Sports
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Brendan McKay
May 30, 2016
During the 2014 WPIAL baseball season, watching Brendan McKay was a must-see event. McKay, of Blackhawk High School, produced one of the best pitching streaks in high-school baseball history for the Cougars. Now at Louisville, the lefty hurler has continued his excellence on the mound, as well as at the plate, for the Cardinals. McKay is the focus of the final WPIAL Alum Q&A of the 2015-16 sports season.This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 05/29/2016
May 29, 2016
A holiday weekend leads us right into Championship Week on the diamonds and the final WPIAL Finals of the 2015-2016 school year this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have Championship and Consolation action in both WPIAL Baseball and WPIAL Softball along with another full week of Washington Wild Things pro baseball, plus Rappin' on Racin' and the final edition of WPIAL Diamond Notes this spring on a special night ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, May 30th: TALK SHOW - Rappin' on Racin' at 6:00pm on MSAsports.net Tuesday, May 31st:PIAA Track & Field Highlights – Day Two
It was a one-of-a-kind day for Dom Perretta. He pulled off an unassisted double and triple play. Perretta, a senior made history at the PIAA individual track and field championships Saturday at Shippensburg University. His double play came when he won the Class AA 800- and 1,600-meter runs. His triple play was that he won both events for the third year in a row. The effort put Perretta into the record book. He became the first runner in PIAA history to win both the 800 and 1,600 three consecutive years – in any classification. But Perretta did more than win both events again. He set a Class AA championship meet record in the 800 with a time of 1 minute, 50.10 seconds, breaking the mark of 1:51.96 set 29 years ago.2016 WPIAL BOYS VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS Results
The four year run atop of the WPIAL Class AA came crashing to a half for Ambridge in the schools eighth title match in nine years. The Bridgers hopes of a fifth straight district crown were snuffed out by Beaver County Christian as the Eagles captured their first WPIAL boys volleyball crown, In Class AAA, another first time winner walked away with gold as the Penn-Trafford Warriors swept past the Bethel Park Black Hawks, who settled for silver for the second time in four years. Here are ALL the results from the 2016 WPIAL Boys Volleyball Playoffs. All results marked with (MSA) after are matches that can be heard archived here on the MSA Sports Network.2016 WPIAL GIRLS LACROSSE PLAYOFFS Results
For one school, its one for the thumb when it comes to district girls lacrosse titles. For the other, its just one, as in first ever championship. Mount Lebanon won the Division I crown, the schools second championship in three years and fifth in school history. Meanwhile, Blackhawk stayed true to its top-seed as the Cougars captured first time in school history. Here are ALL of the results from the 2016 WPIAL Girls Lacrosse Playoffs. Results marked with (MSA) are matches that can be heard archived here on the MSA Sports Network. 2016 WPIAL GIRLS LACROSSE DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Mount Lebanon Blue Devils 14 - Chartiers Valley Colts 9 (MSA)2016 WPIAL BOYS LACROSSE PLAYOFFS Results
They say that revenge is a dish best served cold. For North Allegheny boys lacrosse, revenge is a dish best served Gold. After losing to Mount Lebanon in both the 2013 and last years Division I boys lacrosse district finals, North Allegheny edged the Blue Devils for the Tigers first ever district boys lacrosse title. In Division II, it was another defending champion falling to a first time champion as Mars knocked out Hampton for D-II gold. Here are ALL the results from the 2016 WPIAL Boys Lacrosse Playoffs. All results marked with (MSA) after them are matches that can be heard archived on the MSA Sports Network. 2016 WPIAL DIVISION I BOYS LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Penn-Trafford Sweeps Bethel Park for First WPIAL Boys Volleyball Gold
May 28, 2016
The Penn-Trafford Warriors claimed their first volleyball title with a straight-sets win against Bethel Park in the Class AAA Championship at Baldwin High School. Propelled by their success in extra points, the Warriors prevailed 33-31, 25-20 and 27-25. In a matchup of two teams looking for their first championship, top-seeded Penn-Trafford captured the opening set in dramatic fashion. The squads frequently exchanged leads, but the No. 3 Black Hawks pulled ahead 24-22 and appeared poised to take the upper hand. Three consecutive points staked the Warriors to the lead, though, and the sides continued to exchange blows until Penn-Trafford finally prevailed 33-31.
North Allegheny Finally Top Mount Lebanon For D-I Boys Lax Crown
The North Allegheny Tigers won their first ever boys lacrosse championship Friday night defeating Mount Lebanon 9-7 at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. Mount Lebanon defeated the Tigers last year 9-8 in double overtime in last years finals and also won 18-5 early in the year. This night would be different. Mount Lebanon would control the first four minutes of the match and were finally rewarded with a goal from Brian Ward. The Tigers would call timeout and from then on things went North Allegheny's way. The Tigers would score three goals in 51 seconds and one with just 15 seconds left in period one to take a 4-1 lead. Scoring two goals each were Gavin Hagen and Wes Powell.
Beaver County Christian Ends Ambridge’s WPIAL AA Volleyball Run
The narrative was all too familiar before the championship of boys’ volleyball in Class AA. For the fifth straight season and for the eighth time in nine years, the Bridgers of Ambridge were in the house competing for a championship. They had won seven titles in the previous eight seasons, going 7-7 in their opportunities. But all good stories in sports come to an end eventually, and when the final volley was complete at Baldwin High School on Friday night, a new champion was crowned. A champion, in the Eagles of Beaver County Christian, whose name probably isn’t all too familiar for followers of the WPIAL. It was the first appearance for the team that hails from a school that has 33 male students enrolled in a volleyball championship game.
Mars Knocks Off Defending Champ Hampton for Boys D-II Lax Title
May 27, 2016
The Mars Fighting Planets, in just their fourth year or existence, captured the WPIAL Division 2 Boys Lacrosse by defeating defending champion Hampton 15-10 at Highmark Stadium in Station Square. It didn't take Mars long to jump on top as Andrew Moyer converted a feed from Joe Horvat just :32 into the match to give Mars a 1-0 lead. The Talbots answered as sophomore Ross Anderson BG beat Mars goalie Pat Morrow from 12-yards out off a assist from Luke Molingowski to tie the game at 1. Moyer netted his second of the game from 18-yards as a two-man advantage was ending to put Mars back in the lead before Richy Myros scored his first goal of the game to tie the match at 2-2.PIAA Track & Field Highlights – Day One
Is it really a 12-pound shot put in Jordan Geist’s hands? The way it sails on his throws, you’d swear it was a softball. Geist, a junior at Knoch High School, is the No. 1 high school shot putter in the country this spring and Friday he added some distance to his reputation as the best shot putter in Pennsylvania history. Geist set another meet record when he threw 74 feet, 3 ½ inches at the PIAA track and field championships at Shippensburg University. He broke the 11-year-old Class AAA record of 70-0 set by Central Dauphin’s Ryan Whiting, who made the U.S. Olympic team in 2012.
Mount Lebanon Wins More WPIAL Girls Lacrosse D-I Gold
Senior attack Anna Albers scored 4 goals and added 4 assists and fellow senior Sophia Klaber added 4 goals of her own to lead the Mt. Lebanon to a 14-9 win over Chartiers Valley at Highmark Stadium, giving the Blue Devils their second championship in the past three years. The WPIAL Girls Division 1 title is the fifth title overall for Mt. Lebanon. Klaber and sophomore Cora Broadhurst scored the first two goals of the game and the Blue Devils never trailed against their Section 1 rival Chartiers Valley. Senior midfielder Maria Stamerra got the Colts on the board at the 7:09 mark of the first period with the first of her 6 goals in the game. But Albers on a step out move and sophomore Lexi Gibbons answered for Mt. Lebanon to make the score 4-1.
