Westmoreland County high school notebook: Senior standouts set for Roundball Classic

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, April 8, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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Of the 200-plus players selected for the annual Roundball Classic senior all-star basketball games, 36 hail from Westmoreland County schools.

Rosters were revealed last week for the games set for May 18-20 at Geneva College in Beaver Falls.

Lilly Palladino of Penn-Trafford, Norwin’s Tori Sydeski and Sarah Penrod and Brooke Schirmer of Franklin Regional will play on the East team.

For the West, county players include Josie Straigis of Latrobe and Lexi Colainni of Kiski Area.

The Class 2A/A roster includes Jeannette’s Jordan Bass, and 3A has Tiffany Zelmore of Mt. Pleasant, Yough’s Laney Gerdich and Mikalah Chewning and Addy Landowski of Burrell.

Jenna Dawson and Farrah Reader of Belle Vernon will join their coach, Kaitlyn Slagus, along with Ashley Smith of Greensburg Salem and Maddie Moore of Southmoreland on the 4A team.

Camille Dominick and Emma Blair of Latrobe made the 5A roster, but Blair will not play because of injury.

County 6A players are Kate Botti and Savannah Schneck of Norwin and Brooke McCoy of Hempfield.

For the boys, Yukon Daniels of Mt. Pleasant, Elijah Myers of Southmoreland and Tyler Travillion and Parker Rost of Yough will suit up for the East squad, with Jimmy Plekovich of Ligonier Valley on the West.

Jake Kimmich and Max Leven of Franklin Regional are teammates on the North, joining Dom DiNinno of Kiski Area.

Gabe Carbonara of Derry is a 3A selection, and Jalen Bass and Giovanni Merola of Jeannette will play for 2A.

The 5A roster includes Landon Butler of Latrobe, and that team will be coached by Penn Hills’ Chris Giles, the all-time leading scorer at Seton Hill.

Class 6A has Norwin’s Adam Bilinsky and Ryan Edwards along with Harry Sowers of Hempfield.

Teams feature players from the WPIAL, City League and District 10.

Players will wear their school uniforms.

The nine-game schedule features two games Thursday, two Friday and five Saturday.

The schedule is as follows:

Thursday, May 18 — Girls East vs. West, 6:30 p.m.; Boys East vs. West, 8 p.m.

Friday, May 19 — Girls Class 2A/A vs. 3A, 6:30 p.m.; Boys North vs. 3A, 8 p.m.

Saturday, May 20 — Boys A vs. 2A, 1:30 p.m.; Girls 6A vs. District 10, 3 p.m.; Boys 5A vs. District 10, 4:30 p.m.; Girls 4A vs. 5A, 6 p.m.; Boys 4A vs. 6A, 7:30 p.m.

Flag day

Greensburg Salem has formed a girls flag football team.

Coached by Jess Melodia, the Golden Lions girls soccer coach and a former player for the Pittsburgh Passion, and Heidi Brown, the team will play two games each Sunday.

The team opened the season April 2 with a kickoff event at Acrisure Stadium.

One of 17 teams in WPIAL territory, Greensburg Salem had its uniforms revealed inside the Steelers locker room.

The Golden Lions’ division includes Gateway, Penn Hills and Woodland Hills.

Upset for Hempfield

The Hempfield boys volleyball team has something to say about the Western PA Volleyball Coaches Association rankings.

As in, it’s time to rank us higher.

The Spartans, ranked No. 8 in Class 3A, pulled an upset last week, rallying from two sets down to edge No. 2 Norwin, 3-2.

After losing 18-25 and 23-25, Hempfield won three straight by scores of 29-27, 25-19 and 15-13.

Owen Kelley (17), Josh Reilly (11) and Dom Palmiero (10) combined for 38 kills.

Young leaving

Norwin alum Jacob Young is changing schools, which means he also is changing football teams.

Young is leaving Notre Dame College after one year. He took four years of eligibility with him into the transfer portal.

Young is a 6-foot-3, 290-pound offensive lineman.

Record falls

Franklin Regional has a sprinter to watch this spring.

Freshman Monroe Law found her way onto the Panthers’ record board when she broke the school’s longstanding 100-meter dash record Wednesday.

Law’s time of 12.45 seconds clipped the previous mark that was set (and tied) by Bridget Leonard and Shawn Moody in 1992.

Latrobe opening

Latrobe athletic director Zac Heide said interviews will begin this week for the school’s girls basketball coaching position.

Mark Burkhardt resigned after eight seasons leading the program.

He was 111-69 with seven WPIAL playoff appearances.

Recruiting

Hempfield senior Ben Blahovec will continue his track and field career at Point Park. Blahovec throws the javelin.

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

Tags: Frazier, Greensburg Salem, Latrobe