Saint Vincent senior guard Chris Klimchock was selected to the 2013 D3hoops.com All-Great Lakes Region.

Klimchock, a 2013 all-Presidents' Athletic Conference first-team pick, finished the season first in the league in free throw percentage (83.6, 122-of-146), second in assists (92), third in made three-point field goals (60) and fifth in scoring (15.9 points-per-game). The Greensburg Salem graduate scored in double figures 20 times, including nine games with 20-plus points. His 31 points against Geneva on Feb. 6, 2013 was a career best.

Klimchock led the Bearcats (23-6) to the program’s first PAC men’s basketball championship tournament title and first NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament appearance, where they suffered an 84-75 first-round loss to Ohio Wesleyan on March 2.

athlete

basketball

college

Overall, it was a good season for Central Catholic.

The Vikings won 11 games, won their second straight section title and beat Norwin in the postseason after losing to the Knights in the first-round of the 2012 Penguins Cup playoffs.

But Central’s season came to a close last Thursday night to the top-ranked Indians from Peters Township.

hockey

Latrobe (18-3) will be very familiar with its opponent in the PIHL Class AA title game.

The Wildcats will take on Pine-Richland (16-4-1) for the third time this season Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Consol Energy Center.

Greater Latrobe won the first game, 4-1, on Dec, 10. Adam Ferguson scored two goals and Shane Brudnok stopped 14 of 15 shots.

hockey

Latrobe (18-3) looked headed for an easy PIHL Class AA semifinal win Tuesday night against Chartiers Valley

Christopher Johnson, Adam Ferguson and Dalton Hunter scored in the first 21:20 to stake the Wildcats to a 3-0 lead, which they took into the third period.

But that’s when the penalties started piling up.

hockey

Name: Shane Brudnok
School: Latrobe
Grade: 12
Sport: Hockey
Position: Goaltender

athlete

hockey

Ryan Riordan's feature on Burrell's Dakota DesLauriers:

"Each season, Burrell's Dakota DesLauriers got closer and closer to his ultimate goal -- a PIAA title.

As a freshman in 2010, DesLauriers took sixth place in Hershey. The next season, he advanced to the semifinals before losing, and eventually got the bronze medal.

Then last year, DesLauriers made it all the way to the final before falling to Wes Phipps, 6-4.

So everything was set up for DesLauriers to join an exclusive club of PIAA champions from Burrell."

(Photo: Burrell's Dakota DesLauriers celebrates with his coach Bud Sines, right, after defeating Muncy's Troy Hembury in the PIAA Class AAA 182-pound title match Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey. Bradley C. Bower/For the Post-Gazette.)

wrestling

Brad Everett's latest on the Gateway boys' basketball team:

"There was no trip to Palumbo Center for the Gateway High School boys basketball team this season, no WPIAL championship trophy ... not even a section title.

In reality, a young Gateway team exceeded the expectations of many, however, and added more evidence to the belief that the Gators won't be dropping their status as one of the top boys programs in WPIAL Class AAAA anytime soon.

"I can't say I'm really satisfied because we didn't win a championship, but I'm satisfied with the effort and I'm satisfied with the fact that we got better," Gateway coach Mitch Adams said. "We did a lot of good things, but we also showed what we have to work on to get back to playing for championships.""

(Photo: Junior forward Henry York is one of several experienced players who will return next season for Gateway. Andrew Rush/Post-Gazette.)

basketball

Nick Tolomeo's feature on the Jeannette girls' basketball team:

"When Luann Mills took over the Jeannette High School girls' basketball program three years ago, she was taking over a group that had just won the WPIAL Class AA championship and featured sophomore sensation Ciara Gregory, a proven scorer.

Mills saw the talent in her team and the talent and scoring potential in Gregory, but she had other impressions, too.

"When I met her, I knew she was too weak," Mills said."

basketball

"A feel-good season for Burrell basketball" - by Craig Meyer:

"Returning to coach at his alma mater over three years ago, Rob Niederberger faced something of an uphill climb to build the boys basketball team at Burrell High School into a consistent winner.

Granted, the Buccaneers finished 14-8 the season before he arrived under former coach Mark Ziemianski, but seven seniors graduated from a team that bowed out in the preliminary round of the WPIAL Class AA playoffs.

In many ways, Niederberger inherited very little at a school that hadn't won a WPIAL playoff game since 2001 and hadn't advanced to a WPIAL championship game since 1979 -- before Niederberger was even born."

basketball

Penn State Behrend sophomore Dan Simon has become the first men's swimmer in program history to qualify for the NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. The championships will be held March 20-23 at the Conroe ISD Natatorium in Shenandoah, Texas.

Simon, a Penn-Trafford graduate, will be competing in three events over the weekend. He is seeded 12th in the 100 backstroke with a time of 50.02 and 39th in the 50 freestyle (21.03).

athlete

college

swim

Saint Vincent junior Ally Vrcek was named the Presidents' Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week.

Vrcek, a Franklin Regional graduate, picked up both Bearcats' wins to improve to 3-0. She tossed 13 innings, allowing 11 hits and four runs (three earned), with five walks and 17 strikeouts.

Jayhawks’ head coach Adrian Batts did not like prospects of the PIAA first round matchup with West Middlesex. “They’re pretty good – obviously, they’re No. 2 in the state,” Batts had said on March 6. His apprehension had been based upon respect.

Jeannette had to travel to Slippery Rock University for the game (which happened on Saturday). Batts brought up the fact that this location was basically in West Middlesex’s backyard.

The Jayhawks pulled out all the stops, though. They scrimmaged Thomas Jefferson on Tuesday (March 5). When asked how this went, Batts said, “We played very well and competed. TJ is a good team. They’re well coached and we held our own and played really well.”

