Sports
Moon Beats Hampton for First WPIAL Boys Crown Since 2006
March 3, 2017
The Moon Tigers and the Hampton Talbots met twice during the regular season in Class (5A) Section 2, with the Tigers winning both regular season conference games. The stakes for the third meeting were much higher, with the WPIAL Championship on the line at the Petersen Event Center, but the results were the same, as Moon defeated Hampton 69-62 to capture the school’s 4th title.WPIAL Boys and Girls Swimming Results From Day Two
It was just another day, just another championship for the North Allegheny Tigers boys and girls swimmers. After building dominating day one leads neither team looked back and took the WPIAL Team Championships handily in day two.
CWNC Girls Cruise to Record 17th WPIAL Title
The Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Trojanettes (23-2) defeated the Blackhawk Cougars in impressive fashion, 65-36 to claim the WPIAL Girls 4A Championship on Friday at the Petersen Events Center. The win is a record 17th for the Trojanettes and first since 2011. Blackhawk is known as a team that lives and dies by the three-pointer, but in order for them to stand a chance in this game, they would have had to shoot near perfect from the outside. CWNC, using a distinct height advantage, displayed a complete team effort, sharing the basketball and playing as a team on both ends of the court.
Sewickley Academy Sweeps Past OLSH for Boys 2-A Crown
Sewickley Academy coach Win Palmer admitted his team was a bit nervous in the 2016 WPIAL championship game and ended up losing to North Catholic. Turn the calendar ahead one year and the nerves seemed to disappear, as did that losing feeling at the Petersen Events Center as the Panthers defeated Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in the Class 2A title game 71-60. The championship is the fourth in school history and being able to carry on that legacy was not lost on the Panthers' players. "It's a great feeling," said Chris Groetsch, senior guard, adding that the seniors took some ribbing from the coach's son Tyler, who was an assistant coach last season and a member of a past championship team. "Tyler always rubbed it in. He can't hold that over us anymore."
Winchester Thurston Pulls Away From Cornell for Girls 1-A Gold
The top-seed Winchester Thurston Bears defeated the #2 Cornell Raiders 52-41 Friday afternoon to take home the first WPIAL girls basketball title in school history.WPIAL Basketball Qualifiers for the PIAA State Playoffs Update
For years, the WPIAL did not play consolation games in basketball to determine state playoff berths. Instead they used the 'Follow the Winner' format to determine which teams would qualify for the PIAA Basketball postseason. However in 2015 and in 2016, the WPIAL did play consolation games to determine which district teams would move on. But with the expansion to six classification, we are back to 'Follow the Winner'. Heading into the WPIAL Finals on Saturday evening, here are the teams that have qualified and their order they are seeded out of the district along with those teams still on the bubble for the 2017 Road to Hershey. BOYS CLASS 6-A (6 Teams):
Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Knocks Off Lincoln Park to Repeat
March 2, 2017
Two teams with nearly identical overall records and two completely different styles of play were on full display Saturday night in the WPIAL Class 3-A boys championship game at Petersen Events Center. In a back and forth contest that saw Lincoln Park race up and down the court and Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic stick to a slower more methodical game, the Trojans slowed down the potent Leopards offense and won back to back Class A championships with a 56-51 win in the 3-A title game. Feels a lot different; we did it without size" said senior Kenny Fukon, who plays alongside his from John, one of the leading scorers for Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic. John finished with 16 points to lead the Trojans.
Monessen Cruises to District Gold in Boys 1-A
As the clock hit 0:00, the Monessen Greyhounds won their second WPIAL championship in three years and seventh in program history with a 74 to 59 victory over Imani Christian. The Greyhounds started off strong in the first quarter dropping 17 points to the Saints 10. Imani Christian struggled controlling the ball as they had 8 turnovers in the first period of play and 19 in the half. Part-way through the 1st quarter, tempers rose and technical fouls were dealt. Imani Christian senior, and West Virginia University football commit, Kenny Robinson took a seat on the bench after reaching three early fouls. Robinson finished the first half of play with six points.
Chartiers-Houston Dethrones Vincentian For Girls 2-A Title
The No. 1 seed Chartiers-Houston (23-2) Buccaneers kicked off the WPIAL Championship games with a 47-35 win over the No. 2 seed Vincentian Academy Royals (20-5). This was the 8th consecutive trip to a title game for Vincentian, and after winning their last five tries, the Royals fell short Thursday. For Chartiers-Houston, it was their first time playing for the WPIAL Championship. Their inexperience never showed though.WPIAL Championship Game Previews For Saturday
The weekend concludes with five championship games on Saturday. Two bitter section rivals will battle in each of the boys games, while the girls games will have a first time participant and some lower seeds taking the floor in hopes of winning gold. Below are previews of all the games, listed in order, Catch all the action on the NETWORK, with game broadcasts, Center Stage videos, articles photos and so much more. 2017 WPIAL CLASS 3-A GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: #1 Bishop Canevin Crusaders (18-5) vs #3 Neshannock Lancers (23-1) AT The Petersen Events Center at the University of Pittsburgh on Saturday, March 4th at 11:00am on MSAsports.net
2017 WPIAL Boys & Girls Swimming Results From Day One
The North Allegheny machine just keeps rolling on as both the boys and girls marched out to a solid day-1 lead over their competition in Day One of the WPIAL Swimming championships.WPIAL Basketball Playoff Summaries for Wednesday 3/1
As the calendar changed from the February Frenzy to the madness of March, three days of Final Four action in the WPIAL basketball postseason also came to an end. Section supremecy was the theme on the boys side as a pair of Section 1 teams are title game bound in Class 6-A while two teams from Section 2 are headed to clash at The Pete in Class 4-A. For the girls, the lone district team with a perfect record is unbeaten no more and two lower seeds advance to play for gold in Class 5-A. Here are recaps from the eight Semifinals games on Wednesday from Boys 6-A, Boys 4-A, Girls 5-A and Girls 3-A. A special thanks to Bob Barrickman, Tyler Friel, Dennis Fischer, Mike Azadian, Scott Majesky, Bob Gregg, Mark Schaas and Don Rebel for their help on these recaps.WPIAL Championship Game Previews For Friday
March 1, 2017
An early start as Day 2 of heaven for WPIAL Basketball fans with 4 more games at the Pete. Friday features three first-timers to the title game plus some experienced veterans. All 4 games can be heard on the NETWORK, plus game stories, Center Stage interviews and much more. Here are the game previews in order of their starting time. 2017 WPIAL CLASS 1-A GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: #1 Winchester Thurston Bears (20-1) vs #2 Cornell Raiders (20-4) AT The Petersen Events Center at the University of Pittsburgh on Friday, March 3rd at 3:00pm on MSAsports.net Both teams will make their 1st title game trip. Winchester Thurston defeated Cornell 62-59 on December 12th at home.WPIAL Championship Game Previews For Thursday
It’s the conclusion to the Path to the Pete as over a 3 day stretch, players and fans will make the trip up Cardiac Hill to the home of the Pitt Panthers and the WPIAL Championships. MSA Sports Network will offer up broadcasts of ALL 12 title games, plus stories, photos, Center Stage video interviews and much more. Kicking of our coverage, here are game previews of Thursday’s action in order by game time. 2017 WPIAL CLASS 2-A GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: #1 Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers (22-2) vs #2 Vincentian Academy Royals (20-4) AT The Petersen Events Center at the University of Pittsburgh on Thursday, March 2nd at 5:00pm on MSAsports.netWPIAL Basketball Playoff Summaries for Tuesday 2/28
February 28, 2017
In a postseason with very few surprises across both genders, we saw a 7th-seed advance to the finals and a pair of top-seeds get eliminated on Tuesday. After knocking off #2 Pine-Richland in the Girls 6-A Quarterfinals, #7 Bethel Park followed up by beating #3 Penn Hills to advance to the title game. Meanwhile, two teams not championship bound are #1 Mars in 5-A and #1 Greensburg Central Catholic in 2-A. The Fightin' Planets were ousted by rival Hampton while the Centurions undefeated season earned its first blemish with a loss to OLSH. Here are recaps from the eight Semifinals games on Tuesday from Boys 5-A, Boys 2-A, Girls 6-A and Girls 1-A.PIHL Notebook – 02/28/2017
The 2016-17 PIHL regular season has concluded, and now the brackets are nearly set for the playoffs, which begin on March 6. Subsequently, this week's edition of the PIHL Notebook will take a slightly different format, previewing some of notable contenders and darkhorse teams in each classification. Melting the Ice (The favorite and a darkhorse from each classification)WPIAL Basketball Playoff Summaries for Monday 2/27
February 27, 2017
The first of three nights of Final Four district postseason hoops is in the books with a familiar theme ringing true. In both the Boys 3-A and the Boys 1-A Semifinals, the #1-seeds were winners and will now face the #3-seeds in the finals. Meanwhile, it was a simpler formula for Girls 4-A and Girls 2-A where in the title games it will be #1 vs #2. Here are the summaries from the eight WPIAL Semifinals in the above mentioned classifications from Monday night on MSA Sports. A special thanks to Brandon Showers, Mark Uriah, Rob McKinney, Bob Gregg, Mark Schaas, Tom Hays and Donny Chedrick for their help on these recaps. BOYS WPIAL CLASS 3-A Semifinals:
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Josh Shields
For many years, Western Pennsylvania has been a hotbed for high-school wrestling. In particular, the Franklin Regional Panthers produced a few historic seasons recently. Josh Shields was one of the key components of the Panthers success, and now he's achieved similar success on the mat at Arizona State. Shields, who on Sunday claimed both individual and team gold, is this week's feature for the WPIAL Alum Q&A.
WPIAL Coaches Corner – Tim McConnell
February 26, 2017
In this feature titled “Coach’s Corner”, I will be interviewing a different coach every week and asking them questions about their personal life and about coaching. Hopefully their answers will not only shed some light on how they coach their respective teams, but also allow readers to get to know the men behind the fields/courts. This week highlights Chartiers Valley boys basketball coach Tim McConnell. Coach McConnell is in his 24th season as head coach of the Colts, posting 20+ win seasons in 20 of his previous 23 years. He is closing in on 550 career wins as a coach and he has led Chartiers Valley to 6 WPIAL championships, including titles with each of his sons: TJ and Matty. Let’s take a look inside Coach McConnell’s corner:This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 02/26/2017
A golden week marks the transition from the February Frenzy to the scholastic version of the Madness of March all this week on the MSA Sports Network. Our EXCLUSIVE postseason coverage concludes with Semifinals and Championship action in the WPIAL and District 6 boys and girls basketball playoffs along with the start of the PIHL high school hockey playoffs, the 2017 WPIAL Individual Wrestling Class 3-A Championships and the 2017 WPIAL Boys and Girls Swimming Championships, plus we have The WPIAL Roundball Report on the road at a special time, The PIHL Power Play Show and Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, February 27th:
