High school notebook: Greensburg Central Catholic places 3 on All-WPIAL roster

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, November 13, 2022 | 7:48 PM

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Boys soccer season ended early with no local teams advancing past the WPIAL quarterfinals.

But several players were recognized on the All-WPIAL lists that came out last week.

Among them was Greensburg Central Catholic senior forward Carlo Denis, who was named the Class A player of the year by the Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association.

Denis, a Grove City commit, led the WPIAL with 52 goals. He also made the all-state team.

Greensburg Central Catholic had three selections for the Class A list in Denis and seniors Kyler Miller and Jake Gretz.

In Class 2A, Belle Vernon sophomore Trevor Kovatch, Yough senior Joe Obeldobel, junior Luke Rivardo of Mt. Pleasant and junior Jordan Taylor of Jeannette were picked.

Franklin Regional seniors Colton Hudson and Jake Kimmich were selected for Class 3A, and junior Owen Christopher of Norwin made the 4A list.

Hudson also was an all-state selection.

Fralic Award

Finalists for the fourth Bill Fralic Award will be announced Monday at a special news conference.

For the first time, the announcement will come from the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Heinz History Center, where William P. Fralic Foundation organizers and WPIAL officials will unveil the top candidates for an award that recognizes the WPIAL’s top senior football lineman.

The conference will begin at 10:30 a.m.

One finalist will be selected from each of the six classifications.

The late Fralic was a force at Penn Hills, Pitt, where he was a three-time All-American, and over an eight-year career in the NFL.

The museum plans to display memorabilia from Fralic’s storied career as part of a future exhibit.

Dan Miller, who went to high school with Fralic and is the baseball coach at Penn-Trafford, is a key member of the Fralic Foundation board of trustees.

The Fralic winner will be announced at a pancake breakfast Dec. 3 at Longue Vue Club.

Past winners are Logan Danielson of Thomas Jefferson (2019), Miguel Jackson of Pine-Richland (2020) and Sean FitzSimmons of Central Valley (2021).

Kreis a finalist

Belle Vernon senior Viva Kreis is one of 12 national finalists for the High School Heisman scholarship.

She already was a winner at the state level and received a $1,000 scholarship. She gets $2,000 more for making the cut as a regional finalist.

One male and female will be selected for the national scholarship worth $10,000.

Kreis, who plays for the U.S. National Handball Team, is three-sport athlete at Belle Vernon. She competes in basketball, track and cross country.

Cernuto out

Southmoreland three-sport standout Olivia Cernuto will miss her senior basketball season after suffering a knee injury during soccer season.

A three-year starter, Cernuto finished with 875 career points. Southmoreland was 60-12 with her on the team and made the WPIAL finals when she was a freshman, reaching the semifinals the past two years.

The Scotties also made the PIAA playoffs twice with the talented point guard running the offense.

Also a talented triple-jumper, Cernuto’s track and field season could be in jeopardy. Her mother, Amber, who is the girls basketball coach at Southmoreland, said it is unclear if Olivia will compete in track and field.

She finished with exactly 100 goals in soccer.

Recruiting

• Hempfield volleyball standout Owen Kelly committed to Geneva.

• Hempfield football player Anthony Vallano, a tight end and linebacker, has an offer to play at Carnegie Mellon.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Jeannette, Southmoreland, Yough