Trib HSSN top 24 stories of 2024 (10-6): Aliquippa wins on court, in court

By: Don Rebel
Saturday, December 28, 2024 | 6:01 AM

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The year 2024 in WPIAL sports saw a lot of history and unusual happenings that kept all three sports seasons exciting.

There was a sense of been there, done that on the hardwood and in the pool during the winter sports season, exhausting action and perfection on the diamonds, hardcourts and tracks in the spring and greatness on the gridiron, the pitch and around the district hills and valleys in the fall.

Some individual and team records ended while others rolled on.

Join us all week as we look back at the moments that stood out in a fun-filled high school sports ride throughout 2024.

In our year-end tradition, Trib HSSN winds down the year with a daily countdown and a look back at the top 24 WPIAL stories from 2024.

Here is a look at district stories No. 10 through No. 6.

No. 10 – Repeat after me

Only one school was able to repeat as WPIAL football champions in 2024.

Before last year, Fort Cherry had never won a district football championship. Now the Rangers are two-time champs.

Led by Trib HSSN Player of the Year Matt Sieg, Fort Cherry once again enjoyed a perfect regular season and a Black Hills Conference title.

The Rangers returned to Acrisure Stadium and left with more gold following an epic championship game victory over Clairton.

Fort Cherry’s hopes of returning to the PIAA finals ended the following week with a loss to Port Allegany in the state semifinals.

From Class A to Class 6A, Central Catholic reaching the WPIAL finals is no big deal. The Vikings have played in the district title game the last six seasons.

However, after playing the role of bridesmaids in the last three 6A championships, Central Catholic finally got the gold by convincingly defeating North Allegheny and ending the Tigers’ two years run as WPIAL champions in the highest classification.

The Vikings went on to win two PIAA playoff games over State College and Harrisburg before falling in the state title game to state power St. Joe’s Prep.

No. 9 – Lincoln Park wins and loses

Lincoln Park has been a district and state juggernaut for over a decade with great teams that have won both WPIAL and PIAA championships.

However, they may all have to take a back seat to the 2023-2024 team.

The Leopards finished the season with district and state titles and an overall record of 28-3.

Their only losses were to national powers out of California and Oregon and Neumann-Goretti from Philadelphia.

They beat Hampton in the WPIAL finals by 14 following double-digit wins in their other three district playoff wins.

Then the Leopards won four more games in the state playoffs before crushing District 12 power Archbishop Carroll in the PIAA finals by 30 points.

Lincoln Park’s average margin of victory for the season was 20 points, outscoring opponents by an average score of 79-58.

With Brandin Cummings graduating, the Leopards thought they would be leaning on junior Meleek Thomas for this season; however, Thomas decided in June to leave the area and play for Overtime Elite, a professional league for 16 to 20-year-olds in Atlanta.

Thomas has since committed to the University of Arkansas.

No. 8 – Mat master

Frazier wrestler Rune Lawrence concluded his amazing career in golden style this past winter.

Lawrence finished his Commodores career with a record of 143-8.

In February, he became the 32nd wrestler in district history to win four WPIAL championships.

Then in March, he became the 14th wrestler to win four PIAA state titles when he won gold in the 215-pound weight class. He became the seventh wrestler from the WPIAL to win four PIAA championships.

No. 7 – The game that wouldn’t end

When the 2024 WPIAL Class 3A baseball playoff brackets came out, Riverside was the top seed and a heavy favorite to repeat as district champions following a near-perfect regular season in which it finished 13-1.

Avonworth was a long shot at best after finishing 12-9 and in second place in Section 2-3A. The Antelopes were the No. 7 seed in the district postseason.

As expected, the Panthers defeated Keystone Oaks, South Park and South Allegheny to reach the WPIAL finals, while the Antelopes beat Greensburg Salem before knocking off longshots East Allegheny and Burrell to reach the title game.

What ensured at Wild Things Park was simply wild … and history making.

Riverside led 1-0 after three innings and looked in control with Duke commit Christian Lucarelli on the mound.

Avonworth scored twice in the top of the fourth, only for Riverside to tie the game in the bottom of the inning.

After the Antelopes went up in the fifth inning, the Panthers tied the game in the bottom of the seventh.

Following six scoreless extra innings, Avonworth won the marathon title game with a run in the 14th inning to win, 4-3.

No. 6 – Quips win on court, in court

A loaded Aliquippa boys basketball team won it all on the basketball court.

Then months later, the school district won in court, blocking the PIAA move of the Quips from Class 4A to 5A in football.

Aliquippa was a heavy favorite to repeat in the WPIAL with most of their players back from their 2022-2023 championship team.

The Quips entered the 2A playoffs as the top seed and beat Nazareth Prep, Serra Catholic and Fort Cherry to reach the finals where they put on one of the most dominant performances in district title game history by crushing Greensburg Central Catholic, 69-32.

Then on the Road to Hershey, Aliquippa defeated Otto-Eldred, Eisenhower, Redbank Valley and Fort Cherry to get back to the PIAA finals where they clobbered Holy Cross, 74-52, to win the school’s sixth state championship and first since 2016.

The Quips became the fifth school in state history to win PIAA football and boys basketball championships in the same year. The only other district team to do that was the 2007-2008 Jeannette team led by Terrelle Pryor.

A few months later, the PIAA announced the Aliquippa football team would be one of the school’s forced to move up in class based on performance points and transfers.

Already playing up three classes, Aliquippa officials took their protest to court after the PIAA denied their request to remain in 4A.

A Beaver County judge issued a preliminary injunction allowing Aliquippa to stay in 4A for the 2024 football season.