Sports
Beaver Sophomore Diver Wins WPIAL Girls 2-A Gold
February 24, 2017
At Moon High School in WPIAL Girls AA diving a new champion was crowned. With the PIAA realignment the last two years champion Taylor Hockenberry from Mars will try to win a third straight title in AAA Saturday. But the new girls AA champion is from Beaver and she is Sophomore Ava Talorico. Talorico led from wire to wire easily taking the crown. In 2016 she finished 4th and was the leading scorer returning for 2017. She won with a score of 392.35 beating her score form last year by 30.9 points. Anna Vogt a Sophomore from Ringgold finished a distant second with a score of 345.75 trailing Talorico by 46.6 points. These two should compete in the next two years as both are young divers. Jamieson Elia a Junior from Blackhawk was third scoring 288.35.
South Fayette Senior Repeats as WPIAL Boys 2-A Diving Champ
With the Class AA boys diving field reduced to only six competitors, the 2017 Championship concluded in record time. Despite the brevity of the event at Moon Area High School, drama was still at the forefront, as South Fayette senior Trevor Mahoney repeated as champion, winning by a razor-thin margin. Mahoney edged Laurel Highlands' John Ek by less than one point, 427.05 to 426.15. The gold was decided in the final round, as Ek executed a spectacular dive, which yielded a score of 54.60. Mahoney, who was unaware of Ek's dive and consequently the score the needed to win, recorded a 42.0, which was just enough to take first place.Scholastic Notebook – 02/24/2017
It’s unusual for the Canon-McMillan boys basketball team to still be playing in late February. It is certainly a fun time for the Big Macs. For the Bell family, it’s twice as nice. Canon-McMillan’s coach is Rick Bell. His son, R.J., is a 6-foot-4 senior guard who has played a big role in getting the Big Macs to the WPIAL 6A quarterfinals. They play No. 1 seed Pine-Richland Saturday. The younger Bell had six 3-pointers in a first round victory against North Allegheny. R.J. is averaging in double figures. The victory against North Allegheny was only the third playoff win in school history for Canon-McMillan. The others were in 1996 and 2008. This is only the ninth time the Big Macs have been to the postseason.WPIAL Basketball Playoff Summaries for Thursday 2/23
February 23, 2017
The name of the game in the First Round of the 2017 WPIAL Basketball Playoffs was no surprises. Outside of a #11 and a couple of #10 teams, all of the favorites prevailed in the opening round. That theme continued on the first night of the Second Round as the top four seeds advanced in three of the four classifications. Here are summaries from the Boys 3-A, Boys 1-A, Girls 4-A and Girls 2-A Quarterfinals from Thursday night on MSA Sports. A special thanks to Mark Uriah, Paul Paterra, Sean Meyers, Brian Mroziak, Mike Azadian, Bob Orkwis, Mark Schaas, Cory Campano, James Dotson, Bob Gregg, Tom Hays and Kevin Zielmanski for their help on these recaps. BOYS WPIAL CLASS 3-A Quarterfinals:WPIAL Basketball Playoff Summaries for Wednesday 2/22
After six days and four nights of contests (three nights actually along with Saturday afternoon), the First Round of the 2017 WPIAL Basketball Playoffs is complete. With hardly any surprises and with the Second Round chalk full of top eight seeds, the Quarterfinals on Thursday, Friday and Saturday should be much more competitive hoops. For now though, we look back at the final night of the opening round on Wednesday with recaps from Boys 6-A, Boys 4-A and Gilrs 3-A First Round basketball games. A special thanks to Tyler Friel, Mark Uriah, Ed Troup, Steve Nagler, Mike Azadian, Bob Gregg, Lee Mohn, Rennie Detore, John Smathers and Mark Schaas for their help on these recaps. BOYS WPIAL CLASS 6-A First Round:MSA Sports Frozen Fab Five PIHL Rankings – 02/22/2017
February 22, 2017
Here are the latest MSA Sports Sports Frozen Fab Five rankings of PIHL high school hockey teams in each of the four classifications for the 2016-2017 high school hockey season. Don't miss the latest rankings every Wednesday during the regular season, plus PIHL Notebook every Tuesday on our website and the weekly Chatham University PIHL Power Play Show every Wednesday night at 8:00pm. We also have audio and video game broadcasts and center stage interviews as well here on the home of the best PIHL high school hockey coverage, the MSA Sports Network. PIHL CLASS 3-A: 1) NORTH ALLEGHENY TIGERS (13-4-3) (Last Week #1)WPIAL Basketball Playoff Summaries for Tuesday 2/21
February 21, 2017
