Former Baldwin AD Vince Sortino joining WPIAL administration as assistant to executive director

By: Chris Harlan
Monday, March 16, 2020 | 11:46 PM

Former Baldwin athletic director Vince Sortino is returning to the WPIAL.

The WPIAL board voted unanimously Monday to hire Sortino as assistant to the executive director, a position vacant since last summer. Sortino, who joins the staff July 1, spent the past two school years as athletic director at Dallastown in York County.

“The knowledge and information base and everything that he brings to this league is going to be worthwhile and beneficial to us,” WPIAL associate executive director Amy Scheuneman said. “Especially knowing a lot of the ADs and knowing the AD world, he has the ability to jump right in.”

Sortino worked 28 years at Baldwin including 12 as athletic director before the district eliminated his position in June 2018. He’ll be the third person to hold the WPIAL assistant to the executive director title following Jack Fullen and Jim Collins.

The WPIAL will change leadership this summer when executive director Tim O’Malley retires and is replaced by Scheuneman.

No basketball sections yet

The WPIAL finalized realignment for another winter sport Monday when the board approved updated swimming sections for the 2020-21 season, but basketball remains on hold.

The WPIAL had hoped to finalize basketball sections sometime soon, but the wait will continue into April after the PIAA suspended its basketball playoffs and canceled its March board meeting in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

If the state basketball playoffs aren’t finished, that would affect the PIAA’s new competitive-balance formula that forces successful teams into higher classifications.

The updated WPIAL boys and girls swimming sections approved Monday are identical to this past season.

Mohawk transfer approved

The WPIAL ruled Mohawk transfer Cooper Vance eligible to play baseball after a hearing Monday.

The 5-foot-9, 155-pound sophomore transferred from East Palestine, Ohio, where he batted .419 with 17 runs, 12 RBIs and 19 stolen bases last season. The middle infielder also went 5-0 as a pitcher with a 0.95 ERA.

He struck out 44 and walked three in 37 innings.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Baldwin