The year 2025 in WPIAL sports saw a lot of history and unusual happenings that kept all three sports seasons exciting.
In our year-end tradition, Trib HSSN winds down the year with a daily countdown and a look back at the top 25 WPIAL stories from 2025.
We start the countdown with two state titles runs ended, one two-decade drought was quenched, the district has great success in one weight class on the state mats and ugliness on the court and in the stands affecting three games involving WPIAL teams.
Join us all week as we look back at the moments that stood out in a fun-filled high school sports ride throughout the last year.
Here is a look at district stories No. 25 through No. 21.
No. 25 – WPIAL owns the 2-1-5
Three WPIAL wrestlers won PIAA Class 3A individual wrestling championships in March; however, the district was guaranteed gold in one weight class once the quarterfinal round was in the books.
The final four wrestlers in the 215-pound weight class were all from District 7.
Elijah Brown of Belle Vernon, Cooper Roskosky of Kiski Area, John Conroy of Ringgold and Roman Thompson of Central Catholic all won their state quarterfinals and advanced to an all-WPIAL final four.
In the end, Brown defeated Roskosky to win the PIAA title while Thompson beat out Conroy for third place.
No. 24 – Rebels end drought
There were a lot of familiar faces hoisting gold on back-to-back Saturdays in November.
Central Catholic and Avonworth claimed a second straight district football title in Class 6A and 3A respectively.
Peters Township won its second district title in three years in 5A, Aliquippa won in 4A for the fourth time in five years, and Clairton returned to glory, winning its first WPIAL Class A championship since 2019 but fifth crown in the last 12 years.
So while Seton LaSalle was back in the Class 2A finals for a second straight year, it had been more than two decades since its last football championship.
The Rebels came back, erasing a two-touchdown deficit in the third quarter to win district gold for the first time since 2004.
No. 23 – Not one for the thumb
Archbishop Wood had become the program in PIAA Class 5A girls basketball.
The Vikings had won four straight state championships and were favored to make it five straight when they faced WPIAL runner-up South Fayette in Hershey in March.
No. 22 – Fight nights
Ugly scenes of fights in the stands and on the court made for some unique situations during the 2025 PIAA basketball playoffs.
A brawl with more than three minutes remaining in a Uniontown-Meadville boys PIAA basketball game led to officials cutting the game short. The PIAA later ruled the game was a double forfeit and neither team advanced in the tournament.
Another PIAA basketball playoff game, this time a girls contest, was delayed when officials ordered the gym be cleared because of excessive and abusive language from some of the fans.
These incidents followed a mid-January nonsection contest between Aliquippa and Imani Christian that was halted when fans rushed the floor during an on-court fight.
No. 21 – Eight was enough
In 1976, the PIAA held its third girls volleyball championship tournament and for the first time, a WPIAL team was crowned the winner when Norwin swept past defending champion York Suburban.
The Knights continued to shine for the next eight years until their state title run ended nearly a decade later in 1985.
Fast forward 40 years to the 2025 season.
North Allegheny entered the year hoping to tie that mark with a ninth consecutive PIAA Class 3A girls volleyball crown; however, they discovered in the district playoffs that eight was enough.
Since 2017, the Tigers had claimed gold in Class 4A each year until this fall.
NA didn’t even qualify for the state postseason after being upset by Pine-Richland in the WPIAL semifinals.