Local teams in playoffs
The race for a WPIAL team title begins Wednesday in the semifinals for the Laurel Highlands boys and girls, Waynesburg Central boys and girls, Connellsville boys, Uniontown girls, Beth-Center boys, Southmoreland boys, and Mount Pleasant girls. All sites begin action at 3:30 p.m.
The top team from each of the four sites in both Class AAA and AA advance to the team championship on Thursday, May 10. The Class AAA boys and girls will compete at West Mifflin while the Class AA finals will be at Mars.
The Scotties, Section 4-AA champions, will once again host one of the boys Class AA semifinals, looking to return to the finals for the first time since the 2004 season. Southmoreland will host McGuffey, Apollo-Ridge and Brentwood.
Southmoreland will also play host to a girls semifinal with Quaker Valley, Mount Pleasant, Fort Cherry and Charleroi looking for a berth into the finals.
The Fillies repeated as Section 2-AAA champions and will take to the road at Butler along with Fox Chapel and West Allegheny for a shot at the team finals. The Mustangs, runner-up in Section 2-AAA, will also be at Butler along with Kiski Area.
Connellsville, Section 2-AAA champions, will travel up Interstate 79 with North Allegheny and Moon to Canon-McMillan.
The Uniontown girls, runner-up to Laurel Highlands, won’t have as far to travel with the Lady Raiders joining Gateway and Chartiers Valley at Norwin.
Waynesburg Central will also be traveling to Westmoreland County with the Raiders and Lady Raiders at Greensburg Central Catholic. The boys will run against the host squad, South Park and New Brighton while the girls only have a triangular against South Park and Riverview.
The Bulldogs earned one of the Section 6-AA berths and were rewarded with a trek to Beaver County. Beth-Center, Riverside and South Side Beaver will compete at Center.
The team playoffs begin a busy month for high school athletes. The well-respected Baldwin Invitational is Friday, the WPIAL individual qualifiers are Tuesday, May 8, and the team finals are two days later.
The WPIAL Class AA Individual Track & Field Championships are at South Side Beaver on Tuesday, May 15 with the Class AAA finals on Thursday, May 17 at Baldwin. The PIAA Championships will be on Friday-Saturday, May 25-26 at Shippensburg University.