March 3, 2024 7:00 am
Peters Township freshman Nicholas McGarrity scored a takedown in overtime to win the 107-pound WPIAL 3A championship one of three Washington County wrestlers to win titles, leading a contingent of 13 state tournament qualifiers from the two-county area. Canon-McMillan and Trinity each have four wrestlers heading to the Giant Center for Thursday afternoon’s opening round. The Big Macs are led by Andrew Binni, a four-time WPIAL medalist who won his first championship. Collier Hartman & Geno Calgaro finished third, Ryder Joseph fourth. Blake Reihner and Bode Morgan took third for Trinity with TJ & Robbie Allison both finishing fourth. Ringgold’s Jake Conroy is the Rams only qualifier but he’ll head to Hershey as a WPIAL champion. Waynesburg’s Roan Tustin finished second, Ky Szewczyk and Brock Evans fourth. We’ll have start-to-finish coverage from the Giant Center on the WJPA Sports Network (WJPA-AM 1450).
Championships
107 Nicholas McGarrity (Peters Township) DEC Dylan Barrett (Penn Trafford), 6-2 SV
114 Santino Sloboda (Butler) DEC Landon Sidun (Norwin), 5-4
121 Luke Willochell (Greater Latrobe) DEC Tyler Kapusta (Franklin Regional), 1-0
127 Andrew Binni (Canon-McMillan) MD Jake Braun (Greater Latrobe), 19-7
133 Mason Kernan (Bethel Park) DEC Kai Vielma (Connellsville), 7-0
139 Maddox Shaw (Thomas Jefferson) F Dominic Ferraro (Pine Richland), 0:49
145 Evan Petrovich (Connellsville) DEC Hayden Coy (Penn Trafford), 4-2
152 Eli Carr (Hempfield) DEC Nick Jones (West Allegheny), 6-0
160 Bode Marlow (Thomas Jefferson) DEC Lonzy Vielma (Connellsville), 11-7
172 Vaughn Spencer (Pine Richland) F Hunter Snyder (Greater Latrobe), 2:33
189 Cooper Roscosky (Kiski Area) DEC Nathan Campbell (Norwin), 4-2 SV
215 Jake Conroy (Ringgold) DEC Aidan Buggey (North Allegheny), 5-1
285 Shepherd Turk (Thomas Jefferson) DEC Roan Tustin (Waynesburg), 3-0
Third Place
107 Nolan Rice (Connellsville) DEC Nico Kapusta (Hempfield), 4-2
114 Leo Joseph (Greater Latrobe) DEC Caiden Harbert (West Allegheny), 8-4
121 Collier Hartman (Canon-McMillan) DEC Connor Smith (Seneca Valley), 5-3
127 Owen Klodowski (Baldwin) DEC Ky Szewczyk (Waynesburg), 4-0
133 Ramil Islamov (Baldwin) DEC Kase Chopp (Butler), 8-3
139 Blake Reihner (Trinity) F Ryder Joseph (Canon-McMillan), 2:27
145 Cole Gibbons (Mt. Lebanon) DEC TJ Allison (Trinity), 3-2
152 Antonino Walker (Plum) DEC Luke Dunlap (South Fayette), 3-0
160 Cordan McDonnell (Bethel Park) DEF Brock Evans (Waynesburg), 0-0
172 Bode Morgan (Trinity) MD Jack Tongel (Plum), 9-0
189 Roman Thompson (Central Catholic) DEF Robbie Allison (Trinity), 0-0
215 Geno Calgaro (Canon-McMillan) DEC Juliano Marion (Franklin Regional), 7-3
285 Ben Lloyd (Mt. Lebanon) F Braydn McConneha (North Allegheny), 1:39
March 2, 2024 7:00 am
The first qualifiers for the PIAA Wrestling Championships were determined Friday night. The top six wrestlers in each weight at the Southwest AA tournament in Altoona advance to Hershey. That means that quarterfinal winners clinch a ticket to states and Bentworth led the way among area teams. Vitali Daniels, Owen Ivcic, Drake McClure and Chris Vargo are all in Saturday’s semifinals. Braydon Taggart is alive in the consolation bracket. Burgettstown’s Parker Sentipal and Gaven Suica are in the semis with four teammates in the consolations. Mason Wright (Beth-Center), Jorden Williams (Chartiers-Houston), Braedon Wright (Fort Cherry) and Lucas Barr (McGuffey) also won their quarterfinal matches to qualify for the state tourney, giving Washington County 10 guaranteed AA qualifiers with another 14 consolation wrestlers still in action. Jeff-Morgan and West Greene have three consolation wrestlers each but no one in the semifinals. Bentworth is second in the team standings behind prohibitive favorite Bishop McCort. Burgettstown is in sixth place heading into Saturday. We’ll have start-to-finish coverage on the WJPA Sports Network with free audio online at wjpa.com and video available via NFHS Network (subscription service).
Southwest AA Regional
8:50 am Semifinals, Consolation Rounds 1-4
5:05 pm Championship & Consolation Finals (3rd, 5th, 7th place)
WPIAL Team Tournament runner-up Trinity sits in third place at the WPIAL AAA Individual Championships, advancing three wrestlers to the semifinals with four others still alive in the consolations. Robbie Allison, Bodie Morgan and Blake Reihner clinch a state tournament berth with one more win. Consolation wrestlers need two straight wins to advance. Canon-McMillan is in seventh place but has four in the semis: Andrew Binni, Geno Calgaro, Collier Hartman and Ryder Joseph. Peters Township (Nicholas McGarrity) and Ringgold (Jake Conroy) each have one semifinalist and four wrestlers in the consolations. Ky Szewczyk and Roan Tustin have reached the semifinals for Waynesburg. The Raiders also have two wrestlers still in consolation brackets. We’ll have coverage of the WPIAL 3A Wrestling Championships and the PIAA West Regional Girls Tournament on the WJPA Sports Network with free audio on WJPA-AM (1450) and online at wjpa.com. We’ll also provide video coverage of the championship finals through the WPIAL partnership with FloWrestling and NFHS Network.
WPIAL AAA Championships & PIAA Girls West Regional
9:50 am Girls Quarterfinals, Boys/Girls Semifinals, Consolation Rounds 2-4
3:50 pm Championship & Consolation Finals (Girls 3rd & 4th place; Boys 3rd-6th place)
March 2, 2024 4:46 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Andy Russell, the standout linebacker who was an integral part of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ evolution from perennial losers to champions, has died. He was 82. The team confirmed Russell’s death. There was no immediate word on the cause or place of death. Russell won two Super Bowls during a 12-year NFL career between 1963-76 that was briefly interrupted by a stint in the military. Russell played in 168 consecutive games and spent 10 years as a team captain. He was named to the Pro Bowl seven times. Russell remained active in the Pittsburgh community after retiring, writing several books and launching the Andy Russell Charitable Foundation.
March 2, 2024 4:29 am
BOSTON (AP) — Fanatics founder Michael Rubin says his company is being unfairly blamed for new Major League Baseball uniforms that have see-through pants and other fit and design problems. Speaking at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, Rubin said, “We’re purely doing exactly as we’ve been told, and we’ve been told we’re doing everything exactly right.” Since reporting to spring training this month, some players have complained about the fit of their new uniforms. The white pants worn by some teams are also see-through enough to clearly show tucked-in jersey tops.
March 2, 2024 4:30 am
Former NFL quarterback Cam Newton says he’s disappointed in himself for losing control of his emotions over the weekend at a 7-on-7 youth football tournament in Atlanta, resulting in a brief fight involving several men. A 22-second video surfaced on Sunday showing the 34-year-old Newton being involved in an altercation with at least three other men outside of a school. Newton did not throw any punches, and instead appeared to try to fend off others. The incident was quickly broken up by a policeman and security. Newton says he feels like he let down kids who look up to him.
March 1, 2024 4:43 am
SEATTLE (AP) — Philipp Grubauer made 33 saves and posted his first shutout of the season, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Alex Wennberg scored goals and the Seattle Kraken beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-0. Grubauer was terrific for the second straight game and recorded the 21st regular-season shutout of his career. Seattle picked up a crucial two points in its attempt to stay relevant in the Western Conference wild-card race and with next week’s trade deadline drawing ever closer. The Kraken have won three of their last four and have points in six of their past seven games. Pittsburgh had its three-game win streak snapped.
March 1, 2024 4:44 am
Pittsburgh Pirates starter Paul Skenes retired the Baltimore Orioles’ Jackson Holliday on a grounder to second base in a spring training matchup of the top overall picks in the last two amateur drafts. Skenes, a 6-foot-6 right-hander, was the first pick last year after going 13-2 with a 1.69 ERA and 209 strikeouts while leading LSU to the NCAA title. He agreed to a $9.2 million signing bonus and pitched in five games with Low-A Bradenton and Double-A Altoona.
March 1, 2024 4:46 am
Iowa star Caitlin Clark says she will leave the Hawkeyes after this season and enter the WNBA draft. Clark made the announcement Thursday on social media. She is 18 points away from passing LSU’s Pete Maravich for the all-time NCAA Division I record for men or women with 3,650 career points. She broke Lynette Woodard’s major college scoring record on Wednesday. Clark is expected to be the top pick in the draft on April 15. The Indiana Fever, who have the first pick, indicated on social media shortly after Clark’s announcement that they intend to select her.
February 29, 2024 8:26 am
After 30 seasons, the Steelers are now in the market for a new, radio play-by-play announcer. Bill Hillgrove has announced that he is retiring. In a statement released Thursday morning, President Art Rooney II said; “Bill Hillgrove’s contributions to both the Steelers Radio Network and the Steelers organization have spanned nearly three decades that included him serving as our play-by-play announcer for four Super Bowl appearances and countless other memorable games during his tenure” and “has played a major role in broadcasting to our amazing fans on our radio network, but he also found time to be part of so many special events since he began working alongside the great Myron Cope on the airwaves in 1994. Bill will truly be missed by Steelers Nation, but we are excited for him and his family to enjoy his retirement.”
February 29, 2024 4:35 am
College Football Playoff officials are considering a 14-team model that would guarantee multiple automatic bids for each of the four power conferences, starting in 2026. Two people with direct knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press the format being discussed would guarantee three playoff spots each for the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference, two for the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 and one for the highest-ranked team from the Group of Five leagues. The two people spoke on condition of anonymity the CFP management committee’s talks were not being made public.
