Monday's Westmoreland County Sports Notebook
Written by: Sean Meyers
January 13, 2020
Tags: Jayden Walker Ty Bilinsky Michael Noonan Zach Rocco Christian Zilli Kamryn Kelly Tiana Moracco
Wrestling teams clinch playoff berths
With just days remaining in the regular season, more than a half dozen county wrestling teams have already punched their tickets to the section tournaments. Each section bracket includes six teams – three from each subsection, with the first-place teams battling the second-place teams in the other subsection and then a subsequent championship matchup for seeding, and the third-place team from each side squaring off to determine the final qualifier for the WPIAL team tournament. Thus far, Kiski Area and Franklin Regional have qualified from Class AAA Subsection 1A, while Hempfield Area, Greater Latrobe, and Greensburg Salem have clinched from AAA Subsection 1B. Norwin and Penn-Trafford are still battling for a berth, as well. In Class AA, Burrell has once again secured a spot in Subsection 3A, with Valley still in contention, while Southmoreland has earned a berth in Subsection 3B, while Mount Pleasant and Derry Area are still alive, too. Among the notable outcomes last week, Greater Latrobe ousted Greensburg Salem 46-21, and Norwin edged Franklin Regional 37-31.
Walker’s return, Rocco’s big night secure wins for Norwin, PT
In search of their first section win last week, the Knights received a massive boost to their lineup. Jayden Walker, a junior post player, made his season debut for Norwin in Tuesday’s loss at undefeated Fox Chapel Area. A few nights later, however, he proved to be a difference maker in a 66-53 win against Greater Latrobe. Walker, a baseball standout who underwent shoulder surgery during the offseason, posted 14 points and 17 rebounds. Teammate Ty Bilinsky scored 21 points for the Knights, as well, while Michael Noonan paced the Wildcats with 25 points. Earlier in the week, Penn-Trafford senior Zach Rocco had a career night in leading his team to a victory against Hempfield Area. Rocco, the lone senior on the Warriors, scored 34 points in Penn-Trafford’s 65-57 win. Half of Rocco’s production came at the foul line, as he connected on 17 of 19 attempts at the stripe. Christian Zilli scored 17 points in the setback for the Spartans.
Trojans girls ascend to first place
Nearly halfway through the WPIAL basketball section slate, the Derry Area girls are among the biggest surprises. The Trojans currently reside in first place in Class 3A Section 3, courtesy of their win against Deer Lakes last week. Derry Area bested the Lancers 47-40 on Thursday, improving to 5-1 and creating a one-game lead over Deer Lakes, South Allegheny, and Carlynton. Senior Kamryn Kelly led the way in the victory last week, as she provided 15 points, 11 rebounds, and six blocks, while sophomore Tiana Moracco also netted 15 points. Derry Area is under the guidance of its fourth head coach in as many years, as Gene Brisbane has led the turnaround from last year’s team that narrowly missed the postseason.
WPIAL proposes two realignment options for football
On Wednesday, the WPIAL presented two drastically different proposals for football alignments over the next two-year cycle. A determination will be made later this month on which proposal will ultimately be adopted, but it’s apparent that several county teams will see a much different schedule than in previous seasons. WPIAL officials proposed a “status quo” plan that will keep conferences aligned solely by classification. The other plan, dubbed “regionalization” shifts conferences drastically, as schools of varying sizes would be grouped together, primarily based on geography. The status quo, as the name indicates, would keep the conferences similar to the previous two seasons, although some schools will move up or down in classes based on enrollment. The regionalization plan, however, would create 12 new conference, and would result in the use of a points system to determine playoff qualifiers. Read more about the two proposals HERE.
Local players earn PIHL All-Star nods
The annual PIHL All-Star games rosters were announced last week, and nearly two dozen Westmoreland County players were selected. The RMU Island Sports Complex will host the Class B, A, AA, and AAA All-Star games on Jan. 26. In Class AA, the county representatives include: Chase Williams, Trent Lunden, and Kevin Cakanac of Franklin Regional; Alex Walker, Cole Ferri, Darick Hrytanski, Lane Ruffner, and Greg Irons of Greater Latrobe; Hempfield Area’s Matt Traczynski, Christian Konieczka, and Trent Gray; and Ryan Mickey, Jack Hughes, and Ethan Tamborski of Penn-Trafford. In Class A, Westmoreland players consist of: Greensburg Salem’s Cole McNair, Owen Tutich, Brandon Linderman, and Colin Kruth; Norwin’s Jacob Dally, Mason Pivarnik, Logan Connelly, and Jacob Meier; and Michael Rayburg and Eric Petika of Kiski Area. Lastly, Burrell’s Jonas Sopko and Gio Palombo earned the honors in Class B.
Former Southmoreland star Kuhns transfers to GCC
One of the top girls basketball players in the area has transferred from one Westmoreland County school to another. Sophomore Bailey Kuhns, a skilled 6-foot player who excelled at Southmoreland, recently transferred to Greensburg Central Catholic. Kuhns, who already has a college offer from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), last played with the Scotties on Dec. 17. At that time, Southmoreland was 5-0, and the Scotties have been perfect in their eight games since, as well. The Centurions, meanwhile, are 7-3 overall, but perfect at 4-0 in section play. GCC awaits a ruling from the WPIAL on Kuhns’ status before she can play for the Centurions, and she may be ineligible for postseason play this season.
Competitive spirit teams make state finals
Four Westmoreland County squads competed in the PIAA competitive spirit championships over the weekend. Norwin, Hempfield Area, Franklin Regional, and Penn-Trafford trekked to Hershey on Saturday, qualifying for the state competition as a result of their performances at the WPIAL event earlier this month. Competing in the small division (five to 15 competitors), Norwin finished in seventh in the PIAA, with a score of 82.63. In the medium division (16 to 20), Penn-Trafford finished as runner-up, with 90.00 points, while Hempfield Area came in eighth, with a score of 83.63. Franklin Regional did not advance to the final group of 12 teams. In the WPIAL competition on Jan. 4 at Hempfield Area, the Warriors, Spartans, and Panthers finished in the top three spots in the medium division, while Norwin was fifth in the small group.
SVC men’s volleyball to join AMCC
The newly-created men’s volleyball program at Saint Vincent College will have a conference home beginning next year. Last week, it was announced that the upstart program will join the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) as an affiliate member for the 2021 season. The Bearcats will play their first season as a varsity team this spring, but will be independent of a conference. The Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) currently has just two other schools with men’s volleyball – Thiel and Geneva – and those colleges are also affiliated with the AMCC.