harsh elements. Derry is in the midst...
Derry boys volleyball program rebuilding with tenacious team
For years, Derry has resided among the elite high school boys volleyball teams in the WPIAL, challenging for championships and sending players off to college. Then, covid-19 hit, and the Trojans, like many other teams, were knocked down. “Going into the pandemic,” Derry coach Shawn Spencer said, “when everything was...
North Catholic regains top spot in volleyball coaches association’s Class 2A rankings
A section clash last week between WPIAL heavyweights produced a change at the top of the latest Western Pa. Volleyball Coaches Association Class 2A rankings released Monday morning. North Catholic, No. 2 last week, upended No. 1 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, 3-1, on April 12 and has moved...
High school notebook: Norwin wrestler Passarelli headed to Davidson
Luke Passarelli is taking his wrestling talent to the highest level of the NCAA. The senior from Norwin committed to Davidson. Passarelli, a 120-pounder, finished fifth in WPIAL Class 3A this season. He went 28-12 and also placed second in his section and sixth at the Powerade Tournament. Outside of...
YWCA set to honor outstanding women from Westmoreland County
The YWCA of Westmoreland County will honor some of the top females from the county at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Ferrante’s Lakeview in Hempfield. The honorees include individuals, teams and a coach at the annual banquet. The committee selected the winners after receiving nominations from the schools and individuals. The...
Westmoreland H.S. baseball notebook: Derry not getting comfortable
His team bouncing into the TribLive HSSN rankings for the first time this season, Derry baseball coach John Flickinger is excited but far from content. The last thing he wants is for the Trojans to get comfortable at the No. 4 spot in WPIAL Class 4A. The Trojans moved to...
What to watch for in WPIAL sports for April 14, 2022: Key section volleyball matches on tap
Thursday marks another busy night of WPIAL boys volleyball as section play inches closer to the midway point of the regular season. First place or a share of the section lead is at stake in three matches: Perennial power Bethel Park (3-1) heads south on Route 19 to visit Canon-McMillan...
