Sidun, Brown, Hutcherson claim PIAA gold

Three Westmoreland County wrestlers stood atop the podium in Hershey over the weekend, as Norwin junior Landon Sidun, senior Elijah Brown of Belle Vernon Area, and Kiski Area sophomore Mario Hutcherson all captured individual state gold in Class 3A. Sidun was dominant in the 121-pound bracket, securing a 17-0 technical fall against Tommy Gretz of Connellsville in the title bout, Sidun’s second state crown. Hutcherson’s title came at 189, as he notched a 4-1 decision against Dominic Sumpolec of Notre Dame-Green Pond. Brown also claimed his second gold medal in the PIAA tournament, as he dispatched of Garnet Valley’s Paxton Hunt with a 1-0 decision at 215 pounds. Moreover, Franklin Regional’s Michael Ruane took silver at 152, falling by an 18-4 major decision against Gabriel Ballard of Northampton Area. Meanwhile in Class 2A, Derry Area’s Mason Horwat suffered a major decision loss, 11-2, to Montoursville’s Gage Wentzel in the 172 final. In the girls competition, Kiski Area’s Ava Golding settled for silver at 142, dropping a 6-2 decision to Jenny Gautreau of Owen J Roberts, while Southmoreland’s Zoey Murphy lost via pin to Panther Valley’s Brenda Banks at 235.

PT, BVA, GCC girls advance in states

A trio of Westmoreland County girls basketball teams remain in the PIAA basketball postseason after the opening round, as Penn-Trafford, Belle Vernon Area, and Greensburg Central Catholic all advanced. In Class 5A, the Warriors surged past West York 65-48. Torrie DeStefano tallied 24 points, including 19 in the second half, and Raya Johnson contributed 21 points for homestanding PT. As a result, the Warriors will face WPIAL Champion South Fayette in the second round at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Peters Township High School. In the 4A bracket, the Leopards notched a 58-46 win at Clearfield, the District 9 Champion. Aubrey Brown paced BVA, pouring in 24 points, while Saylor Lee added 13 points and Lyla McConnell scored 10. Thus, Belle Vernon Area will battle WPIAL runner-up Blackhawk at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at North Allegheny High School. Lastly, the Centurions left no doubt in 3A, as they dominated Cranberry 66-14 at Hampton High School. Erica Gribble amassed 27 points for the Centurions, while Jayla Peterson notched 16 points and Avery Jones contributed 10 points. Consequently, GCC will face District 9 Champion Northwestern at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Sharon High School.

Quartet of Westmoreland teams reach PIHL semis

As the PIHL playoffs shift to the semifinals this week, four Westmoreland County teams are still in contention for a title. In Class AA, Hempfield Area, Penn-Trafford, and Greater Latrobe all notched victories last week in the quarterfinals. The top-seeded Spartans dismissed of No. 8 Cathedral Prep 4-2 at the Kirk Nevin Arena last Monday, as Nino DiPietro dished out two assists and the Spartans outshot the Ramblers 46-14. On that same night, the third seed Warriors bounced No. 6 Shaler Area 6-3 at the Palmer Imaging Arena. Brock Bienemann and Sean Goodman led the way offensively, each registering two goals and two helpers. On Tuesday, the No. 7 Wildcats upset second-seeded Armstrong 3-1 at the Belmont Ice Complex, as Preston Miller and Colton Goodlin each registered a goal and an assist, and Reese Myers made 33 saves. As a result, the Warriors and Wildcats will square off, while the Spartans will play No. 4 Bethel Park, with both games taking place at the RMU Island Sports Center on Tuesday. Moreover, Burrell advanced in the Division 2 bracket, as the No. 5 Buccaneers edged fourth-seeded Connellsville Area 2-0 Thursday at the cfsBank Event Center. Seth Munda made 19 saves to register the shutout for the Bucs, who will face top-seeded Morgantown on Thursday at the RMU Island Sports Center.

Katarski adds Vikings AD to duties

Mount Pleasant Area boys basketball coach Mark Katarski added another position to his duties with the Vikings Wednesday, as he was hired as the athletic director. Katarski, a 1995 Mount Pleasant grad, was unanimously approved to the position, replacing JJ Eckels, who took the same position at Penn Hills. Eckels had served in the role for nearly two years. Katarski wrapped up his first season guiding the Vikings boys last month, compiling a mark of 6-16, but failing to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs. Katarski, who previously acted as the interim head coach at Hempfield Area, also boasts extensive coaching experience at the college level, including guiding the Seton Hill University women’s program for a decade.

Gissendanner, Evans headline Bearcats WBB accolades

After a stellar season that resulted in an appearance in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship game, the Saint Vincent College women’s basketball team received myriad accolades last week. Head coach Kam Gissendanner was selected as the PAC Coach of the Year in her first campaign guiding the Bearcats, while Brooke Evans was tabbed as the PAC Defensive Player of the Year. Gissendanner helped SVC achieve a mark of 21-7 overall, including 14-2 in the PAC. Evans, a sophomore, played in 26 games, including 25 starts, racking up 7.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while also posting 73 assists, 49 steals, and 13 blocks. Evans was also an All-PAC Honorable Mention, while MaKenna Maier was Second-Team, and Camdon Bashor was also Honorable Mention.