Gallo – Berks Sports Report

Chris Gallo Resigns at Wilson

Paul Roberts — Wed, 08 May 2024 21:45:00 +0000

I’ve confirmed that Wilson girls basketball coach Chris Gallo submitted his letter of resignation today. Gallo spent four years as the Bulldogs’ head coach and finished with a record of (65-30). Wilson went (24-5) this season while starting four sophomores.

The Bulldogs won the Division 1 title and reached the BCIAA championship game. They lost to Wyomissing 45-36 at Santander Arena. The Spartans were unbeaten at the time. Second-seeded Wilson advanced to the District 3-6A semifinals. Central Dauphin, the eventual District 3 champion, escaped West Lawn with a 42-41 victory. The Bulldogs fell to Conestoga 45-29 in the first round of the PIAA tournament.

Before taking over at Wilson, Gallo served as the head coach of the Schuylkill Valley boys basketball team for 15 years. He guided the Panthers to 203 wins and seven division titles. Gallo was named the Berks County Coach of the Year three times. Wilson will begin its search for a new coach immediately. Gallo didn’t want to comment at this time.

Chris Gallo-Wilson

Paul Roberts — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 12:20:00 +0000

Chris Gallo won 203 games and seven Division championships over 15 years with the Schuylkill Valley boys basketball team. That resume makes his statement about sophomore guard Laila Jones even more noteworthy. “She’s as good as any guy I’ve ever coached on my Schuylkill Valley teams; the way she sees the floor and the way she handles the ball,” said Gallo. Jones had 18 points in a 44-33 victory over tenth-seeded York High in the District 3-6A quarterfinals. The second-seeded Bulldogs led 9-3 after the first eight minutes. The (15-9) Bearcats opened the second quarter with a 7-to-1 run. Kailani Hardy provided a spark off Wilson’s bench. The promising 5’8 freshman had five points, including a 3-pointer, as the Bulldogs scored the last nine points of the first half. “She goes hard, she listens, and she’s a really nice young lady,” replied Gallo. Wilson was on top 19-10 at the break despite committing eleven turnovers. York came out of the locker room strong. The Bearcats scored ten straight points to take a 20-19 edge. A’Shyia Smith banked in a pair of treys. The 5’5 senior hit four triples to finish with twelve points. Smith entered the night with just seven 3-pointers all season. Jones responded in the third period with eight points, including two shots from beyond the arc. The (24-2) Bulldogs held a 32-25 cushion after three quarters. York pulled within 38-33 on Smith’s trey with two minutes remaining. Jones made two free throws and Hardy followed with a steal. She went 1-for-2 from the foul line with one minute left. Wilson got the offensive rebound and Hardy split two more free throw attempts. Once again, the Bulldogs grabbed the offensive board. Violet Houck sank two foul shots to seal the deal. The 5’11 sophomore provided eight points and seven rebounds. Hardy piled up 14 points and eight boards. She had a season-high 18 points against Muhlenberg in late January and 10 points in the BCIAA semifinals versus Berks Catholic last week. The Bearcats had a rough shooting night. They were 1-of-14 from the free throw line and 6-of-22 from long distance. Ciarra Gibbs, a 5’11 senior, was limited to six points. The Albright commit is a 1,000-point scorer. York travels to Manheim Township on Monday night for a consolation game. Meanwhile, Wilson hosts third-seeded Central Dauphin at 7pm on Monday. Top-seeded Lebanon entertains Dallastown in the other semifinal. Gallo knows that making it through the Class 6A bracket is extremely challenging. “It is really good. It’s always good. The top is excellent…It’s gonna be a tough task,” he said.

