Sports
2012 PIAA Basketball Championship Games Preview
March 22, 2012
The Path to Penn State has ended, eight championship tilts are on tap for this weekend at the Bryce Jordan Center. A rematch highlights the first day's action, with four games each day. The MSA Sports Network will have complete coverage, with broadcasts indicated, plus recaps from both days action. Here are previews of all eight games, starting with Friday's action: Girls Class AA Championship Game: Seton LaSalle Rebels (29-0) vs. York Catholic Crusaders (29-3) Noon Friday on the MSA Sports Network CLICK HERE for Game Link2012 WPIAL Baseball Review and Preview
The first pitch will be fired Friday to open up the 2012 WPIAL baseball season. Seneca Valley, Elizabeth Forward, Riverside and Neshannock are ready to defend their district crowns while Riverside and Serra Catholic prepare to defend their PIAA state titles. 2011 WPIAL BASEBALL REVIEW:Here are the final WPIAL baseball standings for the 2011 regular season.WPIAL CLASS AAAASection 1: (Section Record) (Overall Record) #-Seneca Valley Raiders : (9-3) (12-3) *-Pine-Richland Rams : (8-4) (13-5) *-Butler Golden Tornado : (8-4) (12-4) *-Shaler Titans : (8-4) (12-7) x-North Allegheny Tigers : (7-5) (14-5) x-North Hills Indians : (2-10) (6-10) x-Fox Chapel Foxes : (0-12) (3-17)PIAA Basketball Semifinals Wednesday Recaps
The 2012 WPIAL Class A girls champs and the lone district team remaining in Class AAA were eliminated on Wednesday, two WPIAL teams got their ticket punched to Happy Valley. Beaver Falls boys and North Catholic girls will join Montour, Lincoln Park, Oakland Catholic and Seton-LaSalle at Penn State University this weekend participating in the state championship games. Here are recaps from the games involving D-7 teams on Semifinals Wednesday in the PIAA Basketball Playoffs.Thanks to Bob Barrickman, Ryan Lucas and Jason Lucia for their help with these recaps.PIAA BOYS CLASS AA SEMIFINALS: Beaver Falls Tigers 55 - Quaker Valley Quakers 45
PIHL Penguins Cup Semifinals Wednesday Recaps
The PIHL Penguins Cup Semifinals concluded Wednesday night with Class AAA taking center stage. South Hills rivals Bethel Park and Peters Township both rose to the occasion and eliminated the top two seeds at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Complex. Here are recaps from both games.Bethel Park Black Hawks 3 - Penn-Trafford Warriors 2 By Mark Schaas2012 WPIAL Softball Review and Preview
March 21, 2012
The first pitch will be fired Friday to open up the 2012 WPIAL softball season. Latrobe, Yough, Burrell and Chartiers-Houston are ready to defend their district crowns and Valley prepares to defend their PIAA state title. This also marks the second season of the MSA Sports Hometown Softball program. Stay tuned for more information. 2011 WPIAL SOFTBALL REVIEW:Here are the final WPIAL softball standings for the 2011 regular season.PIAA Basketball Semifinals Tuesday Recaps
It was a banner night for the WPIAL. Now four district teams are one win away from plenty of gold and a state championship banner. Montour in AAA boys and Lincoln Park in A boys were winners and earn a repeat trip to the PIAA Finals for a second straight year. Oakland Catholic in AAAA girls and Seton-LaSalle in AA girls were also winners and will play Friday in Happy Valley for state gold. Here are recaps from the west on Semifinals Tuesday in the PIAA Basketball Playoffs.Thanks to Dennis Fischer, Jim Frederick and Don Rebel for their help with these recaps.PIAA BOYS CLASS AAA SEMIFINALS: Montour Spartans 45 - Hampton Talbots 29
PIHL Penguins Cup Semifinals Tuesday Recaps
The PIHL Penguins Cup Semifinals continued Tuesday night with Class AA taking center stage. Both Erie Cathedral Prep and West Allegheny fell behind early before coming back to win at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Complex. Here are recaps from both games.Erie Cathedral Prep Ramblers 6 - Chartiers Valley Colts 4 By Josh RowntreeThey say the 15th Anniversary the "crystal" anniversary.But on Saturday, the Erie Cathedral Prep hockey team will be looking for gold as they will play for their third Penguins Cup Championship, with the last coming 15 years ago.Jimmy Bufalino and Mitch Cambell each netted hat tricks and #4 Prep knocked off #2 Chartiers Valley 6-4 in a wild semifinal matchup at the RMU Island Sports Center.