Big First Half Helps Blackhawk Win WPIAL Girls D-II Title
Blackhawk built a substantial lead in the first half, and held off a second-half charge, defeating Mars 7-5 to claim the school's first Division II Lacrosse Championship at Highmark Stadium. The top-seeded Cougars won the rubber match against the Fighting Planets, as the team's split their two regular-season tilts.WPIAL Softball Recaps From Wednesday, May 25th
May 25, 2016
The last missing pieces to the WPIAL Baseball and Softball Championship Week puzzle were filled in on Wednesday as eight Final Four winners had their ticket punched and they are headed out to Cally...California University of Pennsylvania that is where next Thursday, those eight teams play for district gold. The Final Four losers do not pack in it yet though as they will settle for a spot in their classes consolation game to play for a berth in the PIAA Playoffs and continue their season into June. Here are the Softball Semifinals summaries. A special thanks to Mike Azadian, Mark Schaas, Lou Rood, Jason Tennant, Sean Meyers, Bob Gregg and Lee Mohn for their help on these recaps. WPIAL CLASS AAAA Semifinals:WPIAL Baseball Recaps From Tuesday, May 24th
You've read it here before and will read it again. The unkindest loss of the all is the district Semifinals loss. So close and yet so far. Sure, losing in the championship game is rough, but realizing that goal and being part of the pageantry is a lifetime memory. And yes, losing at this stage doesn't mean season over as you get to play for a berth in the upcoming state playoffs where dreams can be still be realized from the third-seed out of the WPIAL. But don't sell that to the eight teams on the wrong end of the score today. They ain't buying it...at least until their next practice. Here are recaps from all eight WPIAL Semifinals games played in great weather conditions on Tuesday.WPIAL Softball Recaps From Tuesday, May 24th
May 24, 2016
13 was the lucky number for games played on Monday in Round Two of the district softball postseason, while three games were not so fortunate and had to be bumped back 24 hours to Tuesday. For the three teams that won and advanced in those games, the wait was worth it, but the turnaround is quick as they have 24 hours to prep for the Final Four. Here are the three summaries from the WPIAL Quarterfinals Softball games played at Hampton Township Park on Tuesday. A special thanks to Jake Holmes, Josh Rowntree and Kyle Dawson for their help on these recaps. WPIAL CLASS AAAA Quarterfinals:
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Julie Kocjancic
Very few high school track and field or cross-country athletes earn the opportunity to continue their athletic career at the college level. Julie Kocjancic, a former standout at Mount Lebanon High School, now excels at both sports at Penn State University. The junior runner is the focus of this week's WPIAL Alum Q&A.WPIAL Softball Recaps From Monday, May 23rd
While a full slate of Second Round games were scheduled for Monday in the district softball postseason, heavy rains on Sunday forced six site changed. Then an unforecast pop up storm wiped away three games until Tuesday. But the action from the games that were played was tight as we get deeper into the 2016 WPIAL Softball Playoffs. Here are summaries from the diamond on Quarterfinals Monday. A special thanks to Don Rebel, Bob Orkwis, Mark Uriah, James Dotson, Bob Gregg, Sean Meyers, Greg Kuntz, Kyle Dawson and Jason Tennant for their help on these recaps. WPIAL CLASS AAAA Quarterfinals:Scholastic Notebook – 05/22/2016
May 22, 2016
Plum’s Alex Kirilloff has a good chance to be selected in the first round of the June 9 Major League Baseball draft. Teams love his bat and also like the way he plays the outfield. At Plum, they also love the way he pitches. Kirilloff has a bright future as an outfielder, but at the present, he is one dominating pitcher. He is certainly one of the best hurlers in the WPIAL. When Plum defeated Peters Township, 2-0, in the WPIAL Class AAAA quarterfinals Thursday, Kirilloff led the way with his hitting – and pitching. He had a double and triple at the plate. But he also pitched six innings , struck out 11 and gave up only one hit.2016 WPIAL Individual Boys Track & Field Results
May 19, 2016
The broken records have become a broken record. Another meet, another record for Jordan Geist. A junior at Knoch High School, Geist won two more gold medals at the WPIAL track and field championships Thursday and broke a record that had been around for 44 years. Geist won the Class AAA shot put with a throw of 72 feet, 7 inches. Although it was a little short of the best mark in Geist’s career, he broke the championship meet record set in 1972 by Baldwin’s Ron Semkiw. Geist is the top shot putter in the country this year and one of the best of all time.
