Penn Hills notebook: Senior soccer standout chosen for all-star game

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, November 19, 2023 | 11:01 AM

Penn Hills senior Landon Hankey had to tough out playing two sports during his senior season.

The Indians boys soccer team’s senior goalkeeper struggled to stay on the field. However, he was able to grind it out and find a way to play as much as possible in both football and soccer.

Hankey had a torn thumb and a quad injury. For his efforts on the pitch, Hankey was selected for the Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association boys all-star game Nov. 25 at Pine-­Richland High School.

Hankey was selected as a goalkeeper for the Class 3A team, which will match up with a roster of the top 4A players at 2 p.m.

Penn Hills boys soccer team finished the season 6-11-1, including a 3-10-1 mark in section.

Sendek off to solid start

Herb Sendek has found a comfort level as head coach of the Santa Clara men’s basketball program. The 1981 Penn Hills graduate has the Broncos off to a 4-0 start this season, including an impressive 89-77 victory over Stanford.

Sendek has led Santa Clara to 20 or more wins in each of the previous four seasons. The Broncos have made the first round of the NIT in the previous two seasons. Despite Sendek’s success at Santa Clara, he has yet to make an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Sendek, who has been coaching at the Division I level since the early 1990s, has taken Miami (Ohio), N.C. State and Arizona State to the NCAA Tournament during his career.

Grimes, Pugliese to playoffs

Penn Hills graduates Tony Grimes and Luke Pugliese will be involved with the NCAA Division II football playoffs. Grimes and Pugliese both play for Slippery Rock University, which earned the No. 4 seed in Region 1 to extend its playoff streak to five seasons.

The Rock, which is 10-1 this season, lost to Kutztown in the PSAC title game on Nov. 11. Grimes, who transferred to The Rock from Akron, has seen time at wide receiver, kick returner and punt returner for SRU.

Grimes has caught 16 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown. Pugliese, who has served primarily in a reserve role, appeared in a game against Millersville earlier this season.

Tags: Penn Hills