A-K Valley high school notebook: Kiski Area’s Heater honored as PIAA Coach of the Year

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, March 14, 2018 | 6:00 PM

Three Kiski Area wrestlers brought home medals from the PIAA wrestling championships, including senior Isaac Reid’s first-place finish, but their coach picked up some hardware as well.

Chris Heater, who led the Cavaliers to their second consecutive WPIAL Class AAA championship and a runner-up finish in the state, was named PIAA Class AAA Coach of the Year. He was recognized Saturday night, before the championship and consolation finals at the PIAA individual championships at Giant Center in Hershey.

“It’s a great honor,” Heater said. “It’s a lot of people. I’m the one at the top right now that gets the recognition for it, and I’m very proud of that. There’s a lot of people that have a hand in that.”

Heater spent more than 20 seasons as Chuck Tursky’s top assistant before becoming coach in 2015. The Cavaliers have advanced to the PIAA team tournament each of the last three seasons. Additionally, Reid became the second individual state champion in team history last weekend, senior Noah Levett earned a third-place finish and junior Cam Connor finished seventh.

Classic talk

Four Alle-Kiski Valley wrestlers will compete in the annual Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic on March 25 at Fitzgerald Field House.

Fresh off his PIAA title, Kiski Area’s Reid will compete for the Pennsylvania All-Stars in the match against the United States All-Stars. Reid will take on Gable Steveson of Apple Valley, Minn., a three-time state champion with a 132-0 career record.

Kiski Area’s Levett and Burrell seniors Corey Christie and Shaun Gates will compete for the WPIAL All-Stars against the Iowa All-Stars. Levett, a WPIAL Class AAA champion and PIAA third-place finisher, will take on Zach Price of Johnston, Iowa, at 132 pounds; Christie, a WPIAL runner-up and PIAA fifth-place finisher, will battle Grant Stotts of West Des Moines, Iowa, at 152 pounds; and Gates, a WPIAL Class AA champion and PIAA eighth-place medalist, will face four-time Iowa state champion Josh Ramirez of Dubuque Wahlert at 160 pounds.

Kiski Area’s Heater and Burrell’s Josh Shields will coach both the WPIAL and Pennsylvania teams.

The Wrestling Classic will begin at 4 p.m. March 25 with the WPIAL All-Stars against the Iowa All-Stars, with the Pennsylvania All-Stars taking on the United States All-Stars at 6 p.m.

Recruiting roundup

• Fox Chapel senior quarterback Nick Gizzo, the 2017 Valley News Dispatch offensive player of the year, announced his commitment to John Carroll University. Gizzo rushed for 1,278 yards and 19 touchdowns last season, including a school-record 314-yard game against Moon, to lead the Foxes to the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. He also passed for 896 yards and five touchdowns.

Extremely excited to announce that I am committing to further my academic and athletic career at John Carroll University! #StreakUp ⚡️⚡️ pic.twitter.com/sHvVkzU91B

— Nick Gizzo (@nickgizzo) March 12, 2018

• Highlands senior point guard Renee Cebula announced her commitment to Chatham for women’s basketball. Cebula, a three-year starter, led the Golden Rams in scoring and rebounding in 2017-18, frequently posting double-doubles.

I’m excited to announce I will be furthering my educational and basketball careers at Chatham University in the fall of 2018! Go Cougars!?? pic.twitter.com/AoDYn8XJsP

— Renee Cebula (@reneecebula) March 14, 2018

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Burrell, Fox Chapel, Highlands, Kiski School