WASHINGTON, Pa. — The W&J Department of Athletics announced the passing of Assistant Football Coach Todd Young, who died Thursday morning following a two-year battle with abdominal cancer. Young started at the College in 2000, coaching offensive lineman, helping the Presidents to 186 wins, 11 Presidents Athletic Conference championships and 14 trips to the NCAA Division III playoffs in his tenure. Five W&J linemen were named All-American under Young’s guidance, 50 received All-PAC honors. Young also served as recruiting coordinator and was a fixture at all W&J athletic events. A 1996 graduate of Hiram College, Young served his alma mater for four years as a football assistant as well as the Terriers softball head coach. At W&J, Young was the school’s first head coach of the men’s lacrosse team. Arrangements have not been finalized.
The high school wrestling season comes to a close this weekend in Hershey with the PIAA Individual Wrestling Championships. For the 71st consecutive year, WJPA will bring you start-to-finish coverage. Action at the Giant Center begins with the Thursday morning AA Preliminaries and continues through Saturday night’s AAA Finals. You can follow all the action on WJPA-AM (1450) or online through our High School Wrestling hub Click Here.
As is nearly always the case, Washington & Greene Counties are well represented at the tournament. There are eight AA wrestlers from the two-county area: Burgettstown and McGuffey with three each. Fort Cherry and Jefferson-Morgan have one qualifier. On the AAA side, Waynesburg has five, Canon-McMillan three and Peters Township one. In addition, 16 wrestlers from the South Hills and Mon Valley are in Hershey for the weekend.
In AA Thursday action, only Riley Kemper (Burgettstown) advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals. Joey Sentipal (Burgettstown) and Jonathan Wolfe (Jeff-Morgan) lost twice on Thursday and have been eliminated. Three McGuffey teammates are still alive in the consolation brackets: Nate Yagle, Garrett Boone and Ethan Barr. Burgettstown’s Shane Kemper and Robbie West of Fort Cherry are also still alive in the consolation brackets. Altogether, the WPIAL has 11 AA quarterfinalists, three of them from team champion Burrell. Eight other schools have one each. The League also has 10 wrestlers still active in the consolations, giving the local district 21 of its original 28 AA wrestlers still in contention for medals. AA Quarterfinals and 2nd Round Consolations are set for Friday, 9 am.
Waynesburg advanced all five of its wrestlers to Friday’s quarterfinals., including Cole Homet who had to win a preliminary bout, then rallied off his back to top the Northwest Region champion in the first round. Gerrit Nijenhuis (Canon-McMillan) and Donovan McMillon (Peters Township) are also in the quarterfinals. WPIAL AAA wrestlers were 23-1 in the preliminary round, 34-21 in the first round and only one of the district’s 56 wrestlers were eliminated on Day One.
AMES, Iowa (AP) – Derek Culver and Miles McBride scored 17 points apiece and West Virginia outlasted Iowa State for a 77-71 victory. McBride hit four free throws in the final 16 seconds left to help quell the Cyclones’ last -gasp rally. Iowa State’s Rasir Bolton scored 17 of his game-high 21 points in the second half.
UNDATED (AP) – Kansas is the unanimous No. 1 in a week of upheaval in men’s college basketball. The Jayhawks received all 64 first-place votes from the media panel in The Associated Press poll. Gonzaga was No. 2, with Dayton, Baylor and San Diego State rounding out the top five. Sixth-ranked Kentucky is followed by Florida State, Seton Hall, Maryland and Louisville. The Aztecs, Terrapins and No. 18 Iowa were the only teams to hold their place after a week in which nine Top 25 teams lost to unranked opponents. Dayton has its highest ranking since reaching No. 2 in 1955-56 after stretching its winning streak to 18 games. Virginia, Illinois and Wisconsin moved into the poll. West Virginia, Colorado and Texas Tech fell out.
Four Washington County teams qualified for the upcoming PIAA basketball playoffs–Avella & Trinity girls, Peters Township & Ringgold boys–along with West Greene girls. In addition, another 11 teams in regional coverage area qualified for the five-round two week tournaments that begin Friday, March 6th. The PIAA pairings have been posted. PIAA Brackets. We’ll carry three of the four Washington County teams’ first-round games this weekend. Here’s the first-round schedule for the 16 area teams (Wash/Greene match-ups are bold):
Friday, March 6
4A Boys Ringgold vs. 3-1 Lancaster Catholic, 7 pm at Warwick HS, Lititz — WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
4A Boys Belle Vernon vs. 9-1 Clearfield, 7:30 pm at St. Mary’s
5A Boys South Fayette vs. 3-1 Muhlenberg, 5 pm at Milton Hershey
5A Boys Chartiers Valley vs. 3-2 Milton Hershey, 5 pm at Harrisburg
5A Boys Thomas Jefferson vs. 3-3 New Oxford, 6 pm at Dallastown
6A Girls Bethel Park vs. 3-5 Gov. Mifflin, 6 pm at Peters Township
6A Girls Upper St. Clair vs. 6-2 State College, 7 pm at Bald Eagle Area
6A Girls Mt. Lebanon vs. 6-1 Altoona, 7:30 pm at Mt. Aloysius
Saturday, March 7 1A Girls Avella vs. 9-1 Coudersport, 2 pm at St. Mary’s — WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here 1A Girls West Greene vs. 10-1 Kennedy Catholic, 2:30 pm at Peters Township
6A Boys Upper St. Clair vs. Allderdice, 1:30 pm at Fox Chapel 6A Boys Peters Township vs. 10-2 McDowell, 4:00 pm at Edinboro University
6A Boys Mt. Lebanon vs. 3-4 Cedar Crest, 4:30 pm at Peters Township
5A Girls Thomas Jefferson vs. 6-1 Portage, 1 pm at Mt. Aloysius
5A Girls Chartiers Valley vs. 10-3 Warren, 3 pm at South Fayette 5A Girls Trinity vs. 7-5 Penn Hills, 4:30 pm at South Fayette — WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Sidney Crosby takes full responsibility for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ current rut. Evander Kane had a goal and an assist, Martin Jones made 30 saves in his 24th career shutout and the San Jose Sharks sent the Penguins to their first six-game losing streak in eight years with a 5-0 victory on Saturday night. “I put it on myself,” Crosby said. “I have to step up in key situations. When you’re down like this and losing games, you need big plays and big performances. I haven’t done that. That’s on me.” Crosby has one goal, no assists and a minus-8 rating during the team’s first six-game skid since the 2011-12 season. Pittsburgh has been outscored 24-8 with all the losses in regulation, falling from first place to third in the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins even went winless on a California swing against the bottom three teams in the Western Conference, having lost to Los Angeles and Anaheim earlier in the week. Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Timo Meier and Joel Kellman also scored to give the Sharks back-to-back wins following a five-game losing streak.
Washington & Jefferson outscored host St. Vincent in each quarter, upsetting the #1 seed in the PAC Women’s Basketball semifinals. #2 Grove City jumped in front, then held off a Westminster second half rally as the Wolverines beat the Titans. Friday’s winners meet in Saturday’s PAC Championship game. On the men’s side, the final is set: #5 Geneva, winners of two straight road playoff games, will take on top-seeded Grove City.
The winners of Saturday’s PAC Championship games earn the League’s automatic bids to the NCAA Division III tournaments.
PAC Women’s Basketball Championship Semifinals (Friday at St. Vincent) #2 Grove City over #3 Westminster, 70-58
#4 Wash & Jeff over #1 St. Vincent, 74-53
Finals (Saturday, 5 pm at St. Vincent)
#4 Washington & Jefferson vs. #2 Grove City
PAC Men’s Basketball Championship Finals (Saturday, 7:30 pm)
#5 Geneva at #1 Grove City
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – John Gibson made 28 saves, Brendan Guhle scored the winning goal in the second period and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2. Danton Heinen and Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Ducks, who have won two straight for the first time in over three weeks. Anaheim was missing its top three defensemen. Jason Zucker scored both of Pittsburgh’s goals. The left wing has 19 goals, with five coming in nine games with Pittsburgh since he was acquired from Minnesota. The Penguins have five straight regulation losses for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
Trinity closed the first half with an 8-0 run, rolling to a comfortable win over Woodland Hills and a berth in Saturday’s 5A Girls championship game. The Hillers will face defending WPIAL/PIAA champion Chartiers Valley. The Colts scored the first 19 points of the game against Thomas Jefferson and were never threatened. Elsewhere, 6A Mt. Lebanon shut down Central Catholic while #1 Butler needed overtime to advance for the second straight game. The Golden Tornado’s win over Upper St. Clair keeps Peters Township’s PIAA playoff hopes alive. Belle Vernon knocked off 4A New Castle to reach the finals, The Leopards will face #1 Highlands who beat Blackhawk, extending Ringgold’s state playoff hopes for a few more days. We’re working on our Saturday broadcast plans and could bring you as many as four championship games. Bracket & Listen links and the complete schedule for our coverage follow.
WPIAL Basketball Championships at Petersen Events Center Thursday, Feb. 27
5 pm 2A Girls #2 Biship Canevin vs. #4 Laurel
7 pm 1A Boys #1 Vincentian vs. #3 Cornell
9 pm 3A Boys #1 Lincoln Park vs. #2 North Catholic
Friday, Feb. 28
3 pm 1A Girls #2 West Greene vs. #1 Rochester
5 pm 2A Boys #1 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart vs. #2 Sto-Rox
7 pm 4A Girls #1 North Catholic vs. #2 Southmoreland
9 pm 5A Boys #3 Mars Area vs. #8 Laurel Highlands
Saturday, Feb. 29
11 am 3A Girls #1 Beaver vs. #2 Mohawk
1 pm 4A Boys #6 Belle Vernon vs. #1 Highlands 2:50 pm 5A Girls #3 Trinity vs. #1 Chartiers Valley — WJPA-FM (95.3)
7 pm 6A Girls #1 Bethel Park vs. #2 North Allegheny
9 pm 6A Boys #3 Mt. Lebanon vs. #1 Butler
Geneva continued its upset run through the PAC Men’s Basketball tournament. The #5 Golden Tornado followed up a road win at #4 W&J with an impressive rout at #2 Chatham. Now, top-seeded Grove City awaits in the championship game Saturday following the Wolverines’ one-point win over St. Vincent. On the women’s side, the top four seeds are headed for #1 St. Vincent for their final four weekend.
The winners of Saturday’s PAC Championship games earn the League’s automatic bids to the NCAA Division III tournaments.
PAC Women’s Basketball Championship Semifinals (Friday at St. Vincent)
#3 Westminster vs. #2 Grove City
#4 Wash & Jeff vs. #1 St. Vincent
Finals (Saturday at St. Vincent)
Semifinal winners
PAC Men’s Basketball Championship Semifinals (Thursday)
SF 1 Grove City 70, St. Vincent 69
SF 2 Geneva 91, Chatham 63
WASHINGTON, Pa. — The W&J Department of Athletics announced the passing of Assistant Football Coach Todd Young, who died Thursday morning following a two-year battle with abdominal cancer. Young started at the College in 2000, coaching offensive lineman, helping the Presidents to 186 wins, 11 Presidents Athletic Conference championships and 14 trips to the NCAA Division III playoffs in his tenure. Five W&J linemen were named All-American under Young’s guidance, 50 received All-PAC honors. Young also served as recruiting coordinator and was a fixture at all W&J athletic events. A 1996 graduate of Hiram College, Young served his alma mater for four years as a football assistant as well as the Terriers softball head coach. At W&J, Young was the school’s first head coach of the men’s lacrosse team. Arrangements have not been finalized.
Washington & Jefferson outscored host St. Vincent in each quarter, upsetting the #1 seed in the PAC Women’s Basketball semifinals. #2 Grove City jumped in front, then held off a Westminster second half rally as the Wolverines beat the Titans. Friday’s winners meet in Saturday’s PAC Championship game. On the men’s side, the final is set: #5 Geneva, winners of two straight road playoff games, will take on top-seeded Grove City.