High school roundup for Jan. 24, 2024: Class 2A No. 1 Aliquippa drops Class 6A No. 3 Central Catholic

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Thursday, January 25, 2024 | 12:07 AM


Quentin Goode had 13 points and Class 2A No. 1 Aliquippa used a 19-4 run to open the game to defeat Class 6A No. 3 Central Catholic, 52-45, in nonsection boys basketball Wednesday night.

Brandon Banks scored 11 and Josh Pratt finished with 10 for the Quips (11-4). Vernon Settles scored 11 for Central Catholic (9-6).

Aquinas Academy 63, Hillel Academy 40 – Jake Guillen scored 18 points and David Zaharko added 12 by draining four 3-pointers as Aquinas Academy (10-5, 3-2) rolled to a Section 3-A win. Yonah Itskowitz led all scorers with 20 points for Hillel Academy (4-6, 1-5).

Armstrong 63, Plum 62 – Jason Szep scored 26 points and Armstrong (10-6, 2-3) slipped by Plum (6-10, 0-5) in overtime in Section 2-5A. Jack Valasek added 15 for the Riverhawks. Owen Proskin scored 19 for the Mustangs, who used a 23-10 margin in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

Charleroi 50, Frazier 38 – Jake Beverage netted 12 points and Brock Henderson followed with 10 to lead Charleroi (7-11) to a nonsection win. Dalian McManus put up 23 to lead Frazier (9-8).

Clairton 70, Propel Braddock Hills 33 – Taris Wooding hit for 19 and Bryant Blair finished with 10 points for Clairton (9-9) in a nonsection win. Malik Jetter led Propel Braddock Hills (3-11) with seven points.

Elizabeth Forward 74, Albert Gallatin 69 – Isaiah Turner scored 21 points and Elizabeth Forward (10-5, 2-3) got past Albert Gallatin (6-7, 2-3) for a Section 3-4A win. Krystian Kennedy sank five 3-pointers and finished with 19 points and Charlie Meehleib scored 14 for the Warriors. Blake White paced the Colonials with 23.

Jeannette 68, Leechburg 21 – Isaiah Mallich hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points and Markus McGowan chipped in 10 for Jeannette (11-4, 6-1) in a Section 3-2A win. Jayden Floyd led Leechburg (2-13, 0-6) with 11 points.

Rochester 59, Beaver Falls 52 – Xavier Rigby led all scorers with 24 points, Jayden Norman produced 13 and Brady Gorman scored 10 for Rochester (10-5) in a nonsection win. Marshall Clerici put up 14 points while Da’talian Beauford and Braylon Pitts each scored 13 for Beaver Falls (5-9).

Sewickley Academy 55, St. Joseph 32 – Caiden Battles scored 13 points to pace Sewickley Academy (10-5) in a nonsection win. Gabe Maltese had 19 for St. Joseph (3-14).

Springdale 68, Propel Montour 24 – John Hughes dropped 16 points and Mason Gent netted 10 to lead Springdale (12-5) to victory in a nonsection matchup. Ty’Aire Hawkins had 13 points to lead Propel Montour (3-11).

Sto-Rox 63, Summit Academy 44 – Marcus Griffin finished with 14 points and David Johnson produced 12 as Sto-Rox (6-9) defeated Summit Academy (3-8) in nonsection play.

Waynesburg 58, McGuffey 46 – Cole Headlee dropped 17 points, Alex Vansickle followed with 15 and Dane Woods posted 11 as Waynesburg (5-11, 2-6) beat McGuffey (12-6, 3-5) in Section 4-3A. Grayson Wallace scored 19 and Aydan Cunningham had 13 for the Highlanders.

West Greene 46, Monessen 43 – Lane Allison led all scorers with 21 points and Parker Burns added 11 as West Greene (9-5, 4-1) edged Monessen (12-2, 4-1) in a battle for first place in Section 2-A. Timothy Kershaw scored 17 and Lorenzo Gardner had 15 for the Greyhounds.

Winchester Thurston 66, Westinghouse 47 – Henry McComb scored 23 points, Anthony Pipkin added 15 and Matt Southers followed with 12 for Winchester Thurston (8-6) in a nonsection victory. Terrell Wofford led all scorers with 36 points for Westinghouse (1-8).

Girls basketball

Elizabeth Forward 67, Uniontown 18 – Alyssa Terza had 14 points and Michelle Jellison scored 13 to help Elizabeth Forward (14-2, 7-0) top Uniontown (5-10, 2-5) in Section 3-4A. Gellece Ingram scored nine for the Red Raiders.

Fort Cherry 74, Sto-Rox 24 – Bella Bianchini led four Fort Cherry players in double figures with 14 points in a Section 2-2A win. Olivia Kemp scored 11 and Brooke Cornali and Raney Staub added 10 apiece for the Rangers (12-4, 4-1). Daniella Reel had a game-high 16 for Sto-Rox (4-12, 0-5).

Kennedy Catholic 52, North Catholic 42 – Mariah Vincent put up 13 points while Layke Fields and Tori Harvey each scored 12 in a nonsection win for Kennedy Catholic in a battle of PIAA contenders. Alayna Rocco finished with 20 points while Brady Wehner added 13 for North Catholic (10-5).

Riverside 43, Shenango 30 – Camryn Friello sank four 3-pointers and finished with 18 points and DeLana Fox had a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds as Riverside (4-10) won in nonsection play. Amara DeFrank had nine points to pace Shenango (3-14).

Rochester 53, Bishop Canevin 38 – Tia Yellock scored 19 points to lead Rochester (11-5) to a nonsection win over Bishop Canevin (3-11).

Wrestling

Avonworth 51, Keystone Oaks 12 – Austin Kosanovic (121), Michael Tabano (127), Dimitri Velisaris (145), Bryce Metz (160) and Jackson Krul (189) won by fall and Mathew Harper (133) won by decision as Avonworth (6-5, 4-2) clinched a playoff spot in Section 3-2A. Jeremy Wagner (139) and Jacob Wagner (152) won by decision for Keystone Oaks (5-6, 2-4).

Beth-Center 40, Jefferson-Morgan 26 – Alex Medlen (114), Mason Wright (121), Ryan McCollum (133), Pablo Bautista (139) and Noah Layhue (172) recorded pins while Jake Layhue (189) won a major decision for Beth-Center (7-5, 4-3) in a Section 1-2A win. Mason Sisler (285) had a pin, James Dulaney (127), Brenton Barnhart (152) and Adam McAnaany (215) each won via decision and Chase Frameli (160) won by tech fall for Jefferson-Morgan (9-5, 3-4).

Burgettstown 46, Bentworth 23 – Darius Simmons (107), Dylan Slovick (133), Parker Sentipal (139), Logan Noise (152). Rudy Brown (160) and Eric Kovach (172) had pins while Noah Leininger (114) won a major decision as Burgettstown (7-0, 7-0) beat Bentworth (5-2, 5-2) to run the table in Section 1-2A. Drake McClure (121) and Chris Vargo (127) had pins and Owen Ivcic (145), Brayden Taggart (189) won decisions while Vittali Daniels (215) won by tech fall for the Bearcats.

Connellsville 51, Hempfield 15 – Zachary Franks (121), Kai Vielma (133), Evan Petrovich (145), Lonzy Vielma (160), Nicholas Rohal (172) and Chris Cook (215) had pins and Julian Ruggieri (139) won by decision as Connellsville (9-2, 4-0) defeated Hempfield (3-8, 2-2) to wrap up sole possession of the Section 4-3A title. Eli Carr (152) recorded a pin while Nico Kapusta (107), Nathan Caracciolo (114) and Jacob Halsted (127) each won by decision for the Spartans.

Fort Cherry 66, Washington 6 – Nashaun Sutton (152), Anthony Salvini (215) and Louis Ryan (285) recorded pins as Fort Cherry (3-9, 2-5) defeated Washington (0-7, 0-7) in Section 1-2A. Caleb Patton (139) had a pin for the Prexies.

Fox Chapel 51, Central Catholic 18 – Fox Chapel (12-1, 5-0) got pins from Landon Funk (114), Daniel Noel (127), Youssef Abdelsalam (139), Joshua Alexander (145), Alexander Kaufmann (152), Milo Chiu (160), Jack Viti (172) and D’Angelo Hamilton (285) and a decision from Adam Haines (133) to clinch sole possession of the Section 1-3A title. Declan Boyles (107) and Roman Thompson (215) had pins and Charlie Colantonio (121) and Nezumiiro Green (189) won by decision for Central Catholic (11-6, 1-4).

Frazier 60, Yough 12 – Landon Hough (127), Ryan Celaschi (160), Austin Wilson (172), Jackson Angelo (215) and Rune Lawrence (285) won by fall as Frazier (9-6, 5-1) topped Yough (1-11, 1-5) in Section 2-2A.

Highlands 41, Ellwood City 27 – Riley Middleby’s pin at 139 pounds gave Highlands the lead for good in a victory over Ellwood City in Section 5-2A, giving the Golden Rams (13-4, 6-0) the section title with an undefeated record. Cruz Kelly (285), Rowan Crytzer (152) and Jayden Calhoun (172) also won by fall for Highlands. Levi Dickson (107) won by major decision. Derek Allen (121), Gavin McClure (133) and Evan Twedell (189) won by fall and Nathan Chandler (215), Logan Shriver (114) and Gabe Lilly (145) won by decision for Ellwood City (5-6, 2-4).

Kiski Area 35, Shaler 24 – Evan Artman (172) and Cooper Roscosky (215) had pins and Abrahm Taylor (189) won by major decision as Kiski Area (7-9, 3-2) turned a 21-19 deficit into a Section 1-3A win, securing a playoff spot. John Deluca (127) and Tyler Bollinger (139) won by fall, Dominic Roland (114) by major decision and Clayton Cramer (121) by decision for the Cavaliers. Jack Begg (145) had a pin and Jonah Cable (133), Jacob Cable (152), Michael Ulery (160) and Vito Barravechio (285) won by decision for Shaler (2-5, 1-4).

Knoch 65, Summit Academy 9 – Cameron Elliott (145), Derrick Glover (160), Wyatt Foster (215) and Parker Anderson (285) won by fall and Owen Layhew (152) recorded a tech fall to lead Knoch (6-4, 3-3) to a Section 5-2A win. Luca Noronah (189) won by decision for Summit Academy (0-6, 0-6).

Latrobe 65, Gateway 9 – Luke Willochell (127), Cole Short (152), Bradan Bronson (160) and Hunter Snyder (172) recorded first-period pins, Evan Pancoast (121), Brady Cole (145) and Cody Krall (215) also won by fall and Jake Braun (133) won by tech fall for Latrobe (7-3, 3-1) in Section 4-3A. Luke Pawlowski (139) had a pin and Kittim Highsmith (285) by decision for Gateway (3-8, 0-3).

McGuffey 50, West Greene 12 – Garrett Newman (139) and Victor Bonus (145) had pins, Lucas Barr (133) and Aaron Supler (189) won by decision and Logan Reyner (152) and Reid Teagarden (172) won major decisions for McGuffey (11-1, 6-1) in a Section 1-2A win. Noah Collins (114) won by decision, Hayden Hamilton (160) won a major decision and Colin Whyte (215) won by tech fall for West Greene (1-7, 1-6).

Montour 65, South Park 12 – Anthony Esposito (121), Jacob Stetz (127), Jacob Chacon (133), Anthony Orlandini (139) and Danny Brandl (160) recorded pins and Alex Dusch (215) won by tech fall for Montour (6-1, 5-1) in Section 3-2A. Wyatt Markovich (172) and Parker Cunningham (285) had pins for South Park (4-10, 0-6).

Mt. Lebanon 50, Upper St. Clair 15 – Josh Emma (160) and Jayson Dang (189) had pins and Cooper Wolling (172) won by major decision as Mt. Lebanon (2-5, 1-4) won the first three bouts and never looked back in a Section 6-3A win. Jonathan Emma (107), Evan Sala (121), Zach Pitassi (127) and Cole Gibbons (145) won by fall, Joseph Gamble (152) earned a major decision and Lucas Carvalho (114) and Peter Kail (139) won by decision for the Blue Devils.Hassan Badaruddin (215) had a pin and Michael Albert (285) won by decision for Upper St. Clair (9-8, 0-5).

Mt. Pleasant 45, Belle Vernon 20 – Tristan Wtorkiewicz (127), Joseph Longhi (139), Greg Shaulis (152), Stephen Predajna (160) and Dylan Pitzer (285) recorded pins and Jamison Poklembo (145) defeated Kole Doppelheuer, 4-1, in a matchup of WPIAL contenders as Mt. Pleasant (10-2, 6-0) finished its Section 2-2A schedule undefeated. Luke Bryer (215) won by fall, Elijah Brown (172) by tech fall and Colby Hibner (133) by decision for Belle Vernon (4-3, 3-3).

North Allegheny 66, Mars 9 – North Allegheny (16-3, 5-0) got pins from Casey Walker (127), William Bentrim (133), Griffen Reid (139), Travis Stipetich (152), Kellen Buggey (172), Mason Hartung (189) and Brayden McCarthy (285) to finish undefeated in Section 2-3A. Liam Hein (145) won by fall and Joseph Zottola (160) by decision for Mars (1-10, 0-5).

Pine-Richland 48, Butler 24 – Rocco Campanella (152), Mac Miller (160), Vaughn Spencer (189) and Cole Wilson (215) recorded pins and Grant Pillar (172) and Sam Harris (285) won by decision as Pine-Richland (4-3, 3-2) won the first six bouts en route to a Section 2-3A win, clinching a playoff berth. Owen Long (121), Robert Hoy (127) and Dominic Ferraro (139) also had pins for the Rams. Nicholas Savannah (107), Santino Sloboda (114) and Leo Iarrapino (133) won by fall for Butler (6-10, 1-4).

Seneca Valley 38, North Hills 32 – Brody Pirt (160), Brooks Beres (172) and Denzil Thompson (189) had pins in three straight bouts to lead Seneca Valley (7-6, 3-2) to a Section 2-3A win. Connor Smith (121) and James Bidoli (145) won by fall, Zachary Hill (133) by tech fall and John Tofanelli (127) by decision for the Raiders, who missed out on a playoff spot in a three-way tiebreaker with North Hills and Pine-Richland. Giavonie Schipani (114), Kaden Salvatore (139), Carter Morvay (152) and Evan Letky (215) had pins, Brady Rohaly (107) won by tech fall and Burkhonjon Sobirjonov (285) took a decision for North Hills (9-3, 3-2).

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