Chris Heater had nothing against the Kiski Area wrestling team participating in the Trinity Duals again this season. The Cavaliers' opened last season there and enjoyed the event. But Heater chose to take his team to the Sheetz Kickoff Classic in Greenville instead.

The Cavaliers wanted a fresh batch of opponents. Eight of the teams in the event were from District 9 or 10. The only other WPIAL team to participate beside Kiski was Armstrong.

Kiski (6-0) won all five of its duals at the event. Mario Hutcherson, Cooper Roscosky, Gavin Murphy, Bear Joseph and Jackson Pollick all went 5-0 for the Cavaliers.

"We went to Trinity last year and we wrestled three teams that we saw again later in the season," Heater said. "I just wanted to go somewhere where we wouldn't see anybody and give our guys the chance to wrestle five matches and see where their endurance and conditioning was. It was a good opener for us."

Kiski will host another intense dual event this weekend. The Cavaliers will have a number of strong WPIAL programs -- Canon-McMillan, Hempfield, North Allegheny, Penn-Trafford, Peters Township and Waynesburg Central -- along with District 9's DuBois and District 10's Fort LeBoeuf.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

ALLEGHENY TWP - Brin Zehmisch once had to look for competition wherever she could find it. The Butler junior girls wrestler couldn't always find people in her weight class in the fledgling sport of girls wrestling. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zehmisch was eager to accept matches even against opponents that outweighed her significantly.

Zehmisch, who is 35-16 in her career, opened the season by pinning Kiski's Marissa Prignon during the second period of a 130-pound bout Wednesday night on the road.

"As a kid, I wrestled a lot of guys and there weren't many girls who wanted to wrestle," Zehmisch said. "At a small tournament, there was only me and one other girl. I wanted to wrestle no matter what my weight class was. One time I wrestle a girl who was close to 200 pounds when I was 90 pounds."

Zehmisch, who has been wrestling for 10 years, has seen her experience pay off since the WPIAL and PIAA started sponsoring girls wrestling. Last season, Zehmisch finished fourth in the WPIAL at 118 pounds. Zehmisch, who was 21-10 overall, qualified for the West Regional.

Zehmisch, who finished 1-2 at the regional tournament, said she got into wrestling because of her younger sister. Her interest in wrestling was because of her dream to wrestle in the WWE. Once she started with folkstyle, Zehmisch's desire changed.

"My little sister brought a flyer home from school and it seemed like something I wanted to do," Zehmisch said. "It seemed like something I really wanted to do because I wanted to wrestle in the WWE. As I started progressing in wrestling, I didn't want to wrestle in WWE anymore. I like wrestling as it is."

Golden Tornado girls wrestling coach Nathan Bottinger said he was happy with how aggressive Zehmisch was against Prignon.

"She was forcing the pace a little bit," Bottinger said. "She's not a high-pressure kind of kid, but she likes to stay with girls, find that opening and pounce on it."

Zehmisch said she believes her style of wrestling allows her to catch her opponents off guard. During matches, Zehmisch is able to quickly shift her weight to be in better positions.

"Some of the people I practice with, they think I'm heave than I actually am," Zehmisch said. 

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo

PITTSBURGH - Marina Pezelj is from Monaco and earned an invite to compete with the France Senior National Team in women's volleyball.

The 6-foot-1 freshman outside hitter is now in PIttsburgh. Pezelj being recruited to the Steel City is part of how Dan Fisher has built a dynasty. He has turned the Panthers into a program people want to play for.

Pezelj turned in a career-high 12 kills during a 3-0 win against Michigan in the second round of the NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament Saturday night at Petersen Events Center. The Panthers are moving on the Sweet 16 for the sixth consecutive season.

"We had two returning starters on the floor and here we are in the Sweet 16," Fisher said. "I'm proud of this city and the fan support we have."

Pezelj has earned more opportunities later in the season for Pitt (27-4).

Pezelj's first major performance came against Notre Dame, when she attempted 30 attacks and finished with 12 kills on Oct. 17 on the the road. Since then Pezejl attempted 20 more attacks in 12 of the the Panthers' 16 matches.

Pezelj said she has focused on her defense to help fit in with the lineup. She had seven digs against Michigan.

​"I thinking bringing this to games is important to have the transition into the score after," Pezlj said. "It really helps the team too."

Pezelj has also demonstrated an ability to change up attacks.

"I think, at first, the coaches told me just to change where I was headed to change direction," Pezlj said. 

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

PITTSBURGH - The reality is that many things in college sports will be considerably different five years from now than they are today. But UMBC women's volleyball coach Kasey Crider provided a reminder of why it is important to keep the little schools involved in the postseason picture.

Crider -- along with players Hannah Dobbs and Hannah Howard -- shook the hands of everyone in the room following their press conference after a 3-0 defeat at the hands of No. 1 seed Pitt at Petersen Events Center. The Retrievers -- who finished 13-12 and qualified by winning the America East Conference for the fifth time in six years -- were thrilled to be involved.

"I'm just so impressed with this place and what volleyball has become here," Crider said. "It's not just what (Pitt head coach) Dan (Fisher) and Kellen (Petrone) and the staff and program has done. It's how the city has embraced the sport and is taking it very seriously. This event is the perfect example of that."

The battle surrounding the College Football Playoff has highlighted the unhappiness with some of the larger schools about having automatic qualifiers. While football is different -- there are only 12 teams selected and the format is new -- the battle of mid-major schools roles in the playoffs has also come under attack in basketball. There is some thought that some of the larger conferences -- like the Big 10 and SEC -- may eventually choose to break away from the NCAA entirely.

That decision could lock out a program like UMBC. The Retrievers men's basketball program shocked the sports world in 2018 when they became the first No. 16 seed to upset a No. 1 seed when they knocked off Virginia. For athletes who goes to smaller schools, who doesn't like trying to slay Goliath.

UMBC had a formidable opponent to try and knock off its feet in the first round. The Panthers have advanced past the first round the previous 10 seasons. Pitt hasn't dropped a set in their first NCAA match since 2017, when it beat VCU 3-1 at Penn State.

The Panthers' monster offensive machine is led by Olivia Babcock, who was chosen as the top layer in college volleyball last season and is a contender to win the award again this season. Babcock finished with 13 kills against the Retrievers and has 558 on the season, which is a program record.

"I feel like when we went in there, we weren't scared," Howard said. "We have our practice players who are boys and swinging at us all week like as hard as they could. I really think that helped us to stay strong back there. We didn't want to be scared. She's the best arm we played against. I think we had a lot of practice helped us stay strong back there."

Crider didn't come to Pittsburgh with a steadfast belief that UMBC would spring an upset. He wanted the Retrievers to stick to their principles and attempt to make the Panthers work to move on to the next round.

UMBC wanted to represent itself well on the big stage. The Retrievers did it their way.

"One of the core principles of what we do is 'Hey, we're going to deal in reality.'," Crider said. "We can't deal in too much fluffy stuff and try to to fake it. We know that they are favored for a reason. So, we acknowledge that. I don't think that you have to dwell on it.  There's some things that we do, some activities, some principles, some values, all these things it got you here. It would be a shame if you kinda let go of those things just because the arena got a little bigger, the lights got a little brighter, the DJ got a little more wild or whatever."
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Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted on X @JoshRizzo or via email at [email protected].

The Clairton football team are kings of Pennsylvania Class A football again. But Bears coach Wayne Wade and his team understood the warning signs that could have derailed such an event.

For as excellent as the Bears' defense was -- Clairton limited Bishop Guilfoyle to minus-1 rushing yards during a 35-3 win over the Marauders in the Class A final Thursday at Cumberland Valley High School -- a few lapses could have sunk the season. Of all the results, the one that stands out the most is Clairton's 38-33 WPIAL quarterfinal win over Jeanette Nov. 7 at Franklin Regional High School.

The Jayhawks made the Bears work. It showed signs that Clairton would have a few brawls on its way to lifting any hardware. The Bears hadn't allowed any points to be scored against them since Aug. 31, during a 19-12 loss to Imani Christian. 

But after recording nine consecutive shutouts, Jeannette found ways to score points. Clairton, which had beat the Jayhawks 57-0 during the regular season, needed some luck to survive during a 38-33 victory in the playoffs. Jeannette was the only team to score more than 22 points against the Bears.

"If you look at the last few weeks, the Jeannette game, I think that was a letdown for us," Wade said following the Bears' 8-6 win over Laurel in the WPIAL title game. "We had beaten them 57-0 in the regular season and we kind of had a lull that week. I told the kids after that game we have to be laser-sharp with our focus."

The locomotive wouldn't truly get back to full speed until the Bears' 57-0 win over District 10 champion Greenville in the PIAA semifinals. In the WPIAL semifinals, Bishop Canevin had its moments, being only the second team to crack 20 points against Clairton. The Bears ultimately prevailed 42-22.

"The Bishop Canevin game, we gave them 14 points," Wade said. "There were a lot of penalties in that game. There were pass interference calls and stuff to help them move the ball. Our defense got back on track."

Clairton's defense was able to save its skin in the WPIAL championship game. Against a game Laurel team, the Bears had to force a fumble late in the fourth quarter to escape with an 8-6 win. Brandon Murphy forced the fumble and Donte Wright fell on it to seal the victory.

Once the Bears got into the state tournament, Clairton had no issues wrapping up its fifth state title. Deon Lovelace-Pompey gave the defense a splash play in the state title game by returning an interception 24 yards for a touchdown right after halftime.

The Bears' defense deserves its spot in history among the great all-time WPIAL defenses. The imperfections it smoothed out along the way help give it some character.

Forry Cherry senior Matt Sieg caught many offguard by committing to play football at West Virginia University Wednesday morning. The Rangers standout had originally committed to play at Penn State and many people believed he would follow James Franklin to Virginia Tech. But the desire to stay close to home led the Washington County star to Morgantown.

Sieg led the Rangers through the most successful period in their program's history. Fort Cherry won the WPIAL football championship in 2023 and 2024. The Rangers reached the PIAA final in 2023 before losing to Steelton-Highspire. During Sieg's career, he piled up 7,958 rushing yards, which broke the school record set by Mike Vernillo.

Sieg also passing for more than 4,600 yards in his career.

Sieg finished his career as the WPIAL's second all-time leading rusher beyond former Hopewell standout Rushel Shell, who went on to play at Pitt and WVU.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

O'HARA TWP - North Hills girls basketball coach Jason Pirring shouted the information his bench statisticians relayed to him Tuesday night at Fox Chapel High School. Fox Chapel was beating the Indians on the boards.

"Eight offensive rebounds," Pirring shouted toward his team.

The pesky Foxes made the Indians sweat during their non-conference contest. But North Hills did enough in the second half to pull away for a 46-43 win. Pirring had a blueprint for how to proceed following the season opener.

"Imagine what we're working on tomorrow, as well," Pirring said. "Offensive rebounds killed us tonight. We're not a big team either. They're not a big team, but they outhustled us."

North Hills (1-0) fought off a slow start on offense. The Indians shot 14 percent from the field in the first quarter and 20 percent (2-of-10) from the 3-point line in the first half. Fox Chapel led 17-16 at halftime and limited North Hills to five points in the first quarter.

"We couldn't rebound," Pirring said. "We're not making foul shots - we were shooting 50 percent from the line. You can't win games like that. We were making it harder on ourselves."

Fox Chapel coach Marty Matvey was happy with how his team got on the glass. During the summer league, the Foxes struggled to score more than 32 points a game. Fox Chapel's shooting wasn't pretty in the first half either, but the extra opportunities provide more scoring chances.

Lyla Jablon scored six of her team-high 15 points in the first quarter. Emily McKee scored on a layup and drew a foul to stretch the Foxes' lead to 10-4 late in the first quarter.

Fox Chapel shot 11 percent from 3-point line in the first half. The Foxes, who shot 25.8 percent (15 of 58) for the game, saw their offensive go in waves throughout the game.

"I would say tonight was a little bit better," Matvey said. "A lot of people are going to play a zone against us because of the shooting. We're really good in our man sets and we're going to get to the rim. We still have things to work out, but I thought people started to look more comfortable."

North Hills took the lead, 18-17, in the third quarter on a transition basket by Zoey Devlin, who finished with 15 points. Delaney Amato made a 3-pointer to stretch the Indians lead to 27-22 and provide some breathing room.

Fox Chapel (0-1) hung around in the game. The Foxes cut the lead to 43-38 in the final three minutes on a jumper by Jablon. Fox Chapel got a stop on defense and cut the lead to 43-31 with 2:05 remaining on a 3-pointer from McKee.

The Foxes got the ball back after forcing a turnover when North Hills turned the ball over on a closely-guarded five seconds call. Fox Chapel missed a shot that could have tied the game on the ensuing possession. Devlin missed a pair of free throws that could have closed out the game.

The ensuing rebound landed in between three players and was kicked out bounds. The ball was awarded to North Hills, who extended the lead to four on a pair of Amato free throws. Fox Chapel's Bailey Sacco scored on a layup to cut the deficit to two points.

Amato split a pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining to stretch the lead back to three. McKee, who finished with 11 points, had a 3-point attempt to tie the game blocked.

​Matvey said he was happy with his team's effort.

"I talked to them after the game about let's be good early and often so when it comes down to the last quarter, we're sitting comfortable," Matvey said. "These guys are a little further along than I expected."

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

CHURCHILL - Imhotep Charter coach Richard Gullien, who was filling in for coach David Hargrove Saturday, has the right idea for what the early part of the basketball season should be about. The opportunity is there for most schools to take a trip and see competition they typically wouldn't see otherwise.

The Panthers left Philadelphia and traveled to Woodland Hills High School for the Play 4 Mae Showcase. Imhotep came away with losses to Shady Side Academy and Belle Vernon, but came away with information about the program.

"It's so early in the season and we're still just trying to find ourselves," Gullien said. "Every season has its own story, so the big adjustment was let's just stick to our principles, let's stick to our values and the discipline of the fundamentals and let that just kind of work its way throughout the game."

The Panthers missed six of their first seven 3-pointers against the Leopards, but came back to take the lead in the second half thanks to its aggressive defense. Read a full story on the game here.

​"I thought defensively we played well and we were able to create turnovers," Guillen said. 

​The Leopards bounced back after only scoring seven points in their season opener. Belle Vernon trailed by 10 points before it came storming back to beat the Panthers.

"It was just hustle," Belle Vernon forward Isis Almighty said. "We worked as a team and hustled."

The Pitt women's volleyball team will have a home path to the NCAA Division I women's volleyball national semifinals. The Panthers were chosen as one of the four top seeds for this season's tournament. Pitt has reached the national semifinals in four consecutive seasons.

In three of those seasons, 2021, 2023 and 2024, Pitt played at home all the way to the semifinals. In 2022, Pitt took a detour through Madison, Wisc., on its way to the final four. The Panthers have yet to advance to the national championship match.

Pitt lost to host Louisville in the semifinals last season. The Panthers are 26-4 this season and finished 18-2 in ACC play. Pitt shared the conference title with Stanford, which beat the Panthers in five sets this season. Pitt will open this tournament with a matchup with UMBC.

The Panthers swept UMBC in the first round in 2021.

Franklin Regional graduate Spencer Lee took a tough loss at Real American Freestyle 03 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Lee, who was a large betting favorite, had a 9-4 lead with 23 seconds remaining when his Ukranian opponent, Andrii Yatsenko, attempted a trip and threw Lee to his back.

Yatsenko quickly capitalized on the position, wrapping up the pin in the final 10 seconds of the 135-pound bantamweight match.

Lee, a former Olympic silver medalist, was a significant favorite ahead of the bout. Lee was a -1718 (bet $1,718 to make $100) favorite according to Nxtbets. Anyone bold enough to back Yatsenko was paid out at +700. A $100 bet on Yatsenko would have paid out $800.

Lee is now 41-4 in his freestyle career. This year, Lee has taken three losses. He challenged himself by taking on Masanosuke Ono at the FlowWrestling: Night in America at 59.5 kilograms and lost 3-2 back in February.

Lee took his other loss at the 2025 World Championships, where he placed ninth at 57 kilograms. Lee opened the tournament with a win, but was eliminated when he lost to Arsen Harutyunyan by technical fall, 14-3.
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Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges.