Sports
MSA Sports Championship Friday Blog
March 2, 2012
While you are listening to the game on the MSA Sports Network, be sure to follow along with the Championship Blog. All four games with up to date information right here:THAT'LL DO IT FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP FRIDAY BLOG. THREE #1-SEEDS WON AND A #2 SEED. WE'LL BE BACK TOMORROW WITH THE CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY BLOG AT 3 PM, 5PM, 7PM AND 9PM. CONGRATS TO SETON-LaSALLE, LINCOLN PARK, MOUNT LEBANON AND NEW CASTLE.BOYS AAA: NEW CASTLE vs HAMPTONNew Castle scored about 24 points less than they do on average, had their lowest scoring output of the season, BUT had their 5th-best defensive showing of the season. It is deafening in AJ Palumbo everyone from NC has stuck around to watch the trophy be raised. Congrats to the Red Hurricane, 26-0!FINAL SCORE: NEW CASTLE-57, HAMPTON-44Hampton fans are heading for the gates. 1:17 to go, New Castle by 13.2012 WPIAL Boys Basketball Championship Previews
For the WPIAL boys basketball championships this weekend, the theme might be: “Weren’t you just here?” Three of the eight finalists at Duquesne University’s Palumbo Center were in the title games a year ago – Gateway in Class AAAA, Monessen in Class AA and Lincoln Park in Class A. Lincoln Park has actually been in the title game the past two seasons. Here is a look at the title games. CLASS AAAA The game: Gateway (19-6) vs. Pittsburgh Central Catholic (15-10), Saturday at 9 p.m. The statistics: Central Catholic senior guard Lincoln Davis averages 20.2 points a game while senior guard Tyler Scott leads Gateway at 16.5 points a game. … Central Catholic has held three playoff opponents below 50 points. Gateway has scored 60 or more in three playoff games.2012 WPIAL Girls Basketball Championship Previews
Rematch is a popular word for the WPIAL girls basketball championships this weekend. Three of the four title games are between teams that already have played this year – South Park vs. Blackhawk, Seton-LaSalle vs. Bishop Canevin and North Catholic vs. Vincentian. Seton-LaSalle-Bishop Canevin and North Catholic-Vincentian are from the same sections. The only game that is not a rematch is Oakland Catholic vs. Mount Lebanon. All four championship games will be played at Duquesne University’s Palumbo Center. Here is a look at the four championship games:WPIAL Class AAA Individual Wrestling Finals – Day One Highlights
The AAA WPIAL Championships kicked off from Norwin High School Thursday night. Four wrestlers were eliminated from the 20 man bracket to leave 8 wrestlers remaining in the quarterfinals and 8 wrestlers in the consolations.Overall there weren’t many surprises on the first night of action at Norwin. From the top 6 seeds in each weight class, only 3 lost on Thursday. At 132 pounds, 6th seed Josh Gudenburr of Ringgold lost to Chris Olszewski of Hampton 12-3. At 138 pounds, 5th seed Erik Rayman of Norwin lost to Italo Merante of Peters Township 4-3. The biggest upset of all however came at 152 pounds, when 3rd seed John Kyriacopoulos of Upper St. Clair lost 8-3 to Joe Fiasco of Penn Trafford.AAA WPIAL Champion Canon-McMillan leads the way with 10 wrestlers in the quarterfinals. Central Catholic and Hampton both have 8 wrestlers still alive in the winners bracket.WPIAL Basketball Teams That Have Qualified for PIAA Basketball Playoffs
March 1, 2012
The 2012 WPIAL Boys and Girls Basketball Playoffs conclude this weekend with eight championship games at the A.J. Palumbo Center at Duquesne University. Starting next week, 46 district teams hop on the Highway to Happy Valley with the start of the PIAA Boys and Girls Basketball state playoffs. Here are the teams that have qualified for the 'second chance' at gold and their seeding for those classifications that have played their title game.WPIAL BOYS AAAA PIAA QUALIFIERS - 5:Gateway GatorsPittsburgh Central Catholic VikingsButler Golden TornadoShaler Titans(If Gateway wins - Seneca Valley is in) (If Pgh Central Catholic wins - Peters Township is in)WPIAL BOYS AAA PIAA QUALIFIERS - 6:#1 - New Castle Red HurricaneGolden Freshmen Shine in Day One of WPIAL Class AA Swimming Championships
