High school notebook: Westmoreland cross country championships set for Wednesday

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, October 5, 2025 | 4:00 PM

The Westmoreland County Coaches Association Cross Country Championships will be Wednesday at Westmoreland County Community College.

The boys varsity race begins at 3 p.m., followed by girls varsity at 3:40 and junior varsity at 4:20.

Returning champions are the Norwin boys and girls (3A), and the Greensburg Salem girls (2A) and Greensburg Central Catholic girls (2A).

Last year’s individual champions, Emerson Skatell of Latrobe and Jake McGhee of Penn-Trafford, graduated so there will be new winners.

Annie Czajkowski of Norwin is the favorite in the girls race.

Tennis playoffs

The WPIAL girls tennis team playoffs begin Monday (3A) and Tuesday (2A).

All first-round matches start at 3 p.m.

Here are the local matchups:

Class 3A: Pine-Richland (10-4) at Franklin Regional (7-5); Penn-Trafford (6-2) at Upper St. Clair (8-3); Hempfield (7-3) at Mt. Lebanon (9-3); North Hills (10-4) at Latrobe (7-1).

Class 2A: Neshannock (6-1) at Mt. Pleasant (10-1); Valley (5-5) at Sewickley Academy (8-4); Burrell (7-3) at Indiana (11-2).

Girls golf finals

The WPIAL girls golf team championships will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Cedarbrook Golf Course in Rostraver.

The teams are:

Class 3A: Elizabeth Forward, Fox Chapel, Moon, North Allegheny, Norwin, Oakland Catholic, Peters Township, Pine-Richland.

Class 2A: Greensburg Central Catholic, North Catholic, Shady Side Academy, Southmoreland.

Peters Township has won three straight 3A titles — four of the last five — and Shady Side Academy is the returning 2A champion. GCC won nine straight titles from 2015-23.

Boys semifinals

The boys golf semifinals are set for 9 a.m. Monday (2A) and Tuesday (3A).

Class 3A sites are The Links at Spring Church (Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, Latrobe, Hampton, Indiana, North Allegheny, Seneca Valley, West Allegheny) and Duck Hollow (Belle Vernon, Canon-McMillan, Central Catholic, Laurel Highlands, Moon, Peters Township, South Fayette, Trinity).

Class 2A sites are Champion Lakes (Brentwood, Chartiers-Houston, Deer Lakes, Elizabeth Forward, Freeport, Greensburg Salem, Jefferson-Morgan, Ligonier Valley, North Catholic, South Park) and Hickory Heights (Avonworth, Beaver, Bishop Canevin, Central Valley, Ellwood City, Neshannock, OLSH, Quaker Valley, Shady Side Academy, South Side, Waynesburg).

The top three teams at each site advance to Thursday’s finals.

Net milestone

Hempfield’s Preslee Horchak reached a career milestone for the volleyball team in a 3-0 win over Baldwin. She finished with 25 assists, giving her 1,000 for her career.

Recruiting

• Yough softball player Brooke Kowalski will continue her playing career at Clarion of the Division II PSAC.

Kowalski is a catcher and outfielder.

• Greensburg Central Catholic basketball player Jayla Peterson received offers to play at SUNY Delhi, a Division III program in New York, and locally at Carlow.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley