2023 in Westmoreland County sports: Gold rush brings titles in wide array of sports
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Saturday, December 30, 2023 | 11:56 AM
Belle Vernon’s Anthony Crews hoists the state championship trophy with teammates after defeating Northwestern Lehigh, 38-7, in the PIAA Class 3A final on Dec. 9 at Cumberland Valley.
Norwin’s Owen Christopher hoists the WPIAL championship trophy with teammates after defeating North Allegheny in penalty kicks in the Class 4A final on Nov. 4 at Highmark Stadium.
Mt. Pleasant’s Lily King swims the anchor leg in the WPIAL Class 2A girls 400-yard freestyle relay during the WPIAL swimming championships March 3 at Pitt’s Trees Pool.
Latrobe’s Vinny Kikeary celebrates beating Canon-McMillan’s Andrew Binni to win the 127-pound weight class at the PIAA Class 3A wrestling championships March 11 at the Giant Center in Hersey.
Hempfield celebrates after beating Seneca Valley in eight innings to win the WPIAL softball Class 6A championship May 31 at Lilley Field at Cal (Pa.).
Notre Dame’s Palmer Jackson tees off during an NCAA golf tournament March 13 in St. Simons Island, Ga.
Greensburg Central Catholic’s Izzy Aigner carries the WPIAL championship trophy after winning the Class 2A title Oct. 12 at Cedarbrook Golf Course.
Hempfield’s Elizabeth Tapper wins the girls shot put at the PIAA Class 3A track and field championships May 26 at Shippensburg University.
Southmoreland’s Henry Miller’s start in the WPIAL Class 2A boys 50-yard freestyle that he won in record time March 2 at Pitt’s Trees Pool.
Belle Vernon’s Aiden Johnson hoists the state championship trophy with teammates after defeating Northwestern Lehigh, 38-7, in the PIAA Class 3A final on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, at Cumberland Valley.
Football, swimming, wrestling, track and field, softball, golf, tennis, bowling and cheerleading.
Westmoreland County teams and athletes had a propensity for winning championships in an array of sports, and that became their collective calling card in 2023.
It was a run of titles to remember, and the winners highlight the top 10 stories from the local year in sports:
10. Oh, Henry: Henry Miller of Southmoreland made his mark at the PIAA swimming championships, capping his senior season with back-to-back state titles in the 50-yard freestyle and 100 butterfly.
9. Going the distance: Division I-bound athletes Liz Tapper and Payton Murray won PIAA track and field titles. Tapper, a Michigan commit, won WPIAL and PIAA 3A discus and shot put titles, and Murray, who is headed to Notre Dame, won WPIAL and PIAA 3A gold medals in the discus. Tapper later won a national title in the discus at the New Balance Nationals.
8. Losing a friend: Joe Purdue, former Franklin Regional football player, died from pediatric brain cancer. Purdue, a well-liked lineman who played center for the Panthers, was 19. His friend, Chase Williams, wrote a touching song called “Oh, Brother” and sang it to Purdue about two weeks before Purdue died.
7. Divine 9: Greensburg Central Catholic’s girls golf team played nine. The Centurions captured their ninth consecutive WPIAL championship, moving closer to the WPIAL record of 12 straight titles set by Upper St. Clair from 1994-2005.
Senior Izzy Aigner returned to lead the team after she missed the WPIAL individual postseason. She played in the PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee on Sept. 19-24 on the Monterey Peninsula in Pebble Beach, Calif. Her Champions Tour playing partner in the team event was Greensburg native and fan favorite Rocco Mediate.
6. Action Jackson: Palmer Jackson played on the PGA Tour. Jackson, a former PIAA champion at Franklin Regional who went on to play at Notre Dame, played two events on the PGA Tour on exemptions. He teed it up at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda, and added another start at the RSM Classic in St. Simons Island, Ga.