Chris Gallo-Wilson

Paul Roberts — Sat, 11 Feb 2023 23:39:00 +0000

When two longtime rivals meet with their seasons on the line, things tend to get interesting. There was drama in the fourth quarter of the Berks County quarterfinal between #3 Wilson and #6 Gov. Mifflin. The Mustangs cut a 16-point deficit to three before falling 55-44 in West Lawn. “I can’t say enough about how hard Mifflin played,” emphasized Bulldogs’ head coach Chris Gallo. Wilson was up 7-5 after eight minutes and 18-17 at halftime. Shakyla Mayo kept the (10-13) Mustangs in the game in the first half. The all-county senior guard provided eleven of Gov. Mifflin’s twelve points in the second quarter. Mayo poured in 21 points, and ended her Mustangs’ career with 772. Laila Jones found Violet Houck for a layup to begin the third quarter. Jones then made a 3-pointer to give the (15-8) Bulldogs a six-point cushion. Wilson outscored Gov. Mifflin 20-8 in that period. The Bulldogs increased their advantage to 44-28 in the final quarter. On Monday, the Mustangs lost to Wilson 67-42. They were not going to go down without a fight this time. Gov. Mifflin splashed four treys in the fourth period. Taylor Koenig (11 points) hit three of their five triples, including two down the stretch. Jayla Richardson, one of six seniors on the roster, knocked down a deep 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 44-39 with three minutes remaining. Mayo’s fast break layup concluded a 13-0 run and all of a sudden it was 44-41. Laura Crocona sank a key jumper from the right baseline with 1:40 to play. That shot put the Bulldogs in front 48-41. Wilson went 9-of-10 from the free throw line over the last eight minutes. They were just 3-9 from the stripe over the first three quarters. Jones made all four of her foul shots in the last period. The 5’6 point guard contributed 16 points and eight assists. Jones had several nifty passes to Houck for easy buckets. “There’s a confidence that you have when you know where your buddy is gonna be. Stockton always knew where Malone was gonna be. She has that feel with Violet. It’s amazing,” said Gallo. Houck, a 5’11 center, had a season-high 16 points. Crocona chipped in with eleven. Jones, Houck, and Crocona are all freshmen. The Bulldogs scored 11 of the final 14 points to advance to the semifinals. They fell to Gov. Mifflin 47-34 in last year’s county championship. This is a much different team, and one with a bright future. Wilson will take a 6-game winning streak into Tuesday’s matchup with second-seeded Wyomissing at Santander Arena. The Spartans blew out Exeter 59-26 on Saturday afternoon. “What really impressed me was how hard defensively they played their zone. They move the ball, they share the ball, and they have a really nice rotation,” noted Gallo. The other county semifinal will feature #1 Berks Catholic and #4 Reading.

Chris Gallo-Wilson

Paul Roberts — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 12:22:00 +0000

Over his 15 years as the head coach of the Schuylkill Valley boys basketball team, Chris Gallo stressed defense and sharing the basketball. Gallo is in his second season with the Wilson girls team and his formula is still working. The Bulldogs allowed just 34 points per game during the regular season. On Saturday night, they held Division 2 champion Twin Valley to two points in the first quarter and ten in the opening half. Third-seeded Wilson rolled to a 42-24 victory over the sixth-seeded Raiders in the Berks County quarterfinals. All-division forward Keira Levengood converted drives to the basket in the closing seconds of the first and third quarters. Levengood finished with eight points. She’s one of four seniors in the starting lineup. 6’2 junior Isis Dojan had a team-high twelve points and ten rebounds. Gallo said Dojan played well, especially considering that she was sick all week. The backcourt of Gia Borelli (10) and Amiyah Nguyen (6) combined for 16 points. The (16-5) Bulldogs have been balanced on offense all season. Gallo told me that this is a very unselfish group. He has also been thrilled with the defensive effort of 5’8 forward Kelsy Moschak. She guards the opponent’s top player every night. Wilson raced out to an 8-0 advantage. It was 17-2 one minute into the second quarter. The scrappy (14-8) Raiders got within nine points with just over two minutes left before halftime, but Borelli hit a top of the key 3-pointer to make it 22-10 at the break. The Bulldogs opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run and the lead expanded to 42-16. It wasn’t a pleasant return to West Lawn for Twin Valley coach Doug Myer. He won 338 games, five Berks League titles, and three District 3 championships over 18 years as Wilson’s head coach. All-division guard Natali Foster provided a game-high 13 points including seven in the second quarter. Foster and Rachel Knight helped the Raiders capture a state championship in field hockey. Knight picked up her third foul seven seconds into the third period. She was limited to three points. Twin Valley went 7-12 from the free throw line, while Wilson was 6-10. The Bulldogs have won nine of their last ten contests. However, Gallo wasn’t pleased with how his squad handled the Raiders’ 1-3-1 trap. Wilson committed 17 turnovers. Gallo knows that they’ll have to take care of the ball much better when they face Reading’s pressure on Tuesday. That semifinal will get underway at 6pm at Santander Arena. The seventh-seeded Red Knights defeated Schuylkill Valley 43-33 on Saturday afternoon. Wilson swept the regular season series with Reading. The Bulldogs prevailed 53-38 and 53-35. Division 1 teams went (4-0) in the quarterfinals which is something that Gallo and I discussed. Top-seeded Berks Catholic squares off with #4 seed Gov. Mifflin in the nightcap on Tuesday.