Fox Chapel notebook: Boys basketball battles back to make PIAA playoffs

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, March 5, 2023 | 11:01 AM

Getting punched in the gut several times hasn’t deterred the Fox Chapel boys basketball team. The Foxes closed the season on a three-game losing streak and backed into the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs.

After opening the playoffs with a win over Thomas Jefferson, the Foxes lost 67-62 to North Hills in the quarterfinals and 75-69 in the first round of consolations to Mars.

However, the Foxes were able to battle back and topple McKeesport in the seventh-place game. With the win, Fox Chapel earned a trip to play the District 3 champion in the first round of the PIAA playoffs March 10.

The WPIAL does have recent history with a lower seed pulling an upset in the first round. Last year, Penn Hills upset Lampeter-Strasburg in the first round after the Indians were the seventh seed coming out of the WPIAL.

Fox Chapel made the PIAA Class 6A semifinals last season before suffering a two-point loss to Archbishop Wood.

Troutman competes

Anna Troutman competed in the 60-meter hurdles and the high jump Feb. 26 at the PFTSCA indoor track and field championships in State College.

Troutman placed 18th in the hurdles with a time of 9.59 seconds. She finished 10th in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 2 inches.

Return to states

Fox Chapel sophomore Jackson Hagler will get another opportunity to compete at the PIAA Class 3A diving championships. Hagler earned the opportunity by scoring 425.3 points at WPIALs, which allowed him to finish in fourth place.

The PIAA championships will be March 18 at Bucknell University.

Last year, Hagler finished sixth at WPIALs. He advanced to states as an alternate after another athlete had to pull out with an injury.

Tough opener

The Fox Chapel hockey team will have to beat an old heavyweight in the PIHL Class A quarterfinals March 9 in order to get back to the semifinals. Quaker Valley has five Penguins Cup championships in the program’s history. The Quakers won all five of their championships during a stretch from 2006-2014.

Quaker Valley finished fourth in the Varsity Gold Divsion with a 14-5-0-1 record.

Fox Chapel won the Varsity Blue Division with an 18-2 record. The Foxes outscored their opponents 146-42 during the regular season.

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