Another night of First Round games in the district postseason and the song remains the same as the favorites keep rolling into Round Two. On this third day of opening round contests, 12 of 14 higher seeds were victorious and only a pair of #10-seeds over #7-seeds were the so-called surprises. Here are the recaps from the ten 5-A and 2-A boys games and the four 6-A girls games from Tuesday nights action on MSA Sports. A special thanks to Don Rebel, Andy Stanko, Dennis Fischer, Rennie Detore, Bob Gregg, Mark Uriah, Josh Rowntree, Mark Schaas, Brian Mroziak, Kyle Dawson and Tyler Friel for their help on these recaps. BOYS WPIAL CLASS 5-A First Round:PIHL Notebook – 02/21/2017
The PIHL regular season draws to a close this week, as the final positions will be set for the 2017 postseason. With just a few games remaining, this week's edition will put a bow on the regular slate, before the focus shifts to playoff hockey. Melting the Ice (the longest unbeaten streak in each classification)
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Tim Shoup
February 20, 2017
The 2010-11 PIHL season was one for the record books for Upper St. Clair, as the Panthers won both the Penguins Cup and Pennsylvania Cup in dramatic fashion. That historic team was comprised of several future DI players, including sophomore blueliner Tim Shoup. Shoup, who is now one of the top defensemen at Dartmouth College, is under the microscope for this week's edition of the WPIAL Alum Q&A. During that campaign for the Panthers, Shoup contributed one goal and eight assists in the regular season. Upper St. Clair advanced to the Class AAA title game against Canon-McMillan, but the Panthers trailed late in the third period. The team got the equalizer, though, and then prevailed in overtime to claim the championship.
WPIAL Coaches Corner – Adrian Batts
In this feature titled “Coach’s Corner”, I will be interviewing a different coach every week and asking them questions about their personal life and about coaching. Hopefully their answers will not only shed some light on how they coach their respective teams, but also allow readers to get to know the men behind the fields/courts. This week highlights Jeannette boys basketball coach Adrian Batts. This is his 8th season coaching for the Jayhawks. After losing in the 2015 WPIAL championship, and in the 2016 WPIAL semifinals, Coach Batts has his squad primed for a 2017 run in 2-A. Let’s take a look inside Coach Batts’ corner:This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 02/20/2017
The February Frenzy may feel like the springs high school sports postseason is here outside, but inside, the winter sports postseason heats up...much like outside, this week on the MSA Sports Network. Our EXCLUSIVE postseason coverage Continues with the WPIAL and District 6 boys and girls basketball playoff games, college hoops featuring Carlow University, WPIAL Individual Wrestling Class AAA Sectionals and PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional Wrestling, plus we have The WPIAL Roundball Report, The PIHL Power Play Show, Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle and Carlow Sports Talk ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, February 20th:Allderdice Beats Obama in Triple OT Thriller for Boys City Title
February 19, 2017
For the third straight season, Allderdice and Obama Academy squared off for the City League boys’ championship. Both of the first two matchups went to Allderdice, giving the Dragons their latest two of three straight City League crowns. Sunday’s matchup was different, however, as for the first time in the three matchups, Allderdice came in the underdog, the No. 2 seed to Obama Academy’s No. 1 seed. The Eagles had defeated the Dragons in the second matchup between the teams during the regular season. The difference was two points in that game; in the previous regular season matchup it was five.Obama Claims 4th Straight City League Girls Hoops Crown
The seniors of Obama Academy's girls basketball team have become accustomed to winning championships, dating back to their time in middle school. They continued that trend on Sunday in the City League Championship at the Petersen Events Center, as the Eagles defeated Taylor Allderdice 64-53. In the process, Obama Academy captured its fourth-consecutive title. To score the triumph, Obama (16-8) used a strong second half, paced by senior Michaela Porter, the two-time reigning City League MVP. Porter, who is committed to the University of Cincinnati, netted a game-high 22 points, including 18 in the second half. Porter had plenty of support, however, including Taylor Stewart, who provided 19 points and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
2017 WPIAL Class 2-A Individual Wrestling Championship Results
February 18, 2017
A new format was introduced for AA Wrestling in the WPIAL, which saw wrestlers battling it out for Section titles on Friday, and a WPIAL Championship on Saturday. While a few wrinkles still need to be ironed out, the overall mood was a success in its opening year. On the mat, many wrestlers become first time WPIAL Champions, as only two became repeat winners. Most notably of those was Gavin Teasdale of Jefferson Morgan, who remained undefeated in his career after wining his third WPIAL Championship. In the finals, Teasdale defeated Burrell's Dillan Jeffrey by major decision, 20-8. For his efforts, Teasdale was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.WPIAL Basketball Playoff Summaries for Saturday 2/18
Day Two of the opening round of the district hoop postseason was similar to what we saw in Day One with hardly any surprises and the higher-seeds all winning and advancing. While this does nothing for the shock value of the boys and girls tournaments, it is making for what should be a must see Quarterfinals Weekend coming up. Here are ALL the recaps from the First Round of Boys 3-A, Girls 4-A and Girls 1-A games from Saturday afternoon in the WPIAL Basketball Playoffs. A special thanks to Bob Orkwis, James Dotson, Brian Mroziak, Andy Stanko, Mark Schaas, Rob Longo, Mike Azadian, Sean Meyers, Steve Nagler, Lanny Frattare, Bob Gregg, Bob Barrickman and Donny Chedrick for their help on these recaps. BOYS WPIAL CLASS 3-A First Round:WPIAL Basketball Playoff Summaries for Friday 2/17
February 17, 2017
Twelves girls and six boys district postseason games got the ball rolling on this expanded version of the Path to the Pete. 8 Girls Class 5-A, 4 Girls Class 2-A and 6 Boys Class 1-A opening round games tipped off the WPIAL Basketball Playoffs on Friday night. Once again this year, any night there is playoff hoops, we have postseason recaps. A special thanks to Kyle Dawson, Dennis Fischer, Bob Gregg, Cory Campano, Mike Azadian, Paul Paterra, Brian Mroziak, James Dotson, Bob Orkwis, Bob Barrickman, Kevin Zielmanski, Josh Rowntree and Nate Regotti for their help on these recaps. BOYS WPIAL CLASS 1-A First Round:Scholastic Notebook – 02/17/2017
For the second consecutive season, the West Greene boys and girls teams are both headed to the WPIAL playoffs. History says that is downright shocking. The Pioneers are making noise on the hardwood that has never been heard before from the tiny school in Greene County. This is the first time in school history that both teams have made the playoffs two years in a row. Heck, the boys team had been to the postseason only four times before – 2016, 1992, 1991 and 1989. The girls team actually won a section championship this year and heads to the playoffs with an 18-4 record. The West Greene boys finished in third place in Class 1A Section 2 with a 13-7 record.MSA Sports Frozen Fab Five PIHL Rankings – 02/16/2017
February 16, 2017
Here are the latest MSA Sports Sports Frozen Fab Five rankings of PIHL high school hockey teams in each of the four classifications for the 2016-2017 high school hockey season...including a NEW #1 team in Class 3-A. Don't miss the latest rankings every Wednesday during the regular season, plus PIHL Notebook every Tuesday on our website and the weekly Chatham University PIHL Power Play Show every Wednesday night at 8:00pm. We also have audio and video game broadcasts and center stage interviews as well here on the home of the best PIHL high school hockey coverage, the MSA Sports Network. PIHL CLASS 3-A: 1) NORTH ALLEGHENY TIGERS (12-4-3) (Last Week #2)PIHL Notebook – 02/14/2017
February 14, 2017
As the regular season draws to a conclusion, some teams have already finished their schedules, while other squads have just a few contests remaining. With the Penguins Cup and D2 playoffs on the horizon, here's a glance at the latest news and notes from around the PIHL. Melting the Ice (the longest unbeaten streak in each classification)FINAL 2016-2017 WPIAL Boys Basketball Standings
February 13, 2017
Here are the FINAL WPIAL boys basketball standings for the 2016-2017 regular season...including the FINAL WPIAL playoff clinchings. The standings will be updated daily throughout the rest of the regular season here on the MSA Sports Network. Don't forget weekly WPIAL boys hoops rankings are released each Tuesday along with boys basketball talk every Wednesday during the WPIAL Roundball Report at 6:00pm and live and archived broadcasts only here on the MSA Sports Network. Click on the team name for the schedule and results for that team.
