Penn-Trafford grad Carlee Valenta qualifies for NCAA rifle championship

By: Paul Schofield
Sunday, March 2, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Carlee Valenta, a 2024 Penn-Trafford graduate qualified for the NCAA Division I rifle championship, set for March 14-15, at Kentucky.

The freshman at the University of Texas-El Paso set two school records. She is the first Miner since 2012 to compete in the championship.

Valenta has had an outstanding season, holding a 594.429 average in air rifle. She shot a school-record 599 in a match against Alaska Fairbanks on Feb. 22.

She led the team in scoring 12 times, including the last seven matches, and has scored 590 or higher in every match except her first match when she shot a 589.

The elementary education major was a state champion for Penn-Trafford in 2023.

Barrett finishes second at WPIALs

For the second consecutive week, Penn-Trafford junior Dylan Barrett came up short against Hempfield junior Nico Kapusta in the 114-pound finals at the WPIAL Class 3A championships Feb. 22 at Canon-McMillan.

Kapusta edged Barrett, 13-12, in a back-and-forth battle.

“I’m disappointed in the results, but it was a fun match,” Barrett said. “Sometimes you don’t get the outcome you want. I just have to continue to get better and better.

“Nico is a great wrestler, hopefully I get him the next time. I have a few things I need to improve. I let Nico dictate the pace.”

Barrett competed in the PIAA West Region last Saturday and needed to finish in the top five to qualify for the PIAA championships March 6-8, in Hershey.

Also qualifying for the West Region for Penn-Trafford were Luke DeSantis (fifth at 121) and Logan Matrisch (sixth at 160).

Hockey team getting ready

The Penn-Trafford hockey team has spent the past two weeks getting ready for the PIHL playoffs.

The Warriors will be either seeded third or fourth behind first-place Fox Chapel and second place Cathedral Prep.

Their final seeding was to be determined Feb. 27. If Latrobe defeated Armstrong, the Wildcats will finish third.

The Warriors were host Bishop McCort, Armstrong or Hempfield earlier this week in the opening round of the Penguins Cup playoffs.

Warriors finish fifth

Kamryn Pieper had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds and hit the go-ahead layup with 12.8 seconds left in overtime to lead No 3 Penn-Trafford (25-1) to a 70-69 overtime win against Baldwin in the Class 5A fifth-place game Feb. 25.

A potential game-winning shot by Baldwin was disallowed after it was ruled it came after the buzzer.

The Warriors will be at either York Suburban or Middletown on March 8. They also defeated Indiana, 42-26, after losing a 65-60 overtime heartbreaker to Thomas Jefferson in the quarterfinals.

Hanna Weishaar led the Warriors with 22 points, including five 3-pointers. Isabella Klobucar added 11 and Lauren Marton had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Lynsey Bernotas led No. 9 Baldwin (16-10) with 30 points. Julianne Ott and Mary Vargo each chipped in 10.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Penn-Trafford