After Day One of the McDonald’s/WPIAL Boys and Girls Swimming Championships, the West Allegheny Indians hold a 33 point lead to try and claim a second straight Girls Class AA championship, while on the boys side, Indiana holds a sizable lead over Hampton for a second straight boys championship.Individually on the girls side, junior Braelyn Tracy of Elizabeth Forward upset defending champion Kara Kaulius of West Allegheny for the 200 Freestyle title. Margaret Gruber of Mars claimed her second straight championship in the 100 Butterfly. A pair of freshman also claimed WPIAL gold, Maddie Bartrug of South Fayette in the 50 Freestyle and Bria Otwell of Freeport in the 200 IM.Senior Bobby Francis of Quaker Valley, the 2011 breaststroke champion, claimed gold in the 200 IM on the boys side.Here are the individual and team standings after the opening day:Records Fall On Day One At WPIAL Class AAA Swimming Championships
The McDonald’s WPIAL Class AAA Swimming Championships kicked off Day 1 at Trees Pool on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. Several WPIAL records were broken and North Allegheny staked a major claim towards taking both the boys and girls titles after the first day’s events.North Allegheny set the first record of the day, in the very first event, setting a new mark in the Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay. The NA girls also set a record in the final event, the 200 Freestyle Relay. The NA boys also broke a record in the 200 Medley Relay.Senior Andrew Rich of Peters Township set an individual record in the 100 Butterfly. Senior Matthew Buerger of North Allegheny bested his brother Zachery in the 200 IM by 51 hundreds of a second.Here are the individual results and team standings from Day 1, the top 4 finishers qualify to the PIAA Championships next month at Bucknell University.
WPIAL Basketball Playoff Recaps for Wednesday, February 29th
February 29, 2012
February 29th. Leap Year. It happens once every four years. Semifinals Wednesday in the WPIAL Basketball Playoffs. It happens once a year. This edition saw the first top seed fall, two defending boys champs return to the finals and two more sets of girls top seeds advancing to title weekend, setting up four #1 vs #2 girls championship games. Here are the recaps from Semifinals Wednesday in Boys AAAA, Boys AA, Girls AAA and Girls A in the final stop on the Battle to the Bluff.a special THANKS to Johnny Lee, Glenn Thompson, Ken Laird, Bob Barrickman, Jim Frederick, Matt Vandriak, Josh Rowntree and Bob Gregg for their help on these recaps.WPIAL CLASS AAAA Semifinals:2012 WPIAL BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS – FINALS NOW SET
It took until the final game of the Semifinals, but finally a top-seed has fallen. Shaler becomes the only #1 seed in all eight tournaments to not make it to the Palumbo Center. Meanwhile, AAAA defending champion Gateway and 2011 AA winner Monessen remain alive and are one victory away from a golden repeat. Here are ALL of the final results through the Semifinals round, plus the four Championship Game matchups AND TIMES are set for this weekend in the 2012 WPIAL Boys Basketball Playoffs.Once again, MSA Sports will broadcast every WPIAL boys basketball playoff game sponsored in part by McDonalds.2012 WPIAL BOYS CLASS AAAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:2012 WPIAL GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS – FOUR FINALS FEATURE #1 vs #2
All this talk about upsets and bracket busters and after all of the smoke cleared in three plus rounds of girls basketball, the storyline is simple...#1 vs #2. The top two seeds in each of the four girls basketball tournaments have wrapped up Semifinals victories and are on their way to the bluff this weekend at Duquesne University to play for district gold. Only Seton-LaSalle in AA and North Catholic in A are alive looking for a repeat title performance here in 2012. Here are ALL of the final scores through the Semifinals round, PLUS the four Championship Game matchups AND TIMES in the 2012 WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs.Once again, MSA Sports will broadcast every WPIAL girls basketball playoff game sponsored in part by McDonalds and Carlow University.2012 WPIAL GIRLS CLASS AAAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
MSA Sports Top Seven – PIHL High School Hockey – 02/29/2012
