1. Lady Macs dominate girls’ soccer Canon-McMillan continued its meteorite rise in scholastic sports as its girls’ soccer team reached the WPIAL and PIAA finals for the first time in school history. The Lady Macs finished runner-up in each league, falling 1-0 to Seneca Valley in the district championships at Highmark Stadium and dropping an overtime decision to Central Bucks West, 2-1, in the state title tilt in Hershey. Duquesne recruit Kyra Murphy anchored a defense that posted 14 shutouts and sophomore Sabrina Bryan propelled the offense by generating 27 goals, including one 32 seconds into the PIAA championship game. The school also produced winners in girls’ golf as well as wrestling and ushered in new leadership at the top. Frank Vulcano replaced the retiring Guy Montecalvo as athletic director and Mike Evans was hired as his assistant and varsity head football coach. After capturing back-to-back WPIAL titles, Lauren Waller settled for silver in the PIAA girls’ golf championships, losing the gold in a one-hole playoff. Dalton Macri and Solomon Chishko captured PIAA wrestling titles at respective weights 126 and 145. Led by Ethan Linderman, the Big Macs finished runner-up to North Allegheny in the WPIAL cross country championships. Finally, C-M’s reign as softball champions ended as the defending state and district winners placed second in the WPIAL, falling to Shaler, 9-5, in the finals. Plus, their leader, Olivia Lorusso capped her career with Almanac Athlete of the Year honors as well as WPIAL Scholar/Athlete honors.

2. Lions rule the gridiron South Fayette capped a historic season in football when the Lions defeated Dunmore, 28-16, to become the first Class AA club to claim back-to-back PIAA championships. The win also extended the Lions’ winning streak to 32 games and marked their third title game appearance in five years. After sweeping to their third straight undefeated Century Conference banner and through the district playoffs, the Lions defeated Aliquippa, 31-22, for their second consecutive WPIAL championship and fifth in program history. Junior running back Hunter Hayes formed an unstoppable tandem with senior quarterback Brett Brumbaugh. Hayes rushed for 2,103 yards and 33 touchdowns while Brumbaugh rewrote the record books, becoming the WPIAL and PIAA’s all-time leading passer. He finished his career with 11,084 passing yards. He is the first quarterback in state history to reach 11,000 passing yards. Plus, he tossed 127 career touchdowns, which rank him second all-time in Pennsylvania. Many of the football players, like Brumbaugh, who plays basketball, were multi-sport athletes. As many as eight of them also helped the Lions reach the district and state finals in wrestling. South Fayette was the WPIAL Class AA runner-up, losing to Burrell, 34-28, in the championship match. Individually, JJ Walker, the Lions’ leading tackler two years in a row, finished as a PIAA runner-up in wrestling. He was a WPIAL and Southwest Regional winner as was his teammate, Mike Carr. Both look to 2015 to go out champions.

3. PT patrols the pitch The third time was the charm for Peters Township as the Indians avenged two section defeats to rival Upper St. Clair and bashed the Panthers, 5-1, in the WPIAL Class AAA championship soccer game played at Highmark Stadium. After not allowing a goal in three ensuing state playoff games, the Indians also added a PIAA cup to its trophy case. Peters Township defeated Great Valley, 2-1, in Hershey to capture the program’s fourth state title. The Indians finished the season ranked among the top 10 teams in the nation and with a 22-2 record. Senior strikers Mario and Nicco Mastrangelo led the offensive attack, scoring 25 and 23 goals, respectively, and supplying a combined 13 assists. Both earned all-state acclaim. Josh Deyarmin anchored a defense that allowed only six goals all season and produced 19 shutouts. Soccer was not the only success story at Peters Township. The boys’ and the girls’ golf teams both competed in the WPIAL championships. The boys’ won their fifth title with a 380 score. Jake Sollon earned medalist honors with a low-score of even par 72. Alec Stopperich and Ven Morgret fired 74 and 76, respectively. The Lady Indians finished runner-up to Central Valley. Sophomore Mia Kness fired a 78 for Peters. Both teams qualified for the PIAA tournament.

4. Lacrosse booming at Lebo For the first time in the program’s history, Mt. Lebanon won its inaugural game in the PIAA girls’ tournament. In fact, the Lebo ladies advanced all the way to the semifinals before dropping their first game of the season. Despite hat tricks from Alyssa Battaglia and Allena Holzworth, the Blue Devils lost, 20-7, to Garnet Valley. Lebo compiled a 22-1 record that included its fourth WPIAL title. In that 9-7 triumph against Quaker Valley at Highmark Stadium, Battaglia fired in five goals. Battaglia, who led Lebo in scoring, is now playing at the club level at Penn State. The Lebo men also enjoyed success. They finished as WPIAL runners-up but avenged that loss to Shady Side Academy by beating that opponent, 7-6, in the PIAA quarterfinals. Sam White scored the game-winning goal. However, for the third time, Lebo lost in the PIAA semifinals, falling to Penncrest, 15-10, to finish their season with a 14-10 record. Meanwhile, Chartiers Valley suffered its fourth straight loss in a WPIAL final, second in a row to Shaler, 11-9, and finished as the district runner-up in Division II girls’ lacrosse.

5. Split decision at Seton-La Salle Seton-La Salle captains Yacine Diop, Naje Gibson, Cassidy Walsh and Nicolete Newman experienced the ecstasy of victory when the Lady Rebels accepted the PIAA Class AA trophy after beating Neumann Goretti, 58-50, in the state championship game while their male counterparts suffered the agony of defeat when they lost their bid for a state title, dropping a 61-59 decision to Constitution in their championship final.

Levi Masua reacts after his attempt to win the game at the buzzer hit the back of the rim and failed to fall. Masua finished with 19 points while Dale Clancy and Ryan Norkus each supplied a dozen markers in the loss. Newman (17), Walsh (11) and Diop (10) paced the Lady Rebels. Diop, who is now at Pitt, gathered in 24 rebounds while Masua pulled down 11 boards. Both teams also captured WPIAL championships with the girls beating Burrell, 55-34, and the boys dispatching Greensburg Central Catholic, 52-51. The Lady Rebels finished the year at 27-4 while the boys were 29-2 overall. In other area hoop achievements, Chartiers Valley compiled a 25-3 record and finished as the WPIAL Class AAA runner-up, falling in overtime to Central Valley. Matty McConnell led the Colts with a 20.8 scoring average.

6. Hawks ice national title The Bethel Park hockey team experienced a hero’s welcome when it was escorted back to the high school after winning a national championship. Three fire trucks and police cruiser led the parade and the student body lined the street to greet the Hawks, who became the first scholastic team from Pennsylvania to capture the USA Hockey national banner. The Hawks compiled a 5-1 record and edged Providence Catholic, 2-1, in the title game played in Omaha, Neb. Christian Siak and Jake Salak scored for the Hawks, while William “Tre” Lowe excelled in the nets, making 58 stops for a .951 save percentage prior to the finals. The win took some of the sting out of losing the Penguins Cup to rival Peters Township earlier in the high school hockey season.

7. Indians net state hockey title Brian Baker stopped 30 shots and Josef Kittelberger scored the game-winning goal to propel Peters Township to victory, 2-1, against Las Salle in the Pennsylvania Cup Class AAA championship game played March 22 at Penn State’s Pegula Ice Arena. It was the Indians’ first hockey title at the state level in nine years. Only six days earlier, the Indians also ended their losing streak in Penguins Cup play. After dropping three straight finals, Peters Township knocked off top-seeded Bethel Park, 4-2, at the Consol Energy Center to earn the state championship bid. Jonathan Dagnal scored a hat trick in that triumph while Adam Alavi supplied the other score. The PIHL Class AAA title was Peters Township’s first since 2005. The Indians finished 20-4 on the season. At the Class AA level, Bishop Canevin lost its state championship bid, falling to Central Bucks, 5-2. The Crusaders won the Penguins Cup title with a 1-0 victory against Erie Cathedral Prep. Thomas Krivak netted the gamewinner while Nikita Meskin recorded 19 saves in earning the shutout. Canevin finished 23-2 overall.

