A year like no other: The top stories of the 2020-21 school year in WPIAL sports

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, July 10, 2021 | 5:01 PM

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8.21.20

The PIAA board of directors ignored a “strong recommendation” from Gov. Tom Wolf to postpone sports until January and voted 25-5 to start fall sports as scheduled, ending weeks of worry for athletes, coaches and families. “We know there are no guarantees, but we’re at least making the attempt to try,” PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said.

9.25.20

The fall seasons were completed successfully, but the ride was a bumpy one. There were frequent shutdowns and cancellations by teams or schools with covid-19 cases. Among the football contests canceled was a highly anticipated matchup between Gateway and Pine-Richland called off hours before kickoff.

11.20.20

Mars made history by becoming the first WPIAL school to win PIAA boys and girls soccer titles in the same season. The girls repeated as state champions with a 2-0 win over Villa Joseph Marie, and the boys won their first state title 2-1 over Northern York. Both Mars teams finished undefeated. It was a good year overall for WPIAL soccer with teams qualifying for all eight state finals.

12.11.20

A number of winter sports teams hurried to play their season openers Dec. 11, hours before a three-week “pause” ordered by Gov. Wolf took effect. Teams worried the pause might drag on indefinitely, but players and coaches breathed a sigh of relief when they returned to practice in January.

1.18.21

The Chartiers Valley girls ran their winning streak to 63 games with a 91-39 win over Gateway, breaking the state record for consecutive wins by a girls basketball team. The streak ended at 64 wins just five days later when the Colts, coached by Tim McConnell, lost to Trinity, coached by sister Kathy McConnell-Miller.

3.20.21

The Upper St. Clair boys basketball team had only six players available after covid-19 testing, yet the short-handed Panthers defeated District 10 champion Erie High, 62-57, in a PIAA Class 6A quarterfinal. Coach Danny Holzer and most of his assistants also were unavailable, so the team turned to 20-year-old volunteer assistant Tanner Gensler to lead them.

3.20.21

Upper St. Clair swimmer Josh Matheny was racing against the record book. The Indiana recruit set an NFHS national record in the 100-yard breaststroke at the PIAA Class AAA championships. He finished in 51.84 seconds, bettering his record time from 2019 and easily outdistancing the PIAA field. Matheny swam in the Olympic Trials this summer.

3.26.21

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart celebrated a perfect ending to its boys basketball season. Led by Dante Spadafora and Jake DiMichele, the Chargers defeated Philadelphia’s Constitution, 62-49, in the PIAA Class 2A final to finish 24-0 and become only the 14th WPIAL boys team with an undefeated state title.

4.14.21

Five months after winning WPIAL and PIAA titles, Pine-Richland football coach Eric Kasperowicz was fired, prompting protests by players, parents and community members. School administrators, who elected not to renew Kasperowicz’s contract, cited allegations of hazing and bullying associated with the team.

6.17-18.21

After a year to forget for spring sports teams in 2020, WPIAL baseball and softball teams celebrated a season to remember. In all, the WPIAL had a team qualify in 10 of the 12 state finals played on the diamonds at Penn State. New Castle and Bethel Park won PIAA baseball titles, and Beaver and Mt. Pleasant earned state softball titles.

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.