What was the best high school sports moment from 2017-18? You decide.
best Moments in High School Sports logo
Marc Billett/ For the Observer-Reporter
Former Jefferson-Morgan standout Gavin Teasdale
Ringgold players celebrate their win over Valley View in the PIAA Class 4A baseball championship game at Penn State.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
The Waynesburg girls soccer team celebrates after beating Freedom in the WPIAL Class 2A championship match at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh.
Washington’s Myckel Brown holds high the WPIAL Class 2A championship trophy as his teammates celebrate after the Little Prexies beat Steel Valley for their first championship since 2001. Washington beat Steel Valley, 37-10, at Robert Morris University’s Joe Walton Stadium Nov. 25.
Canon-McMillan players dogpile near the pitcher’s mound after winning the PIAA Class 6A baseball championship at Penn State in June.
The different high school sports seasons go by in a flash.
Football season quickly turns to basketball and wrestling seasons, and the winter ends right as baseball, softball and track and field begins. Before we know it, the summer is here.
During the year, we don’t have the time to take a step back and realize how incredible some of the moments we witnessed truly were.
Well, over the next four weeks, that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
Starting today, we are launching the 2018 Best Moments in High School Sports bracket tournament. But instead of the O-R sports staff determining what the best moment was from 2017-18, we are asking for your help.
What moment do you, the reader, think was the best? Was it Jefferson-Morgan’s Gavin Teasdale winning his fourth state wrestling title? Or was it West Greene softball winning its second straight PIAA crown?
What about a single-game accomplishment, like Chartiers-Houston girls basketball player Alexa Williamson scoring 51 points in the state playoffs? Or a career milestone like Trinity’s Joey Koroly eclipsing 4,000 rushing yards in football and scoring 1,000 points in basketball?
We determined the 16 best moments of the year. Now, it’s up to you.
The voting, at www.observer-reporter.com/best moments, for the first-round begins today and ends at 6 p.m. Saturday. We will publish the results in next Sunday’s newspaper. The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will each run by the same weekly schedule, with the winner being announced Aug. 5.
For the first three rounds, every voter will be entered into a contest to win four tickets to a Washington Wild Things game and four guest admission passes to the Heinz History Center.
At the end of the tournament, each voter will be entered a contest to win a $50 Amazon gift card as the grand prize.
To vote, visit observer-reporter.com/bestmoments.
First-round matchups
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Gavin Teasdale wins fourth state title: Jefferson-Morgan wrestler Gavin Teasdale won his fourth PIAA wrestling championship, defeating Saucon Valley’s Josh Jones. Teasdale is the 13th wrestler to win four Pennsylvania state titles and the fourth local wrestler to achieve the feat. vs. Canon-McMillan boys basketball fourth-quarter comeback: Despite trailing by 21 points in the third quarter and by 16 with six minutes remaining, Canon-Mac ended its game against Bethel Park on a 21-4 run to win 58-57.
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Waynesburg girls soccer wins WPIAL title: Waynesburg defeated Freedom, 4-2, in the Class AA title game. vs. Dylan Rush breaks single-game WPIAL rushing record: Mapletown’s Dylan Rush ran for a WPIAL-record 524 yards on 39 carries and scored seven touchdowns to lead Mapletown to a 48-32 victory over Avella.
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Wash High football wins WPIAL football title: The Washington High School football team scored 27 unanswered points in the second half to win the WPIAL Class AA championship, 37-10, over Steel Valley. vs. Logan Macri wins state title: Canon-McMillan’s Logan Macri defeated Doug Zapf of Downingtown West in the Class AAA 120-pound final at the PIAA Wrestling Championships.
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Canon-McMillan baseball wins state title: The Canon-McMillan baseball team scored seven runs in the fifth inning to defeat Bensalem, 10-3, in the Class 6A state title game. vs. Alexa Williamson scores 51 in state playoff game: Chartiers-Houston’s Alexa Williamson used her size, strength and speed to outjump, outpower and outrun Cambridge Academy en route to scoring a 51 points in the Class AA state playoffs.
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McKenna Lampe hits for cycle as West Greene softball wins state title: West Greene center fielder McKenna Lampe hit for the cycle to lead West Greene to its second straight PIAA Class A title. vs. Will Behm breaks WPIAL pole vault record: Waynesburg’s Will Behm cleared 14-10 at the WPIAL Track & Field Championships to break the WPIAL pole vault record.
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South Fayette baseball wins WPIAL title: South Fayette pitcher Richie Dell shut out Ringgold over the final six innings in the WPIAL Class 4A championship game to lead the Lions to a 4-1 win. vs. Bailey Parshall throws back-to-back no-hitters: Belle Vernon softball pitcher Bailey Parshall carried the Leopards to the WPIAL Class 4A title game, tossing no-hitters in the quarterfinals and semifinals. The southpaw struck out 16 in her no-hitter against Ambridge in the quarterfinals and 18 in a win against Mt. Pleasant.
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Ringgold baseball wins state title: The Ringgold baseball team rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the first inning and came away with a 6-4 victory over Valley View in the PIAA Class 4A championship game. vs. Peters Township boys lacrosse wins WPIAL title: The Peters Township boys lacrosse team defeated North Allegheny, 9-7, to win its second straight WPIAL Class AAA title.
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Joey Koroly rushes for 4,000 yards, scores 1,000 points: Trinity’s Joey Koroly achieved a feat in the 2017-18 season that is believed to be a first for local athletes. In the fall, Koroly eclipsed the 4,000-yard mark as a running back, and in the winter, the guard scored his 1,000th point for the basketball team. vs. Cara Wheeler’s home run: Monessen’s Cara Wheeler hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning as Monssen stunned West Greene, 2-1, in a regular-season softball game.