Mars dominates WPIAL Class 2A lacrosse

Planets beat South Fayette, Chartiers Valley for titles

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Chartiers Valley captains Kaitlyn Kuczinski, Julianna Betz, Ava Warzinski, Natalie Palumbo accept the WPIAL runner-up trophy after a 12-5 loss to Mars in the Class 2A girls final.

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Drew Welhorsky (2) takes a shot during WPIAL Class 2A championship lacrosse action. Despite a hat trick from Welhorsky, South Fayette lost to Mars, 7-5.

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Carter DeWitt (18) and Drew Welhorsky (2) watch as Mars is awarded the WPIAL championship trophy after beating South Fayette in the Class 2A boys lacrosse final.

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Natalia Palumbo (11) drives to the net against Anna McGrath (7). Though Palumbo scored a goal, McGrath and her twin sister, Tess, scored four goals each to lead Mars to victory, 15-7, against Chartiers Valley in the WPIAL Class 2A championship match.

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Drew Welhorsky celebrates after scoring one of his four goals against Mars. The elation turned to dejection after South Fayette lost to the Planets, 7-5, in the Class 2A title tilt.

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Charlee Kinnee (3), Megan Witte (22) and Juliana Betts (3) react after their title hopes were dashed in Chartiers Valley’s 12-5 loss to Mars in the WPIAL Class 2A lacrosse championship match.

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Mars continued its dominance in lacrosse at the Class 2A level when the Planets captured both the boys and girls WPIAL championship matches with victories over South Fayette, 7-5, and Chartiers Valley, 15-6, on May 23 at Upper St. Clair stadium.

With the win over the Lions, Mars (18-2) won its ninth district crown.

With the win over the Lady Colts, Mars (19-1) won a third straight WPIAL banner.

The defeat was a bitter one for South Fayette for several reasons. The Lions lost the 2024 crown to Mars. They were also seeded first in this year’s tournament. Plus, the loss was their first of the 2025 campaign after 19 straight victories.

Grant Weaver scored a hat trick to lead the Mars offensive attack against the Lions. Ben Bowser, Sean Brennan, Blake Cote and Jack Trich tacked on goals as well.

The Planets scored four times in the first frame and twice in the second stanza, constructing a 6-3 halftime advantage. Mars widened its margin to 7-3 before the Lions waged a comeback.

Drew Welhorsky finished with a hat trick, scoring his third goal to make it 7-4 with 8:31 to play.

He assisted on Max Joseph’s goal with 2:11 to play, cutting the deficit to two goals.

Jack Makar scored South Fayette’s other goal, off an assist from Ryan Mey. The tally cut the Mars lead to 5-3 with 7:03 left in the second quarter.

Travis Watkins made five saves in goal and Carter DeWitt had six ground balls.

Meanwhile, the McGrath twins led to the demise of the Lady Colts.

Both Tess and Anna McGrath racked up four goals each for the Lady Fighting Planets, who exploded for five goals in the second quarter and seven scores in the fourth period.

Hailey Long added two tallies while Lucy Balazs, Katie Blake, Ella DePaoli and Reanna Kolarcik-Schmitt completed the scoring for Mars.

Megan Witte led CV’s attack, racking up four goals. Juliana Betts and Natalia Palumbo completed the scoring.

Iyla Ozeby and Ava Warzinski registered assists for the Colts, who slipped to 15-4 overall.

Kaitlyn Kuczinski made 11 saves while Palumbo (4) and Betts (3) led CV in ground balls. The Colts mustered 12 shots on goal against Ella Roach.

The South Fayette boys and Chartiers Valley girls embark on their quests for a state championship in lacrosse when the PIAA tournament commences June 3 with first-round action.

The state finals are set for June 14 at Panzer Stadium on the Penn State University campus. The Class 2A girls final is set for 10 a.m. The boys championship match follows at 12:30 p.m.