Each Wednesday during the regular season, MSA Sports will rank the top seven teams in all four classifications/divisions in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League...including NEW #1 teams in Class AAA, Class AA and the Open Class. Don't miss “The PIHL Power Play Show” every Wednesday at 8:00pm and the "PIHL High School Hockey Notebook" every Monday during the season only here on the MSA Sports Network.PIHL CLASS AAA:1) PENN-TRAFFORD WARRIORS (18-2-1) (Last Week #3)2) NORTH ALLEGHENY TIGERS (16-4-1) (Last Week #4)3) CANON-McMILLAN BIG MACS (17-3-0) (Last Week #2)4) BETHEL PARK BLACK HAWKS (12-7-1) (Last Week #6)5) MOUNT LEBANON BLUE DEVILS (15-5-1) (Last Week #5)6) PETERS TOWNSHIP INDIANS (12-5-3) (Last Week #1)WPIAL Basketball Playoff Recaps for Tuesday, February 28th
February 28, 2012
All four top-seeds are title game bound in Girls AAAA, Girls AA, Boys AAA and Boys A. Oakland Catholic, Seton-LaSalle, New Castle and Lincoln Park all advanced with double digit victories. However only one of the three defending champs in those classifications survived Semifinals Tuesday. Here are ALL the recaps from the eight Semifinals games in the four tournaments listed above.A special THANKS goes out to Mark Schaas, Bob Barrickman, Dennis Fischer, Jim Frederick, Jake Miller, Don Rebel, Dan Zangrilli, Bob Orkwis and Greg Kuntz for their help on these recaps.WPIAL BOYS CLASS AAA Semifinals:2012 PIHL Open Class High School Hockey Playoffs
While PIHL Class AAA, Class AA and Class A teams are in the final two weeks of the long regular season, the Open Class teams have already dropped the puck on their postseason tournaments. The Nailers Cup is down to the Final Three while the championship game is set in the battle for the Chiefs Cup after the top two seeds were eliminated in the Semifinals. Here are all of the results thus far, plus the final Semifinals game schedule in the Nailers Cup playoffs and the Chiefs Cup Championship Game schedule in the PIHL Open Class Postseason.2012 PIHL OPEN CLASS CHIEFS CUP CHAMPIONSHIP:#4 Greensburg-Salem Golden Lions (17-5-0) vs #3 Indiana Little Indians (17-5-0) AT Center Ice in Delmont on Tuesday, March 6th at 7:00pm on MSAsports.netPIHL High School Hockey Notebook – 02/27/2012
February 27, 2012
Welcome to another edition of “PIHL Notebook,” your weekly companion to “The PIHL Power Play” on the MSA Sports Network. Check out which teams are hot right now in “Melting the Ice” and track recent game action in “Scoreboard Watch.” Plus, we preview upcoming MSA broadcasts and quote guests from the show in “They Said It.”PIHL CLASS AAA:MELTING THE ICEBethel Park has not failed to earn a point since the calendar flipped to 2012, and the winning streak now stands at nine games … North Allegheny can clinch Section 2 with a point in the regular season finale thanks to ripping off seven victories in a row … Pittsburgh Central Catholic has Section 3 well in hand with three straight decisions in its favor … Penn-Trafford has locked up the Section 4 crown with points in its last four outings.SCOREBOARD WATCHThis Week on the MSA Sports Network – 02/27/2012
Championship Week for the district winter sports is here as February turns to March and the golden madness begins this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have EVERY WPIAL Semifinals and Championship boys and girls basketball playoff game along with District 6 postseason boys and girls hoops and men's and women's college basketball postseason action, PIHL high school hockey, plus the 2012 WPIAL Class AAA Individual Wrestling Championships, the PIAA Class AA and Class AAA Individual Wrestling Regionals, the WPIAL Boys and Girls Swimming Championships along with Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle, and the WPIAL Roundball Report and the PIHL Power Play Show on a special day ALL here at MSAsports.netMonday, February 27th:TALK SHOW - Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle at 7:00pm on MSAsports.netWPIAL Individual Wrestling Class AAA Sectional Results
February 26, 2012
The WPIAL held its individual wrestling sectionals in Class AAA Saturday at four different sites to set the field for the classification championships next weekend. The top five wrestlers in each weight class in each of the four AAA sections qualify for the 2012 WPIAL Class AAA Individual Wrestling Championships on Thursday, March 1st, Friday, March 2nd and Saturday, March 3rd right here on the MSA Sports Network.
