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Five things to watch for the week of Feb. 25 - March 2. * A big week of basketball gets started with WPIAL semifinal games Monday-Wednesday. On the boys side, Class 3A and Class 1A play Monday, Class 5A and Class 2A Tuesday, and Class 6A and Class 4A Wednesday. The No. 1 seeds in all six classes are still in contention for titles. That includes Class 6A Pine-Richland, which rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Peters Township in the quarterfinals. The Rams will play Ethan Morton and Butler in the semifinals. A few other top games are Penn Hills against Moon in Class 5A, Ambridge against Quaker Valley in Class 4A, and Aliquippa against North Catholic in Class 3A. * As for the girls, Class 4A and Class 2A play their semifinal games Monday, Class 6A and Class 1A Tuesday, and Class 5A and Class 3A Wednesday. The No. 1 and 2 seeds in each class are still alive. Class 6A semifinalists Peters Township, North Allegheny, Norwin and Bethel Park are a combined 87-4 this season. Peters Township and Class 5A Chartiers Valley are the only remaining unbeaten teams in the WPIAL, boys or girls. Among the top games are North Allegheny against Norwin, Oakland Catholic against Thomas Jefferson in Class 5A, Central Valley against Blackhawk in Class 4A, and Brentwood against Laurel in Class 2A. * The WPIAL basketball playoffs conclude Thursday-Saturday with championship games at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center. Here’s the schedule … Thursday, it’s Class 2A girls at 5 p.m., Class 1A boys at 7 p.m., and Class 3A boys at 9 p.m. Friday, it’s Class 1A girls at 3 p.m., Class 2A boys at 5 p.m., Class 4A girls at 7 p.m., and Class 5A boys at 9 p.m. Saturday, it’s Class 3A girls at 11 a.m., Class 4A boys at 1 p.m., Class 5A girls at 3 p.m., Class 6A girls at 7 p.m., and Class 6A boys at 9 p.m. WPIAL teams qualifying for the PIAA tournament will begin those playoffs March 8-9. The championships are March 21-23 at the Giant Center in Hershey. * Many of the area’s top wrestlers will be at Canon-McMillan this weekend for the WPIAL Class 3A championships. The tournament begins Friday and will wrap up Saturday when 14 champions are crowned. Seven athletes will try to successfully defend their titles. They include Norwin’s Kurtis Phipps, North Hills’ Sam Hillegas, Shaler’s Ryan Sullivan, Franklin Regional’s Colton Camacho, Kiski Area’s Cam Connor and Jack Blumer, and Belle Vernon’s Scott Joll. Phipps and Hillegas are two-time defending champions. The top four finishers in each weight class advance to the PIAA championships March 7-9 at the Giant Center in Hershey. * Not only will the WPIAL’s top basketball teams converge on Pitt’s campus this weekend, but so will the WPIAL’s best swimmers. The WPIAL swimming championships are Thursday and Friday at Pitt’s Trees Pool. Finals in Class 3A begin Thursday at 10 a.m., while finals in Class 2A get started Thursday at 3 p.m. The winners and those meeting state qualifying standards will advance to the PIAA championships March 13-16 at Bucknell University. |