Norwin, GCC girls reach PIAA semis

A pair of Westmoreland County girls basketball teams are one win away from playing for a state title, as both Norwin and Greensburg Central Catholic advanced to the PIAA semifinals in their respective classifications. In the Class 6A bracket, Norwin notched victories against Lebanon and North Allegheny last week. In the showdown against the Tigers on Friday at Fox Chapel Area High School, Norwin prevailed 50-30. Kendall Berger paced the Knights with 18 points, while Ava Kobus tallied a dozen points and Lauren Palangio added 10 points. The victory redeemed a two-point loss to the Tigers in the WPIAL semifinals, which also took place at Fox Chapel Area. The Knights (24-4) face District 3 Champion Cedar Cliff tonight at 7 p.m. at Altoona High School. In 2A, the Centurions knocked off Maplewood and Shenango last week. Also playing at Fox Chapel on Friday, GCC secured a 53-35 win against the WPIAL Champion Wildcats. Greensburg Central Catholic scored the first 13 points of the contest, and held a 22-2 edge after the opening quarter. Erica Gribble paced the team with 19 points, Avery Davis scored 18 points, and Mya Morgan tallied 11 points. Subsequently, the Centurions (24-5) will face District 10 winner Kennedy Catholic tonight at 6 p.m. at North Allegheny High School.

Cavaliers punch ticket to Penguins Cup Championship

A quartet of Westmoreland County teams reached the PIHL Penguins Cup semifinals last week, but only Kiski Area punched its ticket to play for a championship. The Cavaliers secured their spot in the Class A title game, courtesy of a 3-1 triumph against Greensburg Salem last Wednesday at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Complex on Neville Island. Ethan George provided all of the offense for Kiski Area, as he tallied at even strength in the first period, on the power play in the second stanza, and capped his stellar night with an empty netter in the third. Owen Tutich tallied the only goal for the Golden Lions in the third, as his power play marker pulled GS within one. George sealed the victory with 13 seconds left, however, as he completed the hat trick with GS goalie Tristan Gonzales pulled. Evin Brice earned the win between the pipes for the Cavaliers, as he recorded 21 stops. The Cavaliers, in pursuit of their first Penguins Cup title in team history, will battle Fox Chapel Area tonight at 8:45 p.m. at the UPMC Lemieux Complex in Cranberry. The Foxes advanced via a decisive 7-3 victory against Norwin in the other semifinals matchup on Wednesday. A day earlier, No. 6 Greater Latrobe was ousted by second-seeded South Fayette 4-1 in the Class AA semifinals.

Dominant Mount Pleasant Area girls win state swimming title

Competing against the best teams in the state, the Mount Pleasant Area girls swim team left no doubt, as the Vikings posted a dominant showing en route to PIAA gold in Class 2A last week. Competing at Bucknell University, the Vikings posted a team score of 218.5 points, easily surpassing second-place Wyoming Seminary, which totaled 118. Individually, Lily King earned gold in the 200 free and 100 free, while Mount Pleasant Area collectively took first in the 200 medley relay, 200 free relay, and 400 free relay. Additionally, Kiski Area finished seventh with a score of 89. In the Class 2A boys competition, Kiski Area placed fourth, as the Cavaliers compiled 136 points. Additionally, Mount Pleasant Area finished eighth with 109 points. Individually, Southmoreland’s Henry Miller won the 50 free and 100 butterfly, the Cavaliers’ Parker Sterlitz prevailed in the 500 free, and Mount Pleasant’s Joseph Gardner took first in the 100 breaststroke. Greater Latrobe was the top finisher among Westmoreland County teams in the Class 3A girls competition, as the Wildcats placed 21st. Meanwhile on the Class 3A boys side, Franklin Regional took seventh with 109 points, and the Panthers won the 200 medley relay

Penn-Trafford, Greater Latrobe headline boys volleyball polls

With WPIAL boys volleyball commencing over the weekend, the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its preseason poll last week. Five Westmoreland County teams were included, as Penn-Trafford, Norwin, and Hempfield Area cracked the list in Class 3A, while Greater Latrobe and Derry Area appeared on the 2A rankings. The Warriors, who reached the WPIAL semifinals last year, placed fourth. The Knights placed one spot behind following a season in which they tied for the section title and won a playoff match. Likewise, after the Spartans tied for section supremacy and won a postseason matchup, they were selected eighth in the preseason poll. North Allegheny topped the poll in Class 3A. Meanwhile, after qualifying for the playoffs in Class 3A a year ago, the Wildcats dropped down to 2A, and were ranked second in the initial poll. Additionally, the Trojans garnered the No. 8 spot in the rankings after securing a postseason victory last campaign. The Class 2A rankings were topped by Seton-LaSalle.

Pair of Griffins garner LAX awards

Two Seton Hill University men’s lacrosse players received conference accolades last week, as Connor Zostant and Mark Strunk were recognized for their efforts. Zostant, a sophomore attack, was named the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) Offensive Athlete of the Week, while Strunk, a sophomore faceoff specialist, was named the GMAC Defensive Athlete of the Week. The players were recognized for their efforts in a 22-4 victory against North Greenville University. In the contest, Zostant tallied three goals and four assists, while Strunk prevailed in 16 of his 21 faceoffs, while adding a goal. Following an 8-6 loss at the University of Mount Olive last week, the Griffins are 3-3 on the campaign, including 1-0 in the conference.