Derry’s Gulibon Highlights 2012 WPIAL AA Individual Wrestling Championships
February 25, 2012
Saturday was an historic night at Chartiers Valley High School at the AA WPIAL Championships. That was because Derry senior Jimmy Gulibon joined an elite club, becoming the 22nd wrestler in WPIAL history to win 4 WPIAL Championships. He did it by packaging several takedowns together to knock off Keystone Oaks junior Nick Zanetta 11-4 at 126 pounds. “I felt I could of done a lot more on my feet, scored a little bit more, but Zanetta wrestled a great match”, said Gulibon. “I ended up doing what I needed to do and winning.” Gulibon becomes the second Derry wrestler to join the club, as Troy Dolan won his 4th WPIAL Championship in 2007.New Addition to the WPIAL Four-Time Wrestling Champions Club
The 2012 WPIAL Class AA Individual Wrestling Championships are in the books at Chartiers Valley High School, with the story of the night being the Fourth WPIAL Championship captured by Derry's Jimmy Gulibon, who became the 22nd wrestler in WPIAL history to win gold in all four years of his high school career.Here is the impressive list the Gulibon has joined:
WPIAL Basketball Playoff Recaps for Saturday, February 25th
We have reached the midway point of the 2012 version of the Battle to the Bluff with the completion of the Quarterfinals Weekend in the WPIAL Basketball Playoffs with all eight top-seeds still alive andf with only Shaler girls in Class AAAA having been eliminated with seven defending champs moving on to Round Three. Here are the recaps from Quarterfinals Saturday in Boys AAAA, Boys AA, Girls AAA and Girls A.A specials THANKS to Dan Zangrilli, T.J. DiStefano, Glenn Thompson, Josh Rowntree, Mike Krcil, Mike Azadian, Bob Barrickman, Justin McKim, Paul Paterra, Brian Morziak, Melissa Carle, Mark Schaas, Don Rebel, Bob Gregg and Johnny Lee for their help on these recaps.WPIAL CLASS AAAA Quarterfinals:
Pine-Richland Divers Sweep Boys and Girls WPIAL AAA Championships
For the second straight year, Pine-Richland senior Lauren Lamendola captured the WPIAL Class AAA Girls diving crown. For the second straight year, she was in a dogfight for the championship. And for the second straight year, Lamendola saved her best efforts for the final three dives to grab the title. The South Carolina bound Lamendola had to climb back from an admittedly poor dive in the preliminary round. She made it back to fourth after the first five dives. After the next three dives, Lamendola had climbed into second place behind Bethel Park junior Ashley Sams. Lamendola grabbed control of the final session by scoring 57.20 points on her “McDonald’s Dive of the Match”, her first of three dives in the final round. Sams, Lamendola and Pine-Richland teammate Tiana Broen, Moon’s Heather Lonkert and Alexis Rectenwald from Penn Hills played leapfrog among the top 5 spots throughout the entire competition.
