A-K Valley athletes dot rosters for Roundball Classic

By: Doug Gulasy
Sunday, March 10, 2019 | 10:48 PM

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The Alle-Kiski Valley will be well-represented at the Roundball Classic.

The annual all-star basketball games, featuring seven games over two days April 12-13 at Geneva, will include more than 200 senior players, including 13 from the A-K Valley.

On April 12, there will be three boys games: East vs. West at 6 p.m.; North vs. South at 7:30; and City League/Erie/Prep/District 6 vs. District 10 at 9.

On April 13, the two girls games are Class 6A/A vs. 3A/2A at 2 p.m., and 5A vs. 4A at 4. Those will be followed by two more boys games: 3A/2A vs. 4A/A at 6, and 5A vs. 6A at 8.

All-day tickets are $10.

St. Joseph’s Kelly Robinson will coach the East boys, whose roster includes St. Joseph’s Matt Arvay and Daniel Fabregas, Riverview’s Noah Black and Springdale’s Mike Zolnierczyk, against the West boys, whose roster includes Burrell’s Logan Bitar and Deer Lakes’ Brad Perrotte. That game is April 12.

Freeport’s Jalen Brown will play for the South boys against the North on April 12.

On April 13, Apollo-Ridge’s Maddy Moore and Burrell’s Kaylen Sharrow will play for the 4A girls against 5A. St. Joseph’s Grant Bendis and Knoch’s Julian Sanks will play for the 4A/A boys against 3A/2A, and Fox Chapel’s Ryan Kerr will play for the 6A boys against Plum’s Lamar Whiting and the 5A boys.

State update

Deer Lakes made school history Saturday with its first PIAA boys basketball playoff victory, and the Lancers will get to stay closer to home as they search for a second.

The PIAA released sites for the second round of the postseason Sunday, and Deer Lakes (17-7) will play District 6 third-place team Forest Hills (17-9) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Armstrong High School. Forest Hills beat WPIAL runner-up North Catholic, 64-51, in the first round.

Super bowl

It was a strong weekend for a pair of Alle-Kiski Valley teams at the Western Pennsylvania regional bowling championships.

Fresh off their WPIBL team title, the Burrell girls qualified for the state tournament after placing in the top six regionals. The Plum boys also qualified with a top-six finish.

Plum’s Shannon Small and Burrell’s Lydia Flanagan also qualified for the state individual championships after placing in the top 12 at the regional individual championships. Small won the regional title.

The individual state tournament is Friday in Lancaster, with the team tournament Saturday.

Jewel of the pool, lord of the board

After their first-place finishes at the WPIAL swimming and diving championships, Fox Chapel’s Jonah Cagley and Zoe Skirboll go into this week’s PIAA meet at Bucknell as the competitors to beat in their top events.

Skirboll is seeded first in the girls Class AAA 100-yard breaststroke thanks to her winning WPIAL time of 1 minute, 0.96 seconds. The freshman also is seeded second in the 200 individual medley (2:00.25).

Cagley, a senior, is No. 1 in the boys Class AAA diving field with a seed score of 588.95.

The PIAA Class AA championships run Wednesday and Thursday, and Class AAA goes Friday and Saturday.

Run of luck

Kiski Area’s track and field team is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a 5K run and walk.

The second annual Kiski Area Shamrock Run 5K is 10 a.m.-noon Saturday at Kunkle Park in Washington Township.

The event is open to runners and walkers of any skill level. A team relay challenge, with every team member responsible for one mile of the course, also is available.

Kiski Area track and field coach Tom Berzonsky said about 300 people participated in the first event last year, and about 250 are registered for Saturday.

Cost for the event is $25, with all proceeds benefiting the Kiski Area track and field team. Registration is available at https://runsignup.com/Race/PA/Apollo/KiskiAreaShamrockRun5K, or in person on the day of the event.

Recruiting notes

• Deer Lakes track and field standout Kiera Cutright committed to Point Park. Cutright won a WPIAL title as a junior in the 300-meter hurdles, finishing in 45.94 seconds. She placed sixth in the state at the event.

• Fox Chapel’s Cole Waxter committed to John Carroll for football. The senior caught 19 passes for 145 yards, rushed for two touchdowns and made 21 tackles and an interception in just five games.

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review Staff Writer. You can contact Doug at 412-388-5830, dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Knoch, Plum, Riverview, Springdale, St. Joseph