Sports

North Catholic girls win WPIAL team track and field title on final event; Quaker Valley boys win 3rd in row

By Michael Love, The Valley News-Dispatch, Tarentum, Pa. The Tribune Content Agency

May 6, 2026 6:11 AM

May 5-It came down to the 1,600-meter relay to decide the girls champion Tuesday at the WPIAL Class 2A track and field team championships at Peters Township's Confluence Financial Partners Stadium.

Quaker Valley led North Catholic by a single point heading into the meet's final event. The Trojanettes foursome of Alexis Stoltz, Megan Heinbach, Ella Eiler and anchor Lydia Pierce ran a season-best time to claim the win and lift North Catholic to a 77-73 victory over the Quakers.

North Catholic went 3-0 on the day, adding wins over Laurel (86-63) and Burrell (115-35) to capture its first WPIAL team title while denying QV a fifth consecutive championship.

Quaker Valley beat Laurel (92-58) and Burrell (110-40), and Laurel topped Burrell, 86-64.

Burrell's lone win came in the triple jump as Lily Liotta set a school record with a best attempt of 37 feet, 5 inches.

"This exposure to the championship meet was beneficial, and it also united them more as a team," said Faith Remich, who helped guide the Bucs to a finals appearance for the first time since 2018, one year after the Bucs girls won the WPIAL title.

"It was just a lot of fun to see the girls get here and be able to compete against the best teams in the WPIAL. With only one senior, it really bodes well for the future, and I know they will want to get back here next year."

Quaker Valley junior Jonah Montagnese won four events - three individual and one relay - to help his team claim its third consecutive Class 2A boys crown and sixth in program history.

QV took first in 11 of the 18 boys events, and its depth proved too much for North Catholic, Greensburg Central Catholic and Riverview to overcome.

The Quakers beat GCC, 98-52; North Catholic, 112-42; and Riverview, 116-34.

GCC was victorious in four events. Grant Brewer won the pole vault (13-5) and the 300 hurdles (42.26), Blasé Bugosh leapt to victory in the high jump (6-1) and Tommy Dlugos won the long jump (22-6.75). The Centurions went 2-1, beating Riverview, 88-61, and North Catholic, 80-69.

"We did really well," GCC coach Pat Hassler said. "We had a couple illnesses and a couple other things we had to battle through. Some kids were hurting, but the guys battled all year to get to be in this position."

Riverview didn't pick up a first-place finish, but its depth in scoring seconds and thirds throughout the 18 events helped it top North Catholic, 83-67. The Raiders, undefeated in section meets this season, competed in the WPIAL finals for the first time since 2012.

"The process here made this special for the guys," Riverview coach Dave Illnicki said. "We overcame a lot this year, and our kids did a great job on this big stage. We had a lot of competitive performances. We had three of the other best schools in the WPIAL here, and I felt we held our own."

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.