North Allegheny notebook: Rumpler wins pair of matches at nationals

By: Jonathan Bombulie
Saturday, May 14, 2022 | 11:01 AM

North Allegheny girls wrestler Leyna Rumpler made an impact on the national scene, winning a pair of matches and advancing to the quarterfinals of the U17 USMC Women’s National Championships in Fort Worth, Texas, earlier this month.

Wrestling at 65 kilograms, Rumpler rolled to a 10-1 technical fall in 1:28 in the first round and won by fall in 58 seconds in the second round.

She fell to eventual champion Lizzie Shunn in the quarters. It was Rumpler’s first national championship appearance.

Falo hits milestone

Senior Bella Falo scored her 100th career goal in North Allegheny’s 16-9 girls lacrosse victory over Hempfield on May 10.

The milestone goal was Falo’s second of the game. Emma Lafayette led the way with four goals and Charlotte Schreiber added three more in the win, which gave the Tigers a 10-5 overall record heading into their season finale against Peters Township.

North Allegheny finished 7-3 in Section 2-3A play, qualifying for the WPIAL playoffs as the fourth-place team.

Rare loss for Tigers

North Allegheny will get a chance to do something in the WPIAL boys volleyball playoffs that it hasn’t done in years — avenge a loss.

The Tigers were defeated, 3-1, by Seneca Valley on May 10, ending a 75-game winning streak. North Allegheny hadn’t lost since a 3-1 setback to Central York in the 2017 state finals.

The loss left North Allegheny tied with Seneca Valley for the top spot in Section 1-3A with 10-1 records heading into the final section match against Pine-Richland.

Tournament action

The North Allegheny boys lacrosse team competed in a late-season tournament, splitting a pair of games at the MSCLA Tournament in Hudson, Ohio on May 6-7.

In the first game, the Tigers routed WPIAL foe Mt. Lebanon, 12-4, avenging a loss earlier in the season. Cole Bordo scored four goals, Marc Bartolomucci scored three and Gavin Banyas and Evan Lyon added two goals apiece.

In the second game, the Tigers lost 10-2 to Wheaton Academy of Illinois. Christian Tedder and Michael Mouganis scored for NA.

North Allegheny clinched a playoff spot and carried a 7-0 record into the section finale against Pine-Richland.

Baseball tune-ups

After finishing as co-champs of Section 1-6A with a 7-3 record, the North Allegheny baseball team promptly won a trio of playoff tune-ups, beating Mars, 5-2, Shaler, 10-9, and Penn-trafford, 2-0.

Against Shaler, Erik Sundgren hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh. Against Penn-trafford, Connor Smith threw a two-hit shutout and Spencer Barnett homered.

Section wrap-up

North Allegheny softball dropped its section finals, 6-0, to Norwin on May 10. It was a significant win for the Knights, who needed it to qualify for the playoffs. The Tigers had already secured their spot in the WPIAL playoffs, ending up tied with Norwin for fourth in Section 2-6A at 4-6.

Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.

Tags: North Allegheny