Bounces favored these basketball finalists
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter Monessen Head Coach Joe Salvino talks to his team during a game with Cardinal North Catholic at Charties Valley High School on Tuesday, Feb, 23, 2016.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter Wash High’s head coach Ron Faust instructs his team during a time out in the second half of the game against Bishop Canevin
This year’s finalists for the Tri-County Athletic Directors’ Association Coach of the Year awards not only enjoyed winning seasons but took their teams into the playoffs.
Matt Bacco of South Fayette, Bob Miles of Trinity and Laura Montecalvo of Chartiers-Houston are the girls finalists.
On the boys’ side, the finalists are Ron Faust of Washington, Jim Romanus of West Greene and Joe Salvino of Monessen.
The six will be honored, and the winners announced at the Tri-County Athletic Directors’ Association Coach of the Year Banquet at 5 p.m. Sunday, April 24, at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Meadow Lands.
Tickets for the banquet are $35 each and are on sale at Washington High School, 201 Allison Avenue, Washington, Pa., 15301. Reservations can be made by calling athletic director Joe Nicolella at 724-223-5085, ext. 2091.
All proceeds from the banquet benefit Special Olympics.
Only coaches from teams in the Tri-County Athletic Directors’ Association are eligible to be finalists.
Miles, the coach at Trinity, lost just five games, including the three to South Fayette. The Hillers finished the regular season on a five-game winning streak, good for second place in the section.
Trinity defeated Belle Vernon, South Park and Mars before running into South Fayette in the WPIAL finals. The Hillers lost their first-round game in the state tournament and finished at 21-5.
Despite losing one of the area’s top players, Alexa Williamson, in December, Chartiers-Houston still finished in third place in rugged Section 3-AA. The Bucs won four of the final five regular-season games to go 8-4 in the section.
Montecalvo guided C-H to a first-round win in the WPIAL playoffs and the Bucs finished as the WPIAL’s seventh seed in the state playoffs. In the first round, Chartiers-Houston lost to West Middlesex and finished at 18-9.
Bacco led the Lions to nine wins in the final 10 games to secure the Section 5-AAA title. South Fayette defeated Trinity twice by a combined 11 points to go 12-0 in the section.
South Fayette would defeat Trinity a third time, this coming in the WPIAL finals, for its first district title. The Lions won their first two games in the PIAA playoffs before falling to Villa Maria Academy in Erie in the state quarterfinals. South Fayette finished the season with a 24-4 record.
Romanus enjoyed a rebirth of West Greene basketball, snapping a WPIAL playoff drought that reached back to 1996. The Pioneers won seven of their final nine games to finish in third place in Section 3-A and qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.
It marked the first time coaching a playoff game for Romanus since 2002, when he was the head boys basketball coach at Jefferson-Morgan. The Pioneers fell to Vincentian Academy in the first round and finished with a 12-9 record.
Faust and the Prexies got off to a slow start, going 3-5 in the first eight games. But Washington won 13 of the next 14 to finish in second place in Section 3-AA.
Wash High split the first two WPIAL playoff games but finished fifth after defeating Quaker Valley. In the state tournament, Wash High defeated Greenville before losing to Lincoln Park. The Prexies had an 18-9 record.
Salvino directed one of the WPIAL’s most prolific scoring team in the regular season. The Greyhounds broke the 100-point barrier eight times in winning the Section 3-A title. Their 90.3-point averaged led the WPIAL (all classifications).
Monessen won its first two playoff games but fell to North Catholic in the semifinals. The Greyhounds scored a season-low 37 points in a first-round state playoff loss to Farrell to finish at 21-5.