Central Catholic tops Hempfield to win WPIBL boys team title

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, February 12, 2020 | 8:26 PM

Central Catholic outdueled Hempfield in the championship match to capture the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Bowling League boys team title Wednesday evening at Nesbit’s Lanes in Plum.

The Vikings, the No. 1 seed after the three-game qualifying round, defeated the No. 3 Spartans, 2-1, in the best-of-three Baker finals.

Central Catholic won the first game, 155-145, but Hempfield tied the match with a 198-178 victory in the second game. The Vikings produced a 167-159 win in the third and deciding game to claim the title.

Hempfield swept No. 2 Norwin in the semifinals, 183-153 and 173-148.

Central Catholic, which won the South section title with a 10-0 record, led the 18-team field with a 2,865 pin total in the qualifying round.

Charles Zahir owned the top series for the Vikings with a three-game total of 697.

Norwin was second (2,727), followed by Hempfield (2,632) and Franklin Regional (2,488).

Plum and Butler tied for fifth with 2,464 pin totals.

Joining Zahir at the top of the individual scoring list were Plum’s Vincent Cocca (623 series), Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s Nathaniel Perl (617), Norwin’s CJ Turek (601) and Hempfield’s Dom Vallano (595).

Perl recorded the top game in the qualifying round with a 264.

The next step for 16 of the 18 boys teams is the Western Regional tournament March 7.

Hempfield, Butler, Penn Hills, Blackhawk, Norwin, Moon, Montour, Central Catholic and Franklin Regional earned automatic qualification to regionals based on winning their respective section titles.

Seven of the nine section runners-up also will bowl at regionals. The team standings from Wednesday’s competition determined who moved on. Clinching those additional spots were Latrobe, North Allegheny, Plum, Beaver Falls, McKeesport, Carlynton and Steel Valley.

The WPIBL girls team finals take center stage Thursday afternoon at Princess Lanes in Whitehall. Burrell will attempt to defend its 2019 championship.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.