Looking back at the top 15 high school sports stories of the 2018-19 school year
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Saturday, June 29, 2019 | 7:45 PM
Penn Hills’ Daequan Hardy eludes Manheim Central defenders on an 83-yard kickoff return for a touchdown during the PIAA Class 5A state championship game Friday, Dec. 7, 2018, at Hersheypark Stadium.
West Allegheny’s Head Coach Bob Palko, right, laughs with Upper St. Clair’s Head Coach, Jim Render, left, prior to their game in Upper St. Clair on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018.
Upper St. Clair sophomore Joshua Matheny competed at the Speedo Winter Junior Championships-East meet Dec. 5-8 in Greensboro, N.C.
Waynesburg’s Daniel Layton wins the boys Class AA 110 meter hurdles final during the PIAA track and field state championships Saturday, May 25, 2019, at Shippensburg University.
Chartiers Valley’s Megan McConnell hugs her dad, coach Tim McConnell, after the Lady Colts defeated Bishop Carroll in the PIAA Class 5A girls state championship game Saturday, Mar. 23, 2019, at Giant Center in Hershey.
Hempfield pitcher Callie Sowers celebrates one of her strike-outs with Hanna Pavsek (2) and Jessica Persin during the WPIAL Class 6A championship game against North Allegheny Thursday, May 30, 2019, at Peters Township High School.
8.6.18
The WPIAL receives a wave of paperwork from athletes hurrying to beat an Aug. 6 deadline for a new PIAA rule that makes transfers automatically ineligible for the postseason.
9.6.18
Connellsville defeats Penn Hills, 6-1, in a boys soccer game marred by allegations of racial slurs. The accusations against Connellsville fans and players spark a heated controversy that forces the WPIAL to investigate.
10.11.18
The Sewickley Academy boys golf team breaks an 81-year-old record by winning its sixth consecutive WPIAL team title, bettering Turtle Creek’s five straight in 1934-38.
11.16.18
Nathan Dragisich scores three goals and assists on another as West Allegheny wins its first PIAA boys soccer title with a 4-0 victory in Hershey. The Indians finish 23-2.
12.7.18
Penn Hills senior Daequan Hardy has four touchdowns and three interceptions in a Darrelle Revis-like performance as the Indians win the PIAA Class 5A football title. Aliquippa wins 3A gold a day later under first-year coach Mike Warfield.
1.3.19
Upper St. Clair football coach Jim Render retires after 49 seasons (41 at USC) as the winningest coach in WPIAL history (406 wins, five WPIAL titles, two state titles).
2.12.19
Bob Palko bid farewell to West Allegheny football after 24 seasons, but the coach with the most WPIAL titles (eight) doesn’t stay retired long. Three months later he’s back to work when Mt. Lebanon hires him as coach.
3.3.19
Chartiers Valley coach Tim McConnell celebrates his seventh WPIAL basketball championship, but this time it’s a girls title. The longtime boys coach switches jobs in the summer and coaches his daughter’s team to WPIAL gold.
3.16.19
USC’s Josh Matheny sets a NFHS record in the 100 breaststroke at the PIAA swimming championships at Bucknell (52.52 seconds).
3.22.19
Only three WPIAL girls basketball teams in history had won a state title with an undefeated record until Peters Township and Chartiers Valley accomplish the feat on consecutive days in Hershey.
5.1.19
The Sewickley Academy boys tennis team moves up to Class AAA and sees its string of 15 consecutive WPIAL team championships snapped.
5.15.19
A clerical error almost keeps Waynesburg’s Daniel Layton from defending his WPIAL title in the 110-meter hurdles until the PIAA intervened and overturned a WPIAL decision. Layton later won WPIAL and PIAA titles in the event.
5.16.19
The WPIAL individual track and field championships take place at Slippery Rock, the first time in years they are held someplace other than Baldwin.
5.30.19
Hempfield wins a record-tying fifth consecutive WPIAL softball title by defeating North Allegheny, 15-0, in four innings. The fifth straight victory ties Sto-Rox (2000-04).
6.11.19
State Rep. Aaron Bernstine introduces legislation that would split public and private schools into separate state playoffs. In opposition, the PIAA calls Bernstine’s bill “poorly crafted at best.”
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
Tags: Chartiers Valley, Connellsville, Hempfield, Mt. lebanon, Penn Hills, Peters Township, Sewickley Academy, Upper St. Clair, Waynesburg, West Allegheny
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