WPIAL Softball Realignment for 2013 and 2014 Seasons
March 20, 2012
The WPIAL Board of Control has approved the new realignment for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Here is a breakdown of each section in all four classifications for the next two years of District 7 softball.WPIAL CLASS AAAA Section 1: Connellsville Falcons Franklin Regional Panthers Hempfield Spartans Kiski Area Cavaliers Latrobe Wildcats Norwin Knights Penn-Trafford WarriorsWPIAL CLASS AAAA Section 2: Allderdice Dragons Gateway Gators McKeesport Tigers Oakland Catholic Eagles Penn Hills Indians Plum Mustangs Woodland Hills WolverinesCLASS AAAA Section 3: Butler Golden Tornado Fox Chapel Foxes North Allegheny Tigers North Hills Indians Pine-Richland Rams Seneca Valley Raiders Shaler Titans
WPIAL Baseball Realignment for 2013 and 2014 Seasons
WPIAL baseball will have a bit of a symmetrical look to it for the next two years after the district Board of Control approved the new realignment for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. There will be more sections in each class with fewer teams in each section in all four classifications. Here is a breakdown of each section.WPIAL CLASS AAAA Section 1: Butler Golden Tornado Fox Chapel Foxes New Castle Red Hurricane North Allegheny Tigers North Hills Indians Seneca Valley RaidersWPIAL CLASS AAAA Section 2: Albert Gallatin Colonials Connellsville Falcons Hempfield Spartans Kiski Area Cavaliers Latrobe Wildcats Norwin Knights Penn-Trafford Warriors
PIHL Penguins Cup Semifinals Monday Recaps
March 19, 2012
The PIHL Penguins Cup Semifinals began Monday night with Class A taking center stage. Mars needed double overtime to advance while Quaker Valley cruises to victory at the Island Sports Complex. Here are recaps from both games.Quaker Valley Quakers 7 - Kittanning Wildcats 1 By Lee MohnPIHL High School Hockey Notebook – 03/19/2012
Welcome to another edition of “PIHL Notebook,” your weekly companion to “The PIHL Power Play” on the MSA Sports Network. This week, we have another special playoff edition in store, this time continuing the annual tradition with our complete Penguins Cup Semifinal preview capsules on all 12 teams vying for the right to compete on Consol Energy Center ice this Saturday.PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS A Semifinals:#1 Quaker Valley Quakers (18-1-1) vs. #4 Kittanning Wildcats (14-5-1) at Island Sports Center on Neville Island on Monday, March 19th at 6:00pm on msasports.netThis Week on the MSA Sports Network – 03/19/2012
With the magnificent weather we've had, it's tough to believe that the winter sports season is still going on. However high school basketball and hockey postseason play concludes this week as we officially kiss winter goodbye and welcome in spring here on the MSA Sports Network. We have Semifinals and Championship Game action in the PIAA boys and girls state basketball playoffs along with the Semifinals and Championships on the PIHL Penguins Cup Playoffs and the Pennsylvania Cup Hockey Finals, plus college baseball and womens lacrosse as well as the WPIAL Roundball Report and the PIHL Power Play Show ALL here at MSAsports.netMonday, March 19th:PIHL High School Hockey Playoffs: Penguins Cup Class A Semifinals - Kittanning vs Quaker Valley at 6:00pm on MSAsports.netMars Margaret Gruber the State Golden Girl in PIAA Swimming
March 17, 2012
There was only one Class AA girls swimmer who won a state title this weekend at Bucknell University, but the Mars swimmer comes home as a champion with a new record to go with her two gold medalist. Margaret Gruber of Mars won both the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard butterfly, setting a new PIAA championship record in that race with a time of 54.43.Here are all of the results from the PIAA Girls Class AA swimming and diving finals.SSA Foursome Join QV and Mars Swimmers Win PIAA AA Titles
