Shane Dunlap | Tribune-Review
Hempfield’s Ethan Berginc celebrates his victory over Aiden Lewis of Cedar Cliff in the finals of the state tournament last season. Hempfield was entered in the Powerade tournament before it was rescheduled.
The Powerade Holiday Tournament has a new date.
Tournament director Frank Vulcano said the event will take place Jan. 29-30 at Monroeville Convention Center.
Powerade originally was scheduled for Dec. 28- 29, but Gov. Tom Wolf’s order to halt high school athletic until Jan. 4 in hopes of helping slow the spread of covid-19 transmission forced Vulcano to postpone the wrestling tournament until the last weekend of January.
Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review
Norwin’s Alex Gabauer jumps over Penn-Trafford’s Bobby Lane during a rundown in 2019.
No high school baseball season last spring only served to motivate players like Alex Gabauer, a slick-fielding, power-hitting shortstop at Norwin.
The senior has committed to play at Penn, so his college future is secure as secure as it can be during the covid-19 pandemic.
But baseball can lead prospects down meandering paths and take them to places they’ve only dreamed about.
College usually is the sure thing. But there is always that flickering hope to play at the next level. The Bigs. The Show. The Majors.
Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review
Riverview’s Maddie Deem competes for a loose ball during practice Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020, at Riverview High School.
PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said he doesn’t believe this “pause” of interscholastic sports will drag on for months like the shutdown last spring.
“I take them for their word that it’s a pause,” Lombardi said Friday, a day after Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration halted practices and contests statewide until Jan. 4 to slow the rising number of coronavirus cases.
“It appears to me a lot of it centers around our front-line people in the hospital and our first-responders,” Lombardi said. “They’re getting to the point where they may be overwhelmed. If we need to help them, we need to help them.”