Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) hosted its championship games for the WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Boys’ Lacrosse Championships last Wednesday and Thursday at Joe Walton Stadium on the campus of Robert Morris University. Both games provided similar endings to the season before, as Mt. Lebanon and Mars repeated as Class 3A and Class 2A champions, respectively.
 
Mt. Lebanon is the first school to repeat at Class 3A since Peters Township in 2017 and 2018. The Blue Devils are second all-time with six WPIAL boys’ lacrosse championships, having also won in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2023.
 
Mars extended its historic streak to eight consecutive Class 2A titles, which is the most overall in WPIAL history. The Fightin’ Planets have raised the trophy each year beginning in 2016, apart from 2020 which didn’t contest a season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
With the results of the WPIAL Girls’ Lacrosse Championships, this marks the first time in league history that the same two schools won both the boys’ and girls’ lacrosse titles.
 
The top two teams in Class 3A and top three teams in Class 2A have qualified for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Boys’ Lacrosse Championships, which begin Tuesday, June 4 and conclude with all championship games on Saturday, June 15 at Panzer Stadium on the campus of Penn State University.
 
CLASS 3A RECAP
Second-seeded Mt. Lebanon used a 3-1 run to close the first half and a 4-1 blitz in the third quarter to complete its pursuit of back-to-back WPIAL Class 3A titles, as the Blue Devils defeated fourth-seeded North Allegheny, 15-10, to lift the trophy in the final game played last Thursday.
 
Mt. Lebanon (16-4, 7-0 Section I) cashed in on its man-up opportunities, finishing 4-for-6 compared to the 0-for-7 mark by North Allegheny (14-7, 6-1 Section II). That was the key statistical advantage for the Blue Devils, as the Tigers owned an advantage of 39-30 in shot attempts and committed 11 turnovers to Mt. Lebanon’s 16.
 
Blue Devils senior attack Miles Halter led all players with nine points on six goals and three assists. He was one of four Mt. Lebanon players with multiple goals, as senior midfielders Fred Lasota, Sullivan Kish, and Jack Estabrook each scored twice. Senior attack Luke Prezioso and junior midfielder Joey Hetz both recorded three points on two helpers and a goal.
 
At the X, Mt. Lebanon senior midfielder Ben McAuley was 13-of-27. Kish scooped up a game-high three groundballs, and four different Blue Devils (Prezioso, Ty Pirain, Keegan Green, Aden Ritchey) each caused a turnover. Junior goalkeeper Brady Lockwich made 11 saves.
 
North Allegheny saw sophomore midfielder Nicholas Sichak and senior midfielder Evan Lyon both record hat tricks, with Sichak adding two assists and Lyon picking up one helper. The Tigers also received goals from junior attack Travis Lamark, sophomore midfielder Colt Gibson, sophomore attack Jonathan Castillo, and junior midfielder Sam Porter.
 
Sophomore face-off specialist Luke Rohan finished 14-of-27 at the dot, while Castillo and senior defender Coleman Craft both scooped up two groundballs. Craft and Porter joined junior defender Jack Ferraro and senior midfielder Preston Vissotski among the North Allegheny players with a caused turnover, and junior goalkeeper Logan Lyle made 10 stops between the pipes.

Mt. Lebanon opened the postseason with a bye, then defeated seventh-seeded Fox Chapel (18-8) and third-seeded Upper St. Clair (21-9) to qualify for the championship game. North Allegheny also began bracket play with a bye before topping fifth-seeded Pine-Richland (11-8) and top-seeded Shady Side Academy (9-6) to reach the final.
 
In the first round of the PIAA Championships, Mt. Lebanon will take on the District X champion and North Allegheny will play the champion from District III or District VI. This will be the Blue Devils’ league-leading 12th PIAA appearance and the Tigers’ eighth.
 
CLASS 2A RECAP
Top-seeded Mars scored the first 12 goals of the game before cruising to its eighth consecutive WPIAL Class 2A title, as it defeated second-seeded South Fayette, 16-5, in the final game contested last Wednesday.
 
Mars (17-3, 10-0 Section II) went 17-of-23 at the face-off dot, outshot South Fayette (19-2, 10-0 Section I) by a 42-18 margin, and collected 37 groundballs to the Lions’ 22.
 
The Fightin’ Planets had three players record hat tricks, led by senior attack Enzo Grieco’s four goals and two assists. Junior attack Ian Coulter and senior Ryan Blake both had three goals, and Blake’s classmate Dylan Phillips scored twice. Junior midfielder Ben Bowser dished out a pair of helpers.
 
Senior face-off specialist Jack McKenzie finished 17-of-20 at the X and collected a game-high 11 groundballs. Bowser collected four groundballs, while senior defender Cole Yoshioka tallied three to go with five caused turnovers. Freshman midfielder Reed Fuller added three groundballs and two forced turnovers. Junior goalkeeper Luke Spreng made four saves between the posts.
 
South Fayette saw freshman attack Bryce Watkins score twice, while sophomore attack Drew Welhorsky, junior midfielder Drew Young, and senior midfielder Wade Scholar all tallied a goal. Welhorsky added four groundballs and two caused turnovers, and was matched in the groundball department by junior defender Carter DeWitt, who also had a team-best four caused turnovers. Junior goalkeeper Travis Watkins posted 10 saves for the Lions.
 
Mars started the WPIAL tournament with a bye before picking up victories over eighth-seeded Seton LaSalle (25-1) and fourth-seeded Hampton (13-0). After its first-round bye, South Fayette defeated seventh-seeded Indiana (9-8) and third-seeded Penn-Trafford (17-4) to make the championship game. Hampton bested Penn-Trafford in the third-place consolation game, 17-5, to earn the final PIAA qualifier spot.
 
Mars begins the PIAA Championships against the fourth-place team in District III, South Fayette gets the District X champion, and Hampton will play the District III winner. The Fightin’ Planets are the lone WPIAL school to win a PIAA title, doing so in 2022, and will appear in their seventh PIAA tournament, while the Lions and Talbots will both be making their fourth PIAA appearance.

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