8. Frustrating finish The WPIAL championships were a disaster for the Seton-La Salle baseball team. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, and thanks to two fielding miscues, Steel Valley erupted for three runs and defeated the Rebels, 6-5, in the Class AA final played at Consol Energy Park in Washington. The Rebels then dropped a 7-2 decision to Franklin in the first round of the PIAA playoffs and finished their Cinderella season with a 15-7 record. The WPIAL softball finals were no friend as well to Canon-McMillan. The Lady Macs lost both of their bids to defend their district and state titles. They committed five errors and fell to Shaler, 9-5, in the WPIAL Quad-A final. Then they ended their season with a 5-4 loss to Dubois.

9. Swim sensations The WPIAL swimming championships featured many record-breaking performances, but the Mt. Lebanon girls provided the biggest surprise. The Lebo ladies took home the runner-up team trophy in Class AAA. While North Allegheny rolled to its sixth straight title, the Blue Devils racked up 189 points to finish second, ahead of rivals Upper St. Clair, Bethel Park and Peters Township, all of whom finished in the Top 10. Now freshmen at North Carolina and William and Mary respectively, Katie Ford and Meghan Schilken led the uprising. Ford shattered district records in winning the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races. Lebo finished fourth in the state and Ford lost a gold-medal in the 50 free by the slimmest of margins, a scant .03. Despite a disappointing second-place showing in the boys’ team standings, Upper St. Clair rebounded to finish third at the state level. Ryan Dudzinski dominated on both levels. The Stanford recruit shattered the WPIAL and PIAA records in winning the 100-yard butterfly events. Dudzinski also smashed the WPIAL backstroke mark and secured second in that event at states. He helped the 400 free relay set a new WPIAL standard and win a PIAA gold medal. USC smashed the WPIAL records in the 200 medley and 200 free relays. The Panthers set a school record in finishing second in the state in the 200 free relay. While South Fayette finished runner-up to West Allegheny in the WPIAL Class AA team standings, Chartiers Valley was not without its champions. Drew Damich defended his WPIAL title in the 200-yard freestyle and secured silver medals in the 200 and 500 free at the PIAA finals. Maria Lohman claimed her third straight WPIAL diving title. In winning her second straight state championship, the senior shattered the PIAA record, racking up 529.80 points. In boys’ diving, Stephen Zombek won his second straight Class AA title.

10. Volleyball dream spiked Bishop Canevin ceded its WPIAL Class A volleyball title to familiar foe, Greensburg Central Catholic, 3-2, and the Lady Crusaders’ quest for a state championship fell short with a 3-2 loss to Clarion in the quarterfinals of the PIAA tournament. In the loss to Clarion, Erin Cunningham prevailed for 15 kills. Bailey McDonald collected 33 assists. The WPIAL final was a rematch of the past two championships, with the Centurions winning in 2012 and the Crusaders claiming the crown in 2013. Julia Menosky and Alex Parra racked up 14 and 13 kills respectively in the district final played Nov. 1 at Baldwin. Bailey McDonald recorded 41 assists. With the losses, Canevin finished the season at 24-3. The Lady Crusaders were Section 2-A champions with an undefeated 10-0 record. The losses were disheartening for the Lady Crusaders, who wanted desperately to win for their coach, who was diagnosed in August with Mantle Cell Lymphoma. He had undergone chemotherapy treatments throughout the season but was on the bench for the championship match with his assistants Pete Barakat and Danelle Wagner.