Upper St. Clair girls' basketball team eyeing second PIAA championship in school history
The Upper St. Clair girls' basketball team has something special going on this year and they have a chance to win their second ever PIAA state championship title.
Friday's PIAA 6A Championship game will feature Upper St. Clair and Perkiomen Valley and it's the first time in over two decades the Panthers team from the South Hills is competing for a state title.
The team practiced for one last time Thursday before getting on the bus to head to Hershey.
Senior Rylee Kalocay, a Kent State recruit says the season has been filled with ups and downs and that it feels good to be one of just twelve teams remaining in all of Pennsylvania still playing basketball.
"I know earlier in the season, it was a little bit rocky for us," Kalocay said. "Really, towards the end of the season, we've gelled so well. We're all scoring the ball, everybody scores every game. We're playing really, really good team basketball."
The Upper St. Clair team has some solid coaching that helped get them to this point.
Husband and wife duo of Pete Serio and Suzie McConnell-Serio helped flip the team that was on a three-game skid to a team that won 12 of its last 13 contests.
"The chemistry has been off the charts over this last month and a half," Serio said. "It has been a journey but man, is it ending, it's a great journey. Once we believed in each other again, that was the most important thing."
"Coach Pete and Coach Suzie, they're some of the most valued coaches I've ever had," Kalocay said. "Everything they say to you, it comes from the heart. It comes from them wanting you to do well."
After practice on Thursday, students, parents, teachers, and the school band gathered outside the school to send the team off to Hershey with good wishes.
Upper St. Clair and Perkiomen Valley will square off Friday night at the Giant Center in Hershey. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Longtime Upper St. Clair coach heading to National High School Football Hall of Fame
Longtime Upper St. Clair football coach Jim Render's accolades are numerous: two PIAA State Championships, five WPIAL Crowns and a career record of 406-141-6, which puts him 25th all-time nationally. Not to mention, he's the winningest football coach in WPIAL history. Advertisement 'I was very fortunate,' Render said. 'I had some great victories, especially here at Upper St. Clair.' Yet earlier this year, he was almost in disbelief when he found out he was set to be inducted into the National High School Football Hall of Fame. 'It wasn't something I was really anticipating happening,' Render said. On June 14, he'll join 32 other inductees in Canton, including Steel Valley's Charlie Batch, Pitt's Louis Riddick and Michael Vick. 'Everybody from Danny Marino to Jerome Bettis was nominated,' Render said, 'and I thought, well, they're probably gonna, it'll be a while till they get to the high school coach level.' Advertisement Render's head coaching career began in Carrolton, Ohio, in 1970. Less than a decade later, after a stop in Uniontown, he found himself at Upper St. Clair. 'I thought, well, I'll go down there to Uniontown for two years, and I'm getting my fanny back to Ohio,' Render said. 'Well, that was 60 years ago, or whatever it is, 40 of which I spent at Upper St. Clair.' All the victories, of course, are memorable. 'If I started naming things, I would probably slate some of the former players, and I don't want to do that,' Render said. 'Let's just say, there was a lot of great thrills.' But it's the journey that's been the most memorable for Render, especially the two years the Panthers won the State Title. Advertisement 'When I think about those things, I remember the journey, and, of course, the final game is the culmination,' Render said 'But, you know, the togetherness and the hard work and all the things that, and you got to have some luck.' His advice to young coaches just beginning their careers? 'Emphasize the fundamentals and don't get away from what made this game great,' Render said. And as he looks back ahead of his induction, the most important thing Render learned comes from all those he met along the way. 'The players make the difference,' Render said. 'You know, coaches get awards and coaches get credit, and I understand that, I guess. But the doggone players are why we're all here, you know, and I was very fortunate to have some marvelous players over my career.' Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Yahoo
Trio of champions pace Little Lions to AAA title
SHIPPENSBURG, PA (WTAJ) — A trio of state champion Little Lions paced the way for State College who won a AAA state championship Saturday at the PIAA Track & Field Championships. The Little Lions Boys team tallied 53 team points, 25 more than second place Palmyra did finishing, in what was a dominant team performance. Senior Adam Bell, a Navy signee, cleared 15-feet, 6-inches in the AAA Boys Pole Vault, a second try clearance that helped him edge Northampton's Andrew Szeplaki after neither managed to get over the 16-foot bar. It was Bell who got the winning started for the Little Lions and Jesse Myers who capped it off. In the AAA 200-meter dash, Jesse Myers, took gold in the 200-meter dash, running a 21.05 second race. The senior's win was an exclamation point on State High's boy's title as it was the third gold of the day, but the only in track. Nathan Haas won the AAA boys javelin with a throw of 204-feet-4-inches. It was a final throw attempt helped the senior jump over Whitehall's Thomas Lloyd into first. Lloyd and Haas were the only throws to eclipse the 200-foot mark. State High was the only area team to win team hardware, but not the only team with a state champion. Conemaugh Township's Baylee Sleek was the only girl in the AA high jump to clear 5-foot-8-inches and she did so in her first try, winning the event. The junior edged Quaker Valley junior Oumou Thiero by an inch in the event. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Pole vaulting in the street, competing for native Austria on District 3 champ's bucket list
