Westmoreland high school notebook: Area players to take part in upcoming Roundball games

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, May 14, 2022 | 4:38 PM

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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 Fleming and Ty Stecko of Norwin, Sean Gordon of Hempfield, and Ben Thomas of Greensburg Salem in 6A; Caden Smith of Franklin Regional, Chase Sickenberger of Latrobe and James Pearson of Kiski Area in 5A; Devin Whitlock and Daniel Gordon of Belle Vernon, Tyson Webb of Derry, and Brandon Coury of Burrell in 4A; Matthew Marinchak and Jacob Hollick of Ligonier Valley in 3A; and Ryan Appleby, Dylan Parsons and Brevan Williams of Greensburg Central Catholic, Anton Good and Nas Thompson of Jeannette, and Kody Kuhns of Monessen in 2A.

Norwin’s Lance Maha will coach the 6A Silver boys team.

Local girls picks are: Brianna Zajicek of Norwin and Maura Suman of Penn-Trafford in 6A; Anna Rafferty and Bailey Watson of Latrobe and Abby Mankins of Greensburg Salem in 5A; Gracie Spadaro and Delaynie Morvosh of Southmoreland, Tiana Moracco of Derry and Allison Fisher of Burrell in 4A; Bailey Kuhns of Greensburg Central Catholic and Mercedes Majors of Monessen in 2A.

The Roundball schedule is as follows:

Thursday: Girls District 10 vs. Class 5A (Silver), 6:30 p.m.; Boys Class A/District 6 vs. Class 4A/3A/2A (Silver), 8 p.m.

Friday: Girls Class A vs. Class 2A/District 6, 6:30 p.m.; Boys Class 5A (Silver) vs. Class 6A (Silver), 8 p.m.

Saturday:: Boys Class 3A (Gold) vs. Class 2A, 1:30 p.m.; Girls Class 4A vs. Class 3A, 3 p.m.; Girls Class 6A vs. Class 5A, 4:30 p.m.; Boys Class 4A (Gold) vs. District 10, 6 p.m.; Boys Class 6A (Gold) vs. Class 5A (Gold), 7:30 p.m.

The Roundball will feature 26 all-state players.

D-I offer for Pons

Norwin sophomore Jackson Pons is up to three Division-I football scholarship offers, the latest coming from Bowling Green.

Pons, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound wide receiver and defensive back, is getting attention playing on the 7-on-7 circuit while also attending national camps.

He led Norwin last season with 33 receptions for 457 yards.

His other offers are from Mississippi State and Gardner-Webb.

Going, going gone

While Westmoreland County is not short on standout freshman softball players, Derry has one of its own to add to the mix.

Quietly, Sophia Doherty has become one of the top power hitters in the Class of 2025. Doherty blasted her seventh and eighth home runs of the season Thursday at Franklin Regional as the Trojans surprised the host Panthers, 19-12.

She finished 5 for 6 with seven RBIs as the teams combined for 34 hits, 21 by Derry.

Fresh throw

It’s good to be a freshman at Derry. While Doherty is making noise on the softball diamond, Sophia Mazzoni is throwing the javelin a long way for the Trojans.

Mazzoni’s throw of 125 feet, 6 inches ranks as the No. 1 throw in WPIAL Class 2A and is No. 8 in the country in among Class of ‘25 throwers.

She will be the No. 1 seed at the WPIAL Class 2A finals.

Dinger record

Southmoreland sophomore softball player Amarah McCutcheon has two-plus years of high school softball remaining in her career, but she already is breaking program records.

“Cutch” recently cranked her 14th career home run to set the school record. The Division I prospect plays shortstop for the playoff-bound Scotties.

Volleyball honors

Three local players shared the Western PA Volleyball Coaches Association Class 3A Player of the Week honor for Week 7 of the season.

All three are outside hitters: Norwin senior Tyler Hussey, Penn-Trafford senior Patrick Schall, and Hempfield junior Owen Kelley.

As for the WPVCA rankings, Hempfield is No. 3, Norwin 5, Penn-Trafford 6 and Latrobe 10.

Derry is No. 10 in Class 2A.

Volleyball playoffs

Five Westmoreland teams qualified for the WPIAL boys volleyball playoffs, which begin this week: Penn-Trafford, Norwin, Latrobe and Hempfield in 3A, and Derry in 2A.

Recruiting

Mt. Pleasant senior Aaron Alakson will continue his baseball career at Cal (Pa.). A shortstop, Alakson also did some pitching for the Vikings.

He also has been one of the top running backs in the county.

• Greensburg Central Catholic senior Ryan Appleby will further his basketball career at Seton Hill. A three-sport athlete, he was accepted into the university’s denistry program.

• Belle Vernon senior football player Logan Cunningham announced a commitment to Division III Marietta. Cunningham played defensive back for the Leopards.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Jeannette, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Monessen, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland, Yough