Sports
Penguins Cup Playoffs Recaps From Wednesday (3/2) & Thursday (3/3)
March 3, 2016
One game on Wednesday and seven more on Thursday helped close out the first two rounds of the high school hockey playoffs in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The stage is now set of the postseason Final Four as four teams from each classification are set to play next week for a spot in the championship game. Here are summaries from the Class AAA, Class AA, Class A and Division 2 Quarterfinals games played on both Wednesday and Thursday in the PIHL Penguins Cup Playoffs. A special thanks to Don Rebel, Josh Rowntree, Sean Meyers, Mike Azadian, Lou Rood and Matt Vandriak for their help on these recaps. PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS AAA Quarterfinals:
2016 WPIAL Boys & Girls Swimming Results From Day One
Day 1 in the AAA Girls and Boys Swimming Championships were much of the same old, same old. Once again, the North Allegheny Tigers boys and girls have jumped out to healthy leads after the first day of activity at Joseph Trees Pool at the University of Pittsburgh. Although, in surprising fashion, neither Tigers swim teams were able to capture gold in the opening team event, the 200 Yard Medley Relay. Those gold medals went to the Upper St. Clair girls (Maeve Lersch, Maddie Yoos, Ynrya Bohan and Lindsey Choate) and Upper St. Clair boys (Jack Fitzpatrick, Kevin Liu, Braedon Wong & Brandon Novak) and in the most stunning revelation, the North Allegheny boys didn’t even medal in the event, finishing fourth.Penguins Cup Playoffs Recaps From Tuesday 3/1
March 2, 2016
Day one of the PIHL Penguins Cup Playoffs roared in like a lion as three of the seven visiting teams pull off victories for the lower seeds. Day two on Tuesday was like the start of march, coming in like a lamb as the home teams and higher seeds were a perfect five for five. Here are recaps from the two AAA Quarterfinals games, one Division II Quarterfinals matchup and a pair of Class A First Round contests. A special thanks to Rob Longo, Randy Gore, Josh Rowntree, Matt Vandriak and Kevin Zielmanski for their help on these recaps. PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS AAA Quarterfinals:Penguins Cup Playoffs Recaps From Monday 2/29
February 29, 2016
It happens every four years. Leap Year. An extra day in the month of February. The PIHL took advantage of that rare 29th day in the second month of the year with a February start to the high school hockey postseason. A pair of First Round games in Class AA along with Quarterfinals contests in Class AAA, Class AA, Class A and Division II. Here are recaps from all seven opening night contests as the curtain rises in the 2016 Penguins Cup Playoffs. A special thanks to Steve Nagler, Kevin Zielmanski, Don Rebel, Matt Vandriak, Bob Orkwis, Greg Kuntz and Josh Rowntree for their help with these recaps. PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS AAA Quarterfinals:
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Sheldon Jeter
Over the weekend, the Beaver Falls boys' team captured its 10th WPIAL basketball title. The Tigers have built a dynasty, especially in recent years, as the team has been consistently in title contention in both Class AA and AAA. This installment of the WPIAL Alum Q&A focuses on the player who likely stands out as the face of the Tigers' recent run of success, Sheldon Jeter. Jeter, a 2012 graduate, enjoyed a terrific four-year run at Beaver Falls, including three years as a starter. In his time with the Tigers, he netted just shy of 1,500 points, and twice was an first-team All-State selection.PIHL Notebook – 02/29/2016
Welcome to another edition of “PIHL Notebook,” your weekly companion to “The PIHL Power Play” on the MSA Sports Network. Beginning this week we break the regular format, and with good reason as the 2016 Penguins Cup Playoffs beginning tonight. Where, when and against whom is your favorite team playing? Which players should you keep an eye on in each game? Fear not, we have your questions answered below in encapsulated form. So, let’s light the lamp on this special playoff preview edition of “PIHL Notebook.” Class AAA Quarterfinals: #1 North Allegheny Tigers (13-5-2) vs #8 Bethel Park Black Hawks (8-10-2) AT Baierl Ice Complex in Warrendale on Tuesday, March 1st at 7:00pmThis Week on the MSA Sports Network – 02/29/2016
There is MORE district gold to be won on the mat and in the pool, plus the start of the state playoffs on the hardwood and the Penguins Cup playoffs on the ice this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have the tip off of the boys and girls 2016 PIAA State Basketball Playoffs along with the start of the 2016 PIHL Penguins Cup hockey postseason. We also have the 2016 WPIAL Individual Wrestling Class AAA Championships and the PIAA Class AA Southwest Regionals and the 2016 WPIAL boys and girls Swimming Championships, plus Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle and The PIHL Power Play Show and The WPIAL Roundball Report back to its normal Wednesday night ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, February 29th:2016 WPIAL BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS Results
February 28, 2016
A pair of #4-seeds knocked off the top seed in the Semifinals, then followed with a title game win. That was the path taken by Pine-Richland in winning their first ever basketball championship in Quad-A and also by Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, who stunned heavy favorite Monessen in the Semi's before knocking of two-seed Sewickley Academy in the finals. Highlands could not follow the same path after stunning Triple-A top-seed New Castle in the Final Four, the Golden Rams fell to last years runner-up and now ten time champion Beaver Falls.