She dreams of flying high in the maroon and white uniform of Texas A&M. Of competing in pole vault events held on city streets. Of wearing the red and white of her birth nation in an Olympics. The first is in Lily Carlson's immediate future. The next two might not be far behind. Advertisement The Bermudian Springs senior is the top seed in the PIAA Class 3A pole vault competition after clearing 14 feet at the District 3 meet. It is her first time competing in Class 3A after winning the PIAA Class 2A title the past two seasons. The state meet, May 23-24 at Shippensburg University, is her last in high school competition. Then she begins working on the rest of the list. Austria is first. She was born in Vienna and lived in Austria until she was 7 years old, when she came to the United States with her American mom. Her dad remained in his native Austria. Carlson will be spending a big chunk of the summer training in Europe. Advertisement 'Half my trip I'll be in Vienna,' she said. 'And then I'm hoping to go to Innsbruck and train at a club there. They have another girl that jumps like 13-9, and she's also going to A&M.' National signing day: See where York-Adams student-athletes are playing sports in college Bermudian Springs' Lily Carlson clears 14 feet in the 3A pole vault competition at the PIAA District 3 Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University's Seth Grove Stadium Saturday, May 17, 2025. She laughs at the idea that Texas A&M will have two native Austrian freshman pole vaulters. Magdalena Rauter is the future Aggie Carlson hopes to connect with in Innsbruck. Rauter is the Austrian national champion and world U20 silver medalist. 'They have fully funded athletes there,' Carlson said. 'In Austria, they actually are like professional athletes and get paid. Track's just bigger, pole vault is bigger.' Advertisement And they really do shut down streets so they can lay runways and set up pole vault standards to have competitions in their cities. Carlson's eyes light up when she thinks of the possibilities. Those possibilities include challenging for a spot on the Austrian Olympic team. It's a long process that starts with qualifying for the European championships. Austrian hasn't had a pole vaulter in the European competition since 2014. Bermudian Springs' Lily Carlson smiles after finishing her day with a gold medal and a new district record in the 3A pole vault at the PIAA District 3 Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University's Seth Grove Stadium Saturday, May 17, 2025. The top vaulters from the European championships qualify for the Olympics, regardless of their country. Australian Nina Kennedy won the gold medal in Paris after clearing 4.90 meters (16.076 feet). An American and Canadian won the silver and bronze. Advertisement Clearing 14-0 for the first time in a competition was a positive step toward those Olympic dreams. '14 is a big bar, a huge milestone of mine,' Carlson said. 'It feels really good to finally clear that. I've known I can clear it, but to see that bar stay standing, I'm really excited.' Carlson had three attempts at the state record 14-3, and nearly had it on her second try. She cleared it, but tapped the bar on her way down. She'll get another shot at that record in the state meet when she goes up against defending champ Veronica Vacca of Mt. St. Joseph's, who comes in as the second seed at 13-8, although she has cleared 14-0 in competition. Bermudian Springs' Lily Carlson celebrates with her friends and fellow competitors after setting a new district record in the 3A pole vault at the PIAA District 3 Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University's Seth Grove Stadium Saturday, May 17, 2025. Carlson will have many of her training partners in the pole vault area with her at the state meet because they qualified through the District 3 competition. Having that kind of support, the friends who stand in a line with their hands clasped together as you soar to new heights, is vital to Carlson. Advertisement 'I've been training with them for the past few years,' she said. 'Vault Worx has been like a second home, a second family and we are all super close. We're always celebrating each other. 'We understand pole vault is such a hard and intense sport that we're always cheering each other on.' Having a support system like that to lean on is even more important at events like district and state meets, when communicating with coaches is difficult at best. Technology and coaches are not allowed on the infield, so athletes have to communicate through hand signals and shouts across the track as races are run. Carlson will have some additional support at this year's state meet. Her father will be on hand to see her compete in person for the first time since she was a freshman. Advertisement 'He has seen videos, but nothing in person,' she said. 'He's going to help me with my German, and we're going to get rolling.' Let the dreams begin. Shelly Stallsmith covers York-Adams high school sports for GameTimePA and the USAToday Network. Connect with her by email mstallsmith@ or on X, formerly Twitter, @ShelStallsmith. This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: PIAA track and field: Pole vault champ has lofty goals after last meet