Two WPIAL Boys Class AA individuals and one team brought home gold from Bucknell University on Saturday in the PIAA Class AA swimming and diving championships. Bobby Francis of Quaker valley won gold in the 100-yard breaststroke while Kurt Muehlheuser of Mars won the state title in the 100-yard backstroke. The foursome of Chris Leech, Ryan Koul, Thaddeus Ellis and Grant Zentgraf from Shady Side Academy won the 200-yard freestyle relay championship. Here are all of the results from the two day event.PIAA Diving & 200 Relay Only Titles Won by WPIAL Girls AAA Swimmers
WPIAL girls Class AAA swimmers had to 'team' up and go 'diving' to find gold at the 2012 PIAA Girls Class AAA swimming and diving championships at Bucknell University. The North Allegheny foursome of Katerina Borisov, Allie Pennetti, Arielle Krigger and Kally Vanderbilt won the 200 freestyle relay while WPIAL diving champion Lauren Lamendola repeated her golden performance to win the PIAA state crown.Three WPIAL Boys AAA Swimmers Win PIAA Championships
Three WPIAL boys Class AAA swimmers brought home the gold from the state swimming and diving championships at Bucknell University, including a pair of PIAA titles for Penn-Trafford's Christian McCurdy, who took first place in the 400 freestyle and the 100 butterfly. Lucas Bureau of Latrobe won gold in the 200 freestyle while Matt Buerger of North Allegheny won a state championship in the 200 individual medley. Buerger helped North Allegheny finished third in the boys team scores.PIHL Penguins Cup Playoff Recap for Friday, March 16th
March 16, 2012
The final peice of the PIHL Penguins Cup Semifinals picture was emphatically put into place Friday night. Class AAA power Canon-McMillan won big to round out the Final Four for next week in the high school hockey playoffs.Special thanks to Brandon Rebel for this recap.PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS AAA QUARTERFINALS:2011-2012 MSA SPORTS ALL MAT WRESTLING TEAM
The WPIAL team championships may have had the same results for the 3rd year in a row, with Burrell winning the AA and Canon McMillan winning the AAA WPIAL title (in addition to the Big Macs winning the PIAA Championship). The individuals certainly did not disappoint, with the WPIAL bringing home 6 individuals state championships plus the City League claiming its first ever gold medal. Overall the WPIAL had 47 state medallists, including 30 from AAA and 17 from AA. 2011-2012 MSA Sports Outstanding Wrestler 126 – Jimmy Gulibon, Derry, Senior, 25-1, 136-4Scholastic Notebook – 03/16/2012
It was Problems at Palumbo for two WPIAL boys basketball champions this week. On consecutive nights, New Castle and Gateway – two WPIAL champions – lost games in the second round of the PIAA playoffs. Some might have been surprised at the two losses because New Castle was undefeated and Gateway is a talented team. But history says the two teams losses were not unusual at all. In fact, history says the two losses should have been expected. For years, WPIAL champions have had trouble going on to win state championships. But a look at the past decade of PIAA championship games suggests WPIAL champions have a less than 1 in 3 chance of even making it to the PIAA title game.
PIHL Penguins Cup Playoff Recap for Thursday, March 15th
Bookend PIHL Class AAA games on Wednesday and Friday squeezed the busiest night of the Penguins Cup postseason into Thursday where ten games were played in the three classifications. Once the ice shaving settled, ten more teams were Final Four bound, setting the Semifinals for both Class AA and Class A. Here are ALL ten recaps from the Thursday ice action.A special thanks to Don Rebel, Randy Gore, Steve Nagler, Josh Rowntree, Lee Mohn, Brandon Showers and Mike Azadian for their help on these recaps.PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS AAA QUARTERFINALS:
