Below is a review of the East posts that appeared Sunday, May 12 through Friday, May 17. We're also including links from the previous Saturday (May 11).

Saturday, May 11
* Franklin Regional is East's lone representative in WPIAL Division I boys' lacrosse playoffs
* Three East teams in Division II boys' lacrosse playoffs
* Plenty of East talent in Division II girls' lacrosse playoffs
* Photo journal: The Winchester-Thurston girls' lacrosse team

Sunday, May 12
* Sports Town East Week in Review (May 5-11)

reviews

Franklin Regional High's boys lacrosse team had the misfortune of being paired up with Section 1 champion Mt. Lebanon in the first round of the Division I boys lacrosse playoffs this week. The Panthers concluded their season at 8-9 with a 15-10 loss to the No. 2 Blue Devils.

Franklin Regional had several hard-luck losses this season. The Panthers dropped a 7-6 overtime decision to Division I semifinalist Shady Side Academy. They also fell to first-year Division I member Hampton.

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There was the hope that The Ellis School and Latrobe would be able to settle their season series that ended up in a total deadlock following two regular-season meetings. Ellis won the first game between the Division II, Section 1 rivals, 7-6. Latrobe came back to win the second game, 10-9. Both teams finished the regular season with a 9-1 record, and both teams were declared section co-champions. The total amount of goals scored in the two games between the two teams also was the same: 16.

But both teams ran into solid teams in the playoffs.

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If there's any doubt about the resilience of the Greensburg Central Catholic boys lacrosse team, end those feelings right now.

Following an Opening Night, triple-overtime 9-8 loss at Chartiers Valley on a snowy night on March 27, the Centurions have parlayed just enough wile, guile and talent to reach the semifinals of the WPIAL Division II boys lacrosse tournament.

The 7-6 Centurions meet 12-3 Quaker Valley at 8 p.m. on Tuesday night at Baldwin High School. The winner meets the winner of the other semifinal between Seton-LaSalle and Baldwin at 6 p.m. Thursday, also at Baldwin High School.

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Mike White's take on the WPIAL individual track and field championships:

(Photo South Side Beaver's Ricky Fayad won the WPIAL Class AA 110-meter hurdles title Thursday at Baldwin High School with a time of 15.08. Pam Panchak/Post-Gazette.)

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From the WPIAL Individual Track and Field Championships:

It was quite a good day for the East in the 400-meter or “quarter mile” event.
Latrobe’s Hanna Green won it for the girls in Class AAA, Trinity Christian’s Alex Vaughn won it for the boys’ in Class AA, and Central Catholic’s Torey Doaty won it for the boys’ in Class AAA.

The girls’ Class AAA race got an extra boost from the East. Look at lanes 5, 4, and 3 on the video. Lane 5 is Green, but Lane 4 and Lane 3 got second and third place, respectively. The runner in Lane 4 is Woodland Hills’ Desiree Garland (56.65) and the runner in Lane 3 is Gateway’s Aiyanna Crawford (57.07).

In the boys’ Class AA race, Washington’s Isbell DeQuay was second (50.24) and Riverview’s Tim Wagner was third (50.91).

Doaty’s time (and notable additional times) from the boys’ Class AAA 400-meter race will be posted later.

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Brad Everett's feature on Central Catholic baseball:

"The core of this season's Central Catholic baseball team were sophomores when the Vikings sneaked into the WPIAL playoffs by winning their final four section games two years ago.

They were juniors last season when the Vikings were section co-champions and upset the No. 2 seed in the WPIAL quarterfinals before falling in the semifinals.

This season, the group is as seasoned as ever and has been trying to help the Vikings advance even further in the postseason."

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Ryan Riordan's feature on the GCC baseball team:

"Anthony Manley admits that he didn't know much about the Greensburg Central Catholic baseball team when he took the head coaching position with the Centurions two weeks before the start of this season.

"I really only knew about a few kids from reading the paper and being a Greensburg guy," said Manley, who was an assistant at Hempfield last season. "I didn't really know who played where or who could do what."

What he found when he saw the Centurions at the tryouts was a veteran team that knew how to play the game."

baseball

Joe Koch's feature on Latrobe and Ellis girls' lacrosse:

"The WPIAL Lacrosse Committee had its hands full when it came to seeding the field for the Division II girls tournament that got underway Tuesday and will conclude with the championship game on May 23 at North Hills' Martorelli Stadium.

That's because The Ellis School and Greater Latrobe High School finished the regular season with identical records of 9-1 against WPIAL Division II, Section I competition. Latrobe, the No. 3 seed, enters the tournament with a 10-5 record. Ellis, the No. 4 seed, is 11-2."

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The boys volleyball teams from Norwin and Derry Area enter the WPIAL playoffs with the same goal after both advanced to the WPIAL finals last season and both had to settle for second best.

Norwin made its second appearance in the WPIAL finals and lost to North Allegheny for the second time. Derry earned its eighth title berth and finished second for the seventh time.

"One of our goals coming into the season was to win a third straight [Class AAA] Section 3 title," Norwin coach Al Warden said. "We were fortunate to reach that goal.

"Our next goal is to make it back to the WPIAL title match. It will not be easy, but we're looking forward to the challenge."

Norwin claimed its third consecutive section title on the final night of the regular season. The Knights were tied for first place with Penn-Trafford, a team that beat them in the first half of section play.

The rematch took place at Penn-Trafford and Norwin rallied from a 2-1 deficit in sets to defeat the Warriors.

Cara De Carlo's feature on Penn Hills' Nevia Orsini:

"Last week at the WPIAL Class AAA Central Qualifier meet, Penn Hills senior Nevia Orsini ran for the top time of 15.07 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles.

So did Hempfield Area's Maddie Holmberg.

The two did not get to race each other, though. They did not share a heat.

The separation only made Orsini that much more excited to race against Holmberg at the WPIAL individual championships today at Baldwin High School."

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Nick Tolomeo's feature on the Woodland Hills softball team:

"Five years ago when Woodland Hills softball coach Tony Paganico met with the sixth and seventh graders who were playing softball at the middle school level, he told the group they would be the ones to put the program back on the map.

That was in 2008 and the Wolverines had not qualified for the playoffs since 2002.

Paganico set the bar high for the sixth and seventh graders early because he knew of the talent on the team and because he did not want the group to wait until their senior year to leave their mark."

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Brad Everett's feature on the Trinity Christian track team:

"Trinity Christian track coach Dave Jones never has a big talent pool to pick from.

In fact, it wouldn't be right to even call it a pool. It's more like a kitchen sink.

The small private school, located in Forest Hills, has only 112 students in grades 9 through 12. Roughly three dozen are boys, but 14 of them are on the track team."

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These were taken at last Thursday's (May 9) track team championships. Look for these athletes (and many others) to return to Baldwin's track tomorrow to stake their place in the WPIAL individual championships.

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Many recall that last week’s girls’ Class AAA WPIAL track team championships were  won by Hempfield. Reports noted that Hempfield individuals or relays won nine events, and that Jasmine Jones won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes.

So, what were the other girls’ events won?
Head coach Ron Colland helped out.

“Maddie Holmberg won the high hurdles,” he said. “Holmberg won the intermediate hurdles, and Holmberg won the long jump. Bridget Guy won the pole vault.”

Colland noted that Guy went 12 feet.

This total gives seven individual events won by three Hempfield athletes, and it leaves a couple of relays to make nine.

The Spartans took a couple of days off but got back to work with tough workouts on Monday and Tuesday. The team is preparing conservatively today, in order to stay fresh-but-prepped for tomorrow’s finals.

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Penn Hills senior Nevia Orsini has quietly-but-definitively staked her claim among the WPIAL Class AAA’s top hurdlers. Last Tuesday, she tied the time of Hempfield’s Maddie Holmberg for the top spot at the Class AAA Central Section qualifiers. That time was 15.07 seconds (in the 100-meter hurdles).

Penn Hills head coach Lee Zelkowitz added that Orsini is also the fastest leg of the WPIAL fifth-seeded 1600-meter relay. The relay’s other runners are Malika Bowles, Seraya Steward, and Shayla Sisco.

The relay competed at the PTFCA Indoor State championship in February for a time of 3:36.72 and 20th place.

“We have a good chance of that relay team qualifying for states,” said Zelkowitz. The girls’ time at qualifiers was 4:08.56.

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Interestingly, the Gator’s “No. 1” hurdler suffered a disqualification. But “No. 2” came in at 15.32 for second place (first was North Allegheny):

A few notables to watch for:

Taylor McCorkle, Oakland Catholic, sprints
Maddie Holmberg, Hempfield, hurdles, jumps
Nevia Orsini, Penn Hills, hurdles
Jasmine Jones, Hempfield, sprints
Desiree Garland, Woodland Hills, middle distance
Aiyanna Crawford, Gateway, middle distance
Lexi Masterson, Hempfield, pole vault
Bridget Guy, Hempfield, pole vault
Emily Stevens, Gateway, long jump
Lauren George, Hempfield, triple jump
April Krivoniak, Latrobe, shot put

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A few notables to watch for:

Samantha Gibson, Trinity Christian, sprints, hurdles, jumps, throws
Kami Kaczanowicz, Burrell, sprints
Ameriah Walters, Valley, sprints, hurdles
Madeleine Schmiedeknecht, Winchester Thurston, distance
Maya Dean, Ellis School, shot put

Tyler Murphy, Riverview, hurdles
Tyler Carter, Trinity Christian, hurdles
Will Loevner, Winchester Thurston, distance
Alex Vaughn, Trinity Christian, middle distance
Tim Wagner, Riverview, middle distance
Zac Soilis, Riverview, pole vault
Danny Milberger, Riverview, pole vault
John Wallace, Trinity Christian, long jump, triple jump
KJ Marshall, East Allegheny, sprints

Interesting: Trinity Christian’s Samantha Gibson will attend the University of Central Arkansas next year. She is considering focusing on multi-events, such as the heptathlon.

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The Greensburg Central Catholic baseball team rarely had much difficulty scoring runs in the regular season.

It appears the postseason will be no different.

The Centurions had another offensive explosion when they defeated New Brighton, 12-11, in a WPIAL Class AA first-round game at Hampton on Monday.

baseball