Top stories of the 2023-24 school year in WPIAL sports

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, June 29, 2024 | 1:24 AM

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Here’s a look back at the biggest high school sports stories of the 2023-24 school year.

Oct. 11, 2023

Moon’s Bill Pfeiffer, in his 28th season, became the first girls soccer coach in the WPIAL to win 500 career games. Pfeiffer and the Tigers later celebrated winning a third straight PIAA Class 3A title in November.

Nov. 4/Nov. 18, 2024

The North Allegheny girls extended both of their state title streaks for another year. The volleyball team won its seventh consecutive PIAA title and the cross country team won its sixth in a row.

Dec. 1, 2023

The 1-and-1 free throw was no longer part of Pennsylvania high school basketball when last season arrived. And there were new PIAA rules for counting fouls by quarters, not halves.

Dec. 7-9, 2023

• The Aliquippa football team celebrated its first undefeated state championship with a 60-14 victory over Dallas in the PIAA 4A final in Mechanicsburg. The Quips add another victory several months later in a Beaver County courtroom while suing the PIAA over its competitive-balance rule.

• The WPIAL and City League combined sent six football teams to the state finals but only two returned home as champions. Joining Aliquippa in the wins column was Belle Vernon, which celebrated back-to-back PIAA 3A titles.

• Westinghouse was left heartbroken by a 99-yard drive and last-minute touchdown by Southern Columbia, which extended that PIAA powerhouse’s title streak to seven with a 21-20 victory in the 2A final.

Feb. 2, 2024

The WPIAL mourned the death of basketball official Michael Roebuck, 45, who collapsed while working at junior varsity game at Mt. Pleasant.

Feb. 29-March 2, 2024

This was the “Year of the Repeat” in WPIAL basketball. The South Fayette girls won a third straight WPIAL title. Winning two in a row: Union and North Catholic girls and Aliquippa, Imani Christian, Deer Lakes and Lincoln Park boys.

March 1, 2024

Basketball coach Jonna Burke won a WPIAL title with her Shady Side Academy girls, which seemed doubtful eight months earlier when the WPIAL suspended her over recruiting allegations. A court injunction had lifted her suspension.

March 9, 2024

• A grassroots effort to sanction girls wrestling reached fruition when, for the first time, the PIAA crowned girls state champions alongside the boys at Giant Center in Hershey. Canon-McMillan’s Valarie Solorio won a 100-pound title.

• Frazier senior Rune Lawrence joined an exclusive list as a four-time PIAA wrestling champion after winning the 215-pound title in Class 2A. Lawrence (33-1) was the 14th wrestler to win four PIAA titles and seventh from the WPIAL to do so.

March 16, 2024

N.C. State recruit Lily King was one of three Mt. Pleasant teammates to break state records at the PIAA 2A swimming championships at Bucknell. Joining King (100 free) were David Mutter (100 fly) and Joseph Gardner (100 breast).

March 21, 2024

Lincoln Park’s Brandin Cummings enjoyed a “storybook ending” to his high school basketball career as Lincoln Park repeated as PIAA 4A champions in Hershey. Imani Christian also defends its PIAA Class A title.

March 22, 2024

Aliquippa became the fifth school in state history to win PIAA football and boys basketball titles in the same school year, joining the Terrelle Pryor-led Jeannette teams of 2007-08.

May 24, 2024

• Butler senior Drew Griffith wowed the state track championship crowd by breaking a national high school record in the boys 1,600 meters. It was the Notre Dame recruit’s second record in three months, having broken a national indoor 2-mile mark March 10 in Boston.

• Derry javelin thrower Sophia Mazzoni broke a PIAA championship record for 2A girls with a winning distance of 161 feet, 10 inches in Shippensburg. Later, Mazzoni and Griffith each won national titles at New Balance Nationals.

May 27, 2024

In a title game rematch, North Allegheny pitcher David Posey out-dueled Mt. Lebanon star David Shields with a no-hitter in the WPIAL 6A baseball final at Wild Things Park.

May 28, 2024

The Avonworth and Riverside baseball teams played a 14-inning marathon in the WPIAL 3A championship game, making it the longest district final since the games moved to Wild Things Park in 2003. Avonworth defeated the defending WPIAL and PIAA champion with a 4-3 win.

June 14, 2024

The Neshannock softball team finished a perfect 27-0 season with a 12-2 win in five innings over South Williamsport in the PIAA 2A final in State College. The PIAA title was the second for junior pitcher Addy Frye, who also won her third WPIAL title.

June 15, 2024

Nationally ranked Shaler capped off its boys volleyball season with a 3-0 victory over Parkland in the PIAA 3A finals at Penn State. The Titans finished the year ninth in USA Today rankings.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.