2016 WPIAL GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS Results
Two new champions were crowned and two others were hoisting gold again as the district playoff concluded the The Petersen Events Center at the University of Pittsburgh. Bishop Canevin was ranked #1 most of the season but slipped to the fourth seed late in the season. However the Crusaders cruised to a second title in four years. South Fayette won a first ever girls basketball crown in Class AAA. Norwin needed a big comeback and overtime in the finals, but the Knights won a second straight Quad-A championship. Then there is Vincentian Academy. The Royals won the rubber match against section rival and top-seed Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic to capture a fifth consecutive district gold ball.
Penn-Trafford’s Joey Ference Repeats as WPIAL AAA Diving Champ
Second verse, same as the first for Penn-Trafford’s Joey Ference, who came into Saturday’s Boys Class AAA Diving Championships as the favorite, and the senior left with his second straight gold medal posting the only score above 500, as he finished his 11-dive set with 546.90 points. Ference admitted afterwards that he was a little bit disappointed that he didn’t come close to his score of 589.40 from last year, or the WPIAL record of 610.00, but in the end, Ference realized a gold medal is a gold medal and a second consecutive first place finish in the Championship.
2016 WPIAL Class AA Individual Wrestling Results
The talent in AA Wrestling was on display this weekend, as many wrestlers repeated as WPIAL champions. Saturday’s finals at South Fayette High School featured 9 returning WPIAL Champions, including 5 of which who had already won multiple WPIAL crowns before taking the mat for the finals. The most impressive of which was George Phillippi of Derry. At 138 pounds, Phillippi became the 26th wrestler all time to win four WPIAL championships. He did by defeating Evan Myers of Southmoreland 9-3. For Myers, who is a senior, this is the third straight season he finished as a WPIAL runner-up.
Bethel Park’s Maria Capozzi Wins AAA Gold on Final Dive
In a meet seemingly dominated by underclassmen, it was a senior who ended up top of the class. Bethel Park's Maria Capozzi finally broke through to the taste the gold at the Girls Class AAA Diving Championships at North Allegheny High School. Capozzi slipped past Hampton's Adrienne White in the finals, defeating her by just under ten points.2016 WPIAL Individual Wrestling Class AAA Sectionals Results
The field for the 2016 WPIAL Class AAA Individual Wrestling Championships is now set following the results from all four Triple-A sectionals on Saturday. The top five wrestlers from each section qualify for the district championships next weekend at Penn Hills High School and here on MSA Sports. CLASS AAA SECTION 1 at KISKI AREA HIGH SCHOOL:
Pine-Richland Cruises To First WPIAL Quad-A Basketball Title
February 27, 2016
Following a 77-75 double-overtime win against top-seeded Latrobe Wednesday, Pine-Richland got off to a mildly sluggish start early in the first quarter of Saturday’s WPIAL Class AAAA Championship game. However, that didn’t last long. The Rams opened up a 12-0 run midway through the first quarter, and never looked back, defeating North Hills 70-53 at the Petersen Events Center to win the first District 7 Championship in school history. “We went really light for two days after that,” said Pine-Richland head coach Jeff Ackermann. “We didn’t watch any film; I think it helped us that we played them twice in section play. From that standpoint, we didn’t need as much preparation. Nothing full court, we kept it light so they had legs. It was more about executing.”
Norwin Comes Back To Repeat Girls AAAA Title In Overtime
“Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion” has often become a cliché in the world of sports. That adage proved fitting at the Petersen Events Center on Saturday night, however, as the reigning champion Norwin Knights scored a 63-57 overtime victory against North Allegheny in the Class Quad-A title game. Top-seeded Norwin overcame a seemingly insurmountable fourth-quarter deficit against North Allegheny to not only keep its undefeated season in tact, but to repeat as champion. Pitt recruit Alayna Gribble led the Knights with a game-high 22 points, with 17 points in the second half, while teammate Dominique Petach contributed 13 points, including five points in overtime.
South Fayette Edges Trinity for First WPIAL Basketball Title
No. 1 South Fayette (22-3) returned to the Peterson Events Center for a second consecutive year to the WPIAL Girls AAA Championship Game. This time, however, the Lions would survive a thrilling victory over section rival Trinity (21-4), claiming their first WPIAL basketball title, 59-52. In their third meeting of the season, South Fayette would see No. 2 Trinity battle back from a 17-point deficit to one-point game in the final minutes. In section play, South Fayette won both meetings, including a 43-40 game in which the Lions overcame an eight-point halftime deficit. But in this matchup, the Lions did not need to mount a second-half comeback and led by five after the first quarter.
Aliquippa Makes WPIAL History In Class AA Title Win
Senior Kaezon Pugh has been in a number of pressure situations as a member of the Aliquippa Quips football team, but he found himself in a tight spot on the basketball floor on Saturday afternoon. The Pitt recruit shined once again as he nailed two free throws in the final seconds to place No. 1 Aliquippa (25-0) in the WPIAL history books once again with a 49-45 victory over No. 2 Lincoln Park (22-4) at the Petersen Events Center. The victory in the Class AA championship is the 12th basketball title in school history. The Quips become only the second team in the 100-plus year history of the league to win back to back undefeated championships. The other was New Castle, which won three straight titles with an undefeated record from 2012-2014.
Vincentian Wears the Girls A Gold Crown For Fifth Straight Year
Cardinal Weurl North Catholic and Vincentian Academy are far from strangers. The two have met twice already this season, this time though – there was much more on the line. The Trojans were looking for revenge after falling to the Royals in last year’s WPIAL championship. When the final buzzer sounded, though, Vincentian Academy again stood tall, as the Royals brought home the school's fifth straight WPIAL Class A championship, prevailing 68-54.
