The WPIAL basketball alignment is out for the next two-year cycle, and the Greensburg Central Catholic girls have once again been impacted by the PIAA competitive balance formula.
GCC, the PIAA 3A champion this season, has Class A enrollment but was forced to play in 3A the last two years because it made the PIAA semifinals two years in a row and had a few transfers.
While transfers had no impact on positioning this time, the state title did. The PIAA denied GCC’s request to play in Class 2A — the GCC boys are dropping down to Class A — and kept them in 3A.
The Mt. Pleasant boys, meanwhile, moved up a Class to 4A, while Ligonier Valley and Southmoreland are now in separate 3A sections.
Jeannette and GCC are no longer in the same section with GCC moving down to A.
Also on the girls side, Norwin and Hempfield are now in different 6A sections.
Greensburg Salem moved down to 4A, while Derry and Southmoreland dropped in 3A.
All-section netters
The WPIAL Volleyball Coaches Association announced its all-section teams for this season.
Several local players made the list, starting in Section 2-3A with junior middle hitter Jason Buczynski of Franklin Regional; senior outside hitter Braden Crowe and senior setter Landon Kalp of Hempfield; junior right side hitter Matthew Eguaoje, senior setter Billy Spena and junior outside hitter Ethan McDonald of Penn-Trafford; junior outside hitters Wyatt Painter and Christian Reiter of Norwin; and senior outside hitter Gabe Watson of Latrobe.
Section 1-2A included junior right side hitter Jaiden Beeman, sophomore setter Landon Campbell, senior libero John Kerin and senior outside hitter Caden Marsh of Derry.
Twice as nice
To Elyse Witcoski, two sports are better than one — in the same season.
The Ligonier Valley sophomore played softball and ran track this spring and excelled in both.
A catcher and outfielder, she hit .721 and stole 21 bases while also breaking school records in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, qualifying for the PIAA meet in the former.
Another 1
Norwin junior football player Maxsym Fierle added a second NCAA Division I scholarship offer as Georgetown came calling last week.
The 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive end already had an offer on the table from Sacred Heart.
Fierle has also played outside linebacker and defensive end for the Knights.
Felentzer to SVC
Southmoreland basketball standout Noah Felentzer is staying close to home.
He committed to play at NCAA Division III Saint Vincent in Latrobe.
The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 17.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.7 steals as a senior for the Scotties. He finished with 1,571 career points, a total that ranks third all-time in the program.
Murphy’s law
One of the better two-sport athletes at Southmoreland has decided on a college destination.
Senior Zoe Murphy committed to play softball and wrestle at Pitt-Johnstown.
A power hitter and pitcher in softball, she won back-to-back WPIAL titles and finished second in the state in wrestling for the second straight year, claiming a silver medal at the PIAA Championships at 230 pounds.
She ended her career with 76 wins.
Recruiting
Jeannette junior football player Jayce Powell is beginning to see movement on his college recruiting radar.
The 5-foot-10, 170-pound wide receiver and defensive back has Division I interest from Villanova and Eastern Michigan, but three Division II schools offered him last week in Slippery Rock, West Liberty and Lock Haven.
• Two Norwin track and cross country athletes have accepted appointments to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point — seniors Lily Chaney and Adam Lahlou.
• Kate Campbell of Southmoreland signed to run track at Robert Morris. Campbell is primarily a middle-distance runner for the Scotties. She finished eighth in the 800-meter run at the WPIAL 2A Championships this season with a time of 2 minutes, 27.05 seconds.
• Talk about a package deal: Five Hempfield hockey players are heading to Saint Vincent to play for the Bearcats. They are Nick Crupie, Nino DiPietro, Mats Martz, Evan Saltzgiver and JJ Williams. All five had a hand in the Spartans’ runner-up finish in the PIHL 2A Penguin Cup playoffs. Crupie has 12 goals and 18 assists, DiPietro 18 goals and 13 assists, Martz nine goals and 20 assists, Saltzgiver two assists, and Williams 17 goals and 16 assists.
• Several Belle Vernon athletes signed letters of intent to play in college. They are: Jude Mininiti (football, Washington & Jefferson), Brady Malekovich (swimming, IUP), Brynn Gardner (football, Cal, Pa.), Derek Milkovich (swimming, Westminster), Anthony Dicenzo (wrestling, Waynesburg), Jackson Pressel (soccer, Westminster) and Ryan Kent (track & field, Shippensburg).
• Franklin Regional senior Isabella Lucas will continue her lacrosse career at Allegheny College.
• Southmoreland’s Joey Bentz will continue his shooting career on the rifle team at the University of Olivet (Mich.).
• Kaden Shannon of Southmoreland will take his wrestling talents to Penn State Altoona. The 285-pounder went 32-11 this season – 81-46 career – and placed sixth in the WPIAL and fifth at regionals in Class 2A.