Boys Basketball
2/26
Boys Basketball lost in the WPIAL Semifinals against Franklin Regional, 68-40. The Panthers came out firing as they would take a 17-5 lead against the Titans at the end of the first. Shaler Area closed the deficit to 8 at halftime, but the Panthers would not look back as they would go on to win comfortably. The Titans were led by Keegan Smetanka who had 15 points on a night where no one else for Shaler Area could really get anything going.
2/28
After their toughest loss of the season, the Titans responded by winning the 3rd-place consolation game against Thomas Jefferson, 75-71. The game was an offensive shootout which saw a lot of back and forth action throughout the game. Shaler Area led 54-48 at the end of the 3rd quarter, but the Jaguars stormed out of the intermission and took a three point lead. The Titans responded with a clutch 3-pointer by Kaden Orga to tie the game, and a combination of free throws by Brandon London and Orga sealed the game. The Titans were led by London who dropped 20 points and Keegan Smetanka with 15 points.
Boys Bowling
3/1
Boys Bowling sent three bowlers in Braden Scott, Liam Creagh, and Tyler Woistman to compete in the Western PA Regional Boys Singles Championship. In order to qualify for states, the Titans would need to make the top 12 out of the 78 participants. Creagh finished in 67th with a 807 3-game series, Woistman finished 54th with a 847 3-game series, and Scott missed the cut by eight pins as he finished 13th with a 970 3-game series.
3/2
Boys Bowling concluded their season with a 10th place finish out of 20 teams at the Western PA Regionals. In order to qualify for states, the Titans would need to finish in the top six teams. Shaler Area started off strong rolling a 909 as a team which netted them in 5th place. The Titans then rolled an 837 in game two which had them in 6th place. Unfortunately, a 794 in game three dropped the Titans to 9th place which meant the baker games were the only hope for the Titans. A baker game is where each of the five bowlers roll two frames which make up for a full game. The Titans couldn’t make a comeback in these games which ended their season. The Titans were led by Noah Lang with a 564 (3-game series), Braden Scott with a 524, and Tyler Woistman with a 519.
Even though the season didn’t end the way the team wanted, the Titans had a fantastic season. They had an undefeated season in which they collected the first section championship in school history. Also, the Titans had lost only one set all regular season. Congratulations to all seniors Braden Scott, Josh Turner, and Aaron Manuel. Great season Boys Bowling!
Boys Swimming
3/1 and 3/2
The Shaler Area Boys Varsity Swimming team placed 17th in the WPIAL Championship with 29.5 points, the team’s highest finish since 2016. Junior Noah Lang led the Titans with two fifth-place finishes in the 500 freestyle and the 200 IM. In the 200 IM, Lang broke a 46-year-old school record with a time of 1:55.59. Senior teammates Will Nebiolo and Braden Bork posted personal bests with times of 5:05.88 and 5:07.37. Nebiolo also competed in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:54.04. Lang, Nebiolo, and Bork teamed with sophomore Tommy Podgorski in the 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay. The 200 freestyle relay put points on the board with a 16th-place finish of 1:34.15, while the 400 freestyle relay finished with a time of 3:29.39.
Girls Swimming
3/1 and 3/2
The Girls Varsity Swimming team placed 17th at the WPIAL Championships, earning their highest WPIAL finish in recent memory with 24 points. The Titans finished in 11th-place in the 200-medley relay. Juniors Kaysia Chelli, Grace Melocchi, freshman Ava Melocchi, and sophomore Emily Miller swam a season-best time of 1:55.30 for 12 points. Grace Melocchi broke an eight-year-old record in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:08.87 for a 14th place finish. She also competed in the 200-yard IM, swimming a time of 2:16.71. Both swims were personal records for Melocchi. Ava Melocchi also put points on the board in the 500 freestyle. She swam to a ninth-place finish with a time of 5:16.68. She also competed in the 100-yard butterfly, clocking in at 1:02.67. Both of Melocchi’s swims were lifetime bests. The Melocchi sisters and Miller were joined by junior Sarah Vitale in the 400-yard freestyle relay, where they swam a season-best time of 3:52.76. Chelli, Miller, and Vitale and sophomore Maylee Lazzari in the 200-yard freestyle relay, clocking in at 1:52.95.
Wrestling
3/1 and 3/2
Shaler Area finished 29th overall in the South West AAA Regional. Anthony Jones advanced to the quarterfinals in the 107 lb. weight division, while Vito Barravecchio also advanced to the quarterfinals in the 215 lb. division. Jones won the 7th place contest, the best placement on the day for the Titans. Jacob Cable was the only other Titan wrestler to record a victory, winning in the first consolation round of the 140 lb. classification.
Hockey
2/29
Hockey picked up a first round victory in the PIHL Playoffs over Beaver, 4-0. In the opening period, the Titans had the ice tilted in their favor, but could not capitalize on any goals. The 2nd period was a different story as the Titans rattled off three straight goals within the opening minutes of the period. Shaler Area put the game away 18 seconds into the 3rd period with a goal to make it 4-0. The Titans had goals from Matthew Stelitano, Darius Malecki, Jake Kunc, and Luca Wallander and goalie Shane Ciganik was a wall in net as he recorded a shutout.
