Fox Chapel Herald notebook: Shady Side Academy boys lacrosse just misses out on WPIAL title

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, May 31, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Shady Side Academy fell just short of winning the WPIAL Class 3A championship in boys lacrosse.

Mt. Lebanon’s Max Prezioso scored with 34 seconds remaining to lead the Blue Devils to a 12-11 win in the title game May 22.

Shady Side Academy had a three-goal lead, 10-7, in the fourth quarter. James Rost scored twice, and John Poggi also scored for the Bulldogs during a three-goal run to surge ahead.

“I just think they’d won faceoffs all game. They had won the ground ball battle and had a lot of possessions,” Shady Side Academy coach Cam Thompson said. “We played a lot of defense. They had some really good opportunities just off the ground in front of our goal.”

Bulldogs medal at states

Javon Johnston grabbed a pair of top 10 finishes at the Class 2A PIAA state track and field championship meet. The Shady Side Academy freshman earned a medal in the long jump, finishing in fifth place with a leap of 22 feet, 2.25 inches.

Johnston also placed ninth in the triple jump with a leap of 43-9¾.

On the girls’ side, the Bulldogs’ record-breaking 3,200-meter relay team finished in fifth place. While the relay team didn’t quite reach its top time at Shippensburg, the Bulldogs were able to finish in 9:40.78 to medal.

Sarah Kushnir, Rhyley Bendel, Charlotte Barker and Ella Van Norman are on the relay team for the Bulldogs.

Bendel finished in 15th place in the 1,600 run with a time of 5:14.61. Van Norman finished in 16th with a time of 5:15.70.

All-section honor

The Fox Chapel boys volleyball team wasn’t able to find a way to reach the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs, but the Foxes still earned some honors after the season ended. Senior middle blocker Ethan Filter was chosen to the first team in Section 4.

The Foxes finished the season 5-10 and were 4-6 in section play.

Monteverde on development list

Fox Chapel graduate Patrick Monteverde got his first call-up to the big leagues in April with the Miami Marlins. After one appearance, where he allowed four runs on nine hits over 3 2/3 innings, he was designated for assignment. Monteverde recorded four strikeouts.

He was sent back to the Marlins’ Triple-A affiliate, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. As of late May, Monteverde is on the team’s development list.

Tags: Fox Chapel, Shady Side Academy