Winter Sports Review

During a Pittsburgh winter that seemed like it would never end, the success of the season’s sports teams came as a welcome distraction. Fox Chapel Area High School possessed some of the top teams and individual performances in the region and the state. The significance of their accomplishments should not be overlooked considering each team’s success could be attributed in part to some significant contributions from young and relatively inexperienced student athletes. The combination of youthful athletes and significant numbers of returning letter winners in each sport should make next year stronger than ever.

The Foxes’ progression throughout the season brings to mind the adage “It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.” After entering the year with freshmen and sophomores comprising half of his starting lineup, coach Ron Frank said he was very pleased with how his hard-working young team improved. A handful of solid seniors provided leadership to lock in a 7-9 overall record in a very difficult conference, but the statistic belied their progress throughout the season. In fact, by the end of the year the squad had improved so much that it finished second out of 12 teams at the Sharon Team Duals Tournament. Other season highlights included four grapplers who qualified for the WPIAL championships: senior Jared Rice (106 lbs.); junior Richard Giovanetti (182 lbs.); sophomore Tyler Heasley (152 lbs.); and heavyweight senior Tyler Lever, who advanced to the WPIAL Semifinals. Coach Frank, now in his 33rd year as head coach, says a great crop of returning young wrestlers (most of whom are freshmen and represent the largest number of freshmen in more than a decade), upperclassmen who posted good performances this year, and talent rising from the middle school program give reason to expect a bright future for the wrestling program.

When you’ve played together since youth basketball, it’s only natural you get to know your teammates pretty well. That familiarity gave the boys’ basketball team a big advantage this season because they knew exactly how to play off of each other’s strengths and weaknesses and use them to their advantage. Strong camaraderie and the ability to play at an even tempo led to some exciting competitions this season, especially at both McKeesport games when the Foxes pulled out buzzer-beater wins. For much of the season, the team seesawed between first and second place in Class AAAA Section 2 before eventually placing third with records of 10-4 in conference play, and 16-6, overall. Their payoff wasn’t just qualifying for the WPIAL Playoffs, but winning their first round game against Hempfield – Fox Chapel Area’s first WPIAL Playoff win since 2007. Junior guard Matt D’Amico was the 7th leading scorer in the WPIAL with 477 regular season points and junior guard Brian Papich placed in the top 20. Senior Nate Huwar was selected to play in the Cager Classic All-Star Game, where he won the 3-point contest in the individual skills competition. He also was selected to play in the Champions Association All-Star Game, which will be coached by Fox Chapel Area High School Boys’ Basketball Coach Zach Skrinjar and his staff. In other post-season news, Fox Chapel Area had the most picks for the all section team – D’Amico and Papich, both 6’2” juniors – and D’Amico also was voted to the WPIAL AAAA All-League Team and as one of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Top-10 Players. With a deep bench of 14 returning letter winners, the Foxes have the experience and talent to shoot for an even better season next year.

The Lady Foxes ranked as one of the top-10 WPIAL Class AAAA teams for much of the season, which was pretty remarkable considering the team had untried talent and freshmen who needed to step up to key roles early in the season. Coach Meghan Meabon says they accepted that challenge enthusiastically and got off to a hot start at the Seneca Valley Tip-Off Tournament, where they clinched the championship title. The combination of experienced players and freshmen resulted in a 10-2 conference record and the AAAA Section 2 Co-Champions title. Overall, the Foxes went 18-6. The team was pitted against Butler in the first round of the WPIAL championship games and came home victorious with a 45-36 win. However, they suffered a heart-breaking second-round loss, 45-42, to Mt. Lebanon, the top-seeded powerhouse that makes a habit of winning WPIAL and PIAA titles. In the post-season, seniors Alexa Yaksich and Rachel Ranii were selected to play in the prestigious Cager Classic All-Star Game. Duke-bound junior Erin Mathias finished the regular season with 383 points and was named to the Pennsylvania Sportswriters’ AAAA All-State first team. The 6’3” junior also was nominated for the Gatorade Player of the Year award based on her academic and athletic achievements. Locally, she was named to the AAAA Section 2 All-Section Team, the WPIAL All-League Team, was voted one of the WPIAL “Fab 5” by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, and also was their pick as the WPIAL AAAA Player of the Year. The combination of five returning letter winners and young players with newfound confidence should make the Lady Foxes serious contenders again next season.

