Going through changes

Aug 25, 2026 By Jonathan Guth 4 min read

Greene County was most affected when the alignments for section play were released by the WPIAL Tuesday morning, as three of the five county schools had their softball teams moved up a classification for the next two seasons.

Carmichaels and Jefferson-Morgan were placed in Section 3-2A with Bentworth, Brownsville, Chartiers-Houston, Frazier and Washington.

Waynesburg Central has moved up to Class 3A, and the Raiders will compete against Charleroi, Keystone Oaks, McGuffey, Seton LaSalle and defending WPIAL champion South Park in Section 3-3A.

Mapletown and West Greene remain in Class A, and both teams are eager for the future with both squads featuring a young but talented roster.

The Maples and Pioneers will battle Avella, Beth-Center, California, Jeannette, Monessen and Serra Catholic in Section 2-1A for a minimum of two years. There are only two sections in Class A. Section 1-1A also has eight teams.

“For us particularly, just having two large sections in Class A and thus having 14 section games presents its own problems,” West Greene coach Bill Simms said. “We try to reserve three games annually to play down in Myrtle (Beach), so that only leaves you three games to play up here against other local teams.

“We might have to make an adjustment and see what we can do to keep Jefferson-Morgan, Carmichaels and Waynesburg on the schedule for just one game.”

Southmoreland and Mount Pleasant will stay in Class 3A for softball the next two seasons, as both teams were placed in Section 1-3A. Derry, Ligonier Valley, East Allegheny, Yough and South Allegheny are the other squads in the section.

Belle Vernon, Laurel Highlands and Uniontown will continue play in Class 4A for the next two years, as the Leopards, Mustangs and Red Raiders will face the likes of Elizabeth Forward, Greensburg Salem and Ringgold in Section 2-4A.

Laurel Highlands and Uniontown advanced to the WPIAL quarterfinals this past spring, and with most of their starters returning, the cross-town rivals have an opportunity to advance further in the district tournament.

Albert Gallatin and Connellsville remain in Class 5A. The lone Fayette County schools in a section that is made up of teams from Allegheny and Washington counties will look to earn a spot in the postseason after facing Bethel Park, McKeesports, Peters Township, Thomas Jefferson and Trinity twice during the regular season.

Connellsville’s baseball team will compete against the largest schools in the WPIAL, as the Falcons are in Section 2-6A against Canon-McMillan, Hempfield, Mount Lebanon, Norwin and Upper St. Clair.

Jefferson-Morgan was bumped up to Class 2A, and the Rockets will face Bentworth, Beth-Center, California, Chartiers-Houston, Frazier and Washington in Section 1-2A.

After two years of playing as an independent, Geibel Catholic has returned to the WPIAL. The Gators were placed in Section 1-1A with Avella, Carmichaels, Mapletown, Monessen and West Greene.

Brownsville and Waynesburg Central will compete in Section 4-3A with Charleroi, Keystone Oaks, McGuffey, Seton LaSalle and South Park.

Southmoreland is the lone area team in Section 3-3A. The Scotties will play Apollo-Ridge, Deer Lakes, Derry, Freeport and Ligonier Valley twice the next two seasons.

Mount Pleasant was bumped up to Class 4A. The Vikings will compete in Section 3-4A. Burrell, Greensburg Salem, Highlands, Indiana, Valley and Yough are the other teams in the section who will vie for a spot in the WPIAL playoffs.

Section 2-4A features the same teams, as locals Albert Gallatin, Belle Vernon, Laurel Highlands and Uniontown will battle Elizabeth Forward, Ringgold and West Mifflin for another two years.

That was fine with Mustangs coach Mike Smith.

“I’m glad to see our section stayed the same,” Smith said. “We retained the local rivalries plus the ones we have formed over the years. Our section, in my opinion, is one of the toughest in 4A. I can say I know most of the coaches and the hard work they put in will challenge me to only push our boys and make them better.

“Even though we have a young team, I believe our boys are up to the challenge and will be ready to compete in the spring.”

No drastic changes were made for girls flag football, track & field or boys tennis in regards to alignment.

The WPIAL will release schedules for flag football and boys and girls lacrosse on Thursday. The boys tennis and softball schedules will be released on Aug. 31 before baseball and track & field and baseball on Sept. 1. The schedule for boys volleyball is scheduled to be released on Sept. 2.

(Rob Burchianti contributed to this story.)