So, to what did this lead? The answer is an overtime game with West Middlesex.

Jeannette played a well-balanced game; the high scorers were Julian Batts (16 points) and Duke Brown (13). But the Jayhawks ended up falling, 55-50 in the very end.

Updates to PIAA tournament brackets and team records are available here.

basketball

The Burrell basketball team played Bishop McCort on Saturday, but before that, they rested.

“We actually took Monday off - the WPIAL run can be exhausting,” said head coach Rob Niederberger.

Before playing Bishop McCort, Niederberger had weighed the matchup in his head. He felt that the two teams had similarities that would allow for a fair, well-played game. Niederberger felt that senior forwards Cole Bush and Matt Hess would be great against Bishop McCort’s taller players. Likewise, Niederberger said that Burrell’s guard core would be ideal to play against McCort’s.

The Bucs also enjoyed a short jaunt to Gateway for the game – a luxury Bishop McCort did not have. “[The trip to Gateway] is a haul for them,” said Niederberger.

Burrell ended up losing to Bishop McCort, 62-43. Matt Hess and Alex White scored in the double digits for the Bucs, at 14 points and 12 points (respectively).

Updates to PIAA tournament brackets and team records are available here.

Gateway head coach Mitch Adams had called the PIAA tournament matchup with New Castle “a chance to come at them a little bit.” He said that the Gators were all about the chance to respond from their semifinal loss two weeks previous.

The Gators, this season had only three seniors, two of whom were starters. This meant that a lot of younger Gateway players were forging new territory as state competitors. They may not have been able to win the district, but they had the chance to take on the state.

Adams noted that the chance at the PIAA was exactly what his team wanted. “The kids want to be in,” he had said on March 6. “We want to keep on playing, but we’ve got to win now make it successful.”

Against New Castle on Saturday, Gateway lost 68-48. The Gators’ Delvon Randall scored 20 points.

Updates to PIAA tournament brackets and team records are available here.

basketball

Class AAAA

Gateway lost to New Castle, 68-48.

Class AA

Burrell lost to Bishop McCort, 62-43

Greensburg Central Catholic beat Penn Cambria 66-56. The Centurions will play Lakeview tonight.

Jeannette lost to West Middlesex, 55-50 in overtime.

basketball

Greensburg Central Catholic played Blairsville on Friday in the PIAA first round. Current PIAA tournament brackets can be found through the WPIAL basketball page .

The key thing was that Blairsville team was just so similar to the Centurions.

“They’re awfully good,” said Greensburg head  coach Chris Kallock. “They’re quick, they press. I saw them play Saturday in their district championship. They remind me of us.”

Interestingly, Kallock mentioned that Blairsville’s head coach told the Latrobe Bulletin that the feeling about the teams’ “mirror situation” was mutual.

Kallock noted that both Greensburg and Blairsville had good guards (such as Centurions’ Carolyn Appleby, Nikki Adisey, etc.). He also said that Blairsville had a good “big” girl who would match up well with taller players like Leah Bisignani and Devon Larkin.

When told the Blairsville’s scrimmage with Penn-Trafford had been cancelled due to the snow, Kallock still didn’t take the Blairsville team lightly. Kallock did not feel the lack of scrimmage would hurt Blairsville.

Greensburg Central Catholic defeated Blairsville 58-39. Larkin scored 20 points for the Centurions in the game, and Appleby added 12.

basketball

Winchester Thurston entered Saturday’s game against Clarion with an inside track. Assistant coach Carlita Jones was an All-American there, and was able to share her knowledge about the Clarion team. Jones still has a great relationship with the Clarion basketball program.

Likewise, the Bears knew to plan for good opposition to point guard Brytney Humphries.

The Bears still lost to Clarion, 52-30.

One thing that made the PIAA experience a great one for Winchester Thurston was getting past the “hostile envirionment” of playing at Clarion. Head coach Monica Williams noted that the coaching staff’s knowledge was able to calm the nerves of a young roster in their opposition’s backyard.

Winchester Thurston finishes the 2012-13 basketball season with a 13-10 record.

basketball

Head coach Luanne Mills and the Jeannette girls’ basketball team didn’t know too much about the matchup with General McLane before the two teams played on Friday. They were aware of two things however: focus and height.

Jeannette’s focus was to prepare using their own strengths, and not to concentrate too much on what the other team did. Mills noted that the General McLane team was a little taller than the Jeannette team.

“They are a little bigger than us,” Mills said. “I’m just glad they’re not six feet tall like Seton-LaSalle. At least we are a little more comparable to them than a bigger sized team.”

Mills said that Jeannette did not prefer the two and a half hour drive to the snow belt to play at Edinboro University. She also said that the team could feel effects of a long season. “To be in the state it makes a long season,” she said.

But the biggest thing that the Jayhawks felt about the 2013 PIAA tournament was excitement.

Jeannette still ended up  losing to General McLane, 51-34. Ciara Gregory got 19 points.

Current PIAA tournament brackets can be found through the WPIAL basketball page .

“They like to kinda full-court-press you,” head coach Cornelious Nesbit had said about Friday’s matchup with McDowell. He noted that the Gators were ready for the challenge and, and that he felt the floor would be opened up for them.

Gateway beat Erie McDowell 50-49. Katey Wilson had 12 points for the Gators in the win. Chelsea Richardson and Maria Taylo each added 11.

Current PIAA tournament brackets can be found through the WPIAL basketball page.

basketball

Class AAAA

Gateway defeated Erie McDowell 50-49. The Gators will play Chartiers Valley on Tuesday (Mar. 12)

Penn Trafford got a win over Hollidaysburg, 50-41. The Warriors will play Mt. Lebanon on Tuesday.

basketball