Talk about saving the best for last. The Foxes did just that at the WPIAL championships when they broke eight school records in just one short weekend. Four divers and 15 swimmers represented Fox Chapel Area in 18 out of 22 events. Besides those achievements, both the boys’ and the girls’ swim teams placed in the WPIAL top 10. There should be plenty of excitement in the pool in the foreseeable future since the teams are laden with much young talent and there are no seniors on a diving team that surpassed expectations all season.

Girls

The girls’ team powered its way to an overall record of 11-3, a section record of 6-1, and a 9th place finish at the WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championships. Swimmers who qualified for WPIAL competition included seniors Alexis Boyd, Claire McCarthy, Anna Mucci, and Amanda Todd; junior Sia Beasley; sophomores Maura Clark and Franny Dean; and freshman Kelly Arel. Sophomore divers Emily Eames and Miranda Simon also qualified. Dean placed 4th in the 500 freestyle and also had a time of 1:08.13 for the 100-breast stroke to set a new school record. Beasley finished 7th in the 100 yd. backstroke, and Simon and Eames placed 4th and 6th, respectively. Simon and Eames performed so well during the season that they each earned a spot in Fox Chapel Area’s exclusive 200-Point Club, something that hadn’t been achieved by any female divers since 1998. Dean, Beasley, Simon, and Eames advanced to the PIAA Championships, where Beasley earned a 7th place medal in the 100 backstroke.

Boys

The boys were 9-5 overall, 4-3 in section meets, and placed 9th at the WPIAL team competition. Swimmers qualifying for the WPIAL championships were seniors Travis Eckman, Ryan Foster, Scott Sterrett and Zihan Su; junior Dante Cordaro; and sophomores Noah Cagley and Andrew Siar. Junior diver Addison Lynch and sophomore diver John Zottola also qualified for WPIAL competition. The boys broke school records in seven of their nine swimming events at the WPIAL championships. Su, Cordaro, Sterrett, and Cagley advanced to the PIAA championships, where Sterrett earned an 11th place finish in the 200 IM.

• 400 free relay – Cagley, Su, Foster, and Sterrett broke the school record set in 1979
• 200 medley relay – Su, Cordaro, Sterrett, and Cagley set a new FCA record of 1:37.94, a 1.26 second improvement
• 200 IM—Sterrett swam a 1:54.54, breaking the previous school record by 2.86 seconds
• 200 freestyle—Cagley set a new FCA record time of 1:44.64
• 100 freestyle—Cagley’s set a new FCA record time of 47.45
• 100 backstroke—Su swam a 52.99 to break the old FCA record
• 100 breastroke—Sterrett finished at 58.36 to break the previous FCA record

Earlier in the season, Lynch qualifyied for the school’s 200-Point Club.

The Lady Foxes hit their stride this season with their best year yet under six-year head coach Leah McDonough. The team finished with a 6-2 record and fifth at the WPIAL championships. In addition, seven gymnasts ¬– the largest number in school history – qualified for individual WPIAL championship events. They included sophomores Missy Eschman (vault, floor, beam, bars), Sophie Roe (vault, floor, beam, bars,), Jenny Mountz (vault), Krissy Mountz (vault, floor, beam, bars), and Rachael Szabo (vault); juniors Megan Hollingsworth (vault, floor beam, bars) and Shanna Boden (vault, beam); and senior Maya Lantgios (vault, advanced division). Eschman’s 3rd place finish on the bars and 6th place score on the beam qualified her for the statewide meet. Coach McDounough was pleased with the team’s increased depth and has high expectations for next year.