Pair of WPIAL titles part of successful school year for Class 4A Trib HSSN Sports Cup champ

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, June 25, 2019 | 7:33 PM

1333929_web1_PTR-SParkHopegsoc01-110318 — Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review

The South Park girls soccer team celebrates with the championship trophy after defeating Hopewell, 1-0, in the WPIAL Class AA final Friday, Nov. 2, 2018, at Highmark Stadium.

1333929_web1_PTR-PIAAtrack04-052619 — Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review

South Park’s Maura Huwalt competes in the girls Class AA shot put finals during the PIAA track and field state championships Saturday, May 25, 2019, at Shippensburg University.

In July, America celebrates the 50th anniversary of arriving on the moon with the famous narrative, “the Eagle has landed.”

South Park also is celebrating this summer as the Eagles have landed the Class 4A Trib HSSN Sports Cup.

A steady stream of success across the board, along with championship runs by the girls soccer team and the girls track and field team, had the Eagles soaring to new heights.

Girls’ sports have built a tradition of success at South Park, with recent championships in softball and basketball to go along with the soccer and track titles this past year. That is something not lost on Eagles athletic director Tom Kayda.

“It’s an anomaly,” he said. “The biggest consistency is they are all multi-sport athletes. You look at all those girls who are the best athletes in our school district, and they all play more than one sport.”

The Trib HSSN Sports Cup is a yearlong competition to determine the top WPIAL sports program in each classification. It awards points for section or conference championships, district and state playoff berths and district and state championships and runners-up.

Schools earn 10 points for a playoff berth, an additional 10 points for a section championship, 50 points for a WPIAL or PIAA championship and 25 points for a district or state runner-up.

In July and August, the weekly Rebel Yell podcast will be dedicated to the six cup champions.

The chase in Class 4A was a tight one as the top four teams were separated by only 35 points, with defending champion Quaker Valley, Indiana and Elizabeth Forward on the cusp of raising the cup.

Here are the standings in Class 4A for the Trib HSSN Sports Cup:

1. South Park – 335 points

2. Quaker Valley – 315

3. Indiana – 305

4. Elizabeth Forward – 300

5. Greensburg Salem – 295

6. Knoch – 225

7. South Fayette – 142

8. Burrell – 215

9. Hopewell – 210

10. Beaver – 185

11. New Castle – 160