Westmoreland high school notebook: County volleyball players selected for all-star match

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, December 1, 2024 | 3:50 PM

Purchase Photo Options

The third annual We Serve First All-Star Girls Volleyball Classic is set for 3 p.m. Saturday at Kiski Area.

Nine local girls were among the 40 selected to play — Pyper Ferres of Burrell; Carson Burgh of Franklin Regional; Maddie Joyce, Adelyne Ledbetter and Jael Ledbetter of Kiski Area; Addison Matovich and Natalie Aquilio of Norwin; and Destiny Williams and Nevaeh Lyle of Valley.

Coaches are Knoch’s Diane Geist, Burrell’s Alyson Shirey, Armstrong’s Andrea Lasher and Ann McCarthy of St. Joseph.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students. For advance tickets, call 724-493-5945.

Proceeds benefit the We Serve First Foundation, established in 2015 by the late Ellen Toy, a well-respected coach from Kiski Area, and her husband, Tim.

Soccer stars

Eleven players from Westmoreland County and a local coach were selected to participate in the Western Pennsylvania High School Girls Soccer Coaches Association all-star games held Saturday at the AHN Sports Complex at Cool Springs in Bethel Park.

Three teams, made up of 49 WPIAL seniors, played three games in a round-robin format.

Local players were Maggie Nesko and Miley Kariotis of Burrell, Natalie Keough and Abby Paterline of Franklin Regional, Robin Reilly and Maddy Petruzzi of Latrobe, Maddie Barrick and Rylin Bugosh of Mt. Pleasant, Rease Solomon of Penn-Trafford, and Lizzy Boone of Southmoreland.

Mt. Pleasant assistant Jessica Garland was one of the event’s coaches.

All-American

There is an All-American soccer player on the border of Westmoreland County.

Santiago Giraldo Valencia is a senior forward who plays for The Kiski School in Saltsburg.

Valencia, a speedster known for creating scoring chances, helped Kiski School win the PAISAA state championship this season.

The Medellin, Columbia, native was invited to play in the High School All-American Game on Dec. 14 at Wando High School in Charleston, S.C.

Places to be

Championship sites for the WPIAL winter season are set.

• The boys and girls basketball finals will be Feb. 27-March 1 at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center.

• The competitive spirit cheerleading finals will be Jan. 4 at Hempfield.

• Gymnastics finals are set for Feb. 7 (team) and Feb. 8 (individual) at Moon.

• Rifle championships will be Feb. 11 (team) and Feb. 13 (individual) at Dormont-Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen’s Club in Canonsburg.

• The boys and girls diving finals will be Feb. 21-22 at North Allegheny, with the swimming finals Feb. 27-28 at Pitt’s Trees Pool.

• Peters Township’s AHN Arena will host the team wrestling championships Feb. 1, with the Class 2A individuals Feb. 21-22 at Chartiers Valley, and 3A individuals Feb. 28-March 1 at Canon-McMillan.

• The girls’ wrestling finals will be Feb. 15 at North Allegheny.

Brown to UPJ

Dependable relief pitcher Hunter Brown, who helped the Penn-Trafford baseball team win its first WPIAL Class 5A title last spring, announced he will play at Pitt-Johnstown.

Brown had a 0.00 ERA and four saves in 13 appearances. He allowed 18 hits in 19 1/3 innings with 27 strikeouts and eight walks.

Recruiting

• Derry senior Regan Repak will continue her swimming career at Division II Edinboro of the PSAC.

• Norwin cross country athlete Kaden Markovich will further his running career at Pitt-Johnstown.

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

Tags: Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Kiski School, Latrobe, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland