Westmoreland County high school notebook: Big-school soccer standouts honored

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, November 23, 2021 | 6:07 PM

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A number of area soccer players were recognized by the Big 5/6 Conference, which follows the top classifications in WPIAL sports.

The website’s all-section teams were announced for boys and girls soccer.

Girls’ first-team selections for Section 3-4A include senior Paloma Swankler, junior Reagan Casper and freshman Julia Bursick of Norwin; sophomores Regan Reilly and Ella Bulava and junior Sofia DeCerb of Latrobe; and senior Malia Kearns of Penn-Trafford.

Second-team picks were sophomore Evelyn Moore, senior Reese Aquilio and seniors Emma Rigone and Riley Morningstar of Norwin; freshman Robin Reilly, senior Morgan Reilly and freshman Ava Yurko of Latrobe; and junior Mia Muro and senior Taylor Lloyd of Penn-Trafford.

For the boys, Norwin had four first-teamers, and the coach of the year, in Section 3. All seniors, the players were Caleb Yuricha, Riley Zimmerman, Ryan Dimitroff and Andrew Yanez. Scott Schuchert was the top coach.

Other local first-team picks were junior Brady Paliscak and senior Nathan Schlessinger of Penn-Trafford, senior Nico Lorenzi of Latrobe and senior Owen Kelley of Hempfield.

The second-team selections from Westmoreland County included senior Connor Williams, junior Logan Swartz and senior AJ Visco of Penn-Trafford; senior Ryan Harrigan and sophomore Owen Christopher of Norwin; and junior Ethan Banks of Latrobe.

Volleyball stars

Big 5/6 volleyball

The Big 5/6 Conference recognized several area girls volleyball players with its WPIAL all-section teams.

In Section 1, Latrobe senior Anna Rafferty and junior Lily Fenton made the first team, along with Penn-Trafford seniors Maura Suman and Kenna Schropp.

Local second-team picks included juniors Emma Blair and Maya Krehlik, and senior Bailey Watson of Latrobe; Penn-Trafford seniors Jessie Bridge and Liv Fanelli and senior Caitlin Stukus; and seniors Katelyn Ross and Morgan Rosensteel, and junior Elizabeth Tapper of Hempfield.

Recruiting

• Norwin senior Aaron Schmook, a two-sport athlete, received a college offer to compete in track and field at Youngstown State. Schmook throws the javelin for the Knights.

• Belle Vernon senior baseball player Andrew Sokol announced he will be continuing his playing career at Potomac State. Sokol is a lefthanded pitcher and outfielder.

• Another Belle Vernon senior also made a college baseball decision. Senior Matt Bamford committed to Marietta, a Division III program in Ohio.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Hempfield, Latrobe, Norwin, Penn-Trafford