Westmoreland high school notes: Ligonier Valley rehires Siko as AD

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, January 15, 2023 | 4:33 PM

When Ligonier Valley made the giant leap from District 6 to the WPIAL in 2020, Wesley Siko was the Rams’ athletic director and oversaw the move.

But soon after, Siko left to become the AD at Ringgold.

Two years later, he is back.

Ligonier Valley rehired Siko following the resignation of Joe Skura.

Brett Marabito has been interim AD and will be until March when Ringgold releases Siko, a Greensburg Salem graduate.

“Ligonier Valley was a great position, and it was a tough decision to leave after only being there a short amount of time,” Siko said. “There were many goals and ideas of mine that I really wanted to accomplish, but sometimes it doesn’t work out the way you plan it. When I heard about the position opening again, I thought that maybe I would be able to come back and accomplish what I set out to do in the first place.”

Siko trumpeted the praises of Marabito, who is an assistant principal in the district and was dealt a difficult hand in the heart of the fall postseason.

“Brett is doing a phenomenal job stepping into a position he wasn’t prepared for,” Siko said. “There are many aspects of the job that not many people are aware of and from what I can tell, he’s handling them very well. I’m really excited to get back to work within the district and taking this department to the next level.”

A number of teams have made the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs in the short time the Rams have been members of District 7.

The softball team reached the state final. And the football team won its first WPIAL playoff game this past season.

“I think LV is doing a great job competing in the WPIAL,” Siko said. “The hope is to sustain that success, and that entails constant communication within the varsity, middle school and youth programs.”

D-I offer for Vogel

Norwin senior football player Noah Vogel has seen his recruiting stock rise in recent weeks, and his latest offer underscores the spike in interest.

Norwin’s team MVP, Vogel received a scholarship offer to play at Marist, an FCS program from the Pioneer Football League.

Vogel is a 6-foot-3, 230-pound tight end and defensive end, the latter of which earned him first-team all-conference recognition.

He also has offers from Division II schools West Virginia Wesleyan, Frostburg State, Wheeling, and Bluefield State.

“To be honest, nothing really hit me at first until my family started to call me and my friends were texting me like, ‘Bro, congrats,’ and saying like, ‘Finally, Vogel,’ ” he said. “I’ve thanked God and the mentors around me for it. It’s humbling and literally a lifelong goal that I was able to complete.”

Vogel had 37 tackles, 12 for loss, and seven sacks in five games. He missed some time with an injury.

Hockey rematch

Norwin (9-3) will get another shot at Blue Division-leading Fox Chapel (12-1) when the hockey teams meet Tuesday at Palmer Imaging Arena in Delmont.

The Foxes topped the Knights, 7-3, on Dec. 22.

Norwin beat Fox Chapel in the PIHL Class A championship to take home the Penguins Cup.

Askin resigns

Hempfield girls soccer coach Aryn Askin resigned after two seasons.

Hempfield did not score a goal last season and finished 0-18 as its losing streak reached 46 games.

Askin said “it was the right time to move on.”

“I’ve coached soccer for nearly 10 years, and I’ve played competitively for 20,” she said. “I have learned it’s important to recognize when you can no longer be effective, no matter how much effort is put into it.”

Askin said she had support from the athletic department.

“Hempfield is extremely lucky to have (athletic director) Brandon (Rapp) at the helm,” she said. “I was very lucky to work with him.”

Miller Time

For the second year in a row, Greensburg Central Catholic soccer standout Kyler Miller was one of 11 players selected to the National League Florida Best XI.

Miller had 35 goals and 31 assists last season for GCC and made the All-WPIAL list.

Recruiting

Greensburg Central Catholic senior Max Kallock will continue his baseball career at IUP.

A talented outfielder with a hefty bat, Kallock came back from surgery to repair a collateral ligament tear in his elbow to help GCC return to the WPIAL Class A playoffs last spring. They reached the quarterfinals.

He batted .550 with 22 hits, seven doubles, two triples, a home run, 23 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.

He was going to pitch but was limited to the outfield as he rested his arm.

• Hempfield senior quarterback Jake Phillips picked up a scholarship offer from Clarion of the Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.

In five games as a senior before a season-ending injury, he threw for 1,190 yards and 11 touchdowns, completing 66 of 92 attempts, and rushed for six TDs. Hempfield started 5-0 for the first time since 1971.

• Norwin linebacker Anthony Petrulo has an offer to play at Division II Edinboro. He also has an opportunity to play at Division III Grove City.

Petrulo (6-2, 230) only played five games last season because of an injury, but he made 25 tackles, nine for loss, and had two sacks.

• Hempfield senior wide receiver and defensive back Tyson Gregory has an offer to play at Division III powerhouse Mount Union.

• Nick Lonas, a running back, defensive back and linebacker from Ligonier Valley, has an offer to play at Geneva.

• Hempfield senior volleyball player Arin Delattre committed to play at Thiel.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Hempfield, Ligonier Valley, Norwin