Eligibility hearings for top players among 3 things to watch Thursday in high school sports

By: Don Rebel
Wednesday, September 4, 2019 | 11:39 PM

It will be another busy day the WPIAL offices in Green Tree where future playing status in the regular season and in the postseason will be decided for five district athletes.

The WPIAL has two eligibility hearings scheduled to determine if challenged transfers were in any way tied to athletic intent.

One of those cases involves 2018 Trib HSSN Girls Soccer Player of the Year Jayden Sharpless, who played her freshman season at North Catholic.

Click here for Chris Harlan’s article.

The other three hearings are postseason eligibility discussions.

One of them involves senior Kyros Thorpe, who transferred from Central Catholic to Avonworth. This season, Thorpe has 7 receptions for 210 yards and three touchdowns in two Antelopes victories.

Ranked showdowns

There is a pair of WPIAL boys’ soccer matches Thursday pitting ranked Trib HSSN teams against each other.

In Section 1-AAAA, No. 3 hosts No. 2 when North Allegheny is home to defending champion Seneca Valley. The Tigers and Raiders split their two regular season games a year ago when both teams won road games.

NA won the first match 2-1 with SV claiming the second match on the road 1-0.

In Section 4-AAA, top-ranked Franklin Regional visits No. 4 South Fayette.

The defending champion Panthers won the season series a year ago when they beat the Lions at home, 3-0. In the rematch at South Fayette, the teams played to a scoreless tie.

The teams feature some of the district’s top players with senior Gavin Eldridge and junior Chad Eldridge for South Fayette and Franklin Regional sophomores Connor Hudson and Anthony DiFalco.

More Top 5 matches

Boys’ soccer isn’t the only sport that features a couple of Thursday battles of top five teams.

There are two such matches on the second full night of section play in WPIAL girls’ volleyball.

In Section 2-AAAA, Baldwin visits Oakland Catholic. The Highlanders are No. 4 and the host Eagles are No. 5 in the latest coaches’ association Class AAAA rankings.

Oakland Catholic lost to North Allegheny in the WPIAL semifinals a year ago while Baldwin fell in the finals to NA. The Tigers won both matches in three games.

In Section 2-AAA, West Allegheny hosts South Fayette. The Indians are No. 4 and the Lions are No. 5 in the latest Class AAA poll.

West Allegheny finished second and South Fayette third in the section a year ago behind section champion Chartiers Valley. Both the Indians and Lions lost in the opening round of the district playoffs in 2018.

Tags: Avonworth, Baldwin, Central Catholic, Franklin Regional, Freedom, North Allegheny, North Catholic, Oakland Catholic, Seneca Valley, South Fayette, West Allegheny