5. WPIAL champs: Hempfield and Belle Vernon won WPIAL softball titles. Mia Bandieramonte sent a solo home run over the fence in the eighth inning to propel Hempfield to a 2-1 win over Seneca Valley in the WPIAL Class 6A championship for the Spartans’ eighth WPIAL championship. The previous day at Cal (Pa.), Belle Vernon captured its fifth WPIAL title by pulling ahead and then holding back Montour, 8-7.
4. Vinny times three: Vinny Kilkeary won his third PIAA wrestling title. Kilkeary, a Latrobe senior, captured his third state championship with an 8-5 decision over Andrew Binni of Canon-McMillan at 127 pounds at Hershey’s Giant Center. Kilkeary, an Ohio State freshman now, finished 29-0 for the season and 131-12 for his career.
3. Fit for a King: Olympic hopeful Lily King and Mt. Pleasant dominated the PIAA swimming championships. The Lady Vikings won the team title, sweeping the relay races, and King won the 200- and 100-yard freestyles. Kiersten O’Connor, SaraJo Gardner, McKenna Mizikar and Reegan Brown won the 200-yard medley and 200 free relays, before King, Brown, Mizikar and Trinity Graft took the 400 free relay. King, a junior this season, committed to swim at N.C. State.
2. Knight shift: Norwin boys soccer broke through for its first WPIAL championship. Norwin put together a memorable run to its first title and a trip to the PIAA semifinals, winning three games via penalty kicks, including a 2-1 victory over North Allegheny in the WPIAL final. Norwin was the No. 8 seed in the WPIAL playoffs.
1. Hail Mighty Leps: Belle Vernon repeated as WPIAL and PIAA football champion. Penn State commit Quinton Martin and the Leopards were unflappable in their run to back-to-back WPIAL and state championships, using a staunch defense to complement a big-play offensive attack.
The Leopards defeated Avonworth in the WPIAL final for the second straight year before one-sided wins over Hickory in the state semis and Northwestern Lehigh in the state final. Martin was the top-rated recruit in the state.
Honorable mention
• Penn-Trafford field hockey continued its dynastic run with an eighth straight WPIAL title.
• Hempfield cheerleading repeated as a state champion and made the national competition.
—Nick Turowski of Penn-Trafford won his second WPIAL golf championship.
• Annie Malkowiak became the first woman to coach boys basketball in Westmoreland County, leading the Mt. Pleasant team.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins offered to pay for the Monessen girls basketball team’s bus to the state playoffs.
• Girls wrestling became an official PIAA sport with Southmoreland, Norwin and Kiski Area among the schools sponsoring teams.
• Norwin and Greensburg Central Catholic reached the PIAA girls basketball semifinals.
• Hempfield bowling won a WPIBL title.
• Amateur golf legend Sean Knapp won his record ninth West Penn Amateur on his home course at Hannastown Golf Club.
• Greensburg Central Catholic won the WPIAL 2A boys track & field title.
• Latrobe Legion hosted the American Legion baseball state tournament.
• Seton Hill baseball finished 48-13 and advanced to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional.
• Rookie Sal Frelick, who has family ties to Greensburg, broke into the starting lineup for the Milwaukee Brewers after a July call-up.
• Jon George, an Irwin resident, won a World Series ring with the Texas Rangers. George is a special assignment scout to player development for Texas, which defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games to claim its first title.
• Belle Vernon’s Gabby Dusi, the No. 5 seed, won the WPIAL Class 2A girls tennis singles title.
• The Belle Vernon boys golf team won its first WPIAL title, breaking through after a runner-up finish in 2022. Senior Rogan Maloney led the way for Belle Vernon with a 79 on the team’s home course at Cedarbrook Golf Course.
• Recruiting blasted off for Latrobe football player Alex Tatsch. The senior linebacker picked up more than a dozen scholarship offers from schools including Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Stanford, USC, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Marshall and more.
• Greensburg’s Mark Goetz reached the final stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-school.
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
Tags: Belle Vernon, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Hempfield, Latrobe, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Southmoreland
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