March 7, 2025 3:01 am
The PIAA Individual Wrestling Championships continue Friday in Hershey starting with quarterfinals & consolations for 2A boys, girls and 3A boys throughout the day. Friday evening, it will be semifinals and another consolation round for the three classes. WJPA’s live coverage will feature the action of the remaining Washington/Greene County wrestlers spread over those three classifications. Our broadcasts will be on WJPA-AM (1450) and online. Listen Here Click for PIAA Brackets
Friday, March 7
2A Boys
Nine Washington/Greene County wrestlers entered Friday’s action but only three came out the other end: Braedon Welsh (Fort Cherry) and Colin Whyte (West Greene) won bouts to reach the semifinals. Drake McClure (Bentworth) won two consolation bouts to stay alive and clinch no worse than eighth place. All three will be in action again Friday evening. The following others from the two-county area were eliminated: Owen Ivcic (Bentworth), Mason Wright (Beth-Center), Darius Simmons (Burgettstown), McGuffey teammates Clayton Ealy, Tucker Main and Lucas Barr.
Bentworth: Drake McClure (conso-133)
Fort Cherry Braedon Welsh (semifinals-215)
West Greene: Colin Whyte (semifinals-285)
Girls
Five of the original 11 Washington County girls will bring home medals from the PIAA Championships. Marlee Solomon (Canon-McMillan), Lilianna Giulanelli (Peters Township) and Elaina Ashby (Trinity) each won quarterfinal bouts to reach the state semifinals Friday evening. Big Macs teammates Eva Gray and Natalie Rush each lost twice and were eliminated along with C-M’s Yuni Ayala. Abagail Dolanch (Avella) and Ella Trahan (Fort Cherry) won consolation bouts to clinch a spot on the medal stand.
Avella: Abigail Dolanch (conso-142)
Canon-McMillan: Marlee Solomon (semifinals-112)
Fort Cherry: Ella Trahan (conso-106)
Peters Township: Lilianna Guilianelli (semifinals-190)
Trinity: Elaina Ashby (semifinals-148)
3A Boys
All eight Washington/Greene 3A wrestlers advanced to Friday’s action, four of them moving into the quarterfinals: Collier Hartman (Canon-McMillan), Nicholas McGarrity (Peters Township), Jake Conroy (Ringgold) and Dom Canali (Trinity). Four others will be in consolation action Friday afternoon.
Canon-McMillan: Collier Hartman (quarters-133), Brayden Collins (conso-215)
Peters Township: Nicholas McGarrity (quarters-107), Darius McMillon (conso-152)
Ringgold: Jake Conroy (quarters-215)
Trinity: Dom Canali (quarters-127), TJ Allison (conso-139)
Waynesburg: Jacob Stephenson (conso-189)
Saturday, March 8
9:20 am Consolation Semifinals (all classes)
11:20 am Consolation Medal Bouts (all classes) (3rd, 5th, 7th place)
3:50 pm Championship Finals (all classes)
March 7, 2025 4:41 am
Russell Wilson still has plenty of cooking left to do in the NFL. Where he ends up is a mystery heading into free agency next week. Wilson seemingly had found a home in Pittsburgh until a five-game losing streak to end the season left his future in doubt. He was 6-1 in his first seven starts and finished with 16 touchdowns, five interceptions and a 95.6 passer rating. The Steelers are considering retaining Wilson or Justin Fields, who went 4-2 for them and also will be a free agent. Aaron Rodgers and Sam Darnold also are available veterans for the six teams that don’t have a starter.
March 7, 2025 4:42 am
Deshaun Watson’s contract has been reworked again by the Cleveland Browns as the team looks to clear salary cap space with the new league year less than one week away. A person with knowledge of the move tells The Associated Press the latest restructuring of the quarterback’s contract will clear nearly $36 million in cap space for the Browns. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the move, which was first reported by ESPN. The Browns were nearly $22 million over the cap before restructuring Watson’s deal. It is the second time in three months that Watson’s contract was reworked.
March 6, 2025 12:01 am
The PIAA Individual Wrestling Championships get underway Thursday in Hershey starting with preliminaries for 2A Boys, followed by Girls, then 3A Boys. WJPA’s live coverage will feature the action of the 31 Washington/Greene County wrestlers spread over those three classifications. Our crew will be on WJPA-AM (1450) and online. Listen Here Click for PIAA Brackets
Thursday, March 6
2A Boys
Lucas Barr (McGuffey), Owen Ivcic (Bentworth), Braedon Welsh (Ft. Cherry) and Colin Whyte (West Greene) won first-round bouts Thursday morning and advance to Friday’s quarterfinals. Three Washington County wrestlers lost twice on Thursday and are eliminated: Logan Noyes (Burgettstown), Emmett Wolfe (McGuffey) and Caleb Patton (Wash High). Nine of the original 12 2A wrestlers from the two county area are still alive.
Bentworth: Drake McClure (conso-133), Owen Ivcic (quarters-160)
Beth-Center: Mason Wright (conso-133)
Burgettstown: Darius Simmons (conso-107)
Fort Cherry Braedon Welsh (quarters-215)
McGuffey: Clayton Ealy (conso-114), Tucker Main (conso-121), Lucas Barr (quarters-139)
West Greene: Colin Whyte (quarters-285)
Girls
Washington County is sending seven girls to the PIAA Quarterfinals Friday morning after opening round wins. Canon-McMillan teammates Marlee Solomon, Eva Gray and Natalie Rush will be joined by Abigail Dolanch (Avella), Ella Trahan (Fort Cherry), Lilianna Giulanelli (Peters Township) and Elaina Ashby (Trinity) in Friday’s quarterfinals. Yuni Ayala (Canon-McMillan) stayed alive in the medal hunt with a consolation victory. Malia Ramos (C-M), London Ellis (C-M) and Alexia Ashby (Trinity) lost twice on Thursday are are eliminated.
