WPIAL 5-A and 6-A Classifications Sports News
FOOTBALL
CLASS 6A – North Allegheny (2 in a row)
CLASS 5A – Peters Township
BOYS SOCCER
CLASS 4A – Norwin
GIRLS SOCCER
CLASS 4A – Fox Chapel
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
CLASS 4A – North Allegheny
BOYS BASKETBALL
CLASS 6A – Upper St. Clair
CLASS 5A – Moon
GIRLS BASKETBALL
CLASS 6A – Norwin
CLASS 5A – South Fayette (3 in a row)
BASEBALL
CLASS 6A – North Allegheny
CLASS 5A – Penn-Trafford
SOFTBALL
CLASS 6A – Seneca Valley
CLASS 5A – Armstrong
The WPIAL released the boys and girls basketball sections for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 season. The WPIAL went with some larger sections this season.
BOYS BASKETBALL
CLASS 6A
Section 1: Butler, Fox Chapel, New Castle, North Allegheny, North Hills, Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley, Woodland Hills
Section 2: Canon-McMillan, Central Catholic, Connellsville, Hempfield, Imani Christian, Mt. Lebanon, Norwin, Upper St. Clair
CLASS 5A
Section 1: Albert Gallatin, Franklin Regional, Gateway, Latrobe, Laurel Highlands, McKeesport, Penn-Trafford, Uniontown
Section 2: Armstrong, Hampton, Indiana, Kiski Area, Penn Hills, Plum, Shaler
Section 3: Baldwin, Bethel Park, Peters Township, Ringgold, South Fayette, Thomas Jefferson, Trinity
Section 4: Blackhawk, Chartiers Valley, Lincoln Park, Mars, Montour, Moon, West Allegheny
GIRLS BASKETBALL
CLASS 6A
Section 1: Butler, North Allegheny, North Hills, Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley, Woodland Hills
Section 2: Canon-McMillan, Connellsville, Hempfield, Mt. Lebanon, Norwin, Upper St. Clair
CLASS 5A
Section 1: Armstrong, Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, Gateway, Penn Hills, Plum, Shaler
Section 2: Latrobe, Greensburg Salem, Indiana, Kiski Area, McKeesport, Penn-Trafford, West Mifflin
Section 3: Chartiers Valley, Mars, Montour, Moon, New Castle, South Fayette, West Allegheny
Section 4: Albert Gallatin, Baldwin, Bethel Park, Peters Township, Thomas Jefferson, Trinity, Uniontown
Shaler High School is closing in on hiring former Chartiers Valley boys basketball coach Brandon Sensor. Sensor would replace Rob Niederberger who resigned in April after coaching the Titans boys basketball team for nine years.
Shaler went 25-4 last season and made the WPIAL and state semifinals in 5A.
Sensor spent six seasons at Chartiers Valley where he compiled a record of 88-46 including a WPIAL Championship appearance in 2020-2021 when the Colts fell to New Castle in the title tilt. Chartiers Valley went 22-4 that 2020-2021 season. Sensor resigned in February, citing lack of administrative support.
Photo Credit: @MoonTigersBB
Four Big 56 players were named to the PA all-state basketball team including one being named first team.
PA ALL-STATE BOYS BASKETBALL TEAMS
CLASS 6A
1st Team
Jalil Bethea – Archbishop Wood
Nick Coval – Parkland
Greg Guidinger – Central York
Shareef Jackson – Roman Catholic
Yadiel Cruz – Reading
Jaron McKie – St. Joseph’s Prep
2nd Team
Nyle Ralph-Beyer – West Chester Henderson
J.J. Kelly – Chambersburg
Josh Reed – Archbishop Wood
Jaydon Smith – Carlisle
Ben Rill – Central York
Ethan Benne – Penn Manor
3rd Team
Jacob Nguyen – Spring-Ford
Donovan Fromhartz – Downingtown West
Ben Natal – Central York
Tyler Robbins – Upper St. Clair
Tyler Grove – McDowell
Wayne Fletcher – Central Dauphin
Player of the Year: Jalil Bethea – Archbishop Wood
Coach of the Year: Jeff Hoke – Central York
CLASS 5A
1st Team
Ahmad Noweli – Imhotep Charter
Thomas Sorber – Archbishop Ryan
Darren Williams – Archbishop Ryan
Elijah Guillory – Moon
Jaen Chatman – East Stroudsburg South
Naeem Colston – Samuel Fels
2nd Team
Cameron Rowell – Franklin Regional
Adrian Brito – Pocono Mountain West
Deuce Ketner – Bonner-Prendergast
Kevin Rucker Jr. – Bonner-Prendergast
Evan Berger – Thomas Jefferson
Abdurahman Coulibaly – West Philadelphia
3rd Team
Mason Fedor – Abington Heights
Zaahir Muhammad-Gray – Imhotep Charter
Zachary Campbell – Murrell Dobbins Tech
Josh Smith – Mechanicsburg
Adrien Varella – Holy Ghost Prep
Max Lebisky – Phoenixville
Will Marion – Abington Heights
Player of the Year: Ahmad Nowell – Imhotep Charter
Coach of the Year: Ken Bianchi – Abington Heights
BOYS BASKETBALL
TERRIFIC 10
Name: Elijah Guillory
School: Moon
Height: 6’5″
Class: Senior
Position: Guard
Youngstown State commit
Led Moon to first WPIAL championship since 2017
21.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.8 spg
39-point performance against Thomas Jefferson in WPIAL Semifinals
For complete list, click here.
