Scholastic Notebook – 04/08/2012

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, April 8, 2012 | 11:55 AM

It is most certainly one of the oddest sports combinations you will see in the WPIAL. You’ll be scratching your head trying to figure out how many times you have seen a championships golfer who also is one of the best shot putters and discus throwers in the district.

As odd as it sounds, Katerina Luttner is living out the combination at Fox Chapel High School. She won the WPIAL girls golf championship in 2010 and was the runner-up in 2011. She also has been a medalist at the PIAA level and has a golf scholarship to the University of Mississippi.

But in the spring, she throws the discus and shot put for Fox Chapel. This spring, Luttner is the No. 1 discus thrower in the entire WPIAL with a mark of 111 feet, 8 inches. She also has the fourth-best shot put at 34-10.

The shot put and discus talent is not something new for Luttner. She set the school record in the shot put a year ago and finished ninth at the WPIAL Class AAA championships. Her discus throw already this season would have been good for fourth place at last year’s WPIAL championships.

Another Odd Combo

While Luttner’s sports combinations might seem odd, here is another odd combination: How many times do you see a star javelin thrower who also excels in the triple jump.

But that’s the story of Fort Cherry’s Jessie Merckle. She recently had the second-best javelin mark in the country this spring and the 12th-best in WPIAL history. But according to Jim Faiella’s WPIAL track and field honor roll, Merckle also has the second-best triple jump mark in Class AA this spring at 34-3.

Merckle will throw the javelin next year at Wake Forest.

Golden Tornado Warning

The world that is WPIAL Class AAAA baseball should beware. Someone should send out a Butler Golden Tornado warning.

Butler wasn’t ranked in the MSA Sports top 10 in the preseason. But all of a sudden Butler is most certainly looking like one of the top teams in Class AAAA. The Golden Tornado is 6-0 and has allowed only 11 runs while scoring 45.

Hot Start

Matt Emge entered the season carrying a reputation as one of the WPIAL’s best players. A senior catcher at Blackhawk High School, Emge has been a starter since his freshman year and has signed with Ohio State.

All he has done so far this season is enhance his reputation. 

Emge was hitting over .500 in the first four games and then he had another impressive game Thursday in a victory against North Allegheny when he went 4 for 4.

Trinity Hires Football Coach

Trinity finally has a football coach.

This week, Trinity hired Ryan Coyle as coach. He will succeed Ed Dalton, who left to become McGuffey’s coach.

Coyle’s experience is as an assistant coach. He has been an assistant under Neil Gordon at Penn Hills and Shaler, and also was an assistant at Mt. Lebanon under Chris Haering. Coyle is a former Penn Hills player under Gordon.

All-State Basketball Teams

The WPIAL fared well on the all-state basketball teams that were released this week.

The all-state teams were selected by sports writers around the state, and there were first-, second- and third-teams in all four classifications for boys and girls. All told, 31 players from the WPIAL were selected.

For the boys, 12 players form the WPIAL made all-state, including four first-team selections. Highlands’ Micah Mason (Class AAA) and Beaver Falls’ Sheldon Jeter (AA) were first-team picks for the second consecutive season. The other two first-team picks from the WPIAL were Shaler’s Geno Thorpe (AAAA) and Lincoln Park’s Devontae Watson (A).

Also, Montour’s Adam Kaufman was selected the Class AAA coach of the year for the second consecutive season.

Other WPIAL boys who were first- or second-team picks were Plum’s Nolan Cressler and Butler’s Nate Snodgrass in Class AAAA; Montour’s Devin Wilson and New Castle’s Shawn Anderson in Class AAA; Greensburg Central Catholic’s P.J. McLaughlin in Class AA; Serra Catholic’s Brandon Camic and North Catholic’s Danny Savulchak in Class A.

On the girls side, 19 WPIAL players were selected, including four first-team selections. Hopewell’s Shatori Walker-Kimbrough was a first-team pick in Class AAA, Gateway’s Destiny Brown in Class AAAA, Seton-LaSalle’s Naje Gibson in Class AA and Jeannette’s Ciara Gregory in Class AA. Gibson was one of two Seton-LaSalle players who made all-state, as teammate Angela Heintz was a third-team pick. It is the second year in a row Walker-Kimbrough was a first-team selection.

The WPIAL had two girls coaches who were selected coach of the year – Oakland Catholic’s Shannon Boyle in Class AAAA and Seton-LaSalle’s Dennis Squeglia in Class AA.

Other girls from the WPIAL who made all-state on second or third teams were Oakland Catholic’s Bobbi Baker and Mount Lebanon’s Kelly Johnson in Class AAAA; Blackhawk’s Chassidy Omogrosso, New Castle’s Kaylynn Waters, South Fayette’s Erika Ford and South Park’s Shelby Lindsay in Class AAA; Bishop Canevin’s Erin Waskowiak and Avonworth’s Lauren Mayernik in Class AA; Fort Cherry’s Beka Bellhy, Monessen’s Mariah Ward, Riverview’s Mary Andrejko, Vincentian’s Ashlee Darby, Vincentian’s Brenna Wise and North Catholic’s Lauren Wolosik in Class A.

Where Are They Now?

* Tarran Senay, a former South Park High School standout, has started 18 games as an outfielder for the North Carolina State baseball team. He is batting .314 with 13 RBIs. North Carolina State has a 20-7 record.

* Former Hopewell star Max Vogel has started 15 games for the Winthrop baseball team. He leads the team with a .269 batting average. Winthrop, an NCAA Division I school, has a 9-21 record.

Tags: Avonworth, Bishop Canevin, Blackhawk, Butler, Fort Cherry, Fox Chapel, Gateway, Greensburg C.C., Highlands, Hopewell, Jeannette, Lincoln Park, Vincentian Academy