Willochell, Carr, Roscosky win wrestling titles

A trio of Westmoreland grapplers secured gold medals in the WPIAL Class 3A Individual Championships on Saturday at Canon-McMillan High School. Greater Latrobe’s Luke Willochell, Eli Carr of Hempfield Area, and Kiski Area’s Cooper Roscosky all stood atop the podium in their brackets. Willochell, a junior, won his third district crown, edging Franklin Regional’s Tyler Kapusta 1-0 in the 121-pound final. Carr, a senior, captured his second WPIAL gold, besting Nick Jones of West Allegheny 6-0 in the 152 title bout. Lastly, the sophomore Roscosky claimed a sudden victory, 4-2, against Norwin’s Nathan Campbell in the 189 final. In addition to Kapusta and Campbell, other runners up from Westmoreland included Penn-Trafford’s Dylan Barrett (107) and Hayden Coy (145), Landon Sidun (114) of Norwin, and Greater Latrobe’s Jake Braun (127) and Hunter Snyder (172). The PIAA Class 3A Individual Championships commence on Thursday in Hershey.

Kiski Area girls claim swimming title

The Kiski Area girls swimming team edged Mount Pleasant Area over the weekend, as the Cavaliers won their first WPIAL Class 2A team title in program history. The Cavaliers compiled a score of 218, just ahead of the 200 points by the Vikings, who were in pursuit of their third championship in a row. Kiski Area secured the title by winning the final event on Friday at Trees Pool, the 400 freestyle relay, as the quartet of Abigail King, Amara Sterlitz, Leah Kunkle, and Eliza Miller registered a time of 3:35.29. While the Vikings girls finished as runners up, the Mount Pleasant Area boys came in third in Class 2A, behind champion Indiana Area and runner up Northgate.

Norwin, GCC girls capture WPIAL gold

A pair of Westmoreland County girls basketball teams enjoyed a golden weekend at the Petersen Events Center, as both Norwin and Greensburg Central Catholic captured WPIAL titles. Senior Lauren Palangio was dominant in leading Norwin to a 56-41 victory against North Allegheny to claim the WPIAL Class 6A Championship on Friday night. As a result, the top-seeded Knights captured their third WPIAL Championship, and the first since going-back-to-back in 2015 and 2016. Palangio scored a dozen points, snagged 15 rebounds, dished out three assists, added two steals, and amassed five blocks. She was one of three Norwin players who scored in double figures, as Ava Christopher netted a game-high 16 points, and Kendall Berger posted 10 points. Furthermore, the Knights were nearly perfect at the foul line, hitting 16-of-18 attempts. Norwin will open the PIAA Class 6A bracket with a home matchup against William Penn on Friday at 6 p.m. One night earlier, sophomore standout Erica Gribble poured in a game-high 28 points, including 21 in the second half, to propel top-seeded Greensburg Central Catholic to a 62-41 victory against Serra Catholic in the WPIAL 2A Championship. With the triumph, the Centurions captured their sixth WPIAL title, but the first since 2007. After just two points in the opening frame, Gribble produced five points in the second quarter, helping GCC’s offense get untracked after a sluggish start. Avery Davis, meanwhile, scored nine points in the opening half for GCC, helping stake the Centurions to a 30-21 advantage at the break. With that same duo leading the way, the Centurions pushed their advantage to 15 points early in the third. Holding a nine-point edge entering the fourth quarter, the Centurions turned to Gribble, who poured in 14 points in the quarter to secure the championship. In addition to Gribble’s effort, Davis notched 14 points, Mya Morgan had nine points, six rebounds, and four assists, and Abby Dlugos registered four points, 14 rebounds, and four assists. As a result of their title win, the Centurions will commence the state playoffs with a home tilt against Bellwood-Antis at 6 p.m. on Friday.

PIHL Class AA playoffs set

Five Westmoreland County teams in the PIHL Class AA will begin their potential path to a championship tonight, as the playoff bracket will commence. Greater Latrobe earned the No. 3 seed, as the Wildcats went 13-7-0 for 26 points. Consequently, GL will host sixth-seeded Franklin Regional at 7:15 at the Kirk Nevin Arena in Greensburg. The Panthers amassed 23 points, courtesy of their mark of 10-7-3. Norwin received the fourth seed, with the Knights collecting 24 points with a record of 11-7-2. As a result, Norwin will host fifth seed Fox Chapel Area at 7 p.m. at the Palmer Imaging Arena in Delmont. Hempfield Area is seeded No. 7 after the Spartans went 9-10-1, yielding 19 points. Hempfield Area travels to the Ice Castle Arena in Castle Shannon to play second-seeded Thomas Jefferson at 7 p.m. Lastly, Penn-Trafford received the eighth and final spot in the bracket, as the Warriors went 7-9-4, notching 18 points. As a result, PT will hit the road to face No. 1 seed South Fayette at 7:10 p.m. at the Mount Lebanon Ice Center. The semifinals will be held on March 12 at the RMU Island Sports Center on Neville Island, and the championship will take place at the UPMC Lemieux Complex on March 18.

Gales headlines Bearcats MBB honorees

The Saint Vincent College men’s basketball team received numerous accolades last week, headlined by sophomore Jalen Gales. On Tuesday, Gales was selected as the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Most Valuable Player, the fourth Bearcat to claim that honor. Gales paced SVC with averages 17.8 points and 7.4 rebounds, while adding 32 blocks. Additionally, he was recognized as First-Team All-PAC, while classmate Dev Ostrowski was honored as Second-Team, and junior Mike Iuzzolino was selected as Honorable Mention. SVC, which finished 23-5 overall, reached the PAC Championship game, and also qualified for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament.