Norwin notebook: Knights strive for better starts

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, October 14, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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While Norwin’s football team has been more resilient and competitive than is has been in a while, the Knights were trying to get off to better starts.

Norwin rallied from 22 points down at halftime in a 37-29 loss at Franklin Regional in Week 6.

The Knights scored 15 in the fourth quarter.

While the team has shown a flair for second-half rallies, coaches were disappointed the Knights didn’t have more wins.

They scored 23 in the fourth against Plum and won that game, 30-23.

They had 16 in the second half of a 30-23 loss to Woodland Hills and put up 14 of their 28 in the third quarter of a 56-28 loss to Penn-Trafford.

“We have to be better,” coach Mike Brown said. “We need to play four quarters. Anything else doesn’t cut it. We need to play better early.

“We need to be able to establish a running game and we have to get better up front.”

Knights bounce back

After losing two out of three games to fall out of the TribLive HSSN rankings, the Norwin boys soccer team rebounded with a 3-0 shutout of Baldwin.

Chase Molinaro, Daniel Maddock and Kevin Markovich all scored for the Knights, with Rick Zappone supplying an assist.

Norwin (11-4) has clinched a spot in the WPIAL 4A playoffs. The Knights have won 10 or more game in 10 straight seasons.

Knights finish strong

Norwin’s cross country runners put together a productive day at the Bald Eagle Invitational and White Oak Park earlier this month.

Three boys and three girls recorded top 10 finishes in the 5,000-meter races.

For the boys, junior Enzo Jiancristoforo took second in the Class 3A race in 16 minutes, 33.95 seconds, while junior Luke Simpson came in third (16:37.28) and junior Thomas Gaydos was sixth (16:52.28).

Sophomore Annie Czajkowski was fourth in girls’ 3A, at 18:31.13, while freshman Anna Dansak took seventh (19:28.78), senior Rosemary Gaydos eighth (19:41.84), and freshman Jillian Ryba 10th (19:43.28).

Junior Anna Rakvic won the girls’ junior varsity race in 20:58.90.

Hockey season opens

Norwin opened the PIHL season in a new classification. The Knights are playing in Class 2A after a successful run in single-A.

Penn-Trafford edged past the Knights in the opener, 5-4, in a shootout.

Alex Thomas had three goals and an assist, while Parker Toth also scored in regulation.

Thomas, Toth and Dom Cerilli all scored in the shootout. Dom Costantino had three assists, and Owen Burmeister made 28 saves.

Norwin played in Greensburg Salem’s preseason tournament and made the championship before falling to Penn-Trafford.

Robb takes 19th

Adalena Robb, a sophomore at Norwin, finished 19th at the WPIAL Class 3A girls golf championship on Oct. 4 at Diamond Run Golf Club in Sewickley.

Robb shot 96 and 98 in the 36-hole tournament.

Field hockey update

The Norwin field hockey team was in fifth place in WPIAL 3A with a 3-5 record section through eight games.

The Knights were 3-7-1 overall and had 20 goals with 45 allowed.

The top four teams qualify for the playoffs.

Offer for Palangio

Norwin senior basketball standout Lauren Palangio picked up an offer from Holy Family, a Division II program in Philadelphia.

Palangio is a 6-foot-1 forward who helped Norwin reach the WPIAL and PIAA 6A semifinals last season.

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

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