Photo Credit: @MoonTigersBB
BOYS BASKETBALL
CLASS 6A PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Tyler Robbins – Upper St. Clair
13.6 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 5.5 bpg
22 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks in WPIAL Championship
CLASS 6A COACH OF THE YEAR
Danny Holzer – Upper St. Clair
2nd place finish in section
WPIAL Champions
State Quarterfinalists
CLASS 5A PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Elijah Guillory – Moon
21.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.8 spg
11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists in WPIAL Championship
39-point performance in WPIAL Semifinals
CLASS 5A COACH OF THE YEAR
Jesse Reed – Franklin Regional
20-2 regular season record
WPIAL Finalist
State Finalist
BOYS BASKETBALL
PIAA 5A CHAMPIONSHIP
(7-2) Franklin Regional (27-3) vs. (12-1) Imhotep Charter (28-3) – FRIDAY, 8 PM, GIANT CENTER
FRANKLIN REGIONAL
Head Coach: Jesse Reed (3rd season)
State Championships: 0
WPIAL PLAYOFFS
def. #15 Mars (67-50), def. #7 Gateway (53-35), def. #3 Shaler (69-40), lost to #1 Moon (53-48) in WPIAL Championship
STATE PLAYOFFS
def. 3-6 Warwick (68-53), def. 4-1 Selinsgrove (56-45), def. 7-3 Shaler (63-51), def. 7-1 Moon 60-43
First state championship appearance since 1997
Head Coach Jesse Reed lost to Imhotep Charter as a player in the 2011 state championship
IMHOTEP CHARTER
Head Coach: Andre Noble (won 500th game in state semifinals)
State Championships: 9 (2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023)
DISTRICT 12 PLAYOFFS
def. Murrell Dobbins Vo-Tech (65-31), def. String Theory (81-24), def. West Philadelphia (73-59), def. Abraham Lincoln (75-57), def. Math, Civics & Sciences (49-39), def. Archbishop Ryan (62-47) in District 12 Championship
STATE PLAYOFFS
def. 1-6 Pottstown (64-46), def. 3-5 Exeter Twp. (83-40), def. 2-1 Abington Heights (56-46), def. 12-2 Archbishop Ryan (52-48)
Ranked #21 in the country by USA Today
Ahmad Noweli – 37th ranked player in the country, Connecticut commit
Ma’Kye Taylor – Albany commit
Has won 4 straight Philadelphia Public League championships
Looking for 3rd straight state championship and 10th since 2009
In the WPIAL Championship, Franklin Regional had a double digit lead in the second half only to see Moon storm back and claim WPIAL gold. Things got eerily similar on Monday night when Franklin Regional jumped out to 15 points lead after a quarter of play only to see it disappear by halftime.
In the second half though, Franklin Regional would not let history repeat itself and they were able to regroup in the locker room and jumped all over the Tigers outscoring Moon 16-5 in the third quarter, and led 41-33 going into the fourth. Moon scored 23 points in the second quarter, but were held to just 15 points in the second half.
Franklin Regional advances to their second state championship appearance in program history, the only other appearance was in 1997 when the Panthers fell 50-45 to Plymouth Whitemarsh. The Panthers will face off with Imhotep Charter, out of Philadelphia, at 8 pm on Friday at the Giant Center in Hershey. Franklin Regional head coach Jesse Reed lost to Imhotep Charter as a player in the state championship in 2011.
Moon – 5 23 5 10 – 43
Franklin Regional – 17 8 16 19 – 60
Moon (26-4)
Elijah Guillory – 15 points
Aiden Reesman – 10 points
Franklin Regional (27-3)
Cam Rowell – 17 points
Cooper Rankin – 12 points
Fin Hutchinson – 11 points
Colin Masten – 11 points
Photo Credit: @MoonTigersBB
FRIDAY
BOYS BASKETBALL
PIAA 5A QUARTERFINALS
(7-1) Moon 67, (7-6) Bethel Park 51
Moon (26-3)
Aiden Reesman – 26 points
Elijah Guillory – 12 points
Bethel Park (15-14)
Mike Mathias – 17 points
Nick Brown – 10 points
(7-2) Franklin Regional 63, (7-3) Shaler 51
Franklin Regional (26-3)
Cooper Rankin – 23 points
Cam Rowell – 16 points
Shaler (25-4)
Brandon London – 26 points
GIRLS BASKETBALL
PIAA 6A QUARTERFINALS
(7-1) Norwin 60, (1-2) Spring-Ford 47
Norwin (23-4)
Kendall Berger – 20 poitns
Ava Kobus – 11 points
SATURDAY
BOYS BASKETBALL
PIAA 6A QUARTERFINALS
(3-5) Central York 71, (7-1) Upper St. Clair 60
Upper St. Clair (22-6)
Tyler Robbins – 16 points
Peja Strobl – 14 points
Brett Meinert – 12 points
Christian Ito – 10 points
GIRLS BASKETBALL
PIAA 5A QUARTERFINALS
(7-3) McKeesport 57, (7-2) Armstrong 35
McKeesport (24-4)
Rachael Manfredo – 22 points
Brooke Evans – 10 points
Armstrong (23-6)
Emma Paul – 15 points
(10-1) Cathedral Prep 39, (7-4) Oakland Catholic 29
Oakland Catholic (26-3)
Mia LeDonne – 11 points
Photo Credit: @MoonTigersBB
by: Don Rebel
The WPIAL had dominated boys 5A through two rounds.
All four teams in the “western” semifinals are from District 7.
There is little surprise that section champions Moon, Franklin Regional and Shaler have reached the third round of the state playoffs. Those three teams have a combined overall record of 75-9 with each owning a record of 25-3.
If there is a darkhorse in the chase for gold, it’s the Black Hawks.
Bethel Park finished in third place in Section 1, four games behind champion Thomas Jefferson. The Hawks’ longest win streak was six in a row and their longest losing skid was four straight.
Bethel Park brings an overall record of 15-13 into its game against WPIAL champion Moon on Friday at Chartiers Valley at 7 p.m.
The game will be a battle of styles.
Moon has size and speed and likes to get up and down the floor, averaging 62.3 points per game.
Bethel Park likes a slower, half-court pace in which they grind out wins. In six playoff games, the Black Hawks have averaged 43 points per game.
The other PIAA quarterfinal on the western side of the bracket is a rematch of a WPIAL semifinal as Franklin Regional faces Shaler at Gateway at 7:30 p.m.
In that district final four matchup, the Panther jumped all over the Titans in the opening quarter and led after one, 17-5.
After Shaler closed the gap to 10 points by halftime, Franklin Regional again came out of the locker room flying and put the game away by outscoring the Titans 16-7 in the third quarter to cruise to a 28-point win, 68-40.
Fin Hutchinson scored 16 points and Connor Crossey added 14 for the Panthers while Keegan Smetanka had 15 points for the Titans.
The teams also met in the regular season with Franklin Regional beating visiting Shaler in January, 72-62.
LONELY KNIGHTS
Entering the second round of the PIAA playoffs Tuesday, Norwin was one of four WPIAL teams alive for state gold after all four District 7 teams in 6A girls were perfect in the opening round.
However, following second-round losses by Chartiers Valley, Peters Township and North Allegheny, the Knights are all alone from the WPIAL in the 6A bracket.
Friday, Norwin (23-3) heads east to square off with Spring-Ford (23-5) at State College at 6:30 p.m.
Spring-Ford is one of four teams out of eight remaining in the highest classification from District 1.
The Rams lost to Perkiomen Valley in the D-1 finals, but rebounded with state playoff wins over Northeastern York by 34 points and Peters Township by 21 points.
Norwin has won 14 straight games.
The Knights-Rams victor will take on the winner of Lansdale North Penn (24-4) against Garnet Valley (23-5) at Bensalem at 7 p.m.
North Penn eliminated North Allegheny in the second round, 56-54 in overtime.