Westmoreland high school notebook: Waldier on his way back again

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, July 19, 2021 | 3:39 PM

Tristan Waldier is back on the field for the Yough football team, medically cleared after season-ending knee injuries two years in a row.

Waldier, who returned to action at the WCCA 7-on-7 tournament last week at Latrobe, tore the ACL in his right knee in Week 4 last season. That came almost one year after he tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee in a Week Zero game against Serra Catholic.

Now a senior, Waldier is changing positions. He will move from quarterback to wide receiver. He will play outside linebacker on defense.

Junior Gavin Roebuck appears to the the Cougars’ choice to play under center.

“We want to let him loose,” Yough coach Chris Chunko said of Waldier. “He played some last year, but we didn’t want to bring him back too soon. We really think he can do a lot for us.”

Waldier said he had “dead” tissue in his knees and needed to take it slow coming back.

“It feels amazing to play again,” he said.

Another Yough senior, lineman Sam Dippolito, also is recovering from a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee. He had surgery but said his rehab is taking longer than most.

“I just want to play again,” he said. “But I don’t want to rush back and re-injure (the knee).”

Dudik moves

Norwin was hoping for big things from Noah Dudik on the football field this season, but the junior moved to Indianapolis.

Dudik is now enrolled at Bishop Chatard, a Class 4A school in the Indiana High School Athletic Association.

A wide receiver and defensive back, Dudik said his father had to move for job purposes and decided to relocate to Indianapolis, where his mother grew up and still has family.

“Chatard has a great educational reputation as well as a great athletics program, which is something I really wanted in a school,” Dudik said.

Hey, cuz

Penn-Trafford has a quarterback competition going between senior Carter Green and junior Tom Kalkstein. WPIAL fans might recognize the last name of the latter. Kalkstein is the cousin of former star quarterback Robby Kalkstein, who broke records at Gateway before playing at Carnegie Mellon.

Warriors coach John Ruane said he hopes to get both on the field, a situation reminiscent of Gabe Dunlap and Ethan Carr, recent Warriors standouts who saw time at QB.

Recruiting

Norwin incoming senior basketball player Brianna Zajicek, a forward, has an offer from Division II Alderson Broaddus.

• Alayna Rocco, a sophomore at North Catholic and the daughter of former Penn-Trafford boys coach Jim Rocco, picked up a Division I offer from Charlotte.

Former Jeannette standout guard Ciara Gregory is an assistant coach at Charlotte, which has several ties to the area now with Cali Konek (Southmoreland/Franklin Regional) playing there and former Latrobe star Austin Butler suiting up for the 49ers in his bonus season of Division I basketball.

Butler was a four-year standout at Holy Cross.

• Norwin soccer player Reese Aquilio will continue her playing career at Clarion. Aquilio will be a senior this fall.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Jeannette, Latrobe, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Yough