1. Pitch perfect The Lady Macs weathered wind, hail, sleet and ice to capture their first PIAA state championship for girls’ soccer on Nov. 19 at HersheyPark Stadium. With 4:25 remaining in overtime, Addie Roman scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory against Central Bucks South in the Quad-A final. Madison Whipple initiated the play, off a throw-in. Jaiden Williams gathered in the ball and dished off to Roman for an assist. Meagan Virgin earned the win in the nets, making eight saves to preserve the shutout. The victory capped a 22-1-1 season for the Lady Macs, who had appeared in the 2014 PIAA final only to lose that game in overtime. Canon-McMillan’s lone loss was to Norwin, 3-1, in the WPIAL championship contest; a game, in which Almanac MVP Sabrina Bryan did not play due to a leg injury. Bryan tallied 31 goals and had 28 assists for the Lady Macs. Her teammate, Aideen O’Donoghue finished with 27 goals and 20 assists. Bryan will play for Hofstra and O’Donoghue for the University of Pittsburgh next fall.

2. Lions roar South Fayette continued its dominance in scholastic athletics as Mike Carr captured his second straight state wrestling title, completing a 42-0 season, while Bethel Park’s Nino Bonaccorsi and Peters Township’s Mike McAleavey earned silver medals at the PIAA championships at the Giant Center in Hershey. Carr defeated James Duffy of Smethport, 3-1, to claim the 145-pound weight class. Carr finished his career riding an 89-match win streak and finished with a school record 161 victories. Not to be outdone was the South Fayette girls’ basketball team. The Lady Lions won their first WPIAL girls’ basketball title, defeating Trinity, 59-52, in the championship game played at the Petersen Events Center. Almanac MVP Emily Anderson fired in 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds while Autumn Mozick tossed in 13 tallies. Sam Kosmacki and Mikayla Fetchet also finished in double figures with 12 and 11 markers respectively. Two other SF students proved successful as Trevor Mahoney captured gold and bronze medals respectively at the WPIAL and PIAA diving championships and Rachel Helbling won the 400-meter dash for the second year in a row in 56.54 during the WPIAL track and field championships. South Fayette also enjoyed success in cross country, taking third in the state. During the PIAA championships, Aaron Pfeil finished fourth with a 16:28 time. His teammate, Sam Snodgrass, followed in sixth place (16:37).

3. Golden girl Mia Kness won the PIAA state championship in golf. The Peters Township senior shot an even-par 144 over the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York to win the Class AAA title. Conestoga sophomore Samantha Yao finished with a 2-over 146. Canon-McMillan’s Taylor Waller finished ninth with a 162. Kness was the WPIAL runner-up, finishing one stroke behind North Allegheny sophomore Caroline Wrigley. Kness carded a 76 on the Treesdale Golf and Country Club course in Adams Township. Wrigley won with a 75. In team competition, it took a record performance from Central Catholic and Fox Chapel to dethrone Peters Township as WPIAL golf champions. The Indians fired a 380 score, which was good enough for a record and a title in 2014 but netted them third place in the team standings as the Vikings and Foxes finished first and second with 378 and 379 scores. JW Cunningham carded the low score in the match, equaling par at 71 on the Cedarbrook Golf Course. Additionally, on June 15, the golf world and the community of Bethel Park lost Jerry A. Roman, 63, when he lost his battle with leukemia. For 14 years, he served as an assistant principal. In 2002, he was appointed to the WPIAL golf committee and was responsible for bringing the district championships back to Oakmont Country Club this fall. During that tournament, Jack O’Leary of Upper St. Clair and PT’s Hunter Bruce tied for sixth place, shooting 76s and advancing to the state tournament. Finally, Louis Olsakovsky of Upper St. Clair qualified and competed in the U.S. Junior Amateur Golf Championships held July 18-23 on the Honors Course in Tennessee.

4. Diamond gem Almanac MVP Cole Horew hurled Chartiers Valley to a WPIAL championship in baseball. In the 4-3 win against Blackhawk, he struck out seven and scattered seven hits. He was 7-1 on the season with 52 strikeouts in 58 innings. The Point Park freshman also batted .351 with 18 RBI and 16 runs scored. Steve Alauzen drove in the decisive run while Brady Gulakowski smacked a two-run homer in the triumph and Konnor Corchado tagged a run-scoring triple. The Colts’ title was the lone triumph for the area as Chartiers-Houston lost its bid for a ninth WPIAL title in softball when the Buccaneers dropped a 12-3 decision to West Greene on June 2 at Lilley Field on the California University of Pennsylvania campus. It was the second straight loss in a district final for the Lady Bucs and third to the Pioneers this spring. The Lady Bucs finished 14-9 overall.

5. Glory days return Jimmy Boyle launched a shot from 30 yards out for the decisive goal as Chartiers Valley edged Mars, 1-0, Nov. 5 at Highmark Stadium and captured its first WPIAL championship for boys’ soccer since 2001. Backed by the defensive play from Jonny Henderson, Charlie Kovach, Baxter Eckenrode, John Uher and Lennon Zrimsek, Caleb Zajicek earned the shutout in the nets. The Colts, who were led offensively by Almanac MVP Sean Tinney (23 goals, 13 assists) finished the year at 18-5 after falling to Erie Cathedral Prep, 3-1, in the quarterfinals of the PIAA playoffs. In other boys’ soccer news, Seton-La Salle reached the Final Four in the PIAA tournament. Sewickley Academy thwarted the Rebels’ attempt to play in Hershey for the state title, scoring a 2-0 victory on Nov. 15 in the semifinals played at Seneca Valley. The Rebels, who were led by Daryl Daniels 41 goals, finished 22-3 overall.

6. Crusaders repeat Bishop Canevin returned to the WPIAL finals in hockey, basketball and volleyball, claiming two championships. The Crusaders captured their eighth Penguins Cup trophy in school history by defeating Mars, 5-1, at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry. Neko Borhini stopped 41 shots. Canevin, though, lost to Central Bucks South in the state championships and finished 18-7-1 overall. In Class A hockey, meanwhile, South Fayette’s season of firsts came to an end when the Lions lost to Franklin Regional. The Lions won their first two post-season games in program history and reached the finals. In basketball, the Lady Crusaders won their second WPIAL title in four years, blasting Greensburg Central Catholic, 53-33, in the Class A final. Brionna Allen pumped in 16 points and had 10 rebounds while Gina Vallecorsa tossed in a game-high 17 markers. Shamyjha Price finished with 10 tallies. Despite heavy graduation losses, Canevin returned to the girls’ volleyball finals and finished runner-up in the WPIAL. The Lady Crusaders lost, 3-0, to Greensburg Central Catholic in the Class A championship match. While the Crusaders advanced to the PIAA tournament, Bethel Park lost its consolation match to Hempfield, 3-1, in the Quad-A and South Fayette lost to Knoch, 3-0, in the Class AAA.

7. Swimsation Mt. Lebanon made a splash in swimming when the Blue Devils finished runner-up to North Allegheny in both the boys’ and girls’ team standings in the WPIAL then placed fourth and third respectively at the state championships. Pitt frosh Brian Ramsey and Texas newcomer Jack Lanphear made waves by shattering the WPIAL record in the 100-yard breaststroke. Lanphear won in 54.82 and Ramsey followed a mere 12 hundredths-of-a-second behind in 54.94. Ramsey won the 200 IM then went on to grab two silver medals (200 IM and 100 breast) at the state finals before competing in the U.S. Olympic Trials. Upper St. Clair’s Kevin Liu and Kentucky’s Kyle Higgins, who swims for the Mt. Lebanon Aqua Club, also participated in the qualifier held in Omaha. Liu was the WPIAL champion and PIAA runner-up in the backstroke. His former teammate, Braedon Wong, a freshman at Cornell, won the 100-yard butterfly at the WPIAL meet and added second at states. Other WPIAL champions included: Abby Hay of Peters Township (200 IM and 500 free), USC’s Abby Matheny (200 free) as well as Lebo’s Trinity Ward (100 fly), Angie Gyurina (50 free) and Jack Rice (50 free). The USC boys’ and girls’ followed Lebo in the team standings, taking third place.

8. Gladden rules court With a straight set victory, 6-3, 6-2, over Sidd Rajupet, Canon-McMillan’s Chris Gladden won the WPIAL Class AAA boys’ tennis title. A section champion, Gladden had been a semifinalist the past two seasons. Mt. Lebanon’s duo of Christian Vietmeier and Charlie Strohl took third in the doubles tournament and qualified for the PIAA championships. On the girls’ side, Peters Township’s Anna Komer and Alex Garcia finished fourth in the Class AAA doubles finals while Marlo Schiffman from Upper St. Clair secured runners-up honors in the singles competition in the WPIAL. Komer and Garcia were section champions. Komer was also a section winner in singles competition. A freshman, Schiffman lost to Norwin’s Maria Santilli, 6-3, 6-2, in the singles’ championships held at Moon. She qualified for the PIAA tournament held in Hershey. The Lebo ladies finished runners-up in the WPIAL Class AAA team tennis tournament. Despite sweeping the doubles play, the Blue Devils dropped a 3-2 decision to North Allegheny in the Class AAA finals played at Sewickley Academy. Seniors Skylar Morgan and Morgan Happe captained the squad, playing No. 1 and 2 singles. Golda Gershannock played No. 3 singles. Catherine Izzo, Lauren Carey, Casey Gannon and Brooke Warshaw combined for the doubles victories.

9. Lebo lacrosse Yale freshman Brian Ward of Mt. Lebanon was named the WPIAL’s Division I Player of the Year in boys’ lacrosse. He also garnered all-America honors as he guided the Blue Devils to the WPIAL finals where they lost to North Allegheny, 9-7. Lebo reached the quarterfinals in the PIAA tournament before finishing 23-3 on the year. Meanwhile, the Lebo Ladies captured the WPIAL title for girls’ lacrosse, downing Chartiers Valley, 14-9, May 26 at Highmark Stadium. The Blue Devils also beat the Colts for the Section 1 crown and in the quarterfinals of the PIAA tournament, 13-8. Anna Albers collected seven assists and Megan Gibbons tallied five goals in that triumph.

10. Fleet feet Nick Wolk of Peters Township completed a double-double. After winning the WPIAL cross country title in the fall, he won the 3,200-meter race in 9:13.68, a full three seconds ahead of his nearest competition. Mt. Lebanon’s Claire Dougherty, who was named Almanac athlete of the year along with Bethel Park’s Jake Dixon, defended her title in the 800 run and anchored Lebo’s 4x800 relay team to its third consecutive title, winning in a school-record time of 3:56.12 McMurray residents Shaun Hay and Megan Nagy were members of their respective championship clubs as Winchester Thurston won the Class A boys’ PIAA and WPIAL titles and Oakland Catholic claimed the district championship and state runner-up trophy. Hay placed 10th overall in the state with a 17:02 time. Nagy was 30th finishing in 20 flat. In Class AAA girls, USC’s Savannah Shaw had the top showing with 14th at states and fourth in the WPIAL. The junior also competed in the Foot Locker Northeast Regional, placing 35th.