Sports
This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 03/19/2012
March 19, 2012
With the magnificent weather we've had, it's tough to believe that the winter sports season is still going on. However high school basketball and hockey postseason play concludes this week as we officially kiss winter goodbye and welcome in spring here on the MSA Sports Network. We have Semifinals and Championship Game action in the PIAA boys and girls state basketball playoffs along with the Semifinals and Championships on the PIHL Penguins Cup Playoffs and the Pennsylvania Cup Hockey Finals, plus college baseball and womens lacrosse as well as the WPIAL Roundball Report and the PIHL Power Play Show ALL here at MSAsports.netMonday, March 19th:PIHL High School Hockey Playoffs: Penguins Cup Class A Semifinals - Kittanning vs Quaker Valley at 6:00pm on MSAsports.netMars Margaret Gruber the State Golden Girl in PIAA Swimming
March 17, 2012
There was only one Class AA girls swimmer who won a state title this weekend at Bucknell University, but the Mars swimmer comes home as a champion with a new record to go with her two gold medalist. Margaret Gruber of Mars won both the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard butterfly, setting a new PIAA championship record in that race with a time of 54.43.Here are all of the results from the PIAA Girls Class AA swimming and diving finals.SSA Foursome Join QV and Mars Swimmers Win PIAA AA Titles
Two WPIAL Boys Class AA individuals and one team brought home gold from Bucknell University on Saturday in the PIAA Class AA swimming and diving championships. Bobby Francis of Quaker valley won gold in the 100-yard breaststroke while Kurt Muehlheuser of Mars won the state title in the 100-yard backstroke. The foursome of Chris Leech, Ryan Koul, Thaddeus Ellis and Grant Zentgraf from Shady Side Academy won the 200-yard freestyle relay championship. Here are all of the results from the two day event.PIAA Diving & 200 Relay Only Titles Won by WPIAL Girls AAA Swimmers
WPIAL girls Class AAA swimmers had to 'team' up and go 'diving' to find gold at the 2012 PIAA Girls Class AAA swimming and diving championships at Bucknell University. The North Allegheny foursome of Katerina Borisov, Allie Pennetti, Arielle Krigger and Kally Vanderbilt won the 200 freestyle relay while WPIAL diving champion Lauren Lamendola repeated her golden performance to win the PIAA state crown.Three WPIAL Boys AAA Swimmers Win PIAA Championships
Three WPIAL boys Class AAA swimmers brought home the gold from the state swimming and diving championships at Bucknell University, including a pair of PIAA titles for Penn-Trafford's Christian McCurdy, who took first place in the 400 freestyle and the 100 butterfly. Lucas Bureau of Latrobe won gold in the 200 freestyle while Matt Buerger of North Allegheny won a state championship in the 200 individual medley. Buerger helped North Allegheny finished third in the boys team scores.PIHL Penguins Cup Playoff Recap for Friday, March 16th
March 16, 2012
The final peice of the PIHL Penguins Cup Semifinals picture was emphatically put into place Friday night. Class AAA power Canon-McMillan won big to round out the Final Four for next week in the high school hockey playoffs.Special thanks to Brandon Rebel for this recap.PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS AAA QUARTERFINALS:2011-2012 MSA SPORTS ALL MAT WRESTLING TEAM
The WPIAL team championships may have had the same results for the 3rd year in a row, with Burrell winning the AA and Canon McMillan winning the AAA WPIAL title (in addition to the Big Macs winning the PIAA Championship). The individuals certainly did not disappoint, with the WPIAL bringing home 6 individuals state championships plus the City League claiming its first ever gold medal. Overall the WPIAL had 47 state medallists, including 30 from AAA and 17 from AA. 2011-2012 MSA Sports Outstanding Wrestler 126 – Jimmy Gulibon, Derry, Senior, 25-1, 136-4Scholastic Notebook – 03/16/2012
It was Problems at Palumbo for two WPIAL boys basketball champions this week. On consecutive nights, New Castle and Gateway – two WPIAL champions – lost games in the second round of the PIAA playoffs. Some might have been surprised at the two losses because New Castle was undefeated and Gateway is a talented team. But history says the two teams losses were not unusual at all. In fact, history says the two losses should have been expected. For years, WPIAL champions have had trouble going on to win state championships. But a look at the past decade of PIAA championship games suggests WPIAL champions have a less than 1 in 3 chance of even making it to the PIAA title game.
PIHL Penguins Cup Playoff Recap for Thursday, March 15th
Bookend PIHL Class AAA games on Wednesday and Friday squeezed the busiest night of the Penguins Cup postseason into Thursday where ten games were played in the three classifications. Once the ice shaving settled, ten more teams were Final Four bound, setting the Semifinals for both Class AA and Class A. Here are ALL ten recaps from the Thursday ice action.A special thanks to Don Rebel, Randy Gore, Steve Nagler, Josh Rowntree, Lee Mohn, Brandon Showers and Mike Azadian for their help on these recaps.PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS AAA QUARTERFINALS:
PIHL Penguins Cup Playoff Recap for Wednesday, March 14th
March 15, 2012
The first of twelve Penguins Cup Quarterfinals games over the next three days turned into a South Hills thriller as Peters Township cames back to edge Mount Lebanon and advance to the PIHL Class AAA Final Four. Here is a recap of this high school hockey Second Round dandy.PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS AAA QUARTERFINALS:WPIAL Coaching Changes: New Castle Football and Shenango Girls Volleyball
March 14, 2012
Embattled New Castle football coach Frank Bongivengo has stepped down from his position, effective immediately. Bongivengo is facing criminal theft charges related to funds taken from a youth football program. Those charges were filed after a 17-month investigation from the Pennsylvania State Police, the coach and his wife Karen, were both charged with theft, conspiracy and forgery charges, relating to over 36 hundred dollars taken from the youth football program’s account. Investigators looked at transactions between that account and the Bongivengo’s personal account. Bogivengo served as head coach from 2005 thru last season, he went 39-32 over that time, playing in the Parkway Conference and took the Red Hurricanes to three playoff appearances and a winning overall record in each of the last five season.
PIHL Penguins Cup Playoff Recaps for Tuesday, March 13th
Blink and you missed it. The First Round of the high school hockey playoffs is over and three more opening round contests on Tuesday night with the first defending champ falling. Unlike Monday when all five home teams won, the road warriors claimed two of the three games as AAA #10 State College and A #9 Thomas Jefferson busted through the Elite Eight while 2011 AAA champ Upper St. Clair is ousted. Here are the recaps from all three Penguins Cup First Round games on Tuesday.A special thanks to Matt Vandriak, Josh Rowntree, Ken Laird and Steve Nagler for their help on these recaps.PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS AAA FIRST ROUND:
2012 PIHL PENGUINS CUP HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY PLAYOFFS Update
March 13, 2012
The PIHL Final Four puzzle is nearly finished with just one missing piece. One game on Wednesday and ten contests on Thursday have resulted in eleven teams moving on to Neville Island next week and the 2012 Penguins Cup Semifinals. Here are ALL of the final scores from the Quarterfinals on Thursday, plus the Semifinals matchups set for Class A and Class AA on Monday and Tuesday at the Island Sports Center.MSA Sports is your home for the frozen version of march madness from the drop of the puck in the opening round through the PIHL high school hockey finals at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh.PIHL CLASS AAA Quarterfinals:Penn-Trafford Warriors 5 - State College Little Lions 4
PIHL Penguins Cup Playoff Recaps for Monday, March 12th
March 12, 2012
There was no surprises and very little suspense on the opening night of the 2012 PIHL Penguin Cup high school hockey playoffs. All five higher seeds won at home with only one game going down to the wire. Here are the recaps from the games that dropped the puck on the chase for Penguins Cup gold.A special thanks go out to Mark Schaas, Don Rebel, Greg Kuntz, Steve Nagler and Matt Vandriak for their help on these recaps.PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS AAA FIRST ROUND:
PIHL High School Hockey Notebook – 03/12/2012
Welcome to another edition of “PIHL Notebook,” your weekly companion to “The PIHL Power Play” on the MSA Sports Network. This week, we have a special edition on tap as we preview all opening round matchups in the 2012 Penguins Cup Playoffs. Plus, see what Quaker Valley head coach Kevin Quinn had to say about Class A’s number one seed on last week’s show in “They Said It.”PIHL CLASS AAA:FIRST ROUND BYES1. Penn-Trafford (19-2-1) 2. Canon-McMillan (19-3-0) 3. North Allegheny (16-5-1) 4. Mount Lebanon (15-6-1)FIRST ROUND GAMESThis Week on the MSA Sports Network – 03/12/2012
We say so long to the high school wrestling postseason and hello to the Penguins Cup high school hockey playoffs this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have Second Round and Quarterfinals action in the PIAA boys and girls state basketball playoffs along with the drop of the puck on the PIHL Penguins Cup Playoffs with First Round and Quarterfinals play, plus its the season ending edition of Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle, along with the WPIAL Roundball Report and the PIHL Power Play Show ALL here at MSAsports.netMonday, March 12th:TALK SHOW - Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle at 7:00pm on MSAsports.netPIHL High School Hockey Playoffs: Penguins Cup Class AAA First Round - Shaler vs Peters Township at 7:30pm on MSAsports.net
Derry’s Gulibon Joins Elite Group, Wins Fourth State Wrestling Title
March 11, 2012
In his usual dominating fashion, Derry’s Jimmy Gulibon joined a very elite club by becoming the tenth wrestler in PIAA history to win four individual state titles at the 75th annual PIAA Wrestling Championships on Saturday afternoon at the GIANT Center in Hershey. On the strength of four takedowns, the Trojans’ senior cruised to a 9-3 decision over Keystone Oaks’ Nick Zanetta in the Class AA 126-pound final. Gulibon also defeated Zanetta, a junior, at the WPIAL Class AA Championships two weeks ago, 11-4, and at the PIAA Southwest Regional tournament last Saturday, 11-3. The Penn State recruit, named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament, finishes his high school career with a 136-4 record. Gulibon won Class AAA titles as a freshman and sophomore and AA championships the past two seasons.
Four WPIAL & One City League Class AAA Wrestlers Win State Championships
Led by Cody Wiercioch, Canon-McMillan won its second straight PIAA Class AAA Wrestling Championship Saturday evening at the GIANT Center in Hershey. The Big Macs, with 102 team points, easily outdistanced second place Central Dauphin (67 points). Chambersburg finished in third place with 52 points. Weircioch won his second state title with a 7-4 decision in the 170-pound final over Norristown’s Shane Springer. The Big Macs’ junior completed a perfect 46-0 season by scoring three takedowns on his way to the gold medal. Wiercioch, who won his first state title at the Class AA level two years ago as a freshman at Charleroi, advanced to the finals with an 11-4 semifinal victory Saturday morning over Solanco’s Connor Moran.FINAL 2011-2012 PIHL High School Hockey Standings
March 10, 2012
Here are the FINAL 2011-2012 standings for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League, including the FINAL Penguins Cup playoff clinchings, Plus the FINAL Open Class regular season standings. You can follow the PIHL high school hockey season with broadcasts, the PIHL Notebook every Monday and the PIHL Power Play Show on Wednesday nights at 8:00pm right here on the MSA Sports Network.# - Clinched Section Championship * - Clinched PIHL Playoff Spot % - Ineligible for PIHL Playoffs x - Eliminated From Postseason ChaseTEAM - OVERALL RECORD - POINT TOTAL - POINT PERCENTAGEPIHL CLASS AAA: (ALL 12 Teams Have Clinched Penguins Cup Playoff Spots) {22}PIHL Class AAA Section One: #-Canon-McMillan Big Macs : (19-3-0) (38) *-Peters Township Indians : (14-5-3) (31) *-Bethel Park Black Hawks : (14-7-1) (29) *-Upper St. Clair Panthers : (11-9-2) (24)PIAA Individual Wrestling Championships – Day Two
Derry’s Jimmy Gulibon is on the brink of becoming only the tenth athlete in 75 years of Pennsylvania wrestling history to win four individual state titles. The Trojans’ senior advanced to Saturday afternoon’s 126-pound final with quarterfinal and semifinal victories over Hanover’s Ian Brown, 8-1, and Ridgway’s Corey Bush, 14-4, on Friday at the GIANT Center in Hershey. It has been sixteen years since another WPIAL wrestler, McGuffey’s Jeremy Hunter, last won his fourth state crown in 1996. The eight other wrestlers to accomplish this feat are Jim Conklin, Waynesburg (1943); Jerry Maurey, Clearfield (1950); Mike Johnson, Lock Haven (1961); Matt Gerhard, Catasauqua (1984); Ty Moore, North Allegheny (1990); John Hughes, Benton (1991); Cary Kolat, Jefferson Morgan (1992); and Bob Crawford, Milton (1993). The PIAA individual wrestling championships were first contested in 1938.