Avella: Abigail Dolanch (quarters-142)
Canon-McMillan: Marlee Solomon (quarters-112), Yuni Ayala (conso-118), Eva Gray (quarters-148), Natalie Rush (quarters-190)
Fort Cherry: Ella Trahan (quarters-106)
Peters Township: Lilianna Guilianelli (quarters-190)
Trinity: Elaina Ashby (quarters-148)
3A Boys
All eight 3A wrestlers from the two-county area advanced to Friday’s action, four of them into the quarterfinals: Collier Hartman (Canon-McMillan), Nicholas McGarrity (Peters Township), Jake Conroy (Ringgold) and Dom Canali (Trinity). Conroy was a double-winner, having to win a preliminary bout first, then beat the Southeast Regional champion. Peters Township’s Darius McMillon won a preliminary bout, then had to default out of his first-round match. No word yet on whether the senior 152-pounder will be able to continue on Friday.
Canon-McMillan: Collier Hartman (quarters-133), Brayden Collins (conso-215)
Peters Township: Nicholas McGarrity (quarters-107), Darius McMillon (conso-152)
Ringgold: Jake Conroy (quarters-215)
Trinity: Dom Canali (quarters-127), TJ Allison (conso-139)
Waynesburg: Jacob Stephenson (conso-189)
Friday, March 7
7:50 am 2A Boys Quarterfinals, Consolation Rounds 2-3
11:35 am Girls Quarterfinals, Consolation Round 2
2:05 pm 3A Boys Quarterfinals, Consolation Rounds 2-3
6:50 pm Semifinals (all classes) + Consolations Girls Round 3, Boys Round 4
Saturday, March 8
9:20 am Consolation Semifinals (all classes)
11:20 am Consolation Medal Bouts (all classes) (3rd, 5th, 7th place)
3:50 pm Championship Finals (all classes)
March 6, 2025 4:30 am
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Michael O’Connell scored 15 points and N.C. State maintained hopes of playing in the ACC Tournament, beating Pitt 71-63. Jaland Lowe scored 20 points for Pitt. N.C. State is trying to play its way into the 15-team tournament and currently resides in 16th place in the 18-team league. The Panthers are fighting for a spot in the top nine in search of a first-round bye.
March 5, 2025 4:30 am
DENVER (AP) — Casey Mittelstadt scored the go-ahead goal on a power play with 4:09 remaining, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1. Artturi Lehkonen scored twice, including into an empty net, and Jack Drury added another empty-netter as the Avalanche moved to 3-0 on their season-long, six-game homestand. Scott Wedgewood was stellar in goal, stopping 32 shots. Defenseman Ryan Lindgren made his Colorado debut after being acquired from the New York Rangers last weekend. Rickard Rakell scored for the Penguins.
March 5, 2025 4:32 am
Saquon Barkley will become the highest-paid running back in NFL history after his record-setting season helped the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl. The Eagles are giving Barkley a two-year contract extension worth $41.2 million with $36 million guaranteed, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because the extension hasn’t been announced, said Barkley’s new deal includes $15 million in incentives. Barkley ran for 2,504 yards in the regular season and playoffs, breaking Terrell Davis’ record for most yards rushing in one season.
March 5, 2025 4:34 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James has become the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 combined points in the regular season and postseason. He needed just one point during the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the New Orleans Pelicans. The 40-year-old James is already the top scorer in NBA history in both the regular season and the playoffs during a career in which he has rewritten all previous definitions of basketball longevity. He is on the verge of 50,000 combined points deep into his 22nd season. That’s tied with Vince Carter for the most seasons in the league by any NBA player.
March 4, 2025 2:13 am
The PIAA Basketball playoff brackets were released Sunday afternoon. Those 12 brackets include six Washington County teams. Chartiers-Houston and Peters Township are sending both boys and girls into the state tournaments. They’ll be joined by girls teams from Canon-McMillan and Fort Cherry. Action is slated to start Friday/Saturday with the finals set for the Giant Center, March 27-29. Click for PIAA Brackets
First Round
Friday, March 7
6:00 pm 5A Boys Spring Grove at Peters Township
7:00 pm 6A Girls Canon-McMillan at Allderdice
7:00 pm 2A Girls Chartiers-Houston at Aliquippa
7:00 pm 2A Girls Fort Cherry at Kennedy Catholic
Saturday, March 8
1:00 pm 5A Girls Conrad Weiser at Peters Township
1:00 pm 2A Boys Chartiers-Houston at Lakeview
March 4, 2025 4:34 am
CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Bengals have placed the franchise tag on Tee Higgins for a second time, as the team hopes to work out a long-term deal with the star wide receiver. If the Bengals can’t reach a contract with the 26-year-old Higgins before July 15, his salary for the 2025 season would be $26.2 million. Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin reiterated last week at the NFL scouting combine that one of his top priorities is to get a deal done with Higgins. Higgins is the second player to receive a franchise tag, joining Kansas City guard Trey Smith. Teams have until Tuesday at 4 p.m. EST to tag players.
