State championship dominance among Westmoreland County sports highlights from 2017

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, December 31, 2017 | 3:23 PM

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Flash bulbs and fire truck escorts back to town.

Exuberant student sections and bus loads full of fans with plenty to cheer about — all the way home.

And don't forget those sweet Hershey's Kisses that rained down from the stands.

Trophies were raised as Westmoreland County teams celebrated championships — WPIAL and state — during a memorable calendar sports year.

The go-for-the-hardware narrative followed local teams to Station Square, Washington, California, Moon, State College and Chocolate Town — all for titles in an array of sports, including hockey, wrestling, basketball, baseball, softball, track, soccer, field hockey, golf and football.

Among all of those wins, there also was an individual state wrestling title — and one giant loss that they still are talking about.

There were state players of the year. A nationally ranked team. A baseball draft pick. And a national free-throw streak.

Here are the Westmoreland County Trib's top 10 local sports stories from 2017:

1. County of Champions; call it Bestmoreland

The year was an almost fanciful tale of state champs, one that might never be duplicated.

They're still cleaning up confetti.

Five area teams captured PIAA championships across the spring and fall seasons. It began with Latrobe baseball punctuating its WPIAL Class 5A title with a PIAA crown. Hempfield softball capped a perfect 27-0 season with its second consecutive state title, and Mt. Pleasant bounced back from a loss in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals to bring home its first PIAA title.

Norwin soccer regrouped after a WPIAL title-game loss to live up to preseason expectations — and a No. 1 national ranking by TopDrawer Soccer — with a PIAA title, its first since 1996. The Knights played with all they were worth, turning heaps of talent into state gold. Standouts Emily Harrigan, Sam Wexell and Lexy Kendro earned all-state honors.

And Jeannette football made it a double-dip with its second PIAA title, first in a decade, with a victory over Homer-Center in Hershey. The Jayhawks have 736 wins, more than any other team in WPIAL history.

2. Spencer loses

Franklin Regional wrestling great Spencer Lee suffered the only defeat of his high school career, falling in the state finals to Exeter Township's Austin DeSanto, whose buzzer-beating takedown made for a 6-5 jaw-dropper at Hershey's Giant Center.

Lee, wrestling with a knee injury, was hoping to cap a perfect prep career with a 126-pound title at the PIAA Class AAA championships, but he was stunned with a controversial takedown and denied a fourth state title. He finished 144-1 before moving on to Iowa.

3. Rock, chalk, Jayhawk

Jeannette football won its ninth WPIAL championship, its first since 2007, and tied New Castle for the most wins in WPIAL history — a mark it broke in the state playoffs. After a 34-point loss to Clairton in Week 9, the Jayhawks rallied for wins over Rochester and Clairton before a thrilling, 35-34 win over Imani Christian in the title game.

Multipurpose senior Robert Kennedy, one of the state's premier playmakers, went on to be named Class A state co-player of the year.

4. Hempfield reigns … perfectly

Hempfield softball was practically untouchable, unhittable at times, on the way to a third consecutive WPIAL championship in the district's largest classification. The Spartans, led by Notre Dame recruit and ace pitcher Morgan Ryan and her orchard of strikeouts, the Spartans were the toughest out in the state. Several other college recruits contributed to the title run, guided by the maestro of WPIAL softball, longtime coach Bob Kalp.

5. Tall glass of Gatorade

A pair of county players were recognized as the best in the state as Gatorade's state players of the year. Hempfield softball pitcher Morgan Ryan and Latrobe baseball outfielder Zach Kokoska were honored by the sports-drink company and recognized among the best in the country.

A Notre Dame recruit, Ryan went 22-0 with 199 strikeouts, and Kokoska, a Virginia Tech recruit, hit .538 with five home runs, 29 RBIs and 30 runs.

6. Warriors' high mark

Penn-Trafford girls soccer validated an early-season upset against highly touted Norwin by defeating the rival Knights again in the WPIAL Class 4A title game at Highmark Stadium for its first district championship since 2003. Kiley Dugan's game-winner, off a nice pass from Mackenzie Aunkst, gave the Warriors a 2-1 win in overtime. Aunkst, Lauren Stovar and Hannah Nguyen earned all-state honors.

7. Bases loaded

Latrobe and Jeannette won their first WPIAL baseball championships, a by-product of talented teams and the new six-classification format. Latrobe won the 5A title, and Jeannette took Class A, defeating rival Greensburg Central Catholic in the finals.

8. Mo was money

Wheeling Jesuit basketball player Monica Burns, a Hempfield graduate, made 118 consecutive free throws in competition from Jan. 10 to Nov. 27. No player has made more at any level of college or professional basketball. Burns is a junior point guard.

9. Being Coy

Penn-Trafford senior Cam Coy capped an outstanding wrestling career by winning his third WPIAL and PIAA titles at 152 pounds. Coy won 75 consecutive matches to close his prep career before moving on to wrestle at Virginia.

10. Hop a Greyhound

Monessen boys basketball won its fifth WPIAL title since 2001 — seventh overall — by beating Imani Christian at Pitt's Petersen Events Center. It was the sixth title for longtime coach Joe Salvino.

Honorable mention

• Former Norwin and Arizona baseball star JJ Matijevic was the 75th player taken in the Major League Baseball Draft. The Houston Astros took Matijevic with the last pick in the second-day competitive balance round.

Matijevic went on to make the New York-Penn League All-Star Game while playing short-season Class A ball for the Tri-City ValleyCats.

• Despite graduation losses and learning under a new coach (Ashley Davis), Greensburg Central Catholic girls soccer won its third WPIAL Class A championship in four years. The Centurions have captured six overall titles.

• High-powered Ligonier Valley captured its second consecutive District 6 football championship. The Rams (14-1), led by all-state players Jackson Daugherty and Aaron Tutino, averaged 40.7 points.

• Jeannette's Midget football team reached the national playoffs in Canton, Ohio. Former Jayhawks star Terrelle Pryor helped with travel expenses, donating $5,000.

• Basketball standout Cali Konek transferred back to WPIAL territory. The now-junior, who averaged 45 points as a freshman at Imani Christian, played last season at Riverdale Baptist (Md.) before enrolling at Southmoreland.

• The Franklin Regional hockey team won a PIHL Class A championship for the second consecutive season.

• Belle Vernon softball won the WPIAL Class 4A title, led by ace pitcher Bailey Parshall, a Penn State recruit.

• Norwin's 1,600-meter relay team of Nick Coleman, Josh Coleman, Kyle Turkovsky and Gianni Rizzo won the PIAA Class AAA title. They became the first boys 1,600 relay in WPIAL history to win a state title. They rallied in the final 120 meters to pass Central Bucks West and post a school-record time of 3 minutes, 18.26 seconds.

• Hempfield senior and Navy recruit Hayden Fox won the PIAA Class AAA javelin title.

• Burrell's Nikki Scherer, a Pitt recruit, won the PIAA Class AA 400-meter run.

• Penn-Trafford captured back-to-back WPIAL Class AA field hockey titles.

• Greensburg Central Catholic's girls made it a WPIAL three-peat in golf.

• Burrell won its 11th WPIAL Class AA wrestling title in a row, and Kiski Area took home the Class AAA championship.

• Former Jeannette and Latrobe football coach Ray Reitz overcame leukemia and came back to coach at Greensburg Salem.

• A pair of former local football standouts succumbed to the calamity of concussions. Grove City sophomore quarterback Brett Laffoon (Penn-Trafford) and Akron senior defensive back Zach Guiser (Greensburg Central Catholic) ended their careers early after repeated head trauma.

• The Foothills Football Classic returned.

• Former Jeannette star Terrelle Pryor signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Washington Redskins. Ankle surgery, however, ended his season after nine games.

• Southmoreland 6-foot-11 basketball standout Brandon Stone transferred to The Christ School (N.C.). He has 15 Division I scholarship offers.

• The Pennsylvania High School Softball Coaches Association recognized late Jeannette standout Scarlett Stein with a posthumous all-state honorable mention. She died in September 2016, after complications from a heart attack.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

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