What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 26, 2021: Diving, gymnastics take center stage

By: Don Rebel
Thursday, February 25, 2021 | 11:59 PM

A busy weekend of playoff and championship action on the mats and courts begins with two days of events in the pool and on the beam, vault and bars.

The pool is at North Allegheny, the host site of the 2021 boys and girls diving championships.

The Class AA championships are on Friday with the AAA finals on Saturday.

There will be a new champion crowned in boys AA after senior Kyle Maziarz from North Catholic destroyed the field to win the title by 136 points last year.

It was much closer in the girls AA finals as another North Catholic diver took home gold. Then-freshman Maggie Foley won the title by 41 points.

Another freshman last year took home the crown in girls AAA when Christina Shi beat out Tigers teammates Maya Ennis and Zoe Ky to win the WPIAL championship.

Current Fox Chapel senior David Manelis beat out current Seneca Valley senior Trevor Elliot to take home gold in boys AAA.

You can watch the championship action starting at 9:30 a.m. both days only on HSSN.

Gymnastics championships

The 2021 WPIAL gymnastics championships take place at Moon, starting Friday evening and continuing on Saturday.

Thomas Jefferson is on the hunt for a third straight district team gymnastic crown.

The Jaguars finished ahead of host Moon last season. The Tigers have won the overall team championship five times in the last nine years.

Individual championships are won in three divisions: gold, silver and advanced diamond.

You can watch video only coverage of the event Friday night at 7 p.m. and Saturday morning starting at 10 a.m.

Regular season continues

While the WPIAL open basketball playoffs tip off Saturday, there are more section and nonsection boys and girls hoops scheduled for Friday.

One nonsection matchup features two of the top boys scorers in the district as Springdale hosts Aquinas Academy.

Sophomore sensation Vinnie Cugini of Aquinas Academy leads the WPIAL in scoring, averaging nearly 40 points per game, while senior Demitri Fritch averages nearly 23 points per game for the Dynamos.

Plus, the top seeds in boys 5A and boys 6A square off as 19-2 Chartiers Valley hosts 15-1 Upper St. Clair.

On the girls side, North Allegheny visits Peters Township in a rematch of the 2019 WPIAL Class 6A championship thriller won in overtime by